Great video. Here is the written version to print out and follow along when doing this upgrade: Assemble USB enclosure with SSD drive. connect to USB port on the rear of the iMac. launch Disk Utility make usable erase Mac OS Extended Journaled GUID Partition Map Erase Restart Alt key on boot Recovery mode Reinstall Mac OS Wifi password select SSD install and setup after bootup go to Startup Disk and choose SSD double stick tape or velcro to back imac stand Enjoy!
I tried this running Catalina 10.15 today and had to do it slightly differently but still got outstanding results in speeding up my imac Using a Samsung T5 SSD 1TB. Begin By shutting down and on start up hold command+R until the apple logo appears and starts booting. Then select disk utility from there select View: show all devices then select Erase and using the settings: format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Scheme: GUID Partition Map. Then go back and select Reinstall Mac OS Catalina 10.15 from there and follow the prompts to install onto your SSD. This was the only way I was able to do it from Catalina and it worked perfectly and my iMac is running like a dream compared to waiting 2 minutes sometimes for a simple function
Hello Gavin, quick question does your external ssd is always hot ? (even when computer is in sleep mode) ? Thank you, i think my external ssd has a problem...
This is a really good tutorial. On to the point very quickly. Did not get boring at all. For once I watched a whole video without skipping on this topic.
I have a 2015 iMac with 1TB hard drive. I didnt realise how slow it was until i got a windows computer with an ssd. Saw this tutorial and considering i already have a samsung evo 860 from 2 years ago and a sata cable, this makes sense
2:06?. Not bad. My iMac takes 3 minutes to boot and then the hard drive takes about 15 to 20 minutes to shut up. Meanwhile, during this time, the mac is super slow. Im going definitely doing this sad external upgrade. Thanks.
I have the same SSD, but used a docking station, instead of an enclosure. Sierra (not Catalina) installed OK, but it is *not showing under Startup Disk* in order to set it up as such. Any idea as to why it is not showing, *although, it is showing in Finder and Disk Utility?* And yes I formatted it as Journaled and Guid... Docking specs: Inateck USB 3.0 to SATA I/II/III Dual Bay External Hard Drive Docking Station for 2.5 or 3.5in HDD, SSD, which it is dedicated to hold two disk for back ups. I disconnected one. Mac 27" Late 2013 with Catalina at present, the highest supported.
I am running the same set up on 27” iMac 2017. Works really well BUT, there is one limitation that nobody is telling in these videos. Please keep in mind that you WILL NOT be able to update to newer versions of mac os x with this set up. Mac os won’t let you installing on external drive, so you will need to wipe the drive and install newer mac os from scratch, and then you won’t be able to restore time machine backup, because it was made from “older” os x version. This way I am stuck with high sierra. Just something to keep in mind. And yes, I wouldn’t stick external drive above the hole as shown on the video, this is exactly where hot air from the fan blows. Just place the drive below the hole. Otherwise, great tutorial!
sdoverland actually I have opened my iMac and replaces HDD with 2TB SSD. Now I have 2.12TB Fusion drive with 128GB APPLE NVME blade ssd + my own samsung 2TB ssd. Works great, and one of the main benefits for me, now Mac allowsto install bootcamp on SSD. So windows sis running fast too. Obviously I had to make a “clean install” of mac os catalina. I think I shouldn’t have any issues with further updates, since mac treats samsung ssd as part of fusion drive now.
Aziz Sharipov I have a late 2013 iMac 27 inch, just upgraded to 32gb of RAM and the 1tb Samsung SSD should be here on Thursday. Do you think I should install Catalina or just Mojave or High Sierra. Wondering if it will perform well on Catalina after the SSD. It will be a clean install, thoughts?
sdoverland if you don’t have any apps which are not compatible with Catalina, I would go with latest (and hopefully greatest) os x. I wouldn’t run H Sierra, since it uses HFS+, not APFS, maybe that was the issue which didn’t let me update from HS to Catalina (or Mojave).... if you don’t have 128gb nvme ssd inside the iMac, I wouldn’t also attempt to put ssd inside the mac, there will be no benefit speed wise.
Aziz Sharipov I currently have an HDD and am upgrading to SSD. I don’t have the fusion as far as I can tell. I am installing Samsung 960 and have heard it really speeds it up compared to factory. The NVME I have to pull off the mobo then I might as well replace the cpu which gets more expensive. I’ve seen some builds on RUclips just replace HDD with SSD and RAM upgrade and say it is way faster. Mine is currently super slow as of now.
Thanks so much for your creative tutorial. I was so disappointed that the fusion drive Apple put in the 21.5" 4K iMac was crippled compared to the one that came with my older 27" iMac. I never expected such a poor decision by them, but can use your tutorial to fix the problem.
When the drives come up after pressing “alt” on startup you need to press “command” & “r”. I know this is 6 months late but hopefully if it doesn’t help you it will someone else.
I know a lot of people like to clone their boot disks but I’m partial to copying the files I want externally and then adding them back to a freshly installed brand new OS. I just like doing a new OS install every few years.
So do you transfer all your data (music, videos, photos) to your new SSD drive as well, or do you keep them on your original HDD? Thanks for the informative tutorial!
