Solid-State Drives (SSD)

[otezel]

Part Number: CRTCT256M225

Description of the Problem:

I just bought these two new 256G SSD to put my 13" MBP(mid-2009) specifically, however after lots of fiddling I still can't get the MBP to see the drive in the disk utility from the install DVD. I've tried formatting the drive so many ways (usb enclsoure with disk Utility) which works fine but the mac doesn't see it still, even I have installed the MAC OS X while the drive hooked up via USB and then put back to the MBP SATA II connector didn't help. Still the MBP didn't recognize the drive and not boot when hooked up the SATA II inside the MBP>

Would really appreciate if you can advise how to fix the issue ? \\Here is the config of my MBP 13"

PS: I have tried disabling motion sensor etc - but nothing seems to working !

Hardware Overview:

 Model Name:    MacBook Pro
 Model Identifier:    MacBookPro5,5
 Processor Name:    Intel Core 2 Duo
 Processor Speed:    2.53 GHz
 Number Of Processors:    1
 Total Number Of Cores:    2
 L2 Cache:    3 MB
 Memory:    4 GB
 Bus Speed:    1.07 GHz
 Boot ROM Version:    MBP55.00AC.B03
 SMC Version (system):    1.47f2
 Sudden Motion Sensor:
 State:    Enabled

[lordgllynn]

Are you running these two as RAID 0/1?! If you are, you may need to run a RAID tool to configure the motherboard to see the drives as one. If you are running these as individual drives, what does your BIOS look like when you open the HDD configuration? Does it show both drives?!

[otezel]

nope this is just an individual drive to replace the Toshiba HDD shipped with the MBP 13". 

Intel-based Macs don't use BIOS, but its successor EFIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensible_Firmware_Interface

To my knowledge, there is no way for a Mac user to boot into the EFI, only certified Apple technicians do seem to have a tool which allows them.

[lordgllynn]

Man, Apple really hits you where it hurts. I love proprietary problems. Have you looked at Apple's forums to see if there are any tutorials for the EFI?! Next, did you buy the drive from Crucial?! Crucial guarantees compatibility and would exchange out if the drive wasn't plug and play for a Mac. Are you going to be using a ghosting utility to copy your OS from the old drive to this one?! If so, which one?! You may just need an update to get the drive recognized. Have you checked Apple's website for EFI updates?!

[jonHemmingsen]

Got the exact same items - 13" Macbook Pro and 256Gb. M225 and no luck. Just recieved my first drive today and it was dead on arrival. No response installed in the Mac and no response in external clossure neither on windows nor on Mac. I will return it ASAP and hope Crucial up their QA procedures!  Sad if I get a new one and it still does not work due to incompatibilities...

[lordgllynn]

My first SSD install had the same issue. Turned out that the BIOS wasn't recognizing it as a HDD. It was seeing it as external storage. It was just a matter of updating the BIOS and then setting it as a HDD. I'm certain this works on Window's based systems, but Mac appears to need a lot more love from Apple to get the updates in place. Check in the Mac forums to see if the EFI updates are available and what steps need to be taken to correct the install issue.

[otezel]

I took the MBP 13" to the Apple service center and they claim that is an issue with SSD drive, even though everything works fine when you hooked up via USB enclosure

Crucial team - have you guys tested the new SSD drives with the MBP 13" (mid09) ? if so could you shed some light on what would be the potential hiccup ?

[Crucial_Katana]

Yes, we have, and they actually worked just fine in our test. They did require a few extra steps to make that happen though. Here are the steps that we took in our test lab to make the drive work:

1.    Once the SSD has been installed, ensure that the ribbon cable and the SATA interface cables are attached properly.
2.    Install OSX Disc 1.
3.    Select Utilities
4.    Select Disk Utilities.
5.    Select Volume Scheme.
6.    Select partition 1, give it a suitable name.
7.    Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
8.    Select Partition
9.    Close Disk Utility
10.    Select a Destination to load the OS and continue with the install.

If you've gone through these steps and it's still not working, let us know, and we can replace the SSD for you.

[suntigen]

when you format the drive as described...  don't forget to click "options" and be sure you have the GUID Partition table selected.  This is required for Intel-based Macs.

[Crucial_Katana]

suntigen, thank you for adding that bit of information. I seem to have forgotten to put that in my list.... apologies to everyone.

Apple has a knowledgebase article on this that might be helpful as well. Here you go: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1600