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With the ever increasing list of tasks that you can now perform on the average personal computer, upgrading your Mac from an HDD to an SSD is becoming increasingly common by the day. Of course, just because it has become a common practice doesn’t mean you also have to do it, but if you’ve already done your research and you are convinced that your computer will benefit from an upgrade, here’s how you can upgrade your Mac’s disk drive from an HDD to an SSD.
Confirm if Your Mac’s Model Allow Upgrades
Some Mac models were designed to allow upgrades from an HDD to an SDD or from a lower-end SSD to a higher-end one, but some Mac models were simply not. If your Mac model came with the default HDD or SSD soldered to the motherboard, replacing it will be very difficult, if not downright impossible, so make sure that you can upgrade your Mac’s HDD to an SSD before you head to the store.
Confirm Your Mac’s Compatibility With the SSD That You’re Buying
Most of the SSDs currently available in the market are compatible with most Mac models, but before you upgrade your Mac’s HDD to an SSD, take the time to compare their form factor first. The form factor is basically the size of the HDD or SSD and usually measures 2.5 inches for laptops. There are, however, SSDs that come in the newer MSATA and M.2 form factors which are only a fraction of the size of the standard 2.5 inch. If you don’t know the form factor of your Mac’s HDD, you may seek assistance from Apple’s customer support forum.
Pick Your Preferred SSD Size
SSDs come in different sizes ranging anywhere from 64 GB to 60 TB. What exact SSD size your computer needs will depend on how much information you are looking into storing in your computer, the kinds of tasks that you will be performing on it, and whether you intend to use your Mac’s HDD alongside your newly-purchased SSD or just use your SSD alone (some models allow the installation of both HDD and SSD on the computer at the same time; some models don’t), but, generally speaking, anywhere between 250 to 512 GB should be more than enough to handle your operating system and a couple of programs and applications.
Back Up Your Files
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As always, before you do anything with your hard drive, make sure you backup your files first so that you can always recover them in case something went wrong.
You can do this either by doing it through your Mac’s default backup program, the Time Machine, by storing your data in your iCloud,burning your files to a CD or DVD, or copying your files to an external storage device.
Make a Clone or an Image of Your HDD
Disk cloning and disk imaging are two ways to make copies of your files when upgrading from an HDD to an SSD. They mostly work the same way except that cloning your disk allows you to copy the contents of your hard drive to an external storage device then just swap one for the other when you’re done without doing any further step.
Imaging your disk, on the other hand, allows you to copy the contents of your hard drive to an external storage device, but to be able to access the files that you copied, you need to install them on your new drive with an imaging program first.
Except for that minor inconvenience, there’s not much difference between the two, so whether you should clone your drive or make an image of it is up to you.
Installing the SSD on Your Mac
When you’re done backing up your files, you may proceed with installing your SSD on your Mac. To do this,
- Flip your Mac and use a Phillips screw to remove the screws that hold the case together
- Lift off the case of your Mac and look for the hard drive.
- Unscrew the strip of black plastic case that holds the hard drive in place then lift it off from its slot.
- Disconnect your hard drive from the ribbon connecting it to your Mac, but be careful not to rip it.
- Look for the four metal screws that secure the hard drive to its enclosure.
- Remove the screws then set them aside for later use.
- Get your SSD then use the screws that you remove from your HDD’s enclosure earlier to secure your SSD to its own enclosure.
- Connect your SSD to the cable attached to the ribbon that you disconnected from your HDD before.
- Lay your SSD on the slot previously occupied by your HDD, making sure that the screws fit properly.
- Put the strip of black plastic case that you remove earlier to its designated slot.
- Get the back case of your Mac and screw it back on.
After installing the SSD on your Mac,
- Turn on your Mac.
- Hold the Command and R keys at the same time then wait until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
- Select Disk Utility in the Utilities window.
- Click Continue.
- Select your SSD and designate it as your startup disk.
- Look at the top of the Disk Utility window and click Erase.
- Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the options that will appear in the popup window.
- Click Erase.
- Select Quit Disk Utility from the Disk Utility drop-down menu when you’re done and you’re good to go.
The whole process (minus the backing up of existing files) shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes and should be fairly easily done on your own, but should you ever have any concerns while upgrading your Mac’s HDD to an SSD, don’t be afraid to seek assistance from Apple’s tech support forum.
Good luck!
