Macbook Pro 17 Dual SSD compatibility problem?

[chamika1985]

Heyy I currently own a Macbook Pro 17Inch (late 2011) with following specs

I already have fixed a 256GB SSD as my primary driver. but my Optical drive (SuperDRIVE) has stopped working for about 2-3 years now. basically has no need of it. i was thinking of replacing it with
probably 1TB Samsung SSD drive.

I'm planning to purchase this caddy on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/252069988251?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

when i inquired from local apple service center. they explained that its not recommended cause optical drive data transferring methods are not meant for HD/SDD handling. and it can cause issues in the motherboard

Please help me, regarding this?? is it safer?? is it true?? i dunt want to loose my only macbook (although its old)

really appreciate your expert knowledge, hope i'm not doing a foolish thing.

Thanks in advance

 

[leman]

I am quite sure that what the service center people told you is total BS. Then again, it is possible that Apple uses some sort of custom handling for the secondary SATA channel in the laptops. So far, I haven't heard about anyone having issues like that. What you want to do is of course unsupported but given the fact that your computer is already outdated, I don't see any major risks (beyond investing money into a 6 year old computer that can and probably will die soonish).

 

[chamika1985]

I am quite sure that what the service center people told you is total BS. Then again, it is possible that Apple uses some sort of custom handling for the secondary SATA channel in the laptops. So far, I haven't heard about anyone having issues like that. What you want to do is of course unsupported but given the fact that your computer is already outdated, I don't see any major risks (beyond investing money into a 6 year old computer that can and probably will die soonish).

Thank you Leman! can you be please kind enough to clarify "unsupported"? do you think that 1TB SSD on optical bay will Not work??? please do enlighten me if possible..

 

[leman]

Thank you Leman! can you be please kind enough to clarify "unsupported"? do you think that 1TB SSD on optical bay will Not work??? please do enlighten me if possible..

Unsupported simply means that you are modifying your machine in a way that is not endorsed by the manufacturer. However, since it uses standard protocols and components (for most parts), there is no reason why it shouldn't work...

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Thank you Leman! can you be please kind enough to clarify "unsupported"? do you think that 1TB SSD on optical bay will Not work??? please do enlighten me if possible..

Many people have done this upgrade with no problems at all, the 2011 is a little strange in that the optical sata connection can be sata 2 or sata 3 so make this a storage drive or a the secondary drive in a fusion set up. Other than that Leman is correct its just a sata connection no reason to think it won't work perfectly.

 

[chamika1985]

Unsupported simply means that you are modifying your machine in a way that is not endorsed by the manufacturer. However, since it uses standard protocols and components (for most parts), there is no reason why it shouldn't work...

Many people have done this upgrade with no problems at all, the 2011 is a little strange in that the optical sata connection can be sata 2 or sata 3 so make this a storage drive or a the secondary drive in a fusion set up. Other than that Leman is correct its just a sata connection no reason to think it won't work perfectly.

Thanks alot guyss... I hope my Macbook pro supports SATA 3.. How do i check it???? following 2images are screenshots of my system report relevant to SATA. i read if linkspeed is 6Gbit it means SATA 3. (please do enlighten me if i am wrong)

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Yeah they are both 6 gigabit sata 3, I am assuming that it is still currently connected to the optical drive at a negotiated sata 1 speed with the optical drive, that should be the same as the intel ssd you have above when you put the new drive in.

 

[chamika1985]

Yeah they are both 6 gigabit sata 3, I am assuming that it is still currently connected to the optical drive at a negotiated sata 1 speed with the optical drive, that should be the same as the intel ssd you have above when you put the new drive in.

yes its still connected to Optical Drive which is not working at all. Thanks alot. i shall start executing this mission and let you know the results. Thanks a million..

 

[tubeexperience]

Yes, it's true.

The optical bay has compatibility issue with SSD.

Instead, put the SSD in the HDD bay and put the old HDD in the optical bay.

