The “Fusion Drive” option for the 2012 Mac minis can cause some severe data loss if you’re not careful. It’s a bit of a “perfect storm,” but it’s worth noting if you’re adding an SSD as a second drive in your Mac mini.
This particular instance affects you only if:
- You are upgrading a 2012 Mac mini.
- That 2012 Mac mini shipped with Mac OS X 10.8.2
- You are adding an SSD to this Mac mini as a second drive, alongside the existing Hard Drive using an OWC Data Doubler Kit.
If your installation involves all three factors, then you need to pay attention, as your installation will be affected. If one or more of these factors are not involved, then you don’t have to worry, you can proceed as normal.
If you are one of the affected Mac mini owners, then installing an SSD is a little different. The preferred method is the “Internet Restore” method. Perform the following steps in order to format your SSD and transfer your OS and data from your original drive.
- Make sure your data is backed up, just to be safe.
- Install your SSD in your Mac mini, following the instructions.
- Restart your computer and boot to the internal hard drive like normal.
- You will likely get a dialog box stating that a drive is “unreadable.” Click the “Initialize” button to open Disk Utility. If you don’t get this warning, you can find Disk Utility at Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility.app
- Select the SSD from the list on the left side of the Disk Utility window and Click on the Partition tab.
- Select “1 partition” for the Volume Scheme, set the format to “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” and give the drive a name. You can then click the “Apply” button to format the drive.
- Once the drive is formatted and shows in the Finder, you can then shut down.
- Make sure you’re connected to a network. While it’s preferable that you connect via Ethernet, you can connect via AirPort; it will just be slower.
- Restart to the OS X Recovery Partition by holding down Command-R until you get the Recovery Partition’s main window. It is very important to note that you should not use the version of Disk Utility in the Recovery Partition; it will see the two separate drives as a “damaged” Fusion drive and try to repair it; allowing it to do so will destroy your data.
- Select the option to “Reinstall OS X” choosing the SSD to install the OS on. If you’re connecting via AirPort, you may be prompted to connect to your wireless network.
- Follow the prompts to install.The actual downloading and installation process may take a while.
- After the OS is installed, follow the prompts to set up your computer. When asked, choose the option to import your data from another drive and select your original drive as the source.
- Once the migration is complete, your computer should boot to your SSD.
- You can use the Disk Utility like you did before and format your original hard drive as desired.
- You will now be able to use your Mac mini normally.
While the above method is the preferred way to do this, if you do not have an Internet connection, you won’t be able to reinstall your OS this way. In this instance, you will need to use the “External” method.
- Install your SSD in an external enclosure (USB or FireWire) and connect it to your Mac mini.
- Boot to your Hard Drive.
- You will likely get a dialog box stating that a drive is “unreadable.” Click the “Initialize” button to open Disk Utility. If you don’t get this warning, you can find Disk Utility at Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility.app
- Select the SSD from the list on the left side of the Disk Utility window and Click on the Partition tab.
- Select “1 partition” for the Volume Scheme, set the format to “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” and give the drive a name. You can then click the “Apply” button to format the drive.
- Once the drive is formatted and shows in the Finder, you can then shut down.
- Restart to the OS X Recovery Partition by holding down Command-R until you get the Recovery Partition’s main window.
- Enter Disk Utility – since the SSD is in an external enclosure, you don’t need to worry about Disk Utility trying to create a Fusion drive.
- Click on the SSD in the list on the left and select the Restore tab. Drag the original drive’s icon from the left onto the “Source” field. Do the same with the SSD into the “Destination” field.
- Click the Restore button to copy all your data over to the SSD, then shut down.
- Restart holding down the Option key. Select the SSD/External drive as your boot drive and continue.
- Use the Disk Utility in Applications/Utilites to format your hard drive as desired.
- Shutdown, remove your SSD from the external enclosure, and install it in your mini.
- Once the SSD is installed, you should restart the mini and login. Go to to the Startup Disk preference pane and select your SSD as your boot drive.
- You can now use your Mac mini normally.
No matter which method you use, once you have both an SSD and a platter-based drive installed in your Mac mini, you should not use the Disk Utility in your Recovery Partition on those drives; it will see those drives as a “broken” Fusion array and try to repair it, destroying your data in the process.
