Upgrading 2013-2015 Macbook Pro SSD to M.2 NVMe

[Dragasch]

So I have tried to install EFI update manually but problem is that , regardless what disk I use, thunderbolt HDD or usb stick they are all mounted as disk1 and not as disk0 and update script for EFI partition was written for disk0 ... or so it seams ...
since one can not change disk numbering I guess there is no other solution to update EFI but original SSD ...

 

[oscarxvita]

Awesome. Thank you! However, when I had the Samsung Evo 960 installed, and booting High Sierra from the flash drive/working from the flash drive, when I went to system details, under NVMExpress, it said noting was there, even though the Evo 960 was plugged in... Would you still recommend following your instructions above in this case? I was going to try your instructions above, but because the Evo 960 wasn't recognized at all, in system details or on Disk Utility, I was thinking the CABLECC adapter wasn't working, or the Evo 960 wasn't working. I've ordered the ChenYang, and am exchanging through Amazon for another Evo 960... they are on the way... But maybe it is just a case of getting the Evo 960 formatted, and Ubuntu can do this, the hardware might be fine? But again, if its not showing up on disk utility, because its not formatted to something OSX recognizes, it would still show up on system details under NVMExpress, if the hardware is not a problem? Thanks so much to all of you for replying to my posts, its a relief.
[doublepost=1508274774][/doublepost]
I've got a new/exchanged Evo 960 on the way, and an adapter from ChenYang. The Kapton tape did cover the back of the pins... as I replied to the above post... I never could get any recognition of the Evo 960 in system details NVMExpress - and of course in disk utility... I even went as far as reinstalling Sierra, and downloading NVMe master patch/Kext utility, and following the procedure that has led to some success in getting NVMe recognized in Sierra.. but that didn't work either, even though all the steps checked out correctly according to what I should have seen in Terminal and System/Library/Extensions etc.

It is probably not a connector problem, if you have a new ssd, it may not be initialized so it cant been seen on the GUI. Launch Terminal in Recovery/Install Mode and try this

diskutil list

If you see your samsung disk on disk0, you can then initialized the disk by creating GPT,

gpt create -f /dev/disk0

 

[rmjohnso75]

It is probably not a connector problem, if you have a new ssd, it may not be initialized so it cant been seen on the GUI. Launch Terminal in Recovery/Install Mode and try this

diskutil list

If you see your samsung disk on disk0, you can then initialized the disk by creating GPT,

gpt create -f /dev/disk0

Yes, I did this after Gilles posted it, and all is great. Has anyone installed the Evo 960 firmware update?

 

[oscarxvita]

Yes, I did this after Gilles posted it, and all is great. Has anyone installed the Evo 960 firmware update?

I've updated my 960 pro. Everything seems to work fine..
Unluckily my 960 pro still have random black screen/kernel panic during booting/reboot on my Mid-2015 rmbp15, and takes more than 30 secs from cold boot....
Is that normal?

 

[oscarxvita]

Hello,
I just have worked all day on a a MBPr mid 2015 without updated Bootrom and with a NVMe WD black under 10.12.
It worked like a charm...
My colleague uses the same machine (mid 2015 rMBP) for 10 days with a 960 pro under high sierra with no single problem.
Problems with sleep still remain with 960 evo
So, again, it's just a matter of time to test many combinations

I have a 960 pro and a Mid-2015 Rmbp, however I have reboot problem which it shutdowns and never auto start(you have to press power button for 10s to force close and manual start. How do you solve that problem?

 

[Rayray0011]

Hello,
On 2015 MBPr, there is no issue at all.
On the late 2013 to mid 2014 macs, you can put the notebook to sleep, close the lid, etc.

It's only on battery that the hibernation normaly occurs after 3 hours and the mac can't wake up and read the Ram data from the hibernation file.
And this can be prevented by desactivating the deep sleep mode, with typing "sudo pmset -a standby 0" in the terminal.