 

[chamika1985]

Yes, it's true.

The optical bay has compatibility issue with SSD.

Instead, put the SSD in the HDD bay and put the old HDD in the optical bay.

I already has 256GB SSD in HDD bay. i just need faster 1TB Samsung SSD fixed so i can use several operating systems such as windows, linux, kali flawlessly using Vmware. (i tried using external HDD but it slows down like hell). and i'm into video editting also so need quite alot of space with speed :-S

 

[robvas]

I would buy a brand name one, even if it costs more.

I tried 2 different ones on Amazon, both cheap ($8 and $9). First one I never got (went through the mail, from China), second one didn't quite fit right and the drive didn't show up in Disk Utility (I did get a refund from the sellers on both of those). Then I spend $25 on a brand name one and it worked and fit perfectly

 

[chamika1985]

I would buy a brand name one, even if it costs more.

I tried 2 different ones on Amazon, both cheap ($8 and $9). First one I never got (went through the mail, from China), second one didn't quite fit right and the drive didn't show up in Disk Utility (I did get a refund from the sellers on both of those). Then I spend $25 on a brand name one and it worked and fit perfectly

Can you recommend me a branded one?? which works and fit perfectly??

 

[prisstratton]

I noticed in the report of your system's SATA status that you do not have trim enabled. If you want to do this on your system open a terminal window and type in: sudo trimforce enable

You will be presented with a warning screen, select Y to apply and then your system will reboot.

 

[robvas]

Can you recommend me a branded one?? which works and fit perfectly??

OWC or MCE

 

[treekram]

On their website, OWC says:

"Testing has demonstrated that Apple factory hardware does not reliably support a 6G (6Gb/s) Solid State Drive or Hard Disk Drive in the optical bay of 2011 MacBook Pros (ModeI ID8,1; 8,2; 8,3). If your OWC Data Doubler bundle comes with a 6G drive, you should ONLY install that drive in the main drive bay and utilize the Data Doubler to re-task your existing drive or install a new 3G SSD or HDD in the optical bay. PRE-2011 models can utilize a 6G drive in the optical bay, but will do so at a reduced 3G (3Gb/s) speed."

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DDAMBS0GB/

If I recall correctly, some people have reported that they are able to get the 6Gb/sec speed on the optical connection. So YMMV.

I have the OWC Data Doubler for my mid-2012 MBP - it's built like a tank and has worked well.

 

[chamika1985]

I noticed in the report of your system's SATA status that you do not have trim enabled. If you want to do this on your system open a terminal window and type in: sudo trimforce enable

You will be presented with a warning screen, select Y to apply and then your system will reboot.

Thank you i'll be sure to do that ...cheerz

 

[uMBP17"]

SATA 3 speed works in optibay if your model supports SATA 3 iaw your system info. A RAID 0 setup would give you 1GB/s+ in both read and write with samsung 850 PRO SSD!

See following three success stories:
https://sites.google...bookproproject/
https://www.fahrenwa...at-the-dvd-bay/
https://forums.macru...iy-fix.1570602/

Best way (and easiest) to do it is using aluminium or copper tape to shield it all - cable + caddy/SSD assy (any caddy would do). Aluminum foil would also work, but looks like **** and could also potentially cause shorts.. Not fun.

More fun stuff:

1, Add new thermal paste, gives a good boost in performance since the CPU throtteling kicks in very early in our models. Mine throttles to 2.6-2.7Ghz (instead 3.6GHZ) under 100% load pre thermal paste change.
Coollaboratory liquid copper (its not liquid metal) or Thermal grizzly kryonaut will do the job.
Extreme but efficient, drill holes in bottom case.

2, add 16GB of 2133Mhz CL11 RAM from Kingston - hyperx impact - would give your laptop a very, very nice boost.

3, tweak the intelHD3000 up to 1GB vRAM also helps.

This all adds up to become a very potential laptop, even tho its from 2011..