I purchased my mini with a 1.1T fusion drive. I wanted to add an additional SSD to my mini, either as a second drive or to use it as my primary disk with operating system and use the mini for data photos etc..
Is there anything i need to do:
Add an additional SSD and use it as a second drive?
Add an additional SSD and use it as a the primary OS drive and use my fusion 1.1T as the data disk?
The 1.1TB fusion drive that you purchased in your Mac mini consists of one SSD and one HDD, so both drive bays are already filled.
Would you know the process of swapping out the small 128 gig ssd with the a bigger one?
First of all, backup the computer – swapping out either drive will break the fusion and destroy your data.
Then replace the SSD with the larger capacity.
And then format and migrate your data back over to the mini.
Hello…trying to get some clarification. Have new 2012 Mac mini with 1tb drive….looking to purchase a ssd with intention of creating a fusion drive…a little confused as to why would I need to use terminal commands if disk utility apparently will create the fusion drive thinking the fusion has been broken after the install of the ssd. Should I be concerned about losing all the data on my machine if I have a time machine backup? Anything you could tell me would be appreciated. Thank you so much!
As described in the first Step 9 listed above, Mac OS X may attempt to repair (create) a fusion drive if the following conditions are met:
- You are upgrading a 2012 Mac mini.
- That 2012 Mac mini shipped with Mac OS X 10.8.2
- You are adding an SSD to this Mac mini as a second drive, alongside the existing Hard Drive using an OWC Data Doubler
When the Fusion drive attempts to repair (create) the 2 drives as one volume, all previous data will be destroyed. So creating a backup an advanced to create the Fusion drive is recommend
Here is OWC’s recommend directions (using terminal) in attempting creating a Fusion drive:
I am trying to avoid having to use terminal commands…seems …I believe my machine shipped with 10.8.2….would rather disk utility create the fusion without me having to do it manually…I have a time machine backup..so all of my files are saved on an external drive.
The recommend and tested steps that OWC has for creating a Fusion drive is through terminal commands.
There are articles and guides seen outside of what OWC recommends where a Fusion drive has been created through Disk Utility repair.
I installed a second hard drive inside my mac mini i7. All went went. Now, my mac mini wont boot from the intel ssd nor will it allow me to intel an os in recovery mode. What do I do? I know the ssd is fine because I pulled out of my 2009 mac pro. Please help.
I would recommend first reformatting the Intel drive through Apple’s Internet recovery, then I would recommend installing a fresh new OS onto the Intel drive.
If you questions or need further assistance please do not hesitate to contact our Technical Support Team by phone at 1(800)275-4576, via email or live chat.
Install an SSD in the new mini mac and I want to put the OS and applications to SSD and new files and folders (although I have nothing) HDD disk.
My question is this: I have only to follow the instructions in this article?
Thank for the answer they could give me.
a little confused here. if i want to keep the standard drive as the boot drive and add the ssd as a storage drive only for bmd video do i have to go through all the process or can i just format it as a second drive.
thanks
That’s just it – if your setup and usage matches the bulleted list in the article, the Mac mini sees the addition of the SSD, assumes that a Fusion drive is damaged, and automatically tries reformatting and restoring itself – without regard to any data already on the main drive and before you have a chance to stop it.
well that sorta sux i just want to add a second drive. so i have to make the ssd the main drive with the os on it. bugger how do i cancel the order on the parts i just ordered.
Really no need, just follow the directions in the article while substituting HDD for SSD and vice versa.
ok sorry now realy confused.
i have a brand new mini with standard 500 gig hd
i want to add a ssd as a drive to capture hd footage to via tb.
i want to keep the standard drive as is from factory and just use the ssd for capture.
will this work and what do i need to do.
thanks jason
I think I misunderstood your original query…
All you’re looking to do is add the SSD to the system as a separate storage drive – apart from the OS entirely? If that’s correct, then you just need to install the SSD and format it using disk utility. The issue in the article rears when trying to install the OS on the SSD – so if you’re not installing the OS on the SSD, then you shouldn’t encounter any issues.