Once you have done that, the settings remain permanently written in a pref. file and never goes off, and you can use your mac absolutely normally.

The only drawback is that your battery may be drained more quickly because the Mac never shuts the Ram off, and also if after a few days your battery goes totaly discharged, the ram data is lost...

Hi,

I’m don’t quite get it about the tapping of kapton tape on adaptor. Any pics to show me?

Thanks in advn!!

Wonderful thread! Useful!

 

[wawon]

Hello,
On 2015 MBPr, there is no issue at all.
On the late 2013 to mid 2014 macs, you can put the notebook to sleep, close the lid, etc.

It's only on battery that the hibernation normaly occurs after 3 hours and the mac can't wake up and read the Ram data from the hibernation file.
And this can be prevented by desactivating the deep sleep mode, with typing "sudo pmset -a standby 0" in the terminal.

Once you have done that, the settings remain permanently written in a pref. file and never goes off, and you can use your mac absolutely normally.

I think to avoid hibernation(write to ssd) perfectly, "sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0 standby 0 autopoweroff 0" is need.

"standby=0" and "hibernatemode=0" are for on-battery mode, "autopoweroff=0" is for on AC adapter mode.

https://apple.stackexchange.com/que...nce-between-autopoweroff-and-standby-in-pmset

 

[Audit13]

Hi,

I’m don’t quite get it about the tapping of kapton tape on adaptor. Any pics to show me?

Thanks in advn!!

Wonderful thread! Useful!

Look here: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-ssd-to-m-2-nvme.2034976/page-6#post-25121383 and here: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-ssd-to-m-2-nvme.2034976/page-5#post-25117304

 

[burnthefires]

Have anyone tried reusing the MBPr SSD as a PCIe drive and could recommend a good adapter?
Sintech recommends using a fan-cooled adapter of theirs but there are also passive choices, are those SSDs(in my case MZ-JPV1280) really that hot?

 

[DarkMeLo]

I have an issue with my setup:

- Macbook Pro 13" Mid-2014
- Samsung XP941 256GB AHCI SSD (MZ-HPU256T/004)
- Sintech Adapter
- Latest BootRom: (MBP111.0142.B00)

The drive is not recognised in neither DiskUtility nor "diskutil list". It is a working used ahci pcie ssd. I have tried multiple times adjusting the connections between everything and made sure they were inserted properly. Kapton tape and rubber supports are installed since the beginning. Would a faulty adapter be the only possibility here...

 

[wawon]

I have an issue with my setup:

- Macbook Pro 13" Mid-2014
- Samsung XP941 256GB AHCI SSD (MZ-HPU256T/004)
- Sintech Adapter
- Latest BootRom: (MBP111.0142.B00)

The drive is not recognised in neither DiskUtility nor "diskutil list". It is a working used ahci pcie ssd. I have tried multiple times adjusting the connections between everything and made sure they were inserted properly. Kapton tape and rubber supports are installed since the beginning. Would a faulty adapter be the only possibility here...

I had tried MZ-HPU256T & adapter with MacBook Pro 13 Late2013, MacBook Pro 13 Early2015 and so on.
MZ-HPU256T is a AHCI SSD (same as Apple original, not NVMe), So no need latest BootRom.
Please check Apple diagnosis, "https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202731".

AHCI SSDs (even NVMe SSDs also) can be recognized from boot. If you find error message like VDH***, It maybe bad adapter. Error massage(Reference code) is "https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203747".

If you have M.2 Apple original AHCI SSD to USB adapter like this "2013-2014 Macbook A1465 1466 A1398 A1502 SSD USB 3.0 External Ca", "http://eshop.sintech.cn/20132014-macbook-a1465-1466-a1398-a1502-ssd-usb-30-external-ca-p-1080.html". You may check using that.

