Salvaging data from a 2014 MBPr

[Pupi]

Hi.

Had a 2014 MBPr for a couple of weeks, sensational computer. Unfortunately it suffered an accident (liquid damage) and the repair cost was not worth it anymore. I don't live in a country with major Apple presence, but the Apple authorized service provider told me the SSD (256GB) is "supposed to be fine".

Anyway I got some money from insurance and I will be looking into 2014 and 2015 models to replace it. My plan is to buy a 128GB, which are more common and cheaper, and upgrade it with my own SSD. Compatibility with the 2015 model aside - I've read enough to believe it is compatible, but please tell me if I'm wrong - I would like first to extract the SSD, its data, and test it first as well, so that my plan doesn't go wrong. Let's say I'm stuck with a 128GB Mac and my 256GB SSD actually doesn't work anymore.

What are my options here? Putting it into a (borrowed) functional and compatible Mac is one, but I don't know anyone that could do me that solid. Another option is this OWC USB enclosure but at $100 it's a very steep price for a tool I need to use once or twice, and will not require its enclosing features, just the interface itself. Of course there's always the option of reselling it later.

So my question for the Mac experts is, is there a simpler (and cheaper) tool that I can use to interface with my SSD to USB for example? Or some other solution that I'm not thinking of?

Thank you in advance.

 

[JTToft]

I do believe that OWC enclosure is the only thing that exists. They are also the only third party manufacturer of compatible SSDs for newer MacBook Pros.

After you're done, you could use the enclosure with the 128 GB drive to have a fast external SSD.

 

[Pupi]

I do believe that OWC enclosure is the only thing that exists. They are also the only third party manufacturer of compatible SSDs for newer MacBook Pros.

After you're done, you could use the enclosure with the 128 GB drive to have a fast external SSD.

Alright then, fair enough. I might not have use for a fast external though (except maybe for a Windows partition? Hmmm), but in any case I have my options after, including resell it of course. Gonna look into buying it.

Thank you!

 

[JTToft]

Alright then, fair enough. I might not have use for a fast external though (except maybe for a Windows partition? Hmmm), but in any case I have my options after, including resell it of course. Gonna look into buying it.

Thank you!

- You're welcome. Where are you located?

 

[NathanA]

There actually are other USB options, but they are all equally as expensive...Sintech makes a USB enclosure for 2013-2105 MacBook PCIe SSDs, but it is $99. There are also M.2 PCIe SSD to USB enclosures, but they too are in the USD$80-100 range, plus you would need an adapter that goes from proprietary Apple PCIe SSD to M.2 "M-key", and that will cost you about $20.

The challenge seems to be the translation circuitry that goes from PCIe to USB. SATA has been with us a long time, and SATA-to-USB chipsets are easy and cheap to come by, so those enclosures are not as expensive to make.

If you have a desktop PC, though, or perhaps even a Mac Pro "cheesegrater" model, there is another option for about USD$20: an Apple PCIe SSD to PCIe slot adapter. I bet you could also get this to work just fine connected to a MacBook Pro via Thunderbolt, via a PCIe to Thunderbolt enclosure, but I have yet to find a cheap one of those.

-- Nathan

 

[Pupi]

- You're welcome. Where are you located?

Finland, cheers!

There actually are other USB options, but they are all equally as expensive...Sintech makes a USB enclosure for 2013-2105 MacBook PCIe SSDs, but it is $99. There are also M.2 PCIe SSD to USB enclosures, but they too are in the USD$80-100 range, plus you would need an adapter that goes from proprietary Apple PCIe SSD to M.2 "M-key", and that will cost you about $20.

The challenge seems to be the translation circuitry that goes from PCIe to USB. SATA has been with us a long time, and SATA-to-USB chipsets are easy and cheap to come by, so those enclosures are not as expensive to make.

If you have a desktop PC, though, or perhaps even a Mac Pro "cheesegrater" model, there is another option for about USD$20: an Apple PCIe SSD to PCIe slot adapter. I bet you could also get this to work just fine connected to a MacBook Pro via Thunderbolt, via a PCIe to Thunderbolt enclosure, but I have yet to find a cheap one of those.

-- Nathan

I see, thanks.

Well I actually decided to just take the risk and get a 2015 MBPr 128GB, to where I will simply transplant my 2014 256GB SSD (I do know it's a tad slower). In the event that it doesn't work, I will cope with being "stuck" with 128GB for the time being, juggle with external storage, but at least I have the peace of mind of knowing it is possible to upgrade my storage, eventually - a very last bastion of upgradeability I will enjoy with Mac computing, probably for the very last time.

 

[Promackid]

The 256GB SSD from the 2014 rMBP will work fine in the 2015 rMBP.