Trouble Mounting/Cloning an SSD Drive

Hey all,

I recently purchased a Samsung 850 EVO SSD drive (500 gb) to replace the spinning drive in my 2009 Macbook Pro. The first step for me is to clone the contents of my spinning drive to my new SSD before I open up the computer and replace it, but I'm running into a problem when I try to connect the SSD. I am connecting the SSD to my computer using a USB to SATA cable. After the drive mounts to my desktop it will usually dismount itself after 60 seconds or less, making it impossible to complete any kind of sizable file transfer.

Have any of you encountered this problem before? I've done some searching online with no definitive answers, though it's being suggested that USB to SATA cables are unreliable and possibly to blame. I've tried two different cables.

no, just connect it to sata like a regular new drive, it wont interfere or anything, the samsung cloning utilities do a good job, just clone it and then change the boot drive in bios or however it's called in mac. that's it. don't mess with that usb biz.

First thing I would check is the USB 2.0/3.0 compatibility. Make sure everything works together properly. I've had issues with soundcard compatibility and USB 2.0 on a 3.0 jack.

I just recently did this - 2011 MacBook Pro, same 500 GB Samsung SSD.

If you use Time Machine, you can restore from backup to the new drive.

Put the new drive in, hold R until the startup tone ends, and the recovery screen will come up. Use Disk Utility to format the drive, then choose your Time Machine backup, and then wait for it to restore onto the drive.

I'd Google "restore to new drive from Time Machine backup" for detailed instructions, but it's pretty simple.

Are you powering the SSD through the USB port or through a DC power adapter? It's possible your USB port cannot supply enough current to keep the unit online.

Some USB/SATA adapters draw power from one USB port, some have a second USB cable for extra current, while others have an external power source.

Garbage USB-powered adapter:

Good USB-powered adapter:

Best adapter with external power: