#Mac mini late 2012 ssd drive install mac os x#

All you need to do is connect the drive and boot from it (remember, the drive will always need to stay connected, since your Mac will be running from this drive!). LaCie now makes ready-to-go Thunderbolt ($196 at time of writing) and USB 3 ($140 at time of writing) external SSD drives that can be easily connected to your Mac. My mid-2011 model only had Thunderbolt support, so Thunderbolt it was. Firewire 800 is also an option for older iMacs, although I haven’t extensively researched it. Either of these is more than enough to take full advantage of an SSD. Thunderbolt can transfer at 5Gb/s and USB 3 at 2.5Gb/s. Realizing that opening up an iMac is an absolute nightmare I started looking for external options, and Thunderbolt presented itself as the best possible option for my model. I wanted to move my system device to an SSD to improve that performance. It can easily take 4 minutes to fully boot to a useful state.

#Mac mini late 2012 ssd drive install mac os x#

Nevertheless, Mac OS X or macOS running on an HDD iMac is SLOW.

Most of my real work takes places online or on remove servers the OS isn’t a factor that I take into consideration. I have a mid-2011 iMac I use at my office to keep my workspace clean and straightforward. Just follow the instructions as below, using the new installer version. Update October 2, 2016: Lots of folks have reported that this works with El Capitan and I’ve used it with macOS Sierra as well. It’s possible for that Mac to boot in under 30 seconds and to jump generations ahead for under $200. If you have an iMac with Thunderbolt or USB 3 but without an SSD you can boot from a full-speed external SSD without opening the case.