Sorry if I caused any undue confusion. :-)
ok thanks heaps i just need the ssd as a recording drive.
your help has been great
jason
Ok guys, I read the piece of paper but for us folks who buy a new mini and an SSD from you at the same time – these instructions are not very useful.
There in no mention of making the top drive the primary, I assume that first drive is the primary boot device – guess you can change this over in software but I put the SSD in the top position.
Also if you install the SSD in the top slot you have to take the screws of the drive that was in there – no mention in video or instructions.
And the whole fusion thing, I ended disconnecting the 2nd drive and doing an install on the SSD without it plugged in. Now I’m not sure what will happen if I plug back in the 2nd drive, it is in the machine just unplugged.
I think you can do better with your video and instructions here chaps because as of now they are pretty confusing and somewhat incorrect.
Both SATA channels are independent – you can set the boot drive under System Preferences > Startup Disk.
Not sure which video you’re referring to. We have a few for the 2012 Mac mini:
http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/mac_mini2012/
The “Hard Drive” video shows how to replace the existing drive – the “OWC Data Doubler” video shows how to add an additional drive to the system using our Data Doubler HDD/SSD Installation Kit. As each SATA channel is independent, it doesn’t matter whether the SSD is in the top or bottom bay.
This article would’t really apply to your situation if you have a fresh copy of OS X without any other data on the Mac mini’s original drive that you were looking to save. However, if you Fusion the drives together, any data on either drive will be replaced.
If I use a bootable USB installer of 10.8.2 will it try to fuse the drives?
This all depends on the version of Disk Utility that is on the installer disk. It has to be Version 13 (build 444), otherwise it won’t work. If the 10.8.2 image is from a Mac mini, it should contain this version. If it’s a generic version from the app store, it may not. To verify, boot to the install disk and check the version of Disk Utility. If the Version is not Version 13 (build 444), then I would recommend using a 10.8.3 installer.
Ok…here is my question that I am pondering.
I’m purchasing the latest version of the i7 mac mini. I’m getting it with the 256 SSD drive. I’d like to add in one of OWC’s 1TB 7200rpm drives into the spare bay with the OWC doubler kit….ordering memory as well.
Am I going to see heat issues with the higher speed drive? The intent is to have my system and applications on the SSD and my other files on the HDD. I do work with digital audio as well, hence the need for the faster drive.
Kindly let me know! Many thx!
Won’t be a problem with heat at all.
Fantastic! Ordering Shortly! Now….running bootcamp….I gather that needs to be run from the SSD drive, correct?
I have a 2012 Mac Mini (non-server) that was ordered with an OEM Apple installed 256 SSD as the primary(single) drive… Will I run into the above issue if installing a second SSD (in the empty second drive slot) with the OWC Data Doubler Kit? Basically just wanting to add a second SSD to a 2012 Mac Mini with existing single OEM Apple installed 256gb drive… Thanks!
No, the machine will recognize that it has two SSDs installed rather than one SSD and one HDD – so it will not attempt to create a Fusion drive out of them.
Thank you! So after install, the system would recognize and fire up the OS on the original Apple SSD? I’ll clone beforehand to be safe…
Hello,
I have one 2010 mac mini server. Is there any reference video of replace harddisk for 2010 mac mini server?
Absolutely: http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/mac_mini2010_server/
I have successfully installed the Mercury Electra 6G (120gb) SSD into my 2.3 i7 Mini, installed the system per the “Cmd+R” instructions and everything seems to be working fine, except the benchmarking on the drive does not appear to be much better than the 1tb 5400 drive. I am getting 142 mb/s write and 197 mb/s Reads. Is there something else I have to do (firmware?) to get the desired performance?
The installation instructions, by the way, are outstanding!
First, check that you’re actually booting from the SSD and not the 5400RPM drive. You can do this under System Preferences > Startup Disk and making sure the SSD is chosen as the boot drive.
If the SSD is indeed the boot drive, then I suspect you’re using BlackMagic as your benchmarking test suite.
BlackMagic uses incompressible data in its testing. On a SandForce-based drive, this would report lower speeds, since the Durawrite technology used in the Sandforce controller compresses data in part to achieve its speed. The BlackMagic test is good for a worst case scenario of write speeds. We’ve found that the QuickBench Speed Tools benchmark (which uses compressible data in its testing) shows more accurate speeds for the average user.