That’s your choice, you could. But you can always access them. The SSD gives you the option to take it with you and boot on it on a different Mac. This way you always have a pc nearby ✌️
So you can start imac back on hdd if you want? And all instaled apps be on desctop. So how i understand you get it like a new fresh computer and you can run it on macbook or another imac?
Yes it did, I will leave you a link. You will see in a video I just uploaded last week. That the external SSD is working just fine. ruclips.net/video/w9MdWZoogl4/видео.html
D Dawson i just got a 2013 imac off ebay and i'm using a samsung 860 evo 250 gb (the newer version of the ssd he has) with a sabrent 2.5" sata to usb 3.0 enclosure and it's working great so far, i don't shut down my imac but applications open up in literally 1-3 seconds. for the enclosure i would highly recommend you get one that has UASP enabled and is USB 3.0
Thanks for your video. We have similar system, it just mine was 27". Will you suggest NVME + Casing over the normal SSD + Casing for external bootable OS?
thank you so much for this video, i wanted to update my old imac with an ssd but i've always been scared of opening it, this makes everything much easier! Defnitely gonna do it!
Hi, I hope you'll still read this comment. I'm planning on adding a SSD to my mid 2011 imac, but the cable for power line is not easily found in my area. So, I have to wait for international shipping until I have everything to install the ssd in my iMac. The question here is, since I already have the SSD and an enlosure I'm thinking of istalling macOS and start using my SSD as my main drive. Will it matter of swapping in the ssd if I already use the same set up as yours in this video for my ssd. Will change connecting SSD via usb make it any difference when I connect it via sata. Thank you in advance.
I have an older Mac. An early 2008 version to be exact. Apple put a cap on updates for it; it won't update past El Capitan. I was wondering if I will be able to use the latest update (currently High Sierra) if I use an external SSD for my hard drive. I don't think it would be worth it to me if I can't have the latest updates.
Thank you for your video, i am looking to do this upgrade on my old imac, how can I tell if has usb 3 or what year/model machine i have? It's an early 27 inch Imac is all i can tell for now.
Offtop to the topic of the video. What are the shady spots in the bottom corners of the display and maybe you fixed them as well? I have found the same on my iMac and would like to figure out and take them off. Thanks in advance.
Em Portugues, este foi dos melhores videos que vi no RUclips, por duas razoes, pela simplicidade da explicação e pelo resultado que è exatamente como diz. O meu muito Obrigado. Thank's, I have imac 21,5 3,1ghz late 2015, and now it work much better, thank"s again.
@@Tasnamira eu consegui uma 970 evo plus na Amazon França (venda flash) super barata. Vou recebê-la amanhã e vou testar. Penso conseguir os menos resultados, mas com algo ligeiramente mais pequeno. :)
I bought an adapter for my 2015 MacBook Pro and bought a 512 GB ssd and put it in instead of the original 128 GB. Much cheaper and the MacBook is back in service. 😊 On my 2011 iMac I bought an SSD and put that in instead of the hybrid which had died. Both machines running well! The opening if the iMac is the hardest part but can be done id you are careful.
I have tried this with my 2011 iMac and Samsung T7 drive thru USB 2.0 port and the external readings are much slower than my internal drive. is an adapter needed or an enclosure a must?
Hey. If the case have sleep mode. Is it a problem? Or should I look for simple one without? And thanks a lot for the tutorial, we can avoid opening this beautiful computer ;)
Excuseme I have a question about the live of your Ssd. In this 2021 how is the live of your Ssd, still have the same speed, had you ever changed for another Ssd?. It's because I want do put an external Ssd in my iMac 2013 late and I want to have a longer live with my Ssd.
Bro..your video has helped a lot about this SATA thing. Thank you so much. Of course I have subscribed to your channel. I also have a small channel so I understand how important are the subscriptions. Thank you again 🙏🙏
Could somebody tell me why all these iMacs have that black shades in buttom corners of the screen??? I changed two screens in the warranty period, but those are always coming back... Apple didn’t say anything abou a general problem/recall. Thanks!
Chris Kayenge I wants buy this is t5 for my iMac 27” 2012 later Which is you computer ? And which programs use ?? I work in photoshop and want I would like to know if changing my hard drive for an SSD will help me in my photoshop performance
Great video. If the old HDD was physically replaced with the SSD (remove glass and replace) would it still boot automatically from the SSD (even if it was on the internal bus)?
It will boot from whatever drive you instruct it to if you boot in recovery mode and it will remember that going forward. What exactly are you wanting to do? If you end up replacing the internal drive with SSD obviously you’d want to use that as a boot drive because it makes more sense.
What are the dark smudges on the lower left and right corners of your iMac screen. That happened to mine after about 18 months from new. I gave the iMac away and bought a PC thinking the screen was going bad on an iMac that cost me nearly $5k. I want to buy another iMac, possibly the iMac Pro but afraid this will happen again. And now I see it on your CrispyAF iMac in this video.
It’s got dust inside the lcd in between the glass and the white plastic that’s behind the screen. It’s fixable. You have to pull out the screen and disassemble the lcd enclosure. Not hard just have to be careful not to force anything. Takes about 30mins. Then pesto it’s back to new. I sealed mine up with some silver insulation tape so it doesn’t happen again. That was 3 years ago and it still looks perfect.
I used a docking station, instead of an enclosure. Sierra (not Catalina) installed OK, but it is not showing under Startup Disk in order to set it up as such. Any idea as to why it is not showing, although, it is showing in Finder and Disk Utility? And yes I formatted it as Journaled and Guid... Docking specs: Inateck USB 3.0 to SATA I/II/III Dual Bay External Hard Drive Docking Station for 2.5 or 3.5in HDD, SSD, which it is dedicated to hold two disk for back ups. I disconnected one. Mac 27" Late 2013 with Catalina at present, the highest supported. Any quick help would be very appreciated.
What if your Mac has lion in the firmware? I am running Catalina on my late 2012 imac. I went through these steps and it ended up putting lion on the SSD. how can I get Catalina on there instead?
Not sure if you will see this. I followed your instructions & had a rather protracted (1 day in to the wee hours) time of getting this right. I am not a wiz kid with these computers but did follow your instructions. I eventually succeeded though am still uncertain I achieved what I set out to. I used a 1TB Samsung with same Transcend container. I carried out the process on my MacBook Pro late 2011. The boot up works is it faster well yes & no. I downloaded Blackmagic but it fails to operate as it states that both the internal HD & my external SSD are read only. I can't alter this & nothing I can see online (apart an old post in Macforums) explains what to do. I even tried to follow the Apple support approach to load High Sierra on to an SSD as a bootable drive & the logic string was not recognised in Terminal. I realise that you are offering this as a frustrated user but any further help would be appreciated. Oh and yes how do I eject the SSD I managed to get it into the sidebar but it doesn't have a north facing arrow next to it. Best regards. Gerry
Really informative and entertaining video! How much slower would the T5 (500GB) drive be? And would I notice an even bigger difference compared to the newer EVO 860 with the Transcend enclosure?
Well, I went out and picked up the 500GB version of the T5 last night to use with my Late 2013 iMac. I cloned my iMac HD to the T5 and set the T5 as the Startup Disk. The difference is amazing! Startup is at least 4 times as fast. But, what really thrills me is how much faster apps launch. Mail used to take a full minute to launch and be ready to actually use. Now it's ready in 4 or 5 seconds. GarageBand used to take forever to launch and load a project. Now it's ready to go in less than 10 seconds. I feel like I have a brand iMac!
@@rodtompkins I'm also planning to buy a T5 500GB to speed up my mid 2017 21.5' iMac with 1TB Fusion Drive. Thinking about connecting it to Thunderbolt 3. So I should get a higher speed right?
I have a samsung T5 but when i press the alt buttom the external SSD won’t appear i only can choose hd. I did erased it like the video. Can u help? Its a late 2013 imac running on Catalina
my apple M1 only has 8gb and I am trying to use a photo program but the photos are too large and i could wait half a minute till it renders...would this help speed it up? I just bought the card and already had the external case for it which I use for regular usb devices. thank you.
This is great, I ordered an iMac with 1tb fusion drive, but I think I'll just get something like Samsung T5 and install OS there. Question, I see that iMac 2017 supports USB 3.1 via one of the thunderbolt ports. Are there any adapters that would allow me to use T5 (or any other external ssds) with thunderbolt for its full potential? Thanks for the video!
You have to use thunderbolt enclosure SSD to see its full potential. Btw, be aware that using USB external ssd with Mojave causes an annoying delay in the OS boot - about 10 seconds between the beep sound and apple logo appears. I have this problem, and it is common for USB 3.1 Ssd.
@@Xandirishe thanks! I tried using Mohave with the external ssd, but I was getting the delay you mentioned, plus my system froze and crashed under load, I think when it ran out of memory. I've installed high Sierra and had 0 issues for the past few months.
Liked your video! On my mid 2011iMac, I'm trying to install Mac OS High Sierra onto a Samsung T5 500GB SSD. I intend buying a Samsung 2TB 860 EVO SSD, and the Transcend case, but I just wanted to follow your steps to determin if it would work with the T5 in the mean time.. But I can't get High Sierra to install on the T5. I followed your process a number of times, but cant get it too work. The port on my iMac is a USB 2.0. I do have all my files on the iMac backed up to another bootable HDD. I used Super Duper software to do do it. My question is; why won't High Siera install onto the T5? Thanks in advance for your help
When i follow the steps its starts installing as it gets to the end of installing it restarts the mac and boots into the internal drive. If i hold option on startup the ssd is not showing in start up disk and only internal or recovery. Any clues why?
Could you plrease recommend some of the fastest model with usb 3.00 (USP technology) enclosure and thunderbolt as well to speed up IMAC LATE 2015 - I am now using Fusion Drive (3tb).
I run El Capitan on my HD but have put Catalina on an external SSD so I can choose which system to use. For some reason this makes the SSD invisible so I cannot choose it as a startup disk. The SSD is visible when it is used as just an external drive but as soon as I install a system it disappears. It's quite bizarre!