Swapping out your old hard drive for a modern SSD is surprisingly affordable and results in 5X better performance: a reputable 500GB MacBook SSD can be had for around $150, while 1TB options are available for around $300 — both considerably cheaper than a new MacBook. It’s also surprisingly easy, even if you don’t know your way around the insides of a Mac.
Do I really need to upgrade my Mac hard drive?
Fitting a solid state drive in your MacBook Pro is a quick and simple way to boost performance but an upgrade might not always be needed.
If you only really use your Mac to browse the web and do some word processing, your current hard drive is probably fine. If your system feels a bit sluggish, try running CleanMyMac X first to clean away any resource-hogging junk. That might be the only fix you need (this way junk that is clogging up your system, such as old files, images, apps, duplicates and iPhone backups will be cleared away).
If, however, you’re noticing any of the following issues, an SSD upgrade will most certainly help:
- Slow startup
- Sluggish performance in resource-intensive apps such as Adobe Photoshop
- System crashes
- Permission denied errors to files that were previously fine
What to consider when choosing a MacBook Pro SSD
To reap the benefits of an SSD, you need a drive that’s up to the task. Here’s what to consider:
- Read/write speed — SSDs are rated on their reading and writing speed. The higher the speed, the better the performance. Something in the range of 500MB/s and above is good, although actual speed will be about a third less than what’s advertised.
- Memory — MLC (multi-level cell) and SLC (single-level cell) are the two options available. The former is cheaper and capable of holding more information but the latter is more reliable.
- Capacity — Get as much space as you can afford. The greater the capacity of an SSD, the more it will benefit Mac performance.
- Reliability — Read the reviews. See what the experts and other users say about SSD performance and reliability. You’ll typically find that brand name SSDs rank the highest. Samsung, SanDisk, Crucial, KingSpec, and Transcend are standout brands.
How to fit a new MacBook Pro SSD
Okay, let’s get down to business. SSD aside, here’s what you’ll need to fit your new hard drive:
- SATA-to-USB cable
- Small Phillips screwdriver
- Torx T6 screwdriver
Step 1: Format the SSD
To perform a MacBook Pro SSD upgrade you’re first going to need to clone your existing hard drive so that the new one runs like clockwork when it’s installed.
Before you do this, you should use CleanMyMac X to perform a Smart Cleanup. This will clear your system of any junk files so that they’re not transferred over unnecessarily. You can download CleanMyMac X for free, here.
Cloning the hard drive can be done with a tool such as SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cleaner, or with Apple’s own Disk Utility program. Here’s how to do it with the latter:
- Connect the SSD to your Mac using the SATA-to-USB cable.
- Go to Applications > Utilities and open the Disk Utility.
- Click on the SSD icon, followed by the Partition tab and select 'Partition 1' from the Partition Layout.
- Click on Options and select GUID Partition Table in the next window.
- Click on the First Aid tab, followed by Verify Disk Permissions.
- Click Verify Disk, followed by Repair Disk.
- Shutdown your MacBook and restart it, holding the Option key as you do. Choose the option to boot to Recovery Disk.
- Click on Reinstall Mac OS X and choose the SSD as the destination.
- Copy your files over from the installed hard drive to the SSD. When asked to restore files from another disk, choose the currently installed hard drive.
Step 2: Remove the hard drive
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Now it’s time to get hands-on.
- Make sure your MacBook is shut down.
- Locate and remove the 10 screws using the Phillips screwdriver. Put the screws in a small bowl so that you don’t lose any.
- Remove the cover and touch a metal part to release the static electricity.
- Locate the hard drive and remove the plastic bracket securing it. This is held in place with two screws.
- Gently remove the hard drive and disconnect the SATA ribbon. Do this by wiggling the connector. Don’t yank on the ribbon.
- Remove the four Torx screws attached to the hard drive and screw the posts into the SSD.
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Step 3: Fit the SSD
- Carefully attach the SATA ribbon to the SSD and lower it in place.
- Fix the holding bracket back in place.
- Replace the MacBook cover and screw in the ten tiny screws.
- Switch on your MacBook Pro, go to System Preferences > Startup Disk and make sure the SSD is selected.
- Restart your computer.
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Enjoy a faster, smoother MacBook Pro
A new SSD drive for your Mac will make an instant impact. Apps will launch faster, files will save quicker, and multitasking will be a much smoother experience. Use CleanMyMac X to regularly remove junk files from your system and you’ll enjoy slick performance for many a year to come.
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CleanMyMac X finds and removes junk files from your MacBook Pro to free up space and keep your system running to its full potential. How to create a template for cards in word mac. Make it the first app you install on your new SSD!