 

[DarkMeLo]

I had tried MZ-HPU256T & adapter with MacBook Pro 13 Late2013, MacBook Pro 13 Early2015 and so on.
MZ-HPU256T is a AHCI SSD (same as Apple original, not NVMe), So no need latest BootRom.
Please check Apple diagnosis, "https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202731".

AHCI SSDs (even NVMe SSDs also) can be recognized from boot. If you find error message like VDH***, It maybe bad adapter. Error massage(Reference code) is "https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203747".

If you have M.2 Apple original AHCI SSD to USB adapter like this "2013-2014 Macbook A1465 1466 A1398 A1502 SSD USB 3.0 External Ca", "http://eshop.sintech.cn/20132014-macbook-a1465-1466-a1398-a1502-ssd-usb-30-external-ca-p-1080.html". You may check using that.

Yeah I know that I don't NEED all of those but it still doesn't recognise the drive. I'm gonna try the ssd on a different z97 machine and that should tell us the culprit. Did you find any sleep issues when you tried the XP941 on the 2013?

 

[wawon]

Did you find any sleep issues when you tried the XP941 on the 2013?

MZ-HPU256T is a AHCI SSD (not NVMe), so boot or re-boot issues are not found but sleep issues are found. Now I don't have any chance to try with MZ-HPU256T, using hibernation-less sleep setting would makes sleep issues clear, Using terminal "sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0 standby 0 autopoweroff 0", I'm not sure.

 

[djneils98]

I have a 13 2015 MBP with a 128gb factory drive.
I'm running high-sierra. Am I able to use a non-apple drive with an adaptor now?
What is the best adaptor/drive combo for my machine if I want a 512gb drive?
thanks in advance

 

[wawon]

I have a 13 2015 MBP with a 128gb factory drive.
I'm running high-sierra. Am I able to use a non-apple drive with an adaptor now?
What is the best adaptor/drive combo for my machine if I want a 512gb drive?
thanks in advance

If you want, You can use non-Apple SSD. But some risks are there, you should do after thoroughly investigating.
This is my opinion. The best adaptor/drive combo for your machine with 512Gb is Sintech adapter and Samsung 960 Evo/Pro 512GB. All AHCI SSDs are rather old and hard to get. You have to deal with the adapter and set with pmset command on Terminal to avoid sleep issues.

 

[uintmax]

If you want, You can use non-Apple SSD. But some risks are there, you should do after thoroughly investigating.
This is my opinion. The best adaptor/drive combo for your machine with 512Gb is Sintech adapter and Samsung 960 Evo/Pro 512GB. All AHCI SSDs are rather old and hard to get. You have to deal with the adapter and set with pmset command on Terminal to avoid sleep issues.

Correct me if I am wrong but wouldn't Sintech + WD Black be a better choice than 960 EVO/PRO for a 2015 rMBP? WD Black looks like it works pretty much perfectly out of the box with the Sintech adapter on the 2015 units based on the posts here. Though 960 EVO/PRO are definitely faster and more reliable, that is for sure.

 

[djneils98]

Correct me if I am wrong but wouldn't Sintech + WD Black be a better choice than 960 EVO/PRO for a 2015 rMBP? WD Black looks like it works pretty much perfectly out of the box with the Sintech adapter on the 2015 units based on the posts here. Though 960 EVO/PRO are definitely faster and more reliable, that is for sure.

thanks
Shame
I had hoped a new era of easy storage upgrades was upon us poor MacBook owners. Shame on Apple

 

[ZapNZs]

I just gotta say...you guys (and gals) are incredible.

 

[gilles_polysoft]

I have a 960 pro and a Mid-2015 Rmbp, however I have reboot problem which it shutdowns and never auto start(you have to press power button for 10s to force close and manual start. How do you solve that problem?

Hello,
sorry for your problem. Please can you report your BootRom version ? (should be MBP114.0177.B00)
Also the SMC version (mine is 2.29f24) and firmware version of the 960 Pro (2B6QCXP7 ?)