CrispyAF thaaank you! I’ve been on the verge of buying a 21.5 iMac but really don’t wanna pay an extra $300 for a 500gbssd or get stuck with a laughable 256gbssd 😑. I was planning to get the 1tb fusion drive and using a Samsung T5 to speed up the system.
Yes, i use one SSD for both my iMac and my Macbook Pro, you can do same for macbook pro and it will run a lot faster, for me i have flash storage in my imac and the ssd is a lot faster.
Hi, followed the instructions till restart step without any issues. However the new drive does not appear for selection to do the reinstall step. Am I doing anything wrong? Thanks Sidd
dude that option does not work, apple does not accept updates for old versions not even new versions it need to be done offline , quesion, what i clone the hard drive to my usb key? should that work?
Thanks for sharing this tutorial video! I have restarted and choose recovery installation, the Apple logo came out and my iMac has been idle for a Long time, I am not sure if it’s still working on the installation or jam? Please advice, thanks!
Instead of erasing my data, can I just use the migration assistant and copy everything from my hdd to ssd? And if not can I backup my hdd installation on an external hdd and use the time machine backup on the external ssd?
![How To Fix Slow iMac 2012-2020 External SSD [Updated Guide]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IB0SUcCAMig/mqdefault.jpg)
![Digital Circus Episode 4 [TRAILER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/abZtsmMUbJo/mqdefault.jpg)
Great video.
Here is the written version to print out and follow along when doing this upgrade:
Assemble USB enclosure with SSD drive.
connect to USB port on the rear of the iMac.
launch Disk Utility
make usable
erase
Mac OS Extended Journaled
GUID Partition Map
Erase
Restart
Alt key on boot
Recovery mode
Reinstall Mac OS
Wifi password
select SSD
install and setup
after bootup go to Startup Disk and choose SSD
double stick tape or velcro to back imac stand
Enjoy!
I tried this running Catalina 10.15 today and had to do it slightly differently but still got outstanding results in speeding up my imac Using a Samsung T5 SSD 1TB.
Begin By shutting down and on start up hold command+R until the apple logo appears and starts booting.
Then select disk utility from there
select View: show all devices
then select Erase and using the settings: format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Scheme: GUID Partition Map.
Then go back and select Reinstall Mac OS Catalina 10.15 from there and follow the prompts to install onto your SSD.
This was the only way I was able to do it from Catalina and it worked perfectly and my iMac is running like a dream compared to waiting 2 minutes sometimes for a simple function
Do you think I can do it in a late 2013 21" Imac with a Kingston SA400S37/480G ? thanks for the answer
Alejandro Ortiz yes, ik have done it on a 2013 imac. You must have a usb 3.0 connection.
Jan Bakker it works great.
Hello Gavin, quick question does your external ssd is always hot ? (even when computer is in sleep mode) ? Thank you, i think my external ssd has a problem...
Gavin OByrne thank you I’m doing it right now 😊😊😊
This is a really good tutorial. On to the point very quickly. Did not get boring at all. For once I watched a whole video without skipping on this topic.
Gotta Agree! It´s Very well Executed & deserves respect!
holy shit thank you so much dude!!!! I need to try this asap, my iMac is waaay too slow
I have a 2015 iMac with 1TB hard drive. I didnt realise how slow it was until i got a windows computer with an ssd. Saw this tutorial and considering i already have a samsung evo 860 from 2 years ago and a sata cable, this makes sense
2:06?. Not bad. My iMac takes 3 minutes to boot and then the hard drive takes about 15 to 20 minutes to shut up. Meanwhile, during this time, the mac is super slow. Im going definitely doing this sad external upgrade.
Thanks.
Thanks for the video, added an evo 870 to my 2012 Mac mini and I’m blown away by the improvement in speed.
Great to hear!
I have the same SSD, but used a docking station, instead of an enclosure. Sierra (not Catalina) installed OK, but it is *not showing under Startup Disk* in order to set it up as such. Any idea as to why it is not showing, *although, it is showing in Finder and Disk Utility?* And yes I formatted it as Journaled and Guid...
Docking specs: Inateck USB 3.0 to SATA I/II/III Dual Bay External Hard Drive Docking Station for 2.5 or 3.5in HDD, SSD, which it is dedicated to hold two disk for back ups. I disconnected one.
Mac 27" Late 2013 with Catalina at present, the highest supported.
@@inolvidable. managed to solve? I have the same problem
Brilliant job, thank you for going into so much detail with it.
I am running the same set up on 27” iMac 2017. Works really well BUT, there is one limitation that nobody is telling in these videos. Please keep in mind that you WILL NOT be able to update to newer versions of mac os x with this set up. Mac os won’t let you installing on external drive, so you will need to wipe the drive and install newer mac os from scratch, and then you won’t be able to restore time machine backup, because it was made from “older” os x version. This way I am stuck with high sierra. Just something to keep in mind.
And yes, I wouldn’t stick external drive above the hole as shown on the video, this is exactly where hot air from the fan blows. Just place the drive below the hole.
Otherwise, great tutorial!
Aziz Sharipov will you have the same update issue if you put a Samsung SSD into the iMac rather than using it as an external?
