SSD not detected by laptop. Is compatibility an issue?

[FearoftheNight]

Hey guys I just bought a Samsung 830 SSD for my 2007 Macbook Pro. For some reason when I boot up I am unable to detect the drive and install the OS on it. Weirdly enough, if I pop my original drive in I am able to load up the OS and then detect the SSD as an external drive using disk utility... Can anyone tell me what's going on?

 

[MichaelD]

Don't know much about Macs, but hardware is hardware so I'll give it a shot. Sounds like the BIOS isn't seeing the drive. Install the drive (as boot drive), boot up and go into the BIOS. There should be an option to detect attached drives/devices. There also might be an option for "Reset EECD Data" or words to that effect. That setting forces the bios to forget all devices attached to it and redetect everything.

Being that the OS sees the drive, you new drive isn't dead. Really sounds like a bios issue.

 

[FearoftheNight]

Hi. Hmm normally I would look a the BIOS too. However, Macs use EFI not BIOS and I'm not sure if there are settings I can play with there to see if I can pick up the drive.

 

[mfenn]

Macs don't really have a BIOS or BIOS-like menu with options that you can change. If you're sure that you had it plugged in properly (eliminate the obvious!), you could try resetting the PRAM and SMC. Apple has a knowledgebase article detailing that procedure for each type of Mac.

 

[FearoftheNight]

Can a mod move this to Apple section please?

 

[MichaelD]

Macs don't really have a BIOS or BIOS-like menu with options that you can change. If you're sure that you had it plugged in properly (eliminate the obvious!), you could try resetting the PRAM and SMC. Apple has a knowledgebase article detailing that procedure for each type of Mac.

I didn't know this; thanks for posting it. I'm going to read the articles you refer to since a relative just bought a used Macbook Pro and I'm the family Tech Support. I'm sure I'll wind up using the info.

Good luck, OP. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[FearoftheNight]

Sure thing. Just RMA'ed the unit and hopefully the replacement will fare better.

 

[FearoftheNight]

Update: Got myself a nice crucial m4 from amazon. Very happy after install

 

[mfenn]

Update: Got myself a nice crucial m4 from amazon. Very happy after install

Glad you like it! It's kind of strange that the M4 worked when the 830 didn't because Apple uses the 830's controller in their official SSDs. I guess an '07 Macbook probably didn't have an SSD option in the first place though.

 

[FearoftheNight]

Well it's a really odd scenario. I browsed through the Samsung 830 thread on macrumors and there were several reports of success with the 07 and 08 MBPs. Maybe I was unlucky and got a funky one. In any case, it looks like my 07 MBP is on duty for another 2 years or so .