How to connect internal SSD externally on iMac

[Peter May]

Hello,

I would like to know how to do this.
I bought a Crucial MX300 and was considering to install MacOS (El Capitan) on it before I installed the drive on my iMac.

1. Fist of all is this worth it, or should I just install it on my iMac and then have MacOS installed normally?

2. Secondly, if you'd recommend to install it externally, how do I connect an internal SSD externally? I can imagine a SATA to USB or FireWire cable is in order, but I'm not sure as what to do with the power socket.

Cheers

 

[maflynn]

The SSD is proprietary so you're options are limited.

I know when you buy a Transcend SSD for the MBP they provide an enclosure for the older SSD, you can maybe reach out and see if they sell the enclosures by themselves without the SSD kit.

You're best bet is probably just to sell it on ebay though

 

[J.Gallardo]

I don’t know about installing os externally before putting ssd into the mac... but I don’t see any advantage doing so. But I suppose perhaps the disk should be formatted before definitive connection, at least.
But I feel confident about telling you that SATA connection is quite universal; there are sata/usb wires, sata cases... Just be sure that case, wire or dock is SATA III compatible, and remember your ssd is 2.5 inches size.
Your ssd disk doesn’t need additional power; it can get it from the computer through the usb (or FireWire, Thunderbolt) wire.

 

[phobos]

I would really just use the external ssd for extra storage and not for the main OS.
I also want to get an external SSD and I was planning to use a case by Inateck. Do an amazon search for their name and SSD and it will give you the relevant results.
I don’t know how good cases they are because I haven’t tried them yet but I think as an external storage they’ll do just fine.

 

[mikzn]

Hello,I would like to know how to do this.
I bought a Crucial MX300 and was considering to install MacOS (El Capitan) on it before I installed the drive on my iMac.
1. Fist of all is this worth it, or should I just install it on my iMac and then have MacOS installed normally?
2. Secondly, if you'd recommend to install it externally, how do I connect an internal SSD externally? I can imagine a SATA to USB or FireWire cable is in order, but I'm not sure as what to do with the power socket.

Cheers

I have done it this way often when upgrading a drive to SSD (usually an EVO850 500GB). Just buy a cheap enclosure from Best Buy or where ever and put the new drive in the enclosure and connect the USB cable to the Mac. Then you can in stall the OS on the external drive and migrate your data and files using the migration assistant. Or you could clone the old drive onto the new SSD if you don't want to bother with a Clean install.

Either way you can test the new drive by booting from the external drive to make sure everything is working and then later you can swap the drives when ever you want. This will leave you a great back up also - the real drive with all the invisible files and other data that is still on the original drive.

I find this great because if you run into any problems, a missing serial number for any software or email / password issues you still have the orginal computer until you resolve the problem and are ready to swap the drives.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Your original post is... well, it's incomprehensible. (at least to me)

If you bought a "bare SSD", and want to get it running with the iMac (you haven't told us WHICH iMac you have), the best option is to do this:
1. Buy a USB3 external enclosure, or even this little adapter will work remarkably well:
https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-...478&sr=1-2-spell&keywords=sabremt+usb3+to+ssd
2. Put the SSD into the enclosure, and connect it to the iMac.
3. Open Disk Utility and initialize ("erase") it to HFS+ with journaling enabled.

Now, you have several options:
Option 1: Put a "fresh copy" of the OS onto it, and then use Apple's setup assistant to "selectively migrate" things over to it (such as apps, settings, and accounts). You have to be selective because not everything from the internal HDD may fit onto the SSD.

Option 2: Put a fresh copy of the OS onto it, then "manually migrate" stuff. That is, re-install applications, create a new account, then move things piece-by-piece. This is definitely more involved.

Option 3: IF the SSD has enough space, you could download CarbonCopyCloner (FREE to download and use for 30 days), and then "clone over" the contents of the internal drive to the SSD.

Once this is done, go to the startup disk preference pane, and set the SDD to be your "external booter".
You'll see read speeds around 430mbps, and writes around 350-375mbps (depends on the drive).

If your iMac has only a platter-based hard drive inside, doing this will greatly increase its overall performance.