Thanks in advance!
sdoverland actually I have opened my iMac and replaces HDD with 2TB SSD. Now I have 2.12TB Fusion drive with 128GB APPLE NVME blade ssd + my own samsung 2TB ssd. Works great, and one of the main benefits for me, now Mac allowsto install bootcamp on SSD. So windows sis running fast too.
Obviously I had to make a “clean install” of mac os catalina. I think I shouldn’t have any issues with further updates, since mac treats samsung ssd as part of fusion drive now.
Aziz Sharipov I have a late 2013 iMac 27 inch, just upgraded to 32gb of RAM and the 1tb Samsung SSD should be here on Thursday. Do you think I should install Catalina or just Mojave or High Sierra. Wondering if it will perform well on Catalina after the SSD. It will be a clean install, thoughts?
sdoverland if you don’t have any apps which are not compatible with Catalina, I would go with latest (and hopefully greatest) os x.
I wouldn’t run H Sierra, since it uses HFS+, not APFS, maybe that was the issue which didn’t let me update from HS to Catalina (or Mojave)....
if you don’t have 128gb nvme ssd inside the iMac, I wouldn’t also attempt to put ssd inside the mac, there will be no benefit speed wise.
Aziz Sharipov I currently have an HDD and am upgrading to SSD. I don’t have the fusion as far as I can tell. I am installing Samsung 960 and have heard it really speeds it up compared to factory. The NVME I have to pull off the mobo then I might as well replace the cpu which gets more expensive. I’ve seen some builds on RUclips just replace HDD with SSD and RAM upgrade and say it is way faster. Mine is currently super slow as of now.
Thanks so much for your creative tutorial. I was so disappointed that the fusion drive Apple put in the 21.5" 4K iMac was crippled compared to the one that came with my older 27" iMac. I never expected such a poor decision by them, but can use your tutorial to fix the problem.
You can now buy me a coffee🥤 (if you’re feeling like it) here: www.buymeacoffee.com/crispyaf
✌🏻
how many % of speed you think you lost to original ssd using this device, think 850 evo is slighly faster on normal
First i had one hdd, now it ssd work in side.
I spend 150€ with all, ssd + job.
@@Tasnamira is it bettert than before and you dont have to disassemble your imac?
Thanks, man , i wasn't sure but now i am. double thumbs up mate!!!
Glad I could help! ✌🏼
Hey I tried this but when I hold alt during boot up it only shows my HDD. Any ideas on why? Thanks!
When the drives come up after pressing “alt” on startup you need to press “command” & “r”.
I know this is 6 months late but hopefully if it doesn’t help you it will someone else.
I know a lot of people like to clone their boot disks but I’m partial to copying the files I want externally and then adding them back to a freshly installed brand new OS. I just like doing a new OS install every few years.
So do you transfer all your data (music, videos, photos) to your new SSD drive as well, or do you keep them on your original HDD? Thanks for the informative tutorial!
That’s your choice, you could. But you can always access them.
The SSD gives you the option to take it with you and boot on it on a different Mac. This way you always have a pc nearby ✌️
So you can start imac back on hdd if you want? And all instaled apps be on desctop. So how i understand you get it like a new fresh computer and you can run it on macbook or another imac?
Both the Samsung T5 and T3 drives contain standard Samsung mSata drives. As such, the internal drive can be upgraded once the warranty is expired.
I will order that setup tomorrow with the 1TB SSD using your link below. Thanks again for this tutorial.
Did it work for you? I got an error message saying "this disk is not readable by this computer" My iMac is late 2012 and I am running Mojave
Yes it did, I will leave you a link. You will see in a video I just uploaded last week. That the external SSD is working just fine.
ruclips.net/video/w9MdWZoogl4/видео.html
I never knew what the recovery drive icon was until now.
Video is now a couple years old. Would you still recommend that SSD and enclosure, or something else for a slow 2013 imac? Thank you, and great video!
D Dawson i just got a 2013 imac off ebay and i'm using a samsung 860 evo 250 gb (the newer version of the ssd he has) with a sabrent 2.5" sata to usb 3.0 enclosure and it's working great so far, i don't shut down my imac but applications open up in literally 1-3 seconds. for the enclosure i would highly recommend you get one that has UASP enabled and is USB 3.0
@@mrreggin1 -thanks for the info!!
Thanks for your video. We have similar system, it just mine was 27". Will you suggest NVME + Casing over the normal SSD + Casing for external bootable OS?
Theoretically, USB 3 can go upto 625 MB/s max. So anything faster than that will be capped. I’d say get an NVME only if similarly priced. ✌️
I dont get the reboot option, only Mac HD and windows after pressing and holding Alt key. Any help plesse?
thank you so much for this video, i wanted to update my old imac with an ssd but i've always been scared of opening it, this makes everything much easier! Defnitely gonna do it!
Glad I could help!
After doing this, can I restore from a time machine backup i made from my normal hard drive?
this is way better for beginner who want to upgrade SSD than opening the screen, opening the screen without experience may risky to broke the lcd
Ok you just gave me a better option than opening my 2013 27” iMac up to install an SSD. Thanks
The cost involved and risk is not really worth it >A nice enclosure stuck onto the stand at the back and you have no idea its there .So much quicker !
