SSD in a macbook pro?

taylorswift

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Oct 10, 2012
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I have a 13inch Macbook Pro and was wondering if I could install a spare Samsung 256gb SSD that i have. Are they compatible? Can I install it? Do I have to send it out somewhere to have it installed?

Really need help with this if possible <3

- Brittany
 

Amartya

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Nov 5, 2012
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If you are a newbie at this then dont try besides Apple products tend to be finnicky so you better take the help of someone who has experience with Macs s i am not so aware of these modern Macbooks.
However for any other laptop which supports an SSD this is possible and easily do able
 

robertjowen2

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Feb 3, 2013
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you can put the ssd in yourself, it's compatible. before starting be sure you have the correct os install disc and the correct hdd to ssd mounting hardware. you'll need to be sure you have, and can use, the right ssd adapter hardware for your specific mb pro. good luck!
 

schwinn89

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Jan 26, 2013
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I'm not sure which year MBP you have but I just recently did this exact same upgrade to my mid 2010 MBP 13in. The overall process is actually rather simple. It is easiest to use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone your existing hard drive to the new SSD. You can actually download the trial version for 30 days and it is a full version during that time period.

First thing you want to do is to get all the correct tools and parts that you will need:

1. Whatever SSD that you decide on. The main thing is that it is a 2.5" SSD. I purchased a 512GB Crucial M4 off of Amazon myself (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W2JL3Y/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00) - $389.99

2. An external hard drive enclosure. This will actually hold the SSD which will plug into the USB port on your Mac. The Mac then reads the SSD as an external hard drive. Again purchased off of Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JQNXZC/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00) - $7.99

3. T6 torx(?) wrench off of Amazon. This allows you to remove the 4 screws in the side of your current hard drive and put them into the new SSD (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E7ZLHQ/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i01) - $9.13

Once you receive everything you will need to download the trial version of Carbon Copy Cloner. Next put your new SSD into the external hard drive enclosure and plug it into your usb port with the provided cable. Once your computer reads the drive you need to go into Disk Utility and format your SSD the same way as your current HD. I believe that it is Mac OS Journaled, but you may want to double check that part.

After the hard drive has been properly formatted just run through the setup in Carbon Copy Cloner (there are many step-by-step guides out there). Once this is done you want to shut down your computer and restart while holding the Option key. This will allow you to choose which hard drive you want to boot from. Choose the SSD and just ensure that everything is just as you have it on your HD. If it is then just shut the computer down and replace your current HD with the SSD.

Lastly, Apple does not by default turn on the Trim feature for your aftermarket SSD, only their own, from the factory, SSD's. You can either turn this on through Terminal or through this nifty little program called Trim Enabler (http://www.groths.org/?p=308). It is a simple "ON" or "OFF" switch. After turning it on you may need to restart your computer before it will take effect. Also note that anytime you update your computer you will need to re-enable this Trim feature.

I hope that this helps you. It will definitely be an upgrade that you will only wish you had done sooner! Thanks!