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spooky69

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 18, 2010
108
6
If I put an SSD in and use the OptiBay to replace the Superdrive with an HDD will Time Machine being able to deal with backing up the SSD and the HDD to a network backup using Time Machine?
 

spooky69

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 18, 2010
108
6
Thanks for the quick response.

I guess it would just be a matter of whether or not the additional drive was picked up as part of the backup job. Does anyone with this setup know that it works ok with Time Machine?
 

Gorilla Power

macrumors 6502
Mar 19, 2010
478
0
Yes it will work fine. The SATA connector for the optical drive is no different from the one for the default HD, so there won't be a drive detection problem.

On a different note however, you should not use a HDD in your Optibay. The caddy doesn't have vibration dampeners so its better to use a SSD in there instead and have the HDD in its original place.
 

spooky69

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 18, 2010
108
6
Wouldn't it result in sleep issues, etc? I was under the impression that the system expects the OS to be in the space where the HDD originally sits and that putting the OS drive where the Superdrive sits is not ideal (hiberation / sleep issues).
 

lionheartednyhc

macrumors 65816
Jul 13, 2009
1,024
3
Thanks for the quick response.

I guess it would just be a matter of whether or not the additional drive was picked up as part of the backup job. Does anyone with this setup know that it works ok with Time Machine?

Yup, works fine. Time machine will backup any hard drive unless you tell it not to. Just to be safe, I use super duper to make a bootable copy of my boot drive any time I make any major changes (software updates, etc).
 

lionheartednyhc

macrumors 65816
Jul 13, 2009
1,024
3
Yes it will work fine. The SATA connector for the optical drive is no different from the one for the default HD, so there won't be a drive detection problem.

On a different note however, you should not use a HDD in your Optibay. The caddy doesn't have vibration dampeners so its better to use a SSD in there instead and have the HDD in its original place.

Completely off topic, but the best way IMO is to put the SSD in the stock position (to allow hibernation mode to work) and then get a 3rd party HDD with motion sensor built in.
 

Gorilla Power

macrumors 6502
Mar 19, 2010
478
0
Wouldn't it result in sleep issues, etc? I was under the impression that the system expects the OS to be in the space where the HDD originally sits and that putting the OS drive where the Superdrive sits is not ideal (hiberation / sleep issues).

None that I'm aware of. The system boots from whichever disk it finds the OS in, irrespective of the slot. You can even have two operating systems working on your two internal drives without sleep problems.

Completely off topic, but the best way IMO is to put the SSD in the stock position (to allow hibernation mode to work) and then get a 3rd party HDD with motion sensor built in.

Excuse my ignorance, but hibernation mode = sleep mode ?

Anyhow, my suggestion was based on stock HDD, ie. no additional purchases. But the Hitachi drives that Apple ships do have motion sensing in them, don't they ?
 

kryptonianjorel

macrumors 6502
Jul 3, 2009
373
0
None that I'm aware of. The system boots from whichever disk it finds the OS in, irrespective of the slot. You can even have two operating systems working on your two internal drives without sleep problems.



Excuse my ignorance, but hibernation mode = sleep mode ?

Anyhow, my suggestion was based on stock HDD, ie. no additional purchases. But the Hitachi drives that Apple ships do have motion sensing in them, don't they ?

No, there sleep, and then safe sleep (hibernation). Hibernation writes the contents of the RAM to the HDD and then shuts down.
 

rafatmit

macrumors member
Nov 25, 2006
30
0
Washington DC
So then it seems there are tradeoffs either way you go. If you put the SSD in the built-in drive bay, and an HDD in the Optibay, then you can boot off the SSD and hibernation works fine. But you would lose sudden-shock protection on the HDD unless you buy a drive with it built in (in which case you would have to use the terminal to disable the built-in Apple shock protection), and the drive might get bumped around more due to the lack of rubber dampening.

If, on the other hand, you put the SSD in the Optibay, then you either have to boot off the HDD (which defeats the purpose of the enterprise), or you lose hibernation.

Is this right?

How big a risk is lack of the rubber dampening (which is separate from the sudden-shock issue) in the Optibay?
 

Gorilla Power

macrumors 6502
Mar 19, 2010
478
0
How big a risk is lack of the rubber dampening (which is separate from the sudden-shock issue) in the Optibay?

Depends on how hard you drop it. :)

The fit is tight enough in the Optibay such that the drive doesn't "rattle" around in it. The drive's own vibration are very low to amplify into a resonance, so don't worry about that.

The easiest way out is to ensure that once you close your laptop's lid and pick it up to carry it, the disk has stopped rotating.

Besides, a careful person doesn't smash his notebook on the floor. C'mon - its an expensive laptop after all, right ? I carry mine like I'm carrying a live human baby that doesn't belong to me.
 

lionheartednyhc

macrumors 65816
Jul 13, 2009
1,024
3
So then it seems there are tradeoffs either way you go. If you put the SSD in the built-in drive bay, and an HDD in the Optibay, then you can boot off the SSD and hibernation works fine. But you would lose sudden-shock protection on the HDD unless you buy a drive with it built in (in which case you would have to use the terminal to disable the built-in Apple shock protection), and the drive might get bumped around more due to the lack of rubber dampening.

