Easily add an SSD to ANY iMac 2012-2019 model

[@WhoDatRightDer]

Nailed it, homie. Couple years after you post this, and it's still relevant. Thanks!

[@ImLeeLoi]

Yay! Delighted to hear.

[@meep2253]

Thank you, this actually worked for me!

[@ImLeeLoi]

So glad this worked out!

[@jasonmadr]

I've been using this method on my 2012 iMac 21.5 inch. Tried putting an SSD internally but it won't let me install macOS on it for unknown reason. If I have the original HDD that came with it. It works fine. Something to do with the cable. These iMacs are hard to disassemble. Solution I added a Portable NVMe Drive USB 3.0 + Samsung 980 and it works smoothly. I also removed the internal HDD from the iMac.

[@ImLeeLoi]

Glad to hear you found something that works!

[@dino2400]

Works for me too. Machine runs like old again. But there is one issue remaining. Microsoft Office doesn't work anymore .... that has to be on the internal disk. Any remedy for that item?

[@ImLeeLoi]

You can still access the old HDD and install office on it. You may need to enable the Hard drive in the finder preferences

[@brandon96101]

When installing MacOS I got past accessibility, selected my internet, then it wants me to transfer my data (“Transfer information to this iMac”), and it shows Macintosh HD, and not the external ssd. Do I transfer or not? I don’t know if it accidentally switched to the Macintosh HD on accident.

[@donenricokuflani]

What keys to press on an imac keyboard? Command, Alt? Thanks.

[@ImLeeLoi]

Yes, I have subtitles hand written to assist while watching the video if you turn on CC.

[@malicknimaga4530]

I can’t run black magic to check the speed. I keep receiving error message “Disc Speed Test Cannot be run on the selected location because it is read only.” Can you please help me with that? Thank you

[@ImLeeLoi]

Just check disk permissions.

[@katvictoria]

Umm I think I made a mistake. I'm currently in the internet recovery stage, but I realized that I forgot to backup the Mac. Is it safe to proceed to the next stage and install the OS on the SSD? Or should I shut down the Mac again and start it normally then back it up? Follow-up question, how do I backup the files? Thank you so much in advance! p.s. Am I supposed to clone the files from the HDD to the new SSD (since I still want to keep my files)? Or can I just use the HDD for my files while the SSD is for starting the Mac, meaning the only thing on the SSD is the OS, but I still save and use my files on the HDD? (sorry I don't really know how this works ;-;)

[@ImLeeLoi]

You nailed it with your last P.S paragraph but you can always turn it off and backup your files. Like that's step 1, clearly backup first!

[@katvictoria]

@@ImLeeLoi Oh, okay. Thank you very much!

[@timallix4407]

Great idea if you don't want to open the computer, which is very tricky and requires patience and a steady hand. You can save some time by going into recovery mode (Option R), then perform a "restore" to the USB drive. This will "clone" the old HD to the new one, saving you the time of backing up, and then re-loading a fresh copy of the OS (which is actually unnecessary). Then you can use the option key to set the default boot device to the newly cloned external HD. I've just been through this, and it works. I went one step further: I removed the screen and properly installed the newly cloned SSD drive inside the enclosure. A word to the wise if you attempt this: don't use a metal knife to cut the glue on the monitor, I have wrecked two monitors in my experimentation. Use a plastic bladed "pizza cutter" to cut the glue strips. You can buy this tool on Amazon, and it comes with the tape to glue the monitor back on. Cheers!

[@petelc559]

I believe the keyboard sequence is COMMAND R for recovery.

[@timallix4407]

@@petelc559 I stand corrected!

[@robertoperaza2683]

​@@timallix4407 I tried both and the working one is COMMAND+R

[@AliAhmadIC]

Thanks for this video. In agreement with everyone else, my 2017 iMac 5k feels like a brand new machine now after adding a 1Tb SSD.

[@ImLeeLoi]

Great to hear! Glad this worked for you and your getting those performance boosts.

