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iMac 27" SSD Upgrade - Important Tip!
- Thread starter NATO
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iMac 27 i7 (Late 2009) External eSata port mod
To add to and old yet informative thread
I know there are many methods people have used to get more performance and connectivity out these iMacs so I thought Id contribute and share what I ended up doing.
Since my apple care is expired I decided to go ahead and do this mod. My main use is studio / audio production so this mod was geared towards those needs. (I need a dedicated Audio Drive for recording and the FW port for dedicated audio interface without daisy chaining)
I sacrificed the optical drive to gain the Sata port as others have though I decided to locate my eSata port on the rear of the iMac instead of on the bottom or having a cable protruding from the CD slot. So far it works great and total cost was around $10. Here are a few pics of the mod.
Cheers and many thanks for all the great info and tips shared here!
To add to and old yet informative thread
I know there are many methods people have used to get more performance and connectivity out these iMacs so I thought Id contribute and share what I ended up doing.
Since my apple care is expired I decided to go ahead and do this mod. My main use is studio / audio production so this mod was geared towards those needs. (I need a dedicated Audio Drive for recording and the FW port for dedicated audio interface without daisy chaining)
I sacrificed the optical drive to gain the Sata port as others have though I decided to locate my eSata port on the rear of the iMac instead of on the bottom or having a cable protruding from the CD slot. So far it works great and total cost was around $10. Here are a few pics of the mod.
Cheers and many thanks for all the great info and tips shared here!
Attachments
Hi Half Normalled,
Thanks for the pics!! I just wonder, do you get a 3Gb/s link on the optical drive internal SATA port? Also, where can I get that SATA to eSATA adapter/cable you screwed on your iMac?
Thanks!
OWC kit vs OEM Parts??
Hi there,
I was wondering if anyone had used the OWC kit instead of the oem parts outlined in this thread. See the kit here:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIM27SSD10/
I like that it comes with all the needed tools, instruction video, and you don't have to take the imac apart quite so much (seems like most problems are assembly errors/pinched wires), so it looks easier and less trouble-prone. However, taping the drive in seems a little rigged, but I've seen no negative reports form doing so.
Any help/feedback on this would be great. Thanks!
Hi there,
I was wondering if anyone had used the OWC kit instead of the oem parts outlined in this thread. See the kit here:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIM27SSD10/
I like that it comes with all the needed tools, instruction video, and you don't have to take the imac apart quite so much (seems like most problems are assembly errors/pinched wires), so it looks easier and less trouble-prone. However, taping the drive in seems a little rigged, but I've seen no negative reports form doing so.
Any help/feedback on this would be great. Thanks!
I used this cable to install my SSD into my 2011 27" iMac in the second available SATA port. I mounted the SSD behind the optical drive. I didn't use velcro or tape or anything. The optical drive keeps it in place once you put it back.
And then I used this cable to replace my original 1TB HDD with a 2TB HDD to avoid shortening out the sensor or using any type of software to regulate the fans...
I've had it this way going on 3 years. No problems at all. The SSD doesn't heat up or anything. It's my main drive. The 2TB is my "storage" and bootcamp drive.
Hi
I need to replace the internal HDD with an SSD in my late 2009 iMac. What I need to know is what do you use to place the 2,5" SSD in place of the 3,5" HDD? what do you use to fix this in place? I need to use an enclosure? there' s an enclosure that also has a thermal sensor to bypass the fan problem? thanks!
I need to replace the internal HDD with an SSD in my late 2009 iMac. What I need to know is what do you use to place the 2,5" SSD in place of the 3,5" HDD? what do you use to fix this in place? I need to use an enclosure? there' s an enclosure that also has a thermal sensor to bypass the fan problem? thanks!
i just upgraded to a SSD in my iMac today. i used this stuff...
