Mid-2009 MacBook Pro not booting from SSD internally
I recently upgraded my MB pro with an SSD to replace the old HDD. Everything worked fine, so I decided to replace the optical drive with a larger SSD for storage purposes. I started having problems with no drive being recognized at start up and just getting the folder with a question mark on it. Booting and holding Opt-i didn’t bring up any of the drives. I removed both drives and I’m able to boot the computer if they are connected as external drives using the Opt-i function on boot. I’m thinking that maybe the cable that connects the drive to the board is bad, but also concerned that neither SSD is being recognized when both are connected internally and the Opt-i on boot is used. Any thoughts are welcomed!
Is this a good question?
4 Comments
What is your exact system? Plug in your systems S/N here EveryMac - Lookup. Post the full systems details here please.
What is the exact make and model of the SSD you are trying to use in the optical bay.
by Dan
Review your SSD's SATA speeds. Your system on has a SATA II (3.0 Gb/s) I/O so make sure the drives you are using are able to run at SATA II. Many drives today only run at SATA III (6.0 Gb/s) and will have problems running in an older system. There are a few drives that auto sense the systems I/O speed and match it. As an example: Samsung 860 EVO Note the interface line states it. Make sure your drives also state it on there spec sheets.
by Dan
@danj I purchased the compatible upgrade kit from ifixit but the SSD is 6.0 Gb/s now that I dig into it. Will the issue be fixed by replacing the cable with the one @mayer suggests which is capable of 6.0 Gb/s throughput? Or should I finda 3.0 Gb/s SSD?
by Shawn Moore
You’ll need to return the drive, the cable likely is OK OWC also offers SATA II drives
by Dan