[@aman681]

I have the same iMac and it’s super slow. Once you moved the os to the external ssd was the data on the fusion drone still intact? Do the apps also get transferred or they remain on the Fusion Drive? Thanks

[@4Ever1727]

DEAR LORD, i did not think this would be so hard to find. Thank you so much for this video. Exactly what i was looking for, simple and to the point. YAY! NEW SSD FOR MY MAC MINI 2014!!! :-)

[@ImLeeLoi]

Glad I could help!

[@beccaharp9555]

Thank you so much! I bought a 2019 Mac right before they updated them. It’s been super slow and super frustrating. I was getting ready to either buy a mini Mac or replace the hard drive with a ssd internally. This was so much easier. You’re the best!

[@ImLeeLoi]

Congratulations Becca! I'm so glad this helped you. Main thing is your iMac is fast now. :)

[@KlausKrog]

just clone your intern hd to the usb hd with carbon copy cloner og superduper for free. then you have all your files still.

[@terriwhite2349]

Thank you so very, very much. My husband would have a fit every time he tried to work on our iMac...to pay a bill or check something, etc. Ugh. It was so very frustrating. You literally saved us so much time, money, and headaches! Installed the new SSD external drive and followed your directions. What a changed world it is to use that machine now! Oh, my. You are such a Godsend. Thanks, again! Cheers from across the pond! Slainte!

[@ImLeeLoi]

Yay! So happy this helped and made your computing experience much easier!

[@hackexpert0003]

All Intel iMacs are scams except the 5K display it’s stunning

[@simplysarab13]

Awesome. Saved me a lot of money and the torture my iMac would have undergone to install an internal SSD. And you explained it very nicely buddy 👍🏻❤️

[@ImLeeLoi]

Yeah I’m glad it worked for you! :) Thanks for supporting the channel.

[@simplysarab13]

Hi Again. Looks like I celebrated a little too early :P My iMac (late Dec 2013) is stuck on the globe screen showing 0:01 as the remaining time... Been a couple hours.. Is it okay to force reboot the Mac or will it damage the OS on my hard drive? Please advise :)

[@ImLeeLoi]

@@simplysarab13 Hi Sarabjit Singh! That means it's having trouble downloading macOS off the internet. If you force reboot you will be ok as this how to guide never touches your old install. If it's having trouble downloading and you have a spare USB key lying around feel free to download Mac OS Big Sur ISO to the memory stick and install offline. :)

[@simplysarab13]

@@ImLeeLoi Thank you. Was able to reboot. Will try it again tomorrow. Thanks again :)

[@ImLeeLoi]

@@simplysarab13 Dos1Dude has a patcher that allows you to install MacOS Big Sur on unsupported Macs but his tool is actually a very good way of putting Mac OS Big Sur on to a USB Thumb Drive so that's something you can try. :)

[@kauly70]

Oh man, this is huge advice and tutorial from you for us, thousands thanks for it, now my iMac 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i3 is rapidly speeded up using LaCie 1TB mobile SSD. It is a vast difference than before, quite easy to understand what you have done step by step. Again huge thanks, bro 😎👊

[@ImLeeLoi]

Glad to hear it helped!

[@desertfox432]

The speed said "up to 480 Mb/s" what do I do? (Lacie portable external SSD 1T)

[@stevengallagher7174]

Wow what a difference!!!!! Thank you so much I had a spare SSD and now my 8 year old MAC works again like new.

[@ImLeeLoi]

I'm so glad it worked for you. For best compatibility make sure you format the SSD as Mac OS Extended Journaled and not AFPS

[@Helloimsleepy]

Thanks for the tutorial video. Very easy, right to the point and well explained. Cheers.

[@ImLeeLoi]

I'm glad this helped you Isabela! :)

[@jakeharvey9651]

Thanks for the great video. However, I have encountered an issue. When installing the latest OS onto my SSD the mac restarts. It defaulted back to the original internal drive once, so tried again. This time, I caught it mid reset by holding down the alt key to switch to the SSD however it is no showing up? Am I missing something?

