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    Optibay and 12.5mm height drives?

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by doh123, Sep 24, 2009.

  1. doh123

    doh123 Without ME its just AWESO

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    has anyone used the Optibay on 12.5 mm height drives?

    i was hoping to put one in my MBP to add 750gb rather than the normal 500GB on standard 9.5mm height drives. I don't want to order the hard drive if it wont fit though, and I cant seem to find any info about anyone who has tried this, or the exact space thats available in there when you use an Optibay.
     
    doh123, Sep 24, 2009
    #1
  2. crazycanuk

    crazycanuk Notebook Virtuoso

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    Wont fit in the 13" and 15" units I never tried on the 17 but doubt it, 2 mm too tall for me
     
    crazycanuk, Sep 24, 2009
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  3. D3X

    D3X the robo know it all

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    Impossible. Height must be exactly less than the 9.5mm provided, unless your willing to run your mac without the metal backing. There are button sensors on the logic board, and if any of these sensors are not completely enabled/triggered the computer will NOT boot. I had issues with my 2nd HDD mod on my MBP, I had to trip the sensors with aluminum duct tape(permanently) just to get it to boot up properly.

    I'd say, just wait for those 640GB (2x320gb platters) that are around the corner, that's your closest bet, or settle with a 500GB drive.
     
    D3X, Sep 24, 2009
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  4. doh123

    doh123 Without ME its just AWESO

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    Thanks for the info.. going to stick with 500gbs, which is enough. The 12.5mm drives are supposed to barely fit in a Macbook Pro Unibody, so I was thinking with the extra space eaten up by the Optibay, it probably wouldn't fit, but just wanted to see if anyone else got them to work...

    MCE is selling the empty Optibays with a "free" external USB inclosure for the super drive, so sounded like a good deal to me. Your really paying for them both since its so expensive. I use an optical disc maybe once every 2 or 3 months... I'd much rather have an extra hard drive in there since I'm always running out of space.
     
    doh123, Sep 24, 2009
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  5. mikebore

    mikebore Notebook Enthusiast

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    Post deleted incorrect info
     
    mikebore, Dec 20, 2009
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  6. whiskers3000

    whiskers3000 Newbie

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    I used a fenvi optibay clone with a PATA connector on the back and a SATA connector for the HDD in my 15" late 2006 Merom Macbook Pro. I have been reading everywhere that 12.5mm drives would not fit into the MBP with an optibay caddy. I tried nevertheless because I really wanted 1TB in my notebook. Even though the HDD will exceed the optibay caddy, the topcase closes without any effort.

    So here I am writing from my non-unibody MBP, with an Intel X25-M 80 GB SSD in the regular HDD bay as the system drive and a 1TB WD10TPVT in the optibay as a data drive.

    later non-unibody MBPs might need a different caddy (with SATA connector on back)

    Bottom line: 12.5mm HDD fit into non-unibody 15" MBPs (late 2006 Merom definitely, Penryn probably) in the optical bay with an adapter caddy
     
    whiskers3000, Mar 18, 2010
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  7. crazycanuk

    crazycanuk Notebook Virtuoso

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    yes they will work in a few of the older machines the current lineup is a no go.
     
    crazycanuk, Mar 19, 2010
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