Chosen Solution
I replaced the 250 GB HDD with a new Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD. I then tried to reinstall macOS High Sierra with macRecovery, but the SSD was not detected. is the SSD broken or what? Update (12/01/2017) Hi Dan sorry for my stupid question but I am a beginner at computer stuff. the macbook I want to upgrade with the SSD has installed a OS high sierra (and yes, just 2 gb ram for the moment). I tried to download the os sierra installer but I couldn’t (nothing happens). where was I wrong? Update (12/21/2017) here is an update, successfully replaced hdd with ssd and thanks to apple support on the phone, reinstalled from CD snow leopard. now step by step will upgrade to el capitan and then sierra. in the meantime creating a bootable usb pen (just in case). by the way, is ok a 8gb usb pen for creating a bootable one for el capitan? Update (12/22/2017) Panic! I updated to El Capitan but now at the log in, the system does not go on and go to the log in page again. helped by apple support I tried several options but unfortunately with the same result. Even reinstalling OS X through the internet, did not solve the problem. good news (hope) is that I was able to create a bootable usb pen. what if I use the bootable usb pen to reinstall el capitan? could that help? how should I do it? thanks in advance Update (01/02/2018) Luckily I solved the problem. I formatted the SSD and installed El Capitan again. Now everything is fixed and works perfectly. Many thanks for the support. Stefano
First I would strongly recommend you upgrade your systems RAM to 8 GB if you haven’t already if you plan to run Sierra or High Sierra. Presently Apple has an issue within High Sierra running SSD in SATA based systems. I would recommend you stick with Sierra for now until APFS get updated in High Sierra. Keep in mind the OS installer will automatically upgrade your SSD to APFS you can’t undo it without scratching the drive back down. Here’s how to create an OS installer: How to create a bootable macOS Sierra installer drive.
i will assume you were trying a new installation, what OS? for instance in my macbook pro early 2011, high sierra didn’t see my plain SATA drive.so i use Mountain Lion USB boot flash drive and under disk utility i was able to format the drive. I then use a bootable USB with High SIerra and selected the already formatted drive and had no problems. An SSD is not much different as a “drive” to a computer.
