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iMac 27" SSD Upgrade - Important Tip!
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I'm taking my iMac to an Apple Store so they can look at the scratched screen. Should I de-modify it first?
thanks so much for this , i now understand what i'm dealing with re: the internals of this beast...
Thanks for the TIPs to the OP, I finally got around to replacing my Hard drive with the SSD, and also swapped out my SuperDrive, got a good deal on the BluRay Combo drive off ebay.
I used a jumper header and jumper to short the header for the HDD temp sensor, no crazy fans.
I used a jumper header and jumper to short the header for the HDD temp sensor, no crazy fans.
I did change everything back, but all they did was switch it on, so I probably could have got away with not bothering. I'll leave it this way until after the glass front comes in and I take it for repair.
Hi i´m going to install a SSD in the optical bay of my i7 iMac, and was wondering if i can use any of these:
http://www.vesalia.de/e_sata22slimsata.htm?slc=us
http://www.order-bulk.com/SATA-HDD-...y-Slim-IBM-Thinkpad-X4-X6-UltraBase-Dock.html
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...fc92044&itemid=110345811591&ff4=263602_263622
http://www.vesalia.de/e_sata22slimsata.htm?slc=us
http://www.order-bulk.com/SATA-HDD-...y-Slim-IBM-Thinkpad-X4-X6-UltraBase-Dock.html
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...fc92044&itemid=110345811591&ff4=263602_263622
They'll all probably do, just depends on how secure you want it. I only know of one caddy that's exactly fit for purpose, but it's expensive.
http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/12-7-mm-Optical-Bay-ATA-Hard-Drive-Enclosure/IF107-077
http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/12-7-mm-Optical-Bay-ATA-Hard-Drive-Enclosure/IF107-077
If I was to replace the HDD by a SSD, do you know if I would need something else? (other than tools such as Torx).
So I've just got my X25-M and it says FW: 02HA.
I'm guessing this might have TRIM enabled.
Does anyone know?
Probably not. Just ensure you have a suction cup to lift the glass off and something to plug in the display vsync ribbon (I used needle nosed pliers).
Mine is 02G9, and AKAIK 02HA was the next firmware released, which includes TRIM. No idea if you can downgrade, but if not, I guess you'll have to boot into Windows every so often and run some optimisation tools.
Please post with your success/failure/experience with whatever you choose. The second option is cheap, and a potentially excellent alternative to the existing pricey caddy for the optical drive.
i took an closer look at: http://www.vesalia.de/e_sata22slimsata.htm?slc=us and http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...110345811591&ff4=263602_263622#ht_1916wt_1167 and i released that they were both wrong! the slim sata is female and the sata is male on both but that is the opposite of what i need... i think?
anyways i have put in an order for http://www.order-bulk.com/SATA-HDD-...y-Slim-IBM-Thinkpad-X4-X6-UltraBase-Dock.html and i´m going to order an Intel® X25-M SSD 80GB 2g.
I´ll update you all soon
anyways i have put in an order for http://www.order-bulk.com/SATA-HDD-...y-Slim-IBM-Thinkpad-X4-X6-UltraBase-Dock.html and i´m going to order an Intel® X25-M SSD 80GB 2g.
I´ll update you all soon
Oh yeah should have noticed, really.
Even if you could find the other end of the existing SATA cable, the cable wouldn't work since you wouldn't have a molex to power it.
FYI, I don't think that ODD replacement will fit in the special caddy Apple has put in which fits the curve of the iMac, so just take the whole thing out. I tried to peal off the foil (unsuccessfully) and it was all in vain. You'll just have to secure it with electrical tape as I did.
Even if you could find the other end of the existing SATA cable, the cable wouldn't work since you wouldn't have a molex to power it.
FYI, I don't think that ODD replacement will fit in the special caddy Apple has put in which fits the curve of the iMac, so just take the whole thing out. I tried to peal off the foil (unsuccessfully) and it was all in vain. You'll just have to secure it with electrical tape as I did.
i´m going to make an aluminum plate, bracket or something to secure it. and if there is not enough room ill just take the ODD replacement adapter caddy apart and use the parts i need.
Ok, i'm decided, i'll install my ssd into my imac 27''....
I'll buy a Gskill Falcon 128GB..... from a friend...
I have few dudes.
I extract the glass... then can i install the ssd without disconnect totaly the lcd??? only the firs conector... and then with the help of my friend or brother re-install.. the ssd ????
Yes and yes i need to install the OS over ssd out of the imac, i have a carrie disk where i can put it in there and install.. there....
Sorry for my english.. i'm from argentina
I'll buy a Gskill Falcon 128GB..... from a friend...
I have few dudes.
