using a 512GB Micro SD card as a removable flash drive on my A1278 MacBook Pro

[ELEKTR0N]

Hi-There. I have an A1278 (13.3" Core-i5 MacBook Pro w/ 4GB ram) & although I estimate that I probably COULD crack it open & install let's say 16GB of RAM & a 512SSD with Mac OSX Mojave (or earlier), I'm a little hesitant to do so...I grew up working on & repairing Windows PC's & Building my own PC's but Mac's were a different ball game back then...And I don't know where to begin when it comes to doing it on a modern Mac. SO...I bought two 512GB Micro SD cards originally thinking to myself "Maybe I can switch drives that way" but I'm still in a position where-in I have no idea how I'm going to make a Micro SD into either a bootable or selectable drive & how I'm going to load it with OSX Mojave...

 

[MacInWin]

Welcome to the forum.

You posted this question on Mac Hardware in the iOS and Apps forum, which is not where it should be. A MOD will come along and move it, so don't start a new one.

There were 12 models with the A1278 number. From 2009 to 2012. Boot the Mac, click on the  in the upper left corner, then About this Mac and tell us what it says. Should be something like "Early 2010" or "Late 2009." That will help with finding out what to tell you. However, you can also look at ifixit.com to see if they have a set of directions with pictures on how to open the machine and upgrade it. I don't know if it can go to 16G of memory or not, or if it can run Mojave or not, but once we know what model it actually is, we can sort that out.

 

[Rod]

I'm guessing here but with that processor I'm guessing it's the early 2011 model but as said in the first reply, have a look at About This Mac under the Apple Menu to confirm that. The site Jake gave you is fantastic for step by step instructions (with pictures) on how to do just about any procedures on Apple devices.
Really 8Gb RAM would probably be heaps and a 512Gb HD SSD will really speed it up. My wife did the same thing on her 2011 MBP and it was like a new machine. Mojave worked well for her but there have been some issues with Mail in Mojave which seem to have struck some users and not others, especially with Gmail accounts. It's a really nice machine, I love the unibody aluminium case and plenty of in/output jacks. Let us know what you decide but make sure you get compatible parts.


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[Rod]

Honestly I would not trust an SD card as a bootable source or even long term storage.


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[ferrarr]

You can start here, Mac Specs, Prices, Answers and Comparison: EveryMac.com, Est. 1996, to find out all about your MBP. Then you should check out ifixit.com, iFixit: The Free Repair Manual, as they have great D-I-Y repair guides. And guides for just about all modern Apple products.

 

[badshoehabit]

I upgraded by 2011 MBP with 2 x 8gb RAM from Crucial. If I could do it, you can. Videos on YouTube.

 

[pigoo3]

Hi-There. I have an A1278 (13.3" Core-i5 MacBook Pro w/ 4GB ram) & although I estimate that I probably COULD crack it open & install let's say 16GB of RAM & a 512SSD with Mac OSX Mojave (or earlier), I'm a little hesitant to do so...I grew up working on & repairing Windows PC's & Building my own PC's but Mac's were a different ball game back then...And I don't know where to begin when it comes to doing it on a modern Mac.

Sounds like this is a pre-retina display MacBook Pro. Upgrading both the RAM and internal storage is pretty easy...just need to remove the bottom panel...then you have the access needed to upgrade both the RAM and internal storage.

If you wanted to see a procedure on both upgrades before opening your MBP...go to:

iFixit: The Free Repair Manual

- Nick

 

[ELEKTR0N]

Well, the reason I’m hesitant to swap like a 512GB SSD in is primarily because I grew up working on DOS/Windows machines & its easy to format a drive & put any version of Windows on it, but I’m still new to Macs, and it’s not so easy to install a fresh copy of OSX on a drive, and I have a recent version of OSX installed and that was a huge mistake, I want to revert back to Mojave or older. I just don’t know enough about this stuff to do that comfortably yet

 

[MacInWin]

The only version more recent than Mojave is Catalina. So, what was the "huge mistake" with Catalina? Maybe we can get that sorted for you so you don't have to roll back.

 

[ELEKTR0N]

...the original reason I switched to Mac in the first place was for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, etc... although I’ve recently started working with Logic Pro & Final Cut, when I switched I think to Catalina, all my Adobe CS5.5 stuff stopped working...

 

[MacInWin]

Ah, so is it that you ignored the warnings that Mojave gave for a year about the Adobe stuff needing to be updated? If it was 32-bit, it won't run under Catalina.

In any event, do you have a backup, preferably a clone backup, of before you upgraded? If so, you can reinstall Mojave (you will have to completely reformat the boot drive to do that as Mojave doesn't have the two-virtual drive approach of Catalina), then use Migration Assistant to get your stuff back on the boot drive. Adobe may need to be re-registered, which is a real PITA. But that's a Adobe issue.

Or, you could sign up for the new Adobe subscription model and have the latest and greatest Photoshop kept up to date. No contract, you can cancel whenever you want.

 

[ferrarr]

Don't forget, Macs will run off of an external drive, so you could always put the older "good" OS on it, and still use that when you need to run your Adobe suite. Yes, it will be an inconvenience, but you will still be able to produce what you need to produce.

 

[ELEKTR0N]

Ferrarr - YES - THAT’S WHAT I WANT!!
I want to install Mojave onto a 512GB Micro SD card...but like idk where to get Mojave from...like I stated before, I grew up with DOS/Windows 3.1, DOS/Windows 3.11, Windows 95/98/2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7 machines & reformatting a drive and slapping Windows on it is easy...Mac’s are a different ball game...after the Apple ][ Apple really didn’t want users able to open the computer up and f around like they did with the Apple ][

 

[chscag]

Try this link to download Mojave:

Connecting to the Mac App Store

This has worked for several other folks who reverted back to Mojave from Catalina.

 

[ferrarr]

After you get the Mojave downloaded, you will need to create a bootable macOS USB installer for it.