Ok, the details:
Mid-2009 Macbook Pro, previously running Lion on native HDD just fine. Installed TRION 100 OCZ SSD, booted with external USB El Capitan installer. Used the installer to format and partition SSD. Fixed the date issue in Terminal before install and connected to the internet.
So, every time I get through install (which takes 2-3x longer than the 13 minutes it promises), it reboots, goes to the grey install screen and promises 'Installing: About 19 minutes remaining',yet barely budges. I stopped trying to reboot and install again and let it run this time, and it budged a bit overnight, still less than 20% of the progress bar. At this rate, it will take 3-5 days to install? Can't be normal.
I know third-party SSDs and older macbook installs can take longer (plus I think it's installing over wifi for some reason?), but this is unworkable. Any suggestions?
Best Answer
Solved this a while ago, but will post the answer here: the SSD was incompatible with the hard drive. Since it was an older Mac, the TRION 100 OCZ was not compatible. I took it back to the store and got a Samsung SSD for $20 more, and the install went smoothly.