Solid State Drives (SSDs) for Laptops, Desktop PCs, and Servers. Add speed to an old desktop PC or laptop by upgrading from a hard disk drive (HDD) to a Kingston SSD. Kingston's fast and reliable SATA and NVMe SSDs are also a great choice for new PC builds, servers, and system builders. If you are going to clone Mac hard drive to SSD, it is recommended to use Disk Utility. Simply open Disk Utility from the Spotlight (Command+Space) or on the Utility folder in your applications. You will be presented with a list of all the volumes including the internal hard drive and the external hard drive.
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.
Ssd External Hard Drive Mac
Step 2: Remove the hard drive
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.
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.
See, we told you it was easy!
Enjoy a faster, smoother MacBook Pro
- 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.
Ssd External Hard Drive Mac
Step 2: Remove the hard drive
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.
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.
See, we told you it was easy!
Enjoy a faster, smoother MacBook Pro
Best Mac Ssd Drives
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.
CleanMyMac X finds and removes junk files from your MacBook Pro to free up space and keep your system running to its full potential. Make it the first app you install on your new SSD!
These might also interest you:
Mac Pro Hdd Ssd Upgrade
While there are many reasons to be in love with your Mac computer, one of our favorite reasons by far is the life expectancy. From the to the chip-based storage to their titanium casing: Mac computers are made to last. No computer is perfect though, and it's a well-known solution to upgrade any computer that isn't working to par with its expected performance. We've explained before when to upgrade RAM memory in a Mac; now, we're here to cover some details needed in order to consider upgrading your Mac's hard drive.
If you think it's only to do with RAM (or working memory), you're missing out on a large component of your computer's behavior. Whilst memory is an extremely important part of your computer's potential to run multiple programs at once, your hard drive is in control of writing and storing permanent data.
HDD vs. SSD
In the most basic sense, a HDD, or Hard Disk Drive, is a spinning disk drive. This mechanism is an older version of the hard drive. The newer version of the hard drive is the SSD, or Solid-state drive. It is has a motionless mechanism using NAND flash based memory.
The HDD is the most common type of hard drive to be found in a Mac computer. Its many moving parts are also more prone to failure. It's built with a head attached to an arm that reads/writes onto a stack of spinning discs using magnetism. Its performance is measured in RPM, or the discs' rotations per minute. How fast your hard drive can spin determines how fast your hard drive can read and write data.
The SSD is the newer, faster hard drive. As mentioned earlier, SSDs save information using NAND flash memory. This kind of technology is also used in USB drives or 'flash' drives. Data is saved to directly to cells increasing the speed from HDD technology by 5x. Also, unlike with HDDs, memory stored on SSDs are non-volatile. This means that your information is stored even when your computer isn't running.
If your computer currently has a HDD, an upgrade to an SSD will do wonders for your device's performance. With a more direct process, SSDs are much faster. Apps will load within one or two bounces. Also, with less working parts, it is less likely to fail and your computer's battery life will be longer because of the lower power consumption.
Which one does your Mac have?
Most older Macs come originally with HDD. MacBook Pro Retinas, most MacBook Airs, and certain iMac computers come with an SSD. It's important to note that non-retina MacBook Pros have the traditional spinning drive. Also, the first generation of MacBook Airs came with either.
An alternative that Apple offers is something called a Fusion drive. They contain both a spinning drive and an SSD. With this combination, the OS and your documents get stored on the SSD. As you use your machine more often, it figures out to move files you never use, presumably less important items, to the spinning drive.
If you're still unsure about what drive your computer has, you can find out under 'System Information.' Search 'System Information' in your finder, and under 'Hardware,' 'Storage,' and 'Physical Drive Media Name,' it will state what type you have.
Ready to upgrade?
If you think you need to replace your hard drive to a newer SSD, you can bring your Mac into Mac Enthusiasts. We will look into your machine's capacity and replace it for you with the right hard drive for your Mac. If you have any more questions about this topic feel free to call us at (800)448-1892 or drop by our store at 10600 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064.