[@ImLeeLoi]

So If the install isn't finishing the SSD won't show up when you hold alt. Make sure you formatted the SSD correctly as Journaled and NOT Apfs. I hand wrote the subtitles in video, turn them on and double check! :)

[@garyfalosparisis9039]

Hello there! Thank you for this great video! I have one question, in terms of speed/performance is there a difference between using an external portable SSD vs opening the computer and installing an internal SSD? I would like to avoid the latter solution for a number of reasons. Moreover, my computer (late 2015 imac 27 retina) does not support PCI type internal SSD (only SATA-at least so I have been told) so my options are either an external USB 3.0 SSD or an internal SATA connection SSD. Thank you in advance!

[@ImLeeLoi]

I think there would be minor speed increases by using it internally but you can read the other comments down below a lot of people are very happy with their external SSD. Why go through all that effort!

[@garyfalosparisis9039]

@@ImLeeLoi thank you for your reply! actually I was planning to give it to a third party certified repair shop, they charge 270 euros in total for the work and SSD. I would never attempt to do something like that on my own! My biggest worry is of psychological nature I would say, running the whole computer from a tiny little stick hanging outside the computer feels a bit bizarre lol. However I may consider this option and if I am not happy I might as well keep the external SSD and go for the upgrade later on. Thanks again for your time!

[@ImLeeLoi]

@@garyfalosparisis9039 as I said: VELCRO!!

[@shanep1223]

Nice Thanks a lot, This is going to save me like $600 on my two 2013 imacs!

[@ImLeeLoi]

Incredible savings! I’m glad you found this useful! 💸💸💸

[@djhonz45]

Was going to fork out £250 on ebay for a new imac but only spent £35 after seeing. It's like I have a new computer! I can go back to making house music without lagging issues. Massive respects bruv 🙏

[@user-eb6eb2hk6q]

THANK YOU for the fantastic tutorial and explanation to understand why so many iMacs have a problem with speed. I’ve been suffering with my annoyingly slow iMac desktop for the 3 years-ever since I bought it-and even tried to get professional help. Lately it’s become so slow, with the constant spinning wheel, I couldn’t stand it anymore and turned to KZbin for help. What a great solution-thanks again for your video. 💯

[@ImLeeLoi]

K! I'm so happy this has helped you!

[@johnpaullennon1199]

😂 Every black Friday I get a larger new NVME SSD to swap out on my PC, it takes about 20min to image copy and I don't have to hack anything or play games or only buy certain parts that cost 3x more for less performance. It just works!

[@GarethBoot]

This was just what I was looking for. Solved my problem and saved me a £200 repair. You sir are a legend.

[@ImLeeLoi]

Glad it helped you Gareth! :)

[@apistosig4173]

see Mint Above

[@Walkwalk88]

Believe it or not…My iMac 2017 took like 12mins to boot up

[@AOB-SSC]

Was this before or after upgrade???

[@Walkwalk88]

Before. After upgrade is like 45 secs! 😅

[@malcomk]

Thank you for the video. Is there anyway I can disable the old HDD to be used as boot up? It seems at booting it still takes long time, seems the imac is taking time to decide which one to bootup with. It's not asking me to choose, it boot up with SSD eventually. Once booting up, the computer is fast.

[@ricardocauthinrua3481]

Hi just seen ur video, gives me hope for my iMac 27” that I bought in 2012. I rammed it with 32GB RAM memory, and 3 TB hdd. BUT it is a Fusion Drive. Checked my CPU, and ram memory usage I have tonnes of it to spare as I only use to surf and watch movies and music. Nothing mayor. Yet it suddenly went mega slow on me the rainbow circle spinning away. I’m hoping this will buy my lovingly taken care of iMac a few more years as the new apple stuff looks like shit in my eyes and design was part of the apple parcel that made me go for it. Keep fingers crossed and will see if this works out for me 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

[@priyankakushal9072]

are we suppose to select external ssd every time we turn on our imac?Thank you for the video.