As lots of people here have reported issues, I've done a lot more tests, will post them in a few moments...

 

[gilles_polysoft]

thanks
Shame
I had hoped a new era of easy storage upgrades was upon us poor MacBook owners. Shame on Apple

Hello there,
I think we can't still make a conclusion. Work and tests are still in progress.

To me, there remains three issues :
#1 - hibernation issue with Mac before late-2014 : it seems we can get around it with good results with setting "standbymode" to 0 in the terminal
#2 - blinking folder at startup, or hot restart not working : I couldn't reproduce this issue... but lots of users here reproduce it... I would love to collect data here and be able to reproduce the issue... Need further investigation on it...
#3 - kernels panics on heavy loads : Easily reproducible : it occurs on huge, long copy tasks on any mac with a 512B NVMe formatted SSDs and a fast external storare... In my case it occurs on every tested mac while having booted on a 512B formatted NVMe drive (Samsung, intel) under 10.13, and with trying to backup all NVMe SSD to an external, fast, USB 3.0, SSD able of at least 300MB/sec.
After a few minutes of high speed copy, kernel panic occurs nearly 100% of the time...
Maybe a heat issue ? not sure I've checked the temperature with DriveDX and not seen anything abnormal... More a NVMe driver issue...

Those 3 issues may not be unsurmontable.
For now, the rules are :
- always update the BootRom
- for now, prefer 4K formatted SSDs.


As a reminder, here is an update on all updates that are possible :
- Apple AHCI PCIe (12+16) drives : no change here. They work, but they are expensive ($500 for 500 GB...) and hard to find used (and I don't speak of getting new ones...)
- Apple NVMe PCIe (12+16) drives : same remarks as upper for the price and availability. They need 10.10.2 at least, and we now know that they work on all Mac from late 2014 and up without issue, and they work on late 2013 to mid 2014 mac with the updated Bootrom, but with hibernation issue.
- Tiers Apple-form PCIe SSD (OWC - MCE - Transcend 960) : as expensive as Apple drives, but easily available new, with warranty, and they work in all case (OWC have some compatibility issue though)
- Tiers M.2 2280 AHCI SSD : work with Sintech adapter... LiteOn LGT-512B1P, XP941, Kingston HyperX predator were available and not too expensive but they are now hard to find...
- Tiers M.2 2280 NVMe SSD : they are easily availaible, fast, cheap... the subject of this thread...

For thoses last NVMe drives, there is two categories :
- NVMe drives that can be formatted in 4K logical blocs (Kingston KC1000, WD Black, Toshiba G3/G4) :
once formatted in 4K blocs with linux, they do work natively in every mac from late 2014 without bootrom needed, and even Mac from late 2013 to mid 2014 macs with Bootrom updated.
- NVMe drives that are formated in 512B blocs (Samsung SM951 - 960 Evo - 960 Pro) : they only work with Mac with updated Bootrom. They have hibernation issue on pre-late 2014 mac. They need 10.13, and as of 10.13.0, the NVMe driver seem to make some kernel panics some times...


As for now, I would like to collect more info (BootRom, firmware of SSD, powermanagement settings, etc) on the machines of those having hot restart problem, or blinking folder, as I never encoutered it...
I don't know yet if Apple will try to work on resolving issue with 512B drives...

After weeks of testing, I'm quite satisfied with the results thought, but not totally...

Especially I think the best price/capacity/reliability for now is the Toshiba G3/G4 or the Kingston KC1000, because they are damn fast, cheap, and can be formated in 4K.

I hope there will be an update on the 10.13 NVMe driver. If there is, the Samsung 960 evo/pro would be the best choice !

(Ps : attached are some benchs on mid 2015 rMBP 15")
[doublepost=1508816810][/doublepost]

Hi,

I’m don’t quite get it about the tapping of kapton tape on adaptor. Any pics to show me?

