Replace the MacBook cover and screw in the ten tiny screws.Carefully attach the SATA ribbon to the SSD and lower it in place.Remove the four Torx screws attached to the hard drive and screw the posts into the SSD.Gently remove the hard drive and disconnect the SATA ribbon.Locate the hard drive and remove the plastic bracket securing it.Remove the cover and touch a metal part to release the static electricity.Put the screws in a small bowl so that you don’t lose any.
Locate and remove the 10 screws using the Phillips screwdriver.When asked to restore files from another disk, choose the currently installed hard drive. Copy your files over from the installed hard drive to the SSD.Click on Reinstall macOS and choose the SSD as the destination.Choose the option to boot to Recovery Disk. Shut your MacBook down and restart it, holding the Option key as you do.Click Verify Disk, followed by Repair Disk.Click on the First Aid tab, followed by Verify Disk Permissions.Click on Options and select GUID Partition Table in the next window.Click on the SSD icon, followed by the Partition tab and select "Partition 1" from the Partition Layout.
You can download CleanMyMac X for free here.Ĭloning the hard drive can be done with a tool like SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cleaner or with Apple’s own Disk Utility program. This will clear your system of any junk files so that they’re not transferred over unnecessarily. 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.īefore you do this, you should use CleanMyMac X to perform a Smart Cleanup. SSD aside, here’s what you’ll need to fit your new hard drive: Samsung, SanDisk, Crucial, KingSpec, and Transcend are standout brands. You’ll typically find that brand name SSDs rank the highest. See what experts and other users say about SSD performance and reliability. The greater the capacity of an SSD, the more it will benefit Mac’s performance. The former is cheaper and capable of holding more information, but the latter is more reliable.Ĭapacity - Get as much space as you can afford. Memory - MLC (multi-level cell) and SLC (single-level cell) are the two options available. Something in the range of 500MB/s and above is good, although the actual speed will be about a third less than what’s advertised. The higher the speed, the better the performance. Read/write speed - SSDs are rated on their reading and writing speed. To reap the benefits of an SSD, you need a drive that’s up to the task.
What to consider when choosing a MacBook Pro SSD That’s why you’ll have to choose the proper amount of storage when buying a Mac. In newer models, it is soldered onto the motherboard, so it cannot be replaced.
Permission denied errors to files that were previously fineįollowing the steps we provide below, you can upgrade SSD in older Macs only.Sluggish performance in resource-intensive apps such as Adobe Photoshop.If, however, you’re noticing any of the following issues, an SSD upgrade will most certainly help: 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 your system feels a bit sluggish, try running CleanMyMac X first to clean away any resource-hogging junk. If you only really use your Mac to browse the web and do some word processing, your current hard drive is probably fine. Do I really need to upgrade my Mac hard drive?įitting 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. It’s also surprisingly easy, even if you don’t know your way around the insides of a Mac. 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. But to help you do it all by yourself, we’ve gathered our best ideas and solutions below. So here's a tip for you: Download CleanMyMac to quickly solve some of the issues mentioned in this article.