[@imageorri9080]

Would I still be able to download stuff on the hard drive

[@ImLeeLoi]

Yes

[@clubfootish]

My Mini Mac 2011 boots up in 3 sec. & OS / internet loads the same.. I'm looking at an external SSD just for storage

[@art562]

The problem I have is that my 2014 iMac 🖥️ .. has only USB 3 to upgrade n still not that fast . Is 460 write /read

[@Foredres]

I did it for my iMac 21.5 using an NVME and an enclosure, it has been perfect since that, before it I was suffering just opening Safari lol

[@synthoelectro]

Do you realize how hard this is to do in a PC machine? I am so jumping over to Mac after being a PC user since the beginning in 94. i need it for my music, and I'm tired of tinkering.

[@Explore531]

im ordering my SSD Drive 1 tb and 32gb ddr3 and i7 3900k for my imac 2013 model

[@cedricwilliams5661]

My cousin just gave me a 2013 iMac a few days ago and it's kinda slow. I'm about to get on Amazon and find an SSD, and the part that's needed to connect the SSD to my computer. If I need any help, I'll let you know. Thanks, man!

[@paulychannel7914]

I have a 2011 Imac that came with 4GB RAM & 500GB hard drive. Just ( easily installed ) another 8GB RAM . Computer is already running much faster! So I'm waiting for a Lacie 2TB external thunderbolt hard drive & will "clone" the spinning hard drive on it with a Samsung 870 EVO ( 500 gb) SSD. So then....... without having to open up the computer ETC .....I will hopefully double or triple the speed of this old..... ( but still very good).....2011 Imac .... Wish me luck!

[@eltruheyo]

Great tutorial! Very well explained, patient and detailed! Thanks!

[@netokiddgetblownmusic6459]

Doing this will I lose my stuff from the hard drive

[@mgovinda5508]

Will this work with Sonoma os? On the old 2013 imac

[@joshhart379]

What happens to all the data on the old hard drive? Do you need to copy it over?

[@lmf0620]

Hey Lee-Loi, thank God I found this video! Been searching for a solution since last year. I just bought the Sandisk Extreme Pro 1TB and followed your tutorial - my iMac feels like a new M1 Mac computer. lol. Since I totally erased my hard drive prior to the installation of OS in SSD, I'm wondering what's the use of my 1TB HDD? I can see it using disk utility but not in finder. Thank you so much!

[@ImLeeLoi]

It's still there! In finder preferences make sure you tick to show all hard drives on the desktop and in the side bar.

[@LockWithNoKeys]

I can’t find the or key on the keyboard 😂

[@lysbaf]

Very clear, thanks. One thing after watching 3 videos on this same topic, nobody mentions the safe GB capacity minimum for the external SSD to have?

[@ImLeeLoi]

No minimum needed! 120GB I suppose is as cheap as one can get!

[@thomasz4684]

Thanks for the video, the hard drive in our 2012 iMac failed and the repair company tried to charge us $600 to replace it with an SSD!

[@ImLeeLoi]

The price of a weekend holiday!

[@JayMadeelrubio]

Quick question, If i do this, will i lose my current files that are stored on my macs internal hard drive? I have alot of audio plugins installed on this computer and dont want to have to reinstall them

[@ImLeeLoi]

They remain! You can access them from the finder after.

[@ralfiust]

A really easy, much cleaner and potentially cheaper way to get this done is to use a 256gb flash drive from Sandisk or Lexar with a 550Mb/s minimum read speed. They cost about $30 bucks on amazon. I just did this and the performance is amazing, on par with what's described here. Small footprint, less likely to lose connection/ fall out.

[@ImLeeLoi]

Flash drives aren't really built to last the same way SSDs are. It's not the Port being USB that's the deficiency, it's what the actual flash memory was designed to do.

[@tomasztomek8210]

I have a slow iMac from 2019. It has an i3 processor, 8GB of RAM, and most importantly, a 1TB regular spin hard drive. I bought a 512MB Kingston USB-C stick with a write speed of 1,000MB per second. I installed the latest operating system, Sonoma (14.5), on it. For two weeks, the computer worked extremely well, fast and without any issues. After two weeks, I had to restart it, and since then, the computer has been restarting itself after few hours constantly. How can I find the cause?