Crucial 500gb SSD
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RQA6M5Y/
NewerTech 3.5 to 2.5 bracket.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005PZDVF6/
OWC In-line Thermal Sensor
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIDIMACHDD09/
and this tool kit
http://www.amazon.com/Newer-Tech-NWTTOOLKIT14-NewerTech-14-Piece/dp/B00FPUGN2O/
I just read your post as I've ordered a Samsung 1TB SSD for my iMac 27 2011. I have also ordered a WD Icepack for the drive size conversion. But I don't know if I should be needing a different cable of some sort for the thermal issue? Because you've posted a link to a cable that is meant for hard drives and not SSD's.
Please help if you can x
Hey All,
I've been using SSD's for awhile and they ar egret, and I just put my MacBook Pro on eBay due to the new release coming at WWDC.
I just purchased this Late 2015 IMac 5k 27":
3.2 GHZ Intel i5
7200 RPM 1TB DriveAmd M380
8GB Ram
Model - A1419 - MK462LL/A
I plan on upgrading the ram, adding 2 X 16 GB Sticks to bring it up to 40 GB Ram.
I'm thinking to either replace the drive with a 1-2 TB SSD or I was wondering if I could add a 1 TB SSD and still use the 1 TB Hard drive to have a total of 2 TB of space using the fusions drive?
I haven't ordered any of the upgrades yet. Appreciate the feedback.
Anthony
I've been using SSD's for awhile and they ar egret, and I just put my MacBook Pro on eBay due to the new release coming at WWDC.
I just purchased this Late 2015 IMac 5k 27":
3.2 GHZ Intel i5
7200 RPM 1TB DriveAmd M380
8GB Ram
Model - A1419 - MK462LL/A
I plan on upgrading the ram, adding 2 X 16 GB Sticks to bring it up to 40 GB Ram.
I'm thinking to either replace the drive with a 1-2 TB SSD or I was wondering if I could add a 1 TB SSD and still use the 1 TB Hard drive to have a total of 2 TB of space using the fusions drive?
I haven't ordered any of the upgrades yet. Appreciate the feedback.
Anthony
It'll work with the SSD's as well. I have a 1TB and a 2TB inside my 2011 27" iMac... The fans do not go crazy..
"I'm not quite sure how Apple gets a hard drive temperature from the jumper block of the hard drive but after shorting the two terminals of this connector with a little piece of wire the fans behave normally."
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hello NATO
Can you explain "shorting the wire" more. IE describe that process in a bit more detail please?
Thank you.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hello NATO
Can you explain "shorting the wire" more. IE describe that process in a bit more detail please?
Thank you.
Hi!
I've ordered the same things and will swap the drives next week. The last question I am wondering is: can I put the new SSD just in the slot and then start a reboot with cmd+R or I need to do some software hack earlier? (I've done a time machine back-up just in case but I would start with a clean install)
Thankss
A new SSD won't have anything on it, so if you just put it in, the machine won't boot at all.
If you have an installer DVD, you can boot from that, but it will not be up to date and you'll have to run one or more OS upgrades afterwards.
A possibly better way, get a cheap USB enclosure or even a bare USB-to-SATA controller cable for the SSD. Plug that into the computer before doing the upgrade, and use something like SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cleaner to duplicate your existing HDD onto the new SSD. Then you'll have something bootable, you can open up the machine and swap the HDD and SSD. (one advantage of a bare cable rather than a 2.5 inch enclosure: if something goes wrong, you can hook up the old HDD with the translator cable and boot from that to fix the problem.)
Alternatively I suppose you could download an OSX installer onto a USB stick before doing the swap, make the USB stick bootable, then boot from the USB stick and run a clean install from there. I'm unsure of the exact steps to make this work but google is your friend.
Either way you need to have some sort of preparation, because you can't boot from a brand new SSD with nothing on it.
If you have an installer DVD, you can boot from that, but it will not be up to date and you'll have to run one or more OS upgrades afterwards.
A possibly better way, get a cheap USB enclosure or even a bare USB-to-SATA controller cable for the SSD. Plug that into the computer before doing the upgrade, and use something like SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cleaner to duplicate your existing HDD onto the new SSD. Then you'll have something bootable, you can open up the machine and swap the HDD and SSD. (one advantage of a bare cable rather than a 2.5 inch enclosure: if something goes wrong, you can hook up the old HDD with the translator cable and boot from that to fix the problem.)
