Questions about dual drive Macbook unibody a1342

[Visionblue]

I am currently assessing upgrade options for my mid 2010 unibody macbook. Over the past few months my machine has slowed to a screeching halt & it's my main machine for running a small business. I was considering upgrading to a newer machine but financially it's out of the question. I ordered a RAM upgrade that should arrive today (2x 4GB sticks). I've been doing some research for the past few weeks and have decided to take the plunge on an SSD.

Originally I planned on installing a 120-8 GB SSD in place of the stock 250 GB HDD and using that drive in an external enclosure to store music, videos and pictures.

Now I am considering going all-out and replacing the rarely used optical drive with the stock HDD and creating a dual disc machine to avoid lugging around an external HD that I would use frequently and risk damaging/ losing. Im also considering a smaller storage capacity for the SSD as I would use it only for the OS and applications and the HDD is more than enough for my files and media. I'm having a hard time finding anything online in regards to the pros/cons of doing this (though I'm finding plenty of how-to tutorials) Does anyone have personal experience in doing this? Opinions? How easy/difficult is it to manage 2 drives in terms of permissions and keeping different files on different drives?

Thanks!

 

[rendyr]

Just move the hard drive to the DVD. Problem solved.

Still need DVD? Buy another portable DVD-RW. I suggest you don't use the DVD from your Mac because the available enclosure quality is very bad. It is not expensive ($30) and you might not use it every time.

You might need optibay as your hard drive tray in DVD. It is very cheap ($10) and works flawlessly. It is easy to install, just need to becareful when disconnecting the ribbon cable. Don't buy expensive optibay, it is just not really worth it, because the cheap one also works.

Buy an SSD, I recommend 240 or 250GB version for best value rather than 120GB. It is also faster (although you might only use SATA 2 speed). I am using Samsung drive and it works, and another brand should work without any problem.

I reinstall my OS, you can use Carbon Copy Cleaner if you want to use the old system (remember to buy USB-to-SATA cable/enclosure). You can keep your Application in the Harddisk without problem. I never encounter any permission problem. You also can make link to the hard drive for some folders such as Documents.

After installing SSD, remember to left 20% and enable TRIM using TRIM enabler to keep the performance as new. You can use your mac for another 2 or 3 years before you really need an upgrade (only my opinion).

 

[Visionblue]

Thanks for the advice. On top of the SDD query, now I have a question about RAM.

I received my 2x 4GB sticks in the mail today and after installation, my macbook gave out a sad beep and refused to boot. I reinstalled my original 4GB of memory and it booted up just fine.

I bought off of ebay *Yeah, I know* but all this specifications are in check.

204 pin, 1066 mhz ddr3 SO-DIMM, etc but they were not specifically marked as "for apple laptops".

Is this really an issue or do you suppose its simply a matter of defective RAM?

 

[DeltaMac]

Your Macbook can run on just one stick, so try one of the larger sticks.
Be careful (yet firm) that the stick is seated properly.
If it boots with one, then add the second.
If you can't get the single one to boot, then swap that with your second, again with just the one stick.

 

[Visionblue]

Your Macbook can run on just one stick, so try one of the larger sticks.
Be careful (yet firm) that the stick is seated properly.
If it boots with one, then add the second.
If you can't get the single one to boot, then swap that with your second, again with just the one stick.

Alright so I put the first RAM stick in solo, no luck. Second one, booted up fine. I'm assuming the first one is defective?

 

[DeltaMac]

Alright so I put the first RAM stick in solo, no luck. Second one, booted up fine. I'm assuming the first one is defective?

Be sure to try swapping slots, and reseating the chips firmly. Mark the chip that you suspect, to keep track as you swap - unless you can easily tell which is which.

 

[Visionblue]

Alright so I'm ready to select an SSD. I'm deciding between OWC's 120GB 3G SSD for $80 (sata 2), Kingston v300 series 128GB for $60 (sata 3) and perhaps one of the 120GB samsung series if they are on sale during time of purchase.

oWC informs you on their purchase page that purchasing a sata 3 for a sata 2 device will make it run at sata 1 speeds. Is this true?

Also I've heard OWC drives do not require trim enabler because their drivers do this automatically. I do not know if this is legit or not.

Does anyone have experience with Kingston drives? I was curious as to why they go on sale so often.

 

[cypriot]

bought a 120gb kingston ssd now v300 it runs at 1,5gbs and sata1 speed. I contacted them and they told me it can only be modified if i send it to them and the process is irreversible. I regret buying it but soon i plan to renew my macbook. So i will keep it