[@ImLeeLoi]

Interesting. So USB Sticks like flash drives do work differently than external hard drives, so I can't be quite sure. What I can say is to make sure nothing is plugged in beside the ports around the Flash drive, so typically I recommend you plug the drive into the very left or the very right port then make sure the port next to it is never used.

[@derrickdmv]

Omg! You are a godsend! My 2015 iMac runs faster than my 2021 MacBook! This insane!

[@ImLeeLoi]

Yay!

[@markholdsworth7665]

I cannot get this to work at all!

[@mmonteros3719]

Also, after reformatting my Samsung drive to APFS, my 2012Imac (13,2) won't read the drive. I'm running Mountain Lion 10.8.5 as it was the only OS available through Recovery.

[@ImLeeLoi]

I'm not sure how to do it with Legacy Core Patch. I do only recommend installing the most recent SUPPORTED OS. My apologies!

[@mmonteros3719]

Any suggestions on how to upgrade to a newer OS on an obsolete iMac (27" late 2012, 2.9 GHz, 32GB ram). I want to use your method (using external SSD for start up) but with the Legacy core patch. Trying to figure out if I do this first, then the patch from that external drive...

[@ImLeeLoi]

I'm not quite sure how legacy core works and I don't want to recommend bad advice!

[@juansebastianmarinvillegas9968]

I can’t thank you enough for this. I thought my iMac was dying until I tried this, feels like a brand new computer. THANKS!!!!

[@ImLeeLoi]

Juan! I am so so happy this works for you!

[@TheGabagoolGuru]

How do I backup my current user profile and all documents, photos, etc?

[@ImLeeLoi]

You could use Dropbox, iCloud Drive, and other services that offer free storage solutions online. You could also use a USB Flash drive.

[@JeffWaynee]

For an operating system drive you should always use an SSD with a DRAM cache. The Kingston A400 drives have no DRAM.

[@ImLeeLoi]

Cheap and cheerful but a great note!

[@mikegord]

I found booting from a CHEAP SSD was NOT apreciably SLOWER than booting from a Samsung T series drive. Your looking at tech that is up to 10 years old for say a 2013 iMac. Installing a internal SSD is a major project and can result in disaster if the screen separates. And you lock your SSD inside a closed system and cannot increase its capacity without more surgery.

[@ImLeeLoi]

Glad to hear! Definitely not worth the risk!

[@toomuchfandango]

Thanks so much for doing this video really helped me!!

[@ImLeeLoi]

Glad this helped!

[@apistosig4173]

Max Out the Ram, insert SSD and install Linux Mint - Mint runs flawlessly on older Imacs - I have "just" updated to the latest release (Nov 2023)

[@ImLeeLoi]

Linux is always great on older hardware if your brave to using the interface!

[@digitalaidreamers]

I did this and its fast and I love you for this video.....i had a problem today when I turned on my mac and it took 3 minutes to get to the home screen and once I was there everything was quicker.....what did I do wrong? PLLEASSSEE! Thank you Thank you.😍

[@ImLeeLoi]

Hmmm... I'm not sure. How is it now?

[@luistirado88]

What about attaching a SSD drive with thunderbolt? Wouldn't that be faster than USB 3.0?

[@ImLeeLoi]

Yes, but good luck finding a cheap Thunderbolt 2 SSD!

[@melonsya]

Hi, I just bought a 2017 Imac with no keyboard and mouse and when I try to turn it on, it displays a question mark folder. I just wonder if plugging an external ssd would help it to start the Imac ??😢

[@ImLeeLoi]

A question mark means it can't find an installation of Mac OS. You can try re-installing it using the steps shown in the video. If that fails go out and buy an external SSD and follow the steps from the very very beginning of video!

