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Mid 2012 model, A1278 / 2.5 GHz i5 or 2.9 GHz i7 processor.

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Second HDD not getting detected in MacBook Pro Mid 2012

Hi Folks!

Hope everyone are keeping and staying safe with family.

So, I tried to add a second HDD to my macbook pro in the slot as shown in the image below which is empty (Highlighted in RED border)

Block Image

Also to note, the one highlighted in GREEN border is the current SATA drive that I use in MB Pro (500 GB SATA HDD from Toshiba).

I thought to use the second empty slot (red highlighted space) to add another HDD (second HDD) so that I could get extra space and I installed the same as shown below (Highlighted in RED Border):

Seagate 500 GB 7200 RPM Firmware 0004SDM1

Block Image

Once connecting this, I turned ON my macbook but all I could see is that the MB is turning ON as it used to do previously and in Disk Utility or in the System Information all I can see is only the original SATA disk and no information on the HDD that I added recently as secondary storage unit.

NOTE: I used the new HDD by pulling it from my old DELL Laptop which is running windows 10, I did not format anything nor did any sort of clean up. Just like that I pulled from DELL and installed into the empty slot of MB Pro. I also tried to access disk utility from the Macbook recovery options but still only the original disk is showing.

Is there anything that I need to do for making the MB to detect this? OR Is there any problem with the cable?

What should I do to make the MB to detect my secondary HDD?

Since I am planning to buy an SSD I thought to check if the secondary slot works. Now I am skeptical to buy one as I am not sure as to where the issue is.

Hope you guys can support me.

Thanks a lot for going through this entire message :)

Stay Safe.

Отвечено! Посмотреть ответ У меня та же проблема

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Let’s review which ports you are using here. The drive your system currently has is being held in the optical drive bay and the 2nd drive you are attempting to install is being mounted in the original HD bay.

So why would the optical drive bay be used instead of the original HD bay? Someone clearly had an issue with the HD bay. So instead of fixing the issue it had they got (had) an optical drive adapter to house the drive in the optical bay.

So we need to first figure out what the problem is with the original HD bay before we can address the drive its self.

I’m suspecting the HD SATA cable was giving them a hard time. It was known to be unreliable! Here’s a bit of back ground Your Hard Drive Cable Is A Ticking Time Bomb. So the first thing is getting a new cable here’s the needed part MacBook Pro 13" Unibody (Mid 2012) Hard Drive Cable and you do want to place a stripe of electricians tape on the upper case where the cable crosses over to help protect it from the rough surface as the article explains. Here’s the guide you’ll need to follow MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2012 Hard Drive Cable Replacement

But, there is a second issue here! The mishandling of the cable can damage it as well. Sharp bends damage the thin foil wires within it so you don’t want to crease the cable where the cable needs to bend around a corner point instead you want to use an old BIC pen ink straw to use as a bending brake to form a nice even arc not to exceed the straws radius and don’t bend the cable at the drive connector either.

OK so we now have what we need to fix the cable issue, now lets get the drive setup. First the optical drive bay is not the best place for a HDD as unlike the HD bay it doesn’t offer crash guard protection which is when you bang your system causing the drives heads to bang into the platters. Think how an old phonograph player would skip when you banged the table it was on. This is what can lead to a damaged drive. Instead I would put a SSD into the optical bay and put the original HD back into the HD bay as it has the protection logic.

Now which drive should have the OS and apps? The fastest drive is what I would use, so if you put in a SSD then that’s the drive I would use you’ll see a HUGE improvement in performance! Otherwise, look at the spec sheets for your HDD’s which one has the higher RPM (7200) this will access data faster than the slower RPM drive (5400) sadly, not by much as the SSD though What’s the difference between 5400 & 7200 RPM Hard Drives

If you do move the boot drive to the other bay you’ll need to alter the boot disk setting in the preferences. and you’ll need to boot up using the special startup key Option (⌥) to get to the Startup Manager to select the boot drive for the first time until you alter the preference setting.

Reference: Mac startup key combinations

Don’t forget! A dual HDD setup is more sensitive! So make sure you you use a sturdy table and shut the system down fully when you move about. As you want to make sure the 2nd drives heads are fully parked before moving

Update (10/23/2020)

Here's what I would do:

Phase-1

1 - Replace the HD SATA cable

2 - Remove the HDD out of the optical drive frame

3 - Place the HDD into the HD bay

4 - Using Option key as I outlined above select the HDD to boot your system

5 - Go into the System Preferences set the HDD as the boot drive.

You should now be working like before!

Phase-2

1 - Install SSD into Optical drive carrier

2 - Using Disk Utility format the SSD drive using GUID with Journaled File System (HFS+)

3 - Download a fresh copy of the OS installer

Here’s a bit more on why you need a new installer If you've got an old macOS install image, it will probably stop working today. I would install Sierra as the best OS for your system. While your system can run newer versions there has been issues with them on older SATA based systems as the require using a newer file system which has troubles on SATA drives.

Here’s a link to the needed OS installer: How to upgrade to macOS Sierra jump down to Step 4, click on the blue URL link ‘Download macOS Sierra’ then double click on it to decompress the file and then double click on it again to run it! Install the OS onto your SSD.

Follow the directions to completion, When your system restarts it should be running on the SSD (first listed on the desktop).

Phase-3

1 - Copy anything you want off your HDD onto your SSD. This is your only chance to get anything!

2 - Use Disk Utility to reformat your HDD like we did before using GUID with Journaled File System (HFS+)

Enjoy the new performance!

MacBook Pro 13" Unibody (Mid 2012) Hard Drive Cable Изображение

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MacBook Pro 13" Unibody (Mid 2012) Hard Drive Cable

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Thanks for your detailed comment. I am planning to replace the existing optical bay hdd with Caddy cased SSD 500gb.

If so, should I have to do any set up of ssd before installing? I saw some articles which talks about using a SATA to USB. But I dont want any back up from my SATA and I can use the ssd afresh. if so can i run the MB directly in recovery mode and install Mac OS online?

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