Yes, here it is :

 

[tetet]

#3 - kernels panics on heavy loads : Easily reproducible : it occurs on huge, long copy tasks on any mac with a 512B NVMe formatted SSDs and a fast external storare... In my case it occurs on every tested mac while having booted on a 512B formatted NVMe drive (Samsung, intel) under 10.13, and with trying to backup all NVMe SSD to an external, fast, USB 3.0, SSD able of at least 300MB/sec.
After a few minutes of high speed copy, kernel panic occurs nearly 100% of the time...
Maybe a heat issue ? not sure I've checked the temperature with DriveDX and not seen anything abnormal... More a NVMe driver issue...

Thanks again for the work! I have not seen a kernel panic so far, even under intensive use as such as gaming or running computation-heavy programs.

Backing up 200GB of data with Time machine to a external Thunderbolt 2 PCIe SSD did not trigger the kernel panic. The process took 2 hours, and the machine was hot the whole time.

I tried to reproduce the kernels panics on heavy loads scenario again by copying 200GB files into the MacBook Pro late 2013 through external SATA SSD using USB3.0. The process took about 9 minutes, but no kernel panic occurred. Then, I tried to copy the 200GB from the Mac to the external SATA SSD, but still see no kernel panic. Were you using Time Machine to do the back up?

My SSD is not 512B formatted. Could that be the reason? Or maybe because I keeps it well ventilated, so the temperature never gets hot enough to trigger the kernel panic? Coudl you please post the CPU temperature when that occurs?

 

[gilles_polysoft]

Thanks again for the work! I have not seen a kernel panic so far, even under intensive use as such as gaming or running computation-heavy programs.

Backing up 200GB of data with Time machine to a external Thunderbolt 2 PCIe SSD did not trigger the kernel panic. The process took 2 hours, and the machine was hot the whole time.

I tried to reproduce the kernels panics on heavy loads scenario again by copying 200GB files into the MacBook Pro late 2013 through external SATA SSD using USB3.0. The process took about 9 minutes, but no kernel panic occurred. Then, I tried to copy the 200GB from the Mac to the external SATA SSD, but still see no kernel panic. Were you using Time Machine to do the back up?

My SSD is not 512KB formatted. Could that be the reason? Or maybe because I keeps it well ventilated, so the temperature never gets hot enough to trigger the kernel panic? Coudl you please post the CPU temperature when that occurs?

hello,

I had only kernel panics with 512B formatted SSDs. And only on heavy tasks : the only way I was able to replicate the kp was while doing a whole copy of the boot drive with CarbonCopyCloner on a fast drive (more than 300MB/sec). It occured 100% of the tries before 15GB were copied.
Of course due to 4K ssds it was only in 10.13 (also 10.13.1 beta).

On 4K formatted drive it never happened once, neither under 10.13 nor 10.12, despite trying during hours on many different models (13” rMBP late 2013, 13” rMBP early 2015, 13” MBA early 2015, 15” rMBP mid 2015...)

 

[Tacàritx]

Hello there,
I think we can't still make a conclusion. Work and tests are still in progress.

To me, there remains three issues :
#1 - hibernation issue with Mac before late-2014 : it seems we can get around it with good results with setting "standbymode" to 0 in the terminal
#2 - blinking folder at startup, or hot restart not working : I couldn't reproduce this issue... but lots of users here reproduce it... I would love to collect data here and be able to reproduce the issue... Need further investigation on it...
#3 - kernels panics on heavy loads : Easily reproducible : it occurs on huge, long copy tasks on any mac with a 512B NVMe formatted SSDs and a fast external storare... In my case it occurs on every tested mac while having booted on a 512B formatted NVMe drive (Samsung, intel) under 10.13, and with trying to backup all NVMe SSD to an external, fast, USB 3.0, SSD able of at least 300MB/sec.
After a few minutes of high speed copy, kernel panic occurs nearly 100% of the time...
Maybe a heat issue ? not sure I've checked the temperature with DriveDX and not seen anything abnormal... More a NVMe driver issue...