[@JoseVGavila]

Is there a way to install a newer, unsupported OS on an external SSD?. I have a late 2013 21.5" iMac running Big Sur on its internal SSD. Thanks!

[@ImLeeLoi]

I can't recommend running unsupported OS but there are options. Look at DosDude1

[@maureenlawson2866]

Getting ready to try this as soon as ssd arrives. If the ssd is the start up disk, will I be able to access documents in the ssd or will they still be accessed via the original HD?

[@ImLeeLoi]

You can access your old documents on the original HDD. You can browse the files in finder. You might need to open the preferences to show "all disks'

[@skyrunnerpictures]

Can you run unreal engine 5 on these machines? I have 32 gb ram. I could download windows 10? And switch to SSD. Thoughts?

[@ImLeeLoi]

oooh I don't know. That's a big ask of a 11 year old iMac.

[@BenjiWilmshurst]

I’m about to do this I’ve had my parents iMac just stuffed away for about 3 years and I saw this video and about to give that iMac a second chance

[@ImLeeLoi]

Glad to hear it! Breathe life back into it!

[@ccoquet]

My 2017 iMac is super slow and i'm afraid of open the guts out of the computer. I think this is a good solution :)

[@ImLeeLoi]

Glad this helped?

[@love2huntbooks2]

With an SSD start up drive, can I install the latest OS (say Sonoma) to a 2013 27" iMac?

[@ImLeeLoi]

I don't recommend using unsupported software.

[@guypellerrin5441]

What do i do to transfert my wifi?

[@ivanchox]

Thank you! I used a sandisk extreme on a late 2015 Imac and runs much faster than when i got it brand new! Is like having a new computer! Thanks so much!

[@ImLeeLoi]

Glad I could help! Glad it brought some life back to your iMac!!

[@satwatchers]

Would this work on my 2010 iMac? Hey. Great video!!!

[@ImLeeLoi]

...2012 - 2019.

[@garyellis4173]

Great video, but it will not let me select my new ssd, it says something about changing partitions. 🙄

[@ImLeeLoi]

So follow the video step by step, you need to format the SSD first!

[@Day11film]

this was really helpfull!! I din't want to break my imac attempting to remove the screen

[@ImLeeLoi]

Yep!

[@ahmadragland9541]

I have a question, I installed my own drive but now I am unable to download adobe software apps like illustrator and photoshop because it says that its case sensitive?

[@ImLeeLoi]

Right so unfortunately you do need to restart this process and make sure when you format the drive you do not choose CASE SENSITIVE. Certain apps and particularly games cannot work on a Case sensitive formatted drive.

[@pri5748]

Thank god for this. Now I don't have to open up my imac and reseal it =D Thanks

[@ImLeeLoi]

Glad this worked for you! :)

[@Rol-fy3my]

Installed external hard drive every thing went smoothly apart from when it rebooted it for some reason is asking me for the wi fi code of a nearby college which i was never a student at and without that will not let me back into my computer !

[@ImLeeLoi]

Did you buy a security locked second hand iMac?

[@Anonymous-it5jw]

Thanks for this video. I noticed that the SSD you used, while inexpensive, had a much lower storage capacity that the original HD. Were you using the SSD only for system operations, and the original HD for regular document, email and/or image file storage, or did the SSD take over those functions as well? Thanks again for a well-thought, well-presented video.

[@ImLeeLoi]

Either or! Many in the comments are keeping their photos and videos on the old drive for infrequent access and most iMacs have 1TB which is a lot. It's the family computer so not much is stored on it in this situation.

[@StoryCentric24]

I just used this method to upgrade my late 2015 imac 21.5" with a 1TB fusion drive; I added an external 1TB Samsung T7 SSD, for $99 ; it took me better part of a day -- I restored from a Timce Machine backup -- but also upgraded to Monterey from Big Sur. Took some tweaking but now it runs SO fast... take a couple of minutes to boot up (it is new software on an old machine) but once it's booted it is running incredibly fast. Thank you, Lee Loi-Chang for this, you probably saved me $1000!!! Very simple and easy.

