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SSD not cooperating

X

XxJayRabxX

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 8, 2012
6
0
Let's start with the basics: I bought a 2012 Macbook Pro 15" 2.3GHz. I upgraded it with 8GB of ram, and I bought a Sandisk Extreme 240GB SSD. I also bought an optibay drive caddy.

I have been having one hell of a time trying to get the SSD to work. From my original 500GB Apple HDD, I backed it up to an external drive. I put the SSD into the caddy and put it into the ODD slot. I booted up MountainLion installer, went into disk utility, and it wouldn't let me format the SSD. I put it into the HDD bay (no HDD or ODD in, just SSD) and it let me format. I restored from the backup to the SSD, then replaced it into the caddy and into the ODD bay. It wouldn't boot. I could see it in disk utility, but wouldn't even let me verify or repair the disk. this thing is making me so frustrated.

Now for my explanation. I want the HDD in the HDD bay because of the more shielding and protection. Thus, the SSD in the ODD bay.

Am I doing anything wrong? Can anybody lend me some thoughts or ideas as to how to get this to work? Thanks!
 
MaxPower72 said:
Have you selected the SSD in the System Preferences/Startup Disk?
Click to expand...

Yes, but as stated it doesn't boot. Holding option after power button, it doesn't show up. In the HDD bay it works fine, but not in the ODD bay
 
XxJayRabxX said:
Yes, but as stated it doesn't boot. Holding option after power button, it doesn't show up. In the HDD bay it works fine, but not in the ODD bay
Click to expand...

Could have the 2011 problem. Only way is to get the SSD to sata 2 or just put the SSD into the hard drive bay. The only MBP with the optibay being sata 3 compatible is the 13"
 
Wafflausages said:
Could have the 2011 problem. Only way is to get the SSD to sata 2 or just put the SSD into the hard drive bay. The only MBP with the optibay being sata 3 compatible is the 13"
Click to expand...

Well I saw this post here before I bought the SSD and thought it would work, but haven't gotten it to. http://tinyurl.com/7yqpofs Do you think it could be a firmware issue? Or a problem with the drive caddy? And at the worst, would it be that much worse to have the HDD in the ODD bay? (Since it doesn't have the shielding and motion sensor protection?) Thanks
 
So after updating the firmware, still a no-go. In disk utility right now, I current get error:
"Disk Erase failed
Disk erase failed with the error:
Couldn't unmount disk."
I wish this would work :(:(:confused::confused:
 
Now for my explanation. I want the HDD in the HDD bay because of the more shielding and protection. Thus, the SSD in the ODD bay.
Click to expand...

What do you mean? If you're talking about shock protection I think that is built in the HDD itself. Your best bet is to use the SSD in the HDD bay for best performance and less of a headache.
 
Wafflausages said:
Could have the 2011 problem. Only way is to get the SSD to sata 2 or just put the SSD into the hard drive bay. The only MBP with the optibay being sata 3 compatible is the 13"
Click to expand...

The 2012 is sata 3 on the optibay. On the 15.
 
Irock619 said:
What do you mean? If you're talking about shock protection I think that is built in the HDD itself. Your best bet is to use the SSD in the HDD bay for best performance and less of a headache.
Click to expand...

Orlandoech.com said:
What he said.
Click to expand...

Yes. I have a dual drive setup but I HDD is in my Optibay and SSD in HDD bay. SMART is active for both and also any protection you may be referring to. It's within the drive, I believe. Further, it's been shown (google) that inserting SSD in Optibay and boot from it can cause a lot of problems. I believe, the Mac is not designed to read the Optibay for a boot or there is a lag. Further, there is also some issues when the MBP goes to sleep.

My setup works. I've had mini drops both when lid is open/closed. There wasn't a hiccup at all.
 
thatoneguy82 said:
Yes. I have a dual drive setup but I HDD is in my Optibay and SSD in HDD bay. SMART is active for both and also any protection you may be referring to. It's within the drive, I believe. Further, it's been shown (google) that inserting SSD in Optibay and boot from it can cause a lot of problems. I believe, the Mac is not designed to read the Optibay for a boot or there is a lag. Further, there is also some issues when the MBP goes to sleep.

My setup works. I've had mini drops both when lid is open/closed. There wasn't a hiccup at all.
Click to expand...

Yes, I was referring to the shock protection, and I thought it was in the hardware of the HDD bay not the drive itself. I just put the SSD into the HDD bay, and the HDD into the ODD bay. Restored fine, booted fine, etc.. Thanks for your information and help. :)
 
XxJayRabxX said:
Yes, I was referring to the shock protection, and I thought it was in the hardware of the HDD bay not the drive itself. I just put the SSD into the HDD bay, and the HDD into the ODD bay. Restored fine, booted fine, etc.. Thanks for your information and help. :)
Click to expand...

No prob. Also, you may consider turning on TRIM support if you want. There is a software called TRIM enabler that's simpler than the Terminal command. TRIM supposedly increases the life of your SSD.
 
thatoneguy82 said:
No prob. Also, you may consider turning on TRIM support if you want. There is a software called TRIM enabler that's simpler than the Terminal command. TRIM supposedly increases the life of your SSD.
Click to expand...

I did that back when I first installed the SSD. S.M.A.R.T. is verified for both drives, and TRIM is enabled for the SSD. Not that I really know what either do, :p
 
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