Upgrade HD to SSD
Upgrade Mac Book Pro mid 2010 to an SSD. Any tips?
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Follow this IFIXIT guide: MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Mid 2010 Hard Drive Replacement. Make sure the SSD you get is able to run as SATA II (3.0 Gb/s). Many today are fixed SATA III (6.0 Gb/s) drives which won't work reliably.
You'll want the get a SATA to USB adapter so you can connect your new SSD externally to prep it up. You'll use Disk Utility to create a GUID partition map and you'll need to setup a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) partition.
Some of the other things you may want to do here is make sure your systems firmware is up to date. Follow this Apple T/N: About EFI and SMC firmware updates for Intel-based Mac computers. Make sure your firmware is at this level or newer.
Lastly, the SATA cables in the systems are fragile you may want to think about replacing it. Here is the IFIXIT guide if you encounter problems after you have swapped out the drive MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Mid 2010 Hard Drive/IR Sensor Cable Replacement. I would also use the newer version of the cable here: MacBook Pro 15" Unibody (Mid 2012) Hard Drive Cable
Product
MacBook Pro 15" Unibody (Mid 2012) Hard Drive Cable
$19.99
Guide
MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Mid 2010 Hard Drive Replacement
Difficulty:
Moderate
—
20 - 40 minutes
Guide
MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Mid 2010 Hard Drive/IR Sensor Cable Replacement
Difficulty:
Moderate
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This is really the definitive complete answer, especially the advise on the cable replacement.
@mayer - Thanks!