[@ImLeeLoi]

Ed! I am SOO happy to hear this. That is SOO much money right - have a holiday for that!

[@basedcheese]

if i do this upgrade, will my windows BootCamp be deleted?

[@ImLeeLoi]

Not on your current drive no.

[@ipaulphone]

Your the best!!!! I was going to open heart surgery on my iMac 2012 to upgrade the ram. You save my life!!!

[@ImLeeLoi]

This doesn't help ram but you are very welcome!

[@wimzeijden4329]

Nothing works on my mac , what you say . your mac is working my mac Not. Mebie thats way you explane easy.

[@ImLeeLoi]

Re-follow the instructions. Make sure your using the right iMac and the External SSD is working properly. Use English subtitles to assist.

[@deane9050]

Hi great info, could you help, I am trying to add the Samsung ssd T7 as my drive but when it comes to the choice when downloading Catalina between Mac hd and the Samsung t7 , the t7 is shaded out and it says.This disk doesn't use the GUID partition table scheme. use disk utility to change partition scheme.select the device containing the disk, click the erase button, select volume scheme and then erase, but there is no option for that. thank you

[@ImLeeLoi]

Click on the Samsung T7 in disk utility. You might have to click on the drive itself, above the partition table then go to partition tab and change current to 1 partition and erase and make. MAC OS EXTENDED JOURNALED.

[@deane9050]

@@ImLeeLoi Thank you your a life saver , job done

[@rayman121985]

Can you set the SSD as the default OS so it starts as default?

[@ImLeeLoi]

Yes. System preferences and startup disk.

[@doglabdogtraining-gus.8873]

Great videos , thank you , would this work with a 2011 imac ?

[@ImLeeLoi]

Unfortunately not as USB 3.0 is a major factor here. You could try if you got your hands on a FireWire 800 SSD enclosure or 1GB Ethernet SSD enclosure and that would be faster but just not as fast as seen here and untested.

[@OOG2023]

I've done it on my mid 2010 iMac and I've noticed quite a big difference. I don't think it would be as effective as those with USB3 though.

[@alka19700]

Great video, my mac has slowed down over the years, and will definitely be giving it a go, can you recommend the best SSD for my iMac it is a (27-inch, late 2013) , processor 3.2 GHz quad-core intel core i5. Memory 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3, with 4 USB, I'm not sure if it has USB c 3.0 or 3.1. Iv looked on amazon and there is so many SSD being sold it's a bit bewildering and I would just be guessing. would really appreciate your advice as I don't have a clue thanks again. ;)

[@ImLeeLoi]

Hi Alan, it depends on how much you want to spend as I said in the video. If you got the Cash get the SanDisk or Samsung T5. They run at USB 3.1 but will slow down to USB 3.0 for your iMac but when you eventually do upgrade the new Computer would take advantage of it. Because it is an old iMac, if you want to save some cash - consider getting an SSD from Kingston and an enclosure like I demoed. :)

[@colinshepherd5663]

Hi Lee I have a iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) looking at using La Cie Portable SSD, 2TB, External SSD, USB-C, 2nd generation USB 3.2, speeds up to 1050MB/s, as apple states it boots ok. My question is I only have usb 3 to plug into am going to get good speeds as I read that wouldn't be as quick because not connected to mother board and something to do with latency. any ideas lol

[@ImLeeLoi]

Yeah, it'll never be as fast as opening up the iMac and performing surgery, but as I say in the video most users are happy with this performance.

[@kbishop94]

Did you ever get this? Did it work 'ok'? (I'm looking at basically the same thing... 2TB SSD , USB-C -> USB-B 3.2,,, just wanted to make sure that you didn't have any issues with your set-up... thank you.)

[@chadmorin5657]

I got after waiting 1.5 hours on internet restore an error message sending me to support. Nothing.

[@ImLeeLoi]

You may have a Wi-Fi error. Alternatively check out DosDude1 who has an app that allows you to burn Mac OS installer to a USB stick. Just KZbin it. :)

[@jannieschluter9670]

CMD+ALT+ARRRRR (like a pirate), not ORRRR -_-

[@ImLeeLoi]

ERRRGH.

