One challenge I’ve discovered now that I’ve consolidated my computing to a laptop is data storage. Between photos, video production, and iTunes media, my data files measure in excess of 500GB. The MacBook Pro can accept a 12.5mm HDD in the standard drive bay; Currently the largest available storage volume is 1TB. After the OS, applications, and data files are all copied over, I’m almost at capacity with no room for expansion.
A solution I’ve found is the Data Doubler by Other World Computing. With their Data Doubler kit, you can install a second HDD or SSD in the space made available by uninstalling the SuperDrive in any MacBook Pro.
The SuperDrive bay uses an SATA interface and can accept a drive up to 9.5mm thick, so I purposefully ordered my Mac with the smaller 500GB drive (only 9.5mm) so that I could use it in the smaller bay and install a 1TB drive (12.5mm) in the standard drive bay. There are several ways you can RAID your storage volumes, but I decided to keep the drives separate and set up two volumes. This way I can distribute my workload across the two disks how I see fit.
The kit was pretty easy to install. It came with all the tools necessary and the printed instructions were high quality and very thorough. Once installed, the drive is very solid and secure.
With 1.5TB of storage space, I now have plenty of room to work with.