BlackMagic does performance testing to help determine suitability/capability for various video-related functions. Raw video capture deals with compressible data… whereas conversion and editing of already compressed video file types is dealing with incompressible data. If the purpose of your benchmarking is for the optimization of a video production workstation, then BlackMagic would be the test to use – for most other purposes it isn’t going to give real-world results.
Thank you. I was using Blackmagic. I will use Quickbench and see how that does.
I am very happy with the performance of the drive, just was a little perplexed as to why the ‘measured’ performance was not showing the numbers I was ‘feeling’.
Thanks again.
Video for the Data Doubler was fantastic. Only suggestion, see if the web player has a 30 second rewind tool that you could add to the play back controls.
Regards,
Bob H
Minneapolis, MN
Thanks for the article and the thorough instructions with the data doubler. Just finished my installation and am reinstalling OS X now on my new SSD according to these instructions. After I’m done, I want to format the original HDD and use it for Time Machine.
Question about the recovery partition – does a new recovery partition get put on my SSD? What happens to the recovery partition on the original HDD when I format it?
Thanks!
That is an excellent question. The ability to boot into the Recovery Utility is very important. It is important to remember that with 2012 Mac minis, if you have access to the Internet you can always boot into Internet Recovery, which is built into the computer. You may access Internet Recovery by booting the computer and hold down the “Command” key and the “R” key at the same time.
The Internet is not always available, so having a recovery partition on one of your drives is also important. If you follow method #1, “Internet Restore”, a recovery partition is created on the new SSD. Method #2, “External”, does not create a recovery partition on the new drive.
Method #1, “Internet Restore”, allows you to completely erase and partition the original drive.
Method #2, “External”, gives you a few options to chose from. You may keep the recovery partition on the original drive. If you want to erase data on the original drive and not erase the recovery partition, you need to be sure to erase only the original volume, not the disk. The disk is the “top level” drive icon you see within Disk Utility; the volume is the indented icon below the disk. An alternative option is to create a recovery partition on a USB hard drive or thumb drive using Apple’s Recovery Disk Assistant utility. Apple has a very nice “About Recovery Disk Assistant” article here. The utility can be downloaded here.
Thanks for the instructions. I followed the external method to set up the SSD, however I was not able to format the original hd as mentioned in step 12. My mac didnt let me format. So I have installed the SSD into the mac set the SSD and default boot drive and then formatted it from disk utility. Will this cause a problem?
If you were able to format the original drive and set the SSD as the boot drive, then you should not experience any issues. However if you do have any issues, please do not hesitate to contact our Technical Support Team by phone at 1(800)275-4576, via email or live chat.
Thanks for the response. I did not see any issues. Hopefully its all good.
Used External Method on my late 2012 Mac Mini and the new ssd is booting and working great. However, I can see the old hd when I boot up the Mac on the ssd, but cannot see the old hd when i’m using fusion 5 with Windows 8. I did not format the old drive and wonder if this is the problem? I can still select the old hd by going to System Preferences/Startup Disk. Thanks, Bob
By design Windows 8 will only be able to recognize and communicate with NTFS formatted drives. If your older drive was formatted as Mac OS extended Journaled I would recommend using Mediafour MacDrive Standard Software to communicate from Windows 8 to your old drive.
Thanks for the great product. Worked luck a charm in new 2012 i7- added a 256GB M4. Watching the video a few times and then following the printed directions that came with the doubler made it easy. Go slow and don’t force things apart or back together.
Hi, great article and video. I am interested in buying your storage doubler kit but I have one question. Does it come with the ssd ribbon connector? Is that the “Mac mini flex cable”? Thanks!
The Mac mini flex cable certainly would be the ribbon connector.
Great article wish it could have helped me solve my dilemma already. Might have to chalk that up to my own skill level. I’ve ready all the comments too and tried several solutions without luck.