Those 3 issues may not be unsurmontable.
For now, the rules are :
- always update the BootRom
- for now, prefer 4K formatted SSDs.


As a reminder, here is an update on all updates that are possible :
- Apple AHCI PCIe (12+16) drives : no change here. They work, but they are expensive ($500 for 500 GB...) and hard to find used (and I don't speak of getting new ones...)
- Apple NVMe PCIe (12+16) drives : same remarks as upper for the price and availability. They need 10.10.2 at least, and we now know that they work on all Mac from late 2014 and up without issue, and they work on late 2013 to mid 2014 mac with the updated Bootrom, but with hibernation issue.
- Tiers Apple-form PCIe SSD (OWC - MCE - Transcend 960) : as expensive as Apple drives, but easily available new, with warranty, and they work in all case (OWC have some compatibility issue though)
- Tiers M.2 2280 AHCI SSD : work with Sintech adapter... LiteOn LGT-512B1P, XP941, Kingston HyperX predator were available and not too expensive but they are now hard to find...
- Tiers M.2 2280 NVMe SSD : they are easily availaible, fast, cheap... the subject of this thread...

For thoses last NVMe drives, there is two categories :
- NVMe drives that can be formatted in 4K logical blocs (Kingston KC1000, WD Black, Toshiba G3/G4) :
once formatted in 4K blocs with linux, they do work natively in every mac from late 2014 without bootrom needed, and even Mac from late 2013 to mid 2014 macs with Bootrom updated.
- NVMe drives that are formated in 512B blocs (Samsung SM951 - 960 Evo - 960 Pro) : they only work with Mac with updated Bootrom. They have hibernation issue on pre-late 2014 mac. They need 10.13, and as of 10.13.0, the NVMe driver seem to make some kernel panics some times...


As for now, I would like to collect more info (BootRom, firmware of SSD, powermanagement settings, etc) on the machines of those having hot restart problem, or blinking folder, as I never encoutered it...
I don't know yet if Apple will try to work on resolving issue with 512B drives...

After weeks of testing, I'm quite satisfied with the results thought, but not totally...

Especially I think the best price/capacity/reliability for now is the Toshiba G3/G4 or the Kingston KC1000, because they are damn fast, cheap, and can be formated in 4K.

I hope there will be an update on the 10.13 NVMe driver. If there is, the Samsung 960 evo/pro would be the best choice !

(Ps : attached are some benchs on mid 2015 rMBP 15")
[doublepost=1508816810][/doublepost]
Yes, here it is :

View attachment 727021

Hello,
I have registered with MacRumors only to follow this discussion, and first, I want to congratulate people who have helped so much with their time and contributions. Especially Gilles who periodically summarizes advances of this thread.

I have a Late 2013 rMBP 15" (11,3), early September the 512GB SSD disk broke and I carried it to the official Apple service in my region. They told me that the same disk will cost me >700€ and the cheapest one, close to my capacity 480GB, will take more than 50 days to arrive with a high price also. Then, I discovered this thread and started my tests.

My wife has a Early 2015 rMBP 13" and I have used its AHCI SSD to upgrade my rMBP 15" BootROM to MBP112.0142.B00 during OSX High Sierra install. The sequence has been:

1) Get AHCI SSD from another rMBP and replace the broken one.
2) Install/Upgrade to OSX 10.13 to update BROM to 112.0142.B00
3) Buy a new SSD and adapter. In my case is Kingston KC1000 480GB and CableCC adapter from Amazon: https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B073FRCBSP/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Yes, it says CHENYANG but when I receive the adapter comes from CABLECC with reference SA-213. I think is the same ¿?

4) Install blank Kingston SSD and adapter in my rMBP 15". I have put insulation tape over the connector.

5) Reset SMC and PRAM.

