Hey guys, so I have a 2012 MacBook Pro and upgraded the ram to 16 gigs as well as purchased two SSDs to install. However, when I tried to remove the HDD and replace it with an SSD, I had a lot of problems, so I just settled for putting in one of the SSDs and using a secondary HDD caddy to put it in. Now i have it in, but I am unable to partition it in the Disk Utility menu. Can anyone please shed a little light on how I should go about making this expensive addition usable? I appreciate any and all help.
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SSD help macbook pro 2012
- Thread starter griff48432
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What model/size SSD's do you have? Have you tested them in a USB enclosure/docking station?
The HDD cable from mid-2012 MBP's of that time period (they only stopped making them last year) have known problems. It's not uncommon for the cables to have issues with a SSD but still work with a HDD. If you take it to an Apple store, they have been replacing the cables for free (call ahead to make sure). If you already have a new cable or if the SSD's don't work (try both out) with a new cable, post a response and we'd have to try to figure out what could be the problem.
As for the 2nd SSD, what bracket did you buy? There is electronics in the connector and people have reported issues with some of cheaper brackets. I have an OWC Data Doubler bracket it works and I haven't seen people have issues with them. Again, if you already have the OWC bracket or a better quality bracket and it doesn't work, let us know.
The HDD cable from mid-2012 MBP's of that time period (they only stopped making them last year) have known problems. It's not uncommon for the cables to have issues with a SSD but still work with a HDD. If you take it to an Apple store, they have been replacing the cables for free (call ahead to make sure). If you already have a new cable or if the SSD's don't work (try both out) with a new cable, post a response and we'd have to try to figure out what could be the problem.
As for the 2nd SSD, what bracket did you buy? There is electronics in the connector and people have reported issues with some of cheaper brackets. I have an OWC Data Doubler bracket it works and I haven't seen people have issues with them. Again, if you already have the OWC bracket or a better quality bracket and it doesn't work, let us know.
https://www.amazon.com/ZXUY-Unibody-Laptop-DVD-ROM-Replacement/dp/B0058AH2US
This is the caddy that I have. As I said before, I'm not having a problem with my MacBook recognizing it, more of just knowing how to initialize it so I am able to use it.
I Googled "How to format a Mac HDD" for you and this came up https://www.macupgrades.co.uk/store/faq-hdd.php have you tried all that?
This caddy seems to be hit-and-miss, if you haven't read the one-star reviews. I would not be surprised if it's the caddy that's the issue.
If you have never formatted a HDD, SSD or flash drive on a Mac before or if you have just upgraded from an OS before El Capitan to El Capitan or Sierra, it may be you need help formatting the drive, otherwise there should be no difference between the new SSD and previous drives you've formatted. If something doesn't right seem based on what you've done before, it's likely the caddy.
For help on formatting a drive, you can search for that, one that I found (El Capitan and Sierra):
https://www.lifewire.com/format-mac-drive-using-disk-utility-os-x-el-capitan-later-2260751
These are instructions for Disk Utility in the OS's before El Capitan.