[@stylishranchgirl]

Command, alt, or? What is the “or”key?

[@ImLeeLoi]

You can turn on captions.

[@pattontheapplegamer5437]

Getting my iMac on Monday decided to go with the i7 27 inch iMac 2020 because I'm not risking the sims not loading with apple silicone lol 😂 thankfully mines has a Ssd out of the box 📦

[@ImLeeLoi]

Interesting choice that you're not going with Apple silicone, never the less congratulations on the new iMac!! :D

[@pattontheapplegamer5437]

Lee-Loi Chieng it was to much of a risk as its 1st generation I rather wait till like 3/4th generation that gives companies time to get programs working for apple silicon technology rather than using roseseta (sorry 4 spelling) also the m1 are having issues where the SSD might only last 2 years (probably 1st gen problems) and lots of Bluetooth issues. Only time will tell if these are fixable issues via software or if it is hardware. I saw online that running the sims 4 on a m1 can lead to crashing in CAS and random freezing because the hardware is not in the data base yet, yet m1 has been out since December... that's Ea/maxis fault not apples 🍎

[@maureenlawson2866]

I added the SSD External drive. Now every morning I have a Crash Error "Your computer was restarted because of a problem" Are you able to provide some help or a reason why this is happening please?

[@ImLeeLoi]

Hey Maureen! Only saw the comment now. On booting up the computer hold the OPTION / ALT button and try selecting your startup disk. Make sure the SSD is securely plugged in.

[@ImLeeLoi]

If that does not work. Try re-installing using instructions from video. Even before pressing the install button go to disk utility and make sure it's detecting the new SSD hard drive.

[@dreamersartists]

When I download on my 2013 with 1tb SSD it gives me a failed to upload while waiting there for 40 minutes then its gave me the message This video is so relevant even now in 2024 but I am still trying and will have to see how someone else does it. Thanks so much

[@barbar2090]

Hi thanks for the video. Just quick question. Thinking of buying a second hand iMac with 32g memory i7, DDR. Should that be fast enough? Ill just be using for some light music and photo editing ? Thanks

[@ImLeeLoi]

Hi there! That should be however the economics of iMacs are weird right now with the Apple Silicon iMacs now also being sold second hand. Make sure you can't find yourself an M1 iMac for not that much money more as that is a much better option. :)

[@barbar2090]

@@ImLeeLoi hi thank a million for the reply. Bought it last week and very happy so far ! Thanks again

[@miamiSincar]

great video thanx

[@guypellerrin5441]

Where did you buy that Kingston Ugreen ?

[@ImLeeLoi]

Amazon.

[@RichardHannay]

Do I need a 2TB Sandisk SSD or is a 1TB enough?

[@ImLeeLoi]

Depends on how much storage you need. Sounds like 1TB is plenty!

[@andree1991]

I was willing to upen up and probably completely destroy it in the process of changing the HDD to SSD. But doing it loke this is so much easier. Thanks a lot man, now my girlfriend is gonna understand the difference between Macs and Pcs when she sees the speed

[@ImLeeLoi]

Hey Andre, definitely don't open it up! I hope this works well for you. Enjoy! :)

[@larrywaksman491]

September 2024: This is EXACTLY what I needed---I followed this guidance and, at a cost of $85, incredibly improved the performance of my Late 2015 iMac. It was super easy--and was able to transfer all the HDD files to the SSD in a couple of hours. THANK YOU Lee-Loi!

[@iml1945]

Your video is so interesting to me. I have an iMac 27" that I love. Your step by step video on adding an external SSD as StartUp Disk was very encouraging! Is there any new information you can offer since your August 2020 video. Should the SSD be formatted as APFS versus Extended? Many thanks.

[@ImLeeLoi]

No, please only use Mac OS EXTENDED JOURNALED. APFS is better for SSD's if their inside the iMac - there's something about that doesn't play nice with external USB.