My problem is I took my second 240GB SSD from my MBP and installed into my late 2012 mac mini which had a 500GB HD (which has 10.8.2 installed) using the OWC data doubler kit. After installation I booted from the original HD no problem and I could see the SSD in Finder immediately. I could even see all my applications that were only on that SSD and open them while booted from HD. But I couldn’t access my user folder with all my documents (permission issue). I was then following the instruction on this article perfectly until I got to step 6 about selecting the SSD in disk utility and selecting 1 partition, After hitting “apply” it failed because it “Couldn’t unmount disk”. The next step was to make sure it shows in Finder, since it could already do that I went ahead to the next step hoping it was ok. I was able to follow the remaining steps pretty easily. Went into internet recovery and loaded a new copy of 10.8.2 onto the SSD. After in installed it restarted from the SSD and I got the circle with a cross through it. Which is the same error I got after installing the SSD in the first place. Did not being able to format my SSD cause this issue? If so, why does that error mean about not being able to unmount, and how can I fix?
I don’t necessarily need to save the data on the SSD but I would like to save the data on the HD. Any help would be greatly appreciated! I could even throw in naming rights for my next born child if the advice is helpful enough.
I ended up downloading the disk utility onto a flash drive. Booted from it then partitioned the SSD. This time it worked. So I backed out of disk utility and installed OS X from the recovery menu. After installing it rebooted from the SSD correctly. Came to find I did lose all my data on the SSD but that was acceptable for me. Problem solved.
im going to do this because SSD is very fast but i have a question will this act as a fusion drive?
will it automatically transfer most used apps to the SSD ETC.
Anyway all i want to know is if it full-features the fusion drive after doing this. please get back to me so i can purchase my owc stuff (if it acts as a fusion drive) thanks,
Oliver Glover
For creating a Fusion drive, we’ve laid out the steps in this article: http://blog.macsales.com/15617-creating-your-own-fusion-drive
Hi, I just followed the instructions to install ssd as 2nd drive and all went well but I was unable to format the original drive afterwards from the disk utility as you said. So I mistakingly used the recovery disk utility to format it and it resulted in a fused drive. I had no data on it so thats ok, but how do i unfuse the drives? I read the above q’s but got no answer. Please help.
If it is important to your setup to have two separate drives, what we found worked quickest was removing both drives from the mini and either cleaning them on a PC, or free-spacing them on a Mac that doesn’t some with a Fusion drive option. Then we’d format one drive in the Mac mini, then follow the instructions above.
However, most people don’t have a lab with several test platforms to work with.
So, if you really need to un-Fusion your drives and you only have the 2012 Mac mini, I’d suggest to unplug one drive, boot to internet recovery, then free space the drive. Then power down, plug in the other drive, unplug the one that was just free spaced, boot to internet recovery and free space it. That should then leave you with two drives that you can start the process above over with.
Thank you very much for the reply but what is ‘free spacing’ the HD mean?
It is an option for formatting the drive in Disk Utility.
1. Choose the drive you’re looking to “free space.”
2. Under the Partition Tab choose Volume Scheme – 1 Partition
2. For “Options…” choose “Master Boot Record”
3. The for “Format:” Choose “Free Space”
This is by far the easiest way to “un-fusion”. No need to physically remove anything and format/install, just use a few lines of code in Terminal. I found this on MacRumors forum…
Follow this article, especially page 2. Boot in recovery mode, then open terminal, and type these commands:
diskutil cs list
This command will show you the IDs you need to delete fusion drive.
diskutil cs deleteVolume
diskutil cs delete
These commands will split the drives apart. Once the drives are separated, you can rename those drives in Terminal, because you can’t use Disk Utility: it will try to fix the Fusion Drive for you.
diskutil list
This command will show you the identifier for the two drives, that you’ll use this way:
diskutil rename disk0s2 Macintosh HD
diskutil rename disk1s2 Data HD
Exit terminal, click on “Install OS X” and select the SSD, and you’re good to go. Once in disk utility in OSX, the drives will be listed normally.
I installed the SSD as a second hard drive using the Data Double Kit and per your video instructions.
Thanks a lot for the amazing video and the extremely helpful kit in which everything is included that one need for the install.