Alternatively I suppose you could download an OSX installer onto a USB stick before doing the swap, make the USB stick bootable, then boot from the USB stick and run a clean install from there. I'm unsure of the exact steps to make this work but google is your friend.
Either way you need to have some sort of preparation, because you can't boot from a brand new SSD with nothing on it.
Thanks kschendel
If haven't the installer DVD. So I bought a cheap USB-to-SATA controller cable to format the brand new SSD in APFS or MacOS Journaled + GUID (I've read that high sierra will format the SSD anyway in AP File System) and created a OSX installer USB stick. If something goes wrong, as you said, I can always boot from the old hdd with the SATA-USB cable. Do I need in any case the caron copied HDD?
I am almost ready
If haven't the installer DVD. So I bought a cheap USB-to-SATA controller cable to format the brand new SSD in APFS or MacOS Journaled + GUID (I've read that high sierra will format the SSD anyway in AP File System) and created a OSX installer USB stick. If something goes wrong, as you said, I can always boot from the old hdd with the SATA-USB cable. Do I need in any case the caron copied HDD?
I am almost ready
Thanks kschendel
I've verified the USB installer (I've created with terminal). So as soon as the SSD arrives I will use disk utility to format it in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and, under Options, give it a GUID Partition Table. Then I swap the disks and let you know if it works
I know I'm late to the party, but I finally did this on my 2010 27" iMac. I had just been using it as a monitor to pair with my 2017 iMac, but I recently just set it up for the kids... and couldn't take the hard drive speed.
So, I cloned my hard drive to an SSD in an external SATA dock. After installation, it booted up just fine on first boot.
I used part number 922-9229 / 593-1149 for the optical drive temperature sensor cable. It was on Amazon Prime for just CAD$10 (US$8) so I got it same day. On the back side of the circuit board of the cable, it is just a sticker, which I stuck to the 2.5" to 3.5" converter bracket.
It's soooo much better now, but too bad it's stuck on macOS 10.13 High Sierra. At least we get APFS and HEIC/HEIF support though.
So, I cloned my hard drive to an SSD in an external SATA dock. After installation, it booted up just fine on first boot.
I used part number 922-9229 / 593-1149 for the optical drive temperature sensor cable. It was on Amazon Prime for just CAD$10 (US$8) so I got it same day. On the back side of the circuit board of the cable, it is just a sticker, which I stuck to the 2.5" to 3.5" converter bracket.
It's soooo much better now, but too bad it's stuck on macOS 10.13 High Sierra. At least we get APFS and HEIC/HEIF support though.
BTW, the hardest part of the whole process was screwing the screen back in. Since there are such strong magnets on the 2010 for holding the glass on, every time I went near some of the screw holes, the screw would come off the screwdriver and get stuck on the magnet. Or else it would occasionally fall somewhere else, and I'd have to shake it out of the iMac.
Eventually I started putting in the screws with this grabber thingy first, and that worked:
Eventually I started putting in the screws with this grabber thingy first, and that worked:
The 2010 iMac is now supported by OCLP, which allows the installation of Big Sur. I'm running it on a stock 2011 21.5 and it's great, there's the odd graphical glitch but nothing more than that. Definitely worth experimenting with if it's no longer your main computer.
I know that temp cable is only US$8 or so, but save your money, don't waste it on that OWC (or similar) temp sensor.
Just do what many have successfully done, myself included. Very simply shorted out the HD connector with a home-made jumper wire as shown HERE. Find a piece with wire diameter (with ends stripped) that is a good snug fit in the connector female sockets and it should never come loose. I've never had a problem since.
Yes I saw that. I had read though the one difference is that if you use the optical drive temp sensor cable you’ll have a temp reading if you look for it in temp monitoring software, but if you do the short out method you’ll get a ‘null’ reading. I didn’t know if that was truly accurate or not but I figured for CAD$10 and same day shipping, why not?
BTW, if I were to use the short out method, I’d probably just reuse the HD sensor cable. Cut off the plug at the end that goes to the hard drive, strip the wire at the cut ends, and then twist or solder the ends together.
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