First Attempt:

6) Boot with external OSX High Sierra Install USB Key. Open terminal and create a new partition following this thread: https://tinyapps.org/blog/mac/201710010700_high_sierra_disk_utility.html
# diskutil eraseDisk APFS "Macintosh HD" GPT disk0

7) Return to main USB Boot menu and select Install Mac OSX High Sierra. The installation recognizes the new disk with grey icon like internal disks and installation starts. At first reboot I remove USB Key.

8) After the first reboot the files are installed in the hard disk partition, at finish, reboots angain and don't find boot disk. Then appears the ? with a folder. But can boot pressing "alt" at startup and selecting the "Macintosh HD", then installation finished correctly and all is going fine.
The problem is at power-on, MBP doesn't recognizes new SSD internal disk as boot. When "ALT" is pressed, boot options appear, but the internal System disk with Mac High Sierra installed is shown in "orange" not as normal grey internal disk.

Second Attempt:

9) Power-on and press "alt"+"cmd"+R to start recovery. Enter to terminal window and destroy partition:
#diskutil unmountDisk Disk0
#gpt destroy /dev/disk0
Reboot and create partition again from Terminal (Using "alt"+"cmd"+R option) as Guilles proposed:
sudo diskutil partitionDisk /dev/disk0 GPT APFS "Macintosh HD" 0b
Return to main recovery menu and I select recover Mac OSX High Sierra.

10) Finished High Sierra install, but only able to boot from my internal SSD disk pressing "alt" and selecting my "Orange Boot Disk"

Graphical disk utility shows SSD drive as "internal" and is showed as NVMExpress device.
Kingston SKC1000480G
Revision E7FT04.6

Next attemps:
-Boot with ubuntu USB key and try to format as 4K.
-Destroy and create partition again with JHFS+ format, not APFS before High Sierra Install.

Any other idea about how to boot directly to SSD disk and avoid pressing "alt" at each power-on?

Thanks for contributions from everyone,
Joan

 

[wawon]

10) Finished High Sierra install, but only able to boot from my internal SSD disk pressing "alt" and selecting my "Orange Boot Disk"

I did the same things. I didn't find such a thing. Boot from internal disk is OK. The only different thing is format. I use below,

diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ "MacintoshHD" /dev/disk0

and then I use Diskutil App(not command line tool, High-sierra containing).

I'm not sure that I remember that Diskutil App(not command line tool, High-sierra containing) has not "APFS" menu to formt Disk at first format(non APFS). for APFS formatted disk APFS menu appears. Diskutil App(not command line tool, High-sierra containing) dose not recognize non-fromat disk. So you might use command line tool, as like me. I chose JHFS+, I think that High-Sierra installer will change the format from JHFS+ to APFS.

You can re-format using Diskutil App(not command line tool) after formatting using command line tool(diskutil). first format by command line tool(diskutil) should be JHFS+, avoiding some troubles.

I'm not sure that this different is the reason of boot trouble. But I don't surprise that some sequential routine (like EFI Boot-rom change) may happen at initial install of High-Sierra.

It would be great if you could refer to something.

 

[@t0mX]

Finally got my Sintech adapter and can only confirm it works flawlessly with KC1000 480GB on a 2015 13" MBPr. Just had to format it using diskutil to get it to show up in HS installer. For now sleep works fine, but that shouldn't be a surprise on 2015. R/W speeds are ~1400/1100.
Didn't use any tape just 2x1,8mm adhesive foam under the adapter.

Hello,

i'm getting 1500/1200 on a mid-2014 15" rMBP and I have 4x 2.0 pci-e lanes where you (should) have 4x 3.0 pci-e lanes... Can you check this in your system summary?

Gilles:

1. do you think this speed difference is due to KC1000 480gb vs PM961 1tb drive performance or something else?
2. can you upload an updated version of your SSD upgrade table with the modified speeds / errors reported ?

Thank you