Hi, I hope you'll still read this comment. I'm planning on adding a SSD to my mid 2011 imac, but the cable for power line is not easily found in my area. So, I have to wait for international shipping until I have everything to install the ssd in my iMac. The question here is, since I already have the SSD and an enlosure I'm thinking of istalling macOS and start using my SSD as my main drive. Will it matter of swapping in the ssd if I already use the same set up as yours in this video for my ssd. Will change connecting SSD via usb make it any difference when I connect it via sata. Thank you in advance.
Thanks for this! Just completed mine. So much faster now
Glad it helped!
I have an older Mac. An early 2008 version to be exact. Apple put a cap on updates for it; it won't update past El Capitan. I was wondering if I will be able to use the latest update (currently High Sierra) if I use an external SSD for my hard drive. I don't think it would be worth it to me if I can't have the latest updates.
Do you still recommend the same components today (end of 2020)? Or do you have updated recommendations on which components to purchase to do this?
I just installed Samsung T7 and it is lightning fast. Very similar setup except I did not use the housing.
Catchy Neato tune! Sounds like Joe Jackson's "Fabulously Absolute"
Thank you for your video, i am looking to do this upgrade on my old imac, how can I tell if has usb 3 or what year/model machine i have? It's an early 27 inch Imac is all i can tell for now.
excellent tutorial - this will be my weekend project.
What option gives me greater speeds? 1 or 2?
Thanks for the tutorial!
Both will give you roughly the same speed with USB port.
Thanks for watching!
@@CrispyAF Thank you so much!
Offtop to the topic of the video. What are the shady spots in the bottom corners of the display and maybe you fixed them as well? I have found the same on my iMac and would like to figure out and take them off. Thanks in advance.
Nice turorial. Do these imac support faster M.2 SSD drives or are you limited to 2.5inch?
2.5 inch
Em Portugues, este foi dos melhores videos que vi no RUclips, por duas razoes, pela simplicidade da explicação e pelo resultado que è exatamente como diz. O meu muito Obrigado. Thank's, I have imac 21,5 3,1ghz late 2015, and now it work much better, thank"s again.
Com que ssd?
Eu coloquei um SSD Samsung Evo 860 500gb, funciona muito bem, o iMac inicia em cerca de 23''
@@Tasnamira eu consegui uma 970 evo plus na Amazon França (venda flash) super barata. Vou recebê-la amanhã e vou testar. Penso conseguir os menos resultados, mas com algo ligeiramente mais pequeno.
:)
I bought an adapter for my 2015 MacBook Pro and bought a 512 GB ssd and put it in instead of the original 128 GB. Much cheaper and the MacBook is back in service. 😊
On my 2011 iMac I bought an SSD and put that in instead of the hybrid which had died. Both machines running well! The opening if the iMac is the hardest part but can be done id you are careful.
A great video rather than opening up the iMac. I use an iMac 27", mid 2011. Can I use the the Thunderbolt ports to connect to a Samsung SSD?
what year is your iMac ? i have a mid 2011 can i use a USB 3.0 ? i am not sure if Mid 2011 came with 3.0 or regular USB
are enclosures using thunderbolt to iMAC more readily available today?
I have tried this with my 2011 iMac and Samsung T7 drive thru USB 2.0 port and the external readings are much slower than my internal drive. is an adapter needed or an enclosure a must?
You must use USB 3 port and an enclosure USB 3
Man I love you! Thanks to this video I just installed mine.
i had done the same thing before watching this video but summed it all Good job :-)
Super movie. do you recommend doing it with a samsung ssd t5 500gb drive? best regards
Hey. If the case have sleep mode. Is it a problem? Or should I look for simple one without? And thanks a lot for the tutorial, we can avoid opening this beautiful computer ;)
Excuseme I have a question about the live of your Ssd. In this 2021 how is the live of your Ssd, still have the same speed, had you ever changed for another Ssd?. It's because I want do put an external Ssd in my iMac 2013 late and I want to have a longer live with my Ssd.
Good tutorial. I'll put it into practice with my old iMac.
timestamp 3:33 - Instead of choosing "Reinstall MacOs" can I choose "Restore from time machine" ?
Bro..your video has helped a lot about this SATA thing. Thank you so much. Of course I have subscribed to your channel. I also have a small channel so I understand how important are the subscriptions. Thank you again 🙏🙏
Could somebody tell me why all these iMacs have that black shades in buttom corners of the screen??? I changed two screens in the warranty period, but those are always coming back... Apple didn’t say anything abou a general problem/recall. Thanks!
Great video, thanks. Would all software previously installed on the HDD need to be removed and reinstalled onto the SSD?
Or can you just clone it all? Thanks!
Thinking on doing this for my birthday as it costs alot for the ssd and i need a big one XD. Thanks for the video. Liked!
Excellent ....still in may 2020 ....used evo 860 on mojave os
I just bought my T5 500G , this is just awesome tutorial
Chris Kayenge I wants buy this is t5 for my iMac 27” 2012 later
Which is you computer ? And which programs use ??