I extract the glass... then can i install the ssd without disconnect totaly the lcd??? only the firs conector... and then with the help of my friend or brother re-install.. the ssd ????
Yes and yes i need to install the OS over ssd out of the imac, i have a carrie disk where i can put it in there and install.. there....
Sorry for my english.. i'm from argentina
According to ifixit.com, this caddy will fit easily:
http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/12-7-mm-SATA-Optical-Bay-SATA-Hard-Drive-Enclosure/IF107-081
Source: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac-Intel-27-Inch-Teardown/1236/2
Does anyone now if the speed of an SSD gets limited by that "optical" SATA-port?
Yes, you can install the SSD without totally disconnecting the LCD, once the 8 screws have been removed (4 either side of the LCD) you can lift the LCD at one end (disconnecting the vertical sync cable in the process) which gives just enough access to the Hard Drive bay in order to install the SSD.
If you're planning to install the SSD in the DVD bay of the iMac you might have to fully disconnect the LCD as I don't think there's enough room to do it otherwise.
I canceled the order cos it don't have the right slim sata. so i recently ordered the expensive one from ifixit. Have the ssd where the hdd was, and the hdd connected via usb temporary.
i'm very interested indeed on making this kind of upgrades, but i will like to know if is it possible to replace the dvd optical drive for a ssd with the appropriated adapter and have two disk on my mac? When you are on SL's installing system, it recognizes the two Drives properly?
I have seen in previous pages that for the DVD drive needs an adapter for Sata, is that right?
Can i use the macbook air superdrive if i need external drives ? i Don't want to use AC adapter for this...
I have seen in previous pages that for the DVD drive needs an adapter for Sata, is that right?
Can i use the macbook air superdrive if i need external drives ? i Don't want to use AC adapter for this...
that is the exact setup i have. i bought a hard drive caddy for like 45 bucks online. i used an intel ssd gen 2 in it. i use that as my primary osx drive and i split it in half to use windows 7. the 1tb internal drive is used for large files and as a time machine backup. it works beautifully for everything. my machine boots up in like 15 seconds. photoshop cs4 opens up in like 3 seconds flat. it's the best upgrade you could possibly do for an imac. i think nothing in the next few years would come close to the speed you feel after doing this mod. enjoy!
i did mine in my 17 mbp and it worked the first time. don't remember the procedure but i followed the instructions.
Few issues with Intel G2 160gb in Optical Bay
I did the intel ssd upgrade and I can say it is very very fast. This thread has helped a lot. I am having a few issues though. Maybe some of you have had the same problem and can help me out.
My hardware is a 27" imac i7 w/ 1tb hdd in the stock position and a 160 gb intel g2 ssd in the optical bay. My boot drive is the ssd. I have an LG bluray burner in a fw800 enclosure connected to the imac. My first problem is that the bluray drive seems to be keeping my imac from sleeping. It seems to spin up about ever 2 minutes. Is there anyway to stop this or to tell the imac to ignore the activity of the external bluray drive so it falls asleep? It is a real pain to have to either remember to put the computer to sleep manually or turn of the external bluray drive. The second problem has to do with upgrade the firmware of the intel G2. There seems to be a common problem of not being to boot off the intel freedos firmware update cd with the 27" imac. Has anyone found a fix to this (right now my only alternative is to open the imac back up, remove the drive and do the upgrade in another machine). And the 3rd problem/question I have has to do with intels utility called HDDErase. This application can zero out the data on the drive recovering its full potential in write performance, however from what I read it only works on a PC. Is there a mac equivalent?
I did the intel ssd upgrade and I can say it is very very fast. This thread has helped a lot. I am having a few issues though. Maybe some of you have had the same problem and can help me out.
My hardware is a 27" imac i7 w/ 1tb hdd in the stock position and a 160 gb intel g2 ssd in the optical bay. My boot drive is the ssd. I have an LG bluray burner in a fw800 enclosure connected to the imac. My first problem is that the bluray drive seems to be keeping my imac from sleeping. It seems to spin up about ever 2 minutes. Is there anyway to stop this or to tell the imac to ignore the activity of the external bluray drive so it falls asleep? It is a real pain to have to either remember to put the computer to sleep manually or turn of the external bluray drive. The second problem has to do with upgrade the firmware of the intel G2. There seems to be a common problem of not being to boot off the intel freedos firmware update cd with the 27" imac. Has anyone found a fix to this (right now my only alternative is to open the imac back up, remove the drive and do the upgrade in another machine). And the 3rd problem/question I have has to do with intels utility called HDDErase. This application can zero out the data on the drive recovering its full potential in write performance, however from what I read it only works on a PC. Is there a mac equivalent?