SSD readable through USB, not Optical Bay

[Greg Smith]

Hi there,

Have a Mid 2011 Macbook Pro. Bought a Samsung EVO 500GB SSD. Formatted and cloned through USB - everything worked fine. Once I put the SSD in the Optical Bay, SSD is not recognized.

I know the Optical Bay works because I previously had a 250GB SSD in there and it was readable. Please help.

Thanks,

Greg

 

[DeltaMac]

Try replacing the little ribbon cable that connects the drive to the logic board.

What do you have in the normal hard drive slot?
Try swapping THAT drive into the optical slot (with your new SSD in the hard drive slot)

Keep in mind that the SATA cables are a common failure. Be gentle as you move those!

 

[Fishrrman]

Put the SSD into the "normal" 2.5" drive bay (where the original drive was).
Does that work?

 

[jav6454]

If you had a previous 2.5" drive their that worked, you most likely damaged the SATA ribbon.

 

[Greg Smith]

Try replacing the little ribbon cable that connects the drive to the logic board.

What do you have in the normal hard drive slot?
Try swapping THAT drive into the optical slot (with your new SSD in the hard drive slot)

Keep in mind that the SATA cables are a common failure. Be gentle as you move those!

Hey thanks for the reply. I just have another Hdd in the main drive slot.

Question: I’ve heard replacing the SATA as an option. Are they referring to the caddy/enclosure that the ssd is placed in?

Greg

 

[DeltaMac]

No, "replacing the SATA" would be the same as replacing the SATA cable (the ribbon cable used to connect the device to the logic board.

However, some caddies (that part that is used to position the drive, and takes the place of the optical drive) are not as well designed as you might think. There's some cheap off-shore stuff on the market, and you never really know what you get, and if it will even work.

Just my opinion --- I think you should move the SSD to the hard drive slot, and put your hard drive in that drive doubler caddy. One disadvantage to THAT configuration is that a hard drive in the optical slot would NOT have access to the Sudden Motion Sensor (shuts your hard drive off (instantly) if your MBPro is dropped). That may or may not be an issue. Probably not, if the hard drive is just storage, and you are not normally booted to that hard drive.

 

[Greg Smith]

No, "replacing the SATA" would be the same as replacing the SATA cable (the ribbon cable used to connect the device to the logic board.

However, some caddies (that part that is used to position the drive, and takes the place of the optical drive) are not as well designed as you might think. There's some cheap off-shore stuff on the market, and you never really know what you get, and if it will even work.

Just my opinion --- I think you should move the SSD to the hard drive slot, and put your hard drive in that drive doubler caddy. One disadvantage to THAT configuration is that a hard drive in the optical slot would NOT have access to the Sudden Motion Sensor (shuts your hard drive off (instantly) if your MBPro is dropped). That may or may not be an issue. Probably not, if the hard drive is just storage, and you are not normally booted to that hard drive.

SSD in the hdd slot and vice versa. Somehow, everything works. Don’t understand it, but whatever. Thanks for the help you guys!✌