I work in photoshop and want
I would like to know if changing my hard drive for an SSD will help me in my photoshop performance
Great video. If the old HDD was physically replaced with the SSD (remove glass and replace) would it still boot automatically from the SSD (even if it was on the internal bus)?
It will boot from whatever drive you instruct it to if you boot in recovery mode and it will remember that going forward. What exactly are you wanting to do? If you end up replacing the internal drive with SSD obviously you’d want to use that as a boot drive because it makes more sense.
I would highly recommend putting an sad into the computer itself and use the HDD for storage.
Of course that is the ideal solution, but opening up the iMac isn’t really easy for everyone.
@@cyoney true.
What are the dark smudges on the lower left and right corners of your iMac screen. That happened to mine after about 18 months from new. I gave the iMac away and bought a PC thinking the screen was going bad on an iMac that cost me nearly $5k. I want to buy another iMac, possibly the iMac Pro but afraid this will happen again. And now I see it on your CrispyAF iMac in this video.
It’s got dust inside the lcd in between the glass and the white plastic that’s behind the screen. It’s fixable. You have to pull out the screen and disassemble the lcd enclosure. Not hard just have to be careful not to force anything. Takes about 30mins. Then pesto it’s back to new. I sealed mine up with some silver insulation tape so it doesn’t happen again. That was 3 years ago and it still looks perfect.
You gave away a $5k Mac because of fingerprints?
Daniel Viktor you cannot on the 27 inch slim models the lcd and glass are glued together making it very difficult
I used a docking station, instead of an enclosure. Sierra (not Catalina) installed OK, but it is not showing under Startup Disk in order to set it up as such. Any idea as to why it is not showing, although, it is showing in Finder and Disk Utility? And yes I formatted it as Journaled and Guid...
Docking specs: Inateck USB 3.0 to SATA I/II/III Dual Bay External Hard Drive Docking Station for 2.5 or 3.5in HDD, SSD, which it is dedicated to hold two disk for back ups. I disconnected one.
Mac 27" Late 2013 with Catalina at present, the highest supported.
Any quick help would be very appreciated.
Thanks for the tip to tape (I have Velcro. Just in case I gottz ta go!) to the back.👍🏾
What if your Mac has lion in the firmware? I am running Catalina on my late 2012 imac. I went through these steps and it ended up putting lion on the SSD. how can I get Catalina on there instead?
Not sure if you will see this. I followed your instructions & had a rather protracted (1 day in to the wee hours) time of getting this right. I am not a wiz kid with these computers but did follow your instructions. I eventually succeeded though am still uncertain I achieved what I set out to. I used a 1TB Samsung with same Transcend container. I carried out the process on my MacBook Pro late 2011. The boot up works is it faster well yes & no. I downloaded Blackmagic but it fails to operate as it states that both the internal HD & my external SSD are read only. I can't alter this & nothing I can see online (apart an old post in Macforums) explains what to do. I even tried to follow the Apple support approach to load High Sierra on to an SSD as a bootable drive & the logic string was not recognised in Terminal. I realise that you are offering this as a frustrated user but any further help would be appreciated. Oh and yes how do I eject the SSD I managed to get it into the sidebar but it doesn't have a north facing arrow next to it. Best regards.
Gerry
My external drive shows up as the boot drive but the lights don't flash (they are on) when starting up or when accessing a file.
Thanks for the video! How to move all Applications to the external bootable Drive?
Hello, thanks for the videos, just a question, the trim is not supported by the usb, the ssd die quickly, no?
Really informative and entertaining video! How much slower would the T5 (500GB) drive be? And would I notice an even bigger difference compared to the newer EVO 860 with the Transcend enclosure?
The speeds here are limited by the USB interface. You won't notice the difference with any of those ✌️
Your video at 1:33 says "Samsung T5 SSD comes with USB connectivity but is slower than the 850" Am I missing something?
Well, I went out and picked up the 500GB version of the T5 last night to use with my Late 2013 iMac. I cloned my iMac HD to the T5 and set the T5 as the Startup Disk. The difference is amazing! Startup is at least 4 times as fast. But, what really thrills me is how much faster apps launch. Mail used to take a full minute to launch and be ready to actually use. Now it's ready in 4 or 5 seconds. GarageBand used to take forever to launch and load a project. Now it's ready to go in less than 10 seconds. I feel like I have a brand iMac!
@@rodtompkins I'm also planning to buy a T5 500GB to speed up my mid 2017 21.5' iMac with 1TB Fusion Drive. Thinking about connecting it to Thunderbolt 3. So I should get a higher speed right?
@@KasunDeSilvamyprofile I'd think so! Let me know how it goes.
Problems with trim? It’s possible to enable the Trim?
I have a samsung T5 but when i press the alt buttom the external SSD won’t appear i only can choose hd. I did erased it like the video. Can u help? Its a late 2013 imac running on Catalina
If I wanted to listen to music, I would turn on Apple Music.
Is APFS better for this? Or should we stick to Mac OS extended?
how much slower is the Samsung T5 SSD compared to this?
can i transfer all my programs and app in the external? does it get hot if you leave it for a long period of time?