If, on the other hand, you put the SSD in the Optibay, then you either have to boot off the HDD (which defeats the purpose of the enterprise), or you lose hibernation.

Is this right?

How big a risk is lack of the rubber dampening (which is separate from the sudden-shock issue) in the Optibay?

Yeah, sounds like you got it down exactly. Drives are so friggin cheap these days, do what I did and just buy a 3rd party HDD. You can get a 500GB Scorpio (with shock protection) for $79.
 

m85476585

macrumors 65816
Feb 26, 2008
1,226
4
Here's my setup:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/914821/
I have the SSD in the regular spot, and the HD in the optibay. Everything works perfectly except for a lack of motion sensor.

One time I corrupted my hard drive when it was in the normal place with the SMS active just by putting it in my bag (I think it was the twisting that did it). I usually wait for the drive to go off before I put the computer away, and the nice thing about the mechanical drive in the optibay is that it goes off as soon as the computer is asleep while the safe sleep data is going to the SSD.

I still haven't set up TM because I want to clone my old TM backup to another drive first, just in case I ever want to go back to a single disk setup.
 

bware189

macrumors member
Sep 14, 2009
59
0
I currently have a Scorpio Blue 640GB. It is in the optibay, and my SSD, intel x-25m G2, is riding in the HD bay. Prior to a week ago, I was running the hitachi in place of the Scorpio, and there were notable differences. First of all, the hitachi made horrible clicking sounds whenever I put it to sleep regardless of any kind of jarring or movement. Secondly, both HDs soak up a lot of power compared to the original optical disk, so you will notice a decrease in battery life ( to the point that energy saver might warn you to replace it). I'm not sure if there is a difference in battery life with the HDs in the HD bay.

This is kind of an advanced question, but if it could swing this argument in favor of putting the secondary HD in the optibay slot, then it might help steer people toward a decision. The question is: How does one prevent access, not just to the partitions of the drive (/etc/fstab) but to the entire drive, as to keep it from consuming power? I apologize if this is off topic.
 

lionheartednyhc

macrumors 65816
Jul 13, 2009
1,024
3
I currently have a Scorpio Blue 640GB. It is in the optibay, and my SSD, intel x-25m G2, is riding in the HD bay. Prior to a week ago, I was running the hitachi in place of the Scorpio, and there were notable differences. First of all, the hitachi made horrible clicking sounds whenever I put it to sleep regardless of any kind of jarring or movement. Secondly, both HDs soak up a lot of power compared to the original optical disk, so you will notice a decrease in battery life ( to the point that energy saver might warn you to replace it). I'm not sure if there is a difference in battery life with the HDs in the HD bay.

This is kind of an advanced question, but if it could swing this argument in favor of putting the secondary HD in the optibay slot, then it might help steer people toward a decision. The question is: How does one prevent access, not just to the partitions of the drive (/etc/fstab) but to the entire drive, as to keep it from consuming power? I apologize if this is off topic.

I think the best way is to unmount it and just mount it when you need it, althogh I think this is a bit unnecesary. I just have my drive set to sleep after 4 minutes, and other than during a TM backup it is always sleeping (other than when I need it of course) and this seems to save battery power.
 

rafatmit

macrumors member
Nov 25, 2006
30
0
Washington DC
Depends on how hard you drop it. :)

The fit is tight enough in the Optibay such that the drive doesn't "rattle" around in it. The drive's own vibration are very low to amplify into a resonance, so don't worry about that.

The easiest way out is to ensure that once you close your laptop's lid and pick it up to carry it, the disk has stopped rotating.

Besides, a careful person doesn't smash his notebook on the floor. C'mon - its an expensive laptop after all, right ? I carry mine like I'm carrying a live human baby that doesn't belong to me.

Well so I take it there are two different issues. One is dropping it, which is what the sudden-shock sensor in the Mac, or in the hard drive, is for. The other is minor bumps, vibrations, etc. in day-to-day use, which is what the rubber dampening helps with. But perhaps it's not a big deal....
 

Gorilla Power

macrumors 6502
Mar 19, 2010
478
0
I'm pretty sure myself it isn't a big deal. Hard disks go through drop-tests before they are approved and they have a can sustain sudden shocks, times a safety factor (2x or 3x). Just be careful with your notebook and you'll be fine.
 

bware189

macrumors member
Sep 14, 2009
59
0
Honestly, even though I originally agreed with everyone saying that, so long as you don't jar it, you'll be fine, your data is at risk here. My hitachi is now suffering some major glitches, without even being close to full, and I owe this largely to it being in the optibay, and not having any SMS. Most importantly, when power going to the optibay is cut, it is cut without regard to the electronics needing a spin down, and thus you get the same affect as a hard shutdown whenever you cut power (sleep, software shutdown, etc).
 
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