Which (and How) to Install SSD in MBP 2010 15"

LKanJuice on 27/12/2016 - 19:13

Hi,

I have a MBP 2010 15" model. The HDD is 1 TB and it has a dvd drive. The boot up time is 30secs and accessing my repository of 500GB of photos takes forever.

Could the experience ppl advise if installing a SSD of 1TB would improve boot up time and fix my slow browsing of the photos?

Which SSD do you suggest I purchase?

Should I install the SSD alongside the current HDD by removing the DVD drive or should I replace the existing HDD?

If the SSD is setup along with the HDD, can I migrate all my files and OS onto the SSD in a simple manner or is that a lengthy process?

Any other advise you would like to provide.

Thanks !

Computing

Comments

  • o53djz7qTPY4der on 27/12/2016 - 19:36

    I installed two SSDs in my macbook 120gb*2 - I removed the dvd drive. It was easy to do - I followed guides here https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbookpro_15_unibo…

    • KanJuice on 28/12/2016 - 09:16

      Thanks Xiongmao.

  • yk300 on 27/12/2016 - 20:53

    An SSD would definitely help boot up time and browsing of photos. From my own personal experience with big photo library, there is always some background process chewing up some resource.
    As for file migration, just could simply use Time Machine to deploy a backup onto the new SSD.

    I suggest you taking a look at iFixit.

    • KanJuice on 28/12/2016 - 09:17

      Can you explain more on the 'background process' - is there a way to fix it/stop it so that i can get a better performance from my existing HDD?

  • the-mal on 27/12/2016 - 22:03
    +1

    installing a SSD of 1TB

    Crikey you don't need a 1TB SSD. You only want to boot the OS from it and maybe your most disk drive heavy applications. A 128gb SSD would be plenty alongside your 1TB HDD.

    As others have mentioned there are detailed instructions online which will show you how to remove the DVD drive and replace it with 1 or 2 SSDs. It's super easy on the earlier MBP models before Apple decided to glue everything shut.

    • KanJuice on 28/12/2016 - 09:18

      I have a lot of photos, about 300GB and growing. From what i've read the 128GB SSD won't do the job as Photos will still need to access the files on my HDD. So far the prices for SSD seem reasonable upto 256GB, beyond that its a bit high for me.

  • aoeueoa on 27/12/2016 - 23:07

    I've done this on a 2012. It needed a bracket to replace the CD drive. The cheap one I got from eBay that was advertised as the correct model was a very poor fit and the screws didn't line up correctly, and even some holes were missing altogether. Just be mindful you may get something similar if getting cheap one from ebay.

    • KanJuice on 28/12/2016 - 09:18

      Ok. I'll avoid buying from ebay for this.

  • holdenmg on 28/12/2016 - 03:52

    Tip:

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    • KanJuice on 28/12/2016 - 09:20

      Thanks holdenmg. I was watching the videos on OWC. I'll need to get the tools to open up the laptop.

      Do you suggest I get this done from a shop instead of purchasing tools, SSD and then spending time on opening and installing - I might mess up. Is there a reasonable priced service for this in Sydney CBD area (+10 kms)?

      • holdenmg on 28/12/2016 - 10:57

        Hi,

        You could try microseconds.com.au/service.html at Ultimo or macmedic.com.au at Mosman.

        • KanJuice on 29/12/2016 - 10:15
          +1

          Thanks

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