Crystal clear explanation. Plain and usefull.
my apple M1 only has 8gb and I am trying to use a photo program but the photos are too large and i could wait half a minute till it renders...would this help speed it up? I just bought the card and already had the external case for it which I use for regular usb devices. thank you.
Did this and works perfectly
This is great, I ordered an iMac with 1tb fusion drive, but I think I'll just get something like Samsung T5 and install OS there. Question, I see that iMac 2017 supports USB 3.1 via one of the thunderbolt ports. Are there any adapters that would allow me to use T5 (or any other external ssds) with thunderbolt for its full potential? Thanks for the video!
You have to use thunderbolt enclosure SSD to see its full potential.
Btw, be aware that using USB external ssd with Mojave causes an annoying delay in the OS boot - about 10 seconds between the beep sound and apple logo appears. I have this problem, and it is common for USB 3.1 Ssd.
@@Xandirishe thanks! I tried using Mohave with the external ssd, but I was getting the delay you mentioned, plus my system froze and crashed under load, I think when it ran out of memory. I've installed high Sierra and had 0 issues for the past few months.
Liked your video! On my mid 2011iMac, I'm trying to install Mac OS High Sierra onto a Samsung T5 500GB SSD. I intend buying a Samsung 2TB 860 EVO SSD, and the Transcend case, but I just wanted to follow your steps to determin if it would work with the T5 in the mean time.. But I can't get High Sierra to install on the T5. I followed your process a number of times, but cant get it too work. The port on my iMac is a USB 2.0. I do have all my files on the iMac backed up to another bootable HDD. I used Super Duper software to do do it. My question is; why won't High Siera install onto the T5? Thanks in advance for your help
Format
Samsung does not have a firmware update for Mac OS so this is not advisable for Mac users. Look for an SSD that supports firmware update for Mac OS.
I have a MacBook Pro and am considering this. On paper Samsung SSD is faster than the Apple. Would you expect a similar increase SSD vs SSD?
No
Would this work for a late 2019 21.5 inch imac
this is an amazing video dude!
if you do put the new ssd in, would it keep all of your original apps, or would it start from scratch?
When i follow the steps its starts installing as it gets to the end of installing it restarts the mac and boots into the internal drive. If i hold option on startup the ssd is not showing in start up disk and only internal or recovery. Any clues why?
I did same on vdo but my speed only 120mb/s my imac is 2015 model with usb 3.0 supported. Idk what happened
Very clear and helpful. Thanks a lot my dude! :)
Do you recommend the Samsung T7 SSD or the SanDisk 500GB Extreme Portable SSD to do this? Thanks!
Could you plrease recommend some of the fastest model with usb 3.00 (USP technology) enclosure and thunderbolt as well to speed up IMAC LATE 2015 - I am now using Fusion Drive (3tb).
uasp I mean
I run El Capitan on my HD but have put Catalina on an external SSD so I can choose which system to use. For some reason this makes the SSD invisible so I cannot choose it as a startup disk. The SSD is visible when it is used as just an external drive but as soon as I install a system it disappears. It's quite bizarre!
So this also works with the Samsung T5 and you wouldn’t need an enclosure?
Yes
CrispyAF thaaank you! I’ve been on the verge of buying a 21.5 iMac but really don’t wanna pay an extra $300 for a 500gbssd or get stuck with a laughable 256gbssd 😑. I was planning to get the 1tb fusion drive and using a Samsung T5 to speed up the system.
Which set up is better, the Samsung 860 with the enclosure or the Samsung t5?
alex alfonso yes i have it lmao
@@CrispyAF I'm having horrible boot time after this, I'm using my Samsung T5 SSD and Mac OS Mojave. Any suggestions?
Eu coloquei um SSD Samsung Evo 860 500gb, funciona muito bem, o iMac inicia em cerca de 23''
Can i do the same for my Macbook pro laptop?
Yes, i use one SSD for both my iMac and my Macbook Pro, you can do same for macbook pro and it will run a lot faster, for me i have flash storage in my imac and the ssd is a lot faster.
Hi, followed the instructions till restart step without any issues. However the new drive does not appear for selection to do the reinstall step. Am I doing anything wrong? Thanks Sidd
Wich model is this imac from what year?
dude that option does not work, apple does not accept updates for old versions not even new versions it need to be done offline , quesion, what i clone the hard drive to my usb key? should that work?
I have done the same but my IMac still takes a minute to boot :( Is there anything I can try
Thanks for sharing this tutorial video! I have restarted and choose recovery installation, the Apple logo came out and my iMac has been idle for a Long time, I am not sure if it’s still working on the installation or jam? Please advice, thanks!
Instead of erasing my data, can I just use the migration assistant and copy everything from my hdd to ssd? And if not can I backup my hdd installation on an external hdd and use the time machine backup on the external ssd?
How's the result!?
will this work on my iMac Mid 2014?
What tape did you use on the back of your imac?
Do you need to reinstall all your programs again on the new drive? Not sure how this works, since it kept the old drive.
After doing this, how do you run programs like lightroom and photoshop that were on the HDD? (Not very techy-here)
Cmd + space bar, then search for Photoshop.