I finished the install and when I turned the mac back on I had the flashing folder with questions mark. I restarted the comp holding option button which gave me the option to do the internet recovery. Internet recovery options were to install MacOSX or Disk Utility. In the Disk Utility I could only see the new SSD and not the original hard drive. I went back and chose tho install OSX on the SSD and there again the only option was the SSD and not the original drive. The install went fine. Mac is working but I can’t access the original hard drive.
What could be the problem?
Please let me know. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I actually answered this very question just a little further down in the thread…
So what do you do if you found this guide to late and tried to set up a fusion drive and now your recover partition is gone?
From Apple Support Pages: “If you happen to encounter a situation in which you cannot start from the Recovery System, such as your hard drive stopped responding or you installed a new hard drive without OS X installed, new Mac models introduced after public availability of OS X Lion or OS X Mountain Lion, automatically use the OS X Internet Recovery feature if the Recovery System (Command-R method above) doesn’t work. OS X Internet Recovery lets you start your Mac directly from Apple’s Servers. The system runs a quick test of your memory and hard drive to ensure there are no hardware issues.
OS X Internet Recovery presents a limited interface at first, with only the ability to select your preferred Wi-Fi network and, if needed, enter the WPA passphrase. Next, OS X Internet Recovery will download and start from a Recovery System image.”
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
hi -
i just got a 2.3GHz mac mini that shipped with 10.8.1 and then I updated to 10.8.2 via software update, which included a firmware update. i ordered the doubler kit earlier today. will these special instructions apply to me?
thanks!
matt
Based on our findings, it would probably be a good idea to follow these instructions.
This post is kind of confusing. If I want to add an ssd to a brand new 2012 mini with the 1tb drive and make it a fusion drive.
1. Should the stock drive be moved to the data doubler and the ssd put in the original spot?
2. Is it safe and ok to let it see the broken fusion drive and fix it so it is a “stock” as if came from apple fusion drive?
(I don’t care about the data on the drive since its new.)
Thanks.
If you’re looking to setup a Fusion drive and have no data to protect on the original drive, then letting Disk Utility repair the damaged fusion drive is certainly a viable way to to the install. The SSD can be installed in either bay.
Hi! I have a mac mini late 2012. i replaced one of the hard drives with an OCZ vertex 3 ssd. upon opening disk utility, I choose “FIX”. now the ssd is gone. I only have the Macintosh HD drive thats left. It cant recognise the ssd. HELP! ASAP!!!
I do hope you have a backup of your data as, on first impression, your drives may have been “fused.” When Disk Utility tries to “fix” a drive, it’s seeing the pair as a Fusion setup, and attempts to make it so. This will usually involve erasing the drives. Even if it didn’t, undoing this step will involve erasing those drives.
Try installing JUST the SSD, then reformat and install your OS using the network install option. Then, remove the SSD, and format the Hard drive the same way (there’s no need to install the OS there). Once both drives have been formatted, you can then install both.
Outside of that workaround suggestion, you’ll probably want to contact the vendor’s customer support to see if they have any further troubleshooting for their drive.
Hi
I have the same problem
how did you solve it ?
please HELP
Hi – I have a Mac Mini coming with the 256gb Apple SSD option already installed. I have the data doubler on order and a standard WD Scorpio 2.5″ 750gb drive that I’m going to add as a secondary data storage drive along with upgrading the RAM too. Can I add the HDD and the RAM right at the beginning before even booting for the first time….or get the computer booted up and intially setup then tear it down to add the HDD and RAM. I would like the second drive to behave like a traditional secondary drive and not necessary like a modified fusion system and not sure if there are any settings that I should do once the new drive is installed. Thanks for your advice!
When you get a new machine, it is always best to boot it up and test that everything is working right out of the box.
Then, when performing upgrades, it is best to perform installations one at a time – that way if any issues are encountered, it is easier to determine what component is causing issue.
Hi, I’ve installed a new SSD into my Mac Mini 2012 as a secondary hard drive. It seems the system is recognizing correctly. And I tried to restall the Mac OS X into the SSD, but after downloading, it fails when it installs.
The message is “OS X can’t be installed on the disk SSD, because a recovery system can’t be created. Visit http://www.apple.com/no-recovery to learn more.”
My SSD is 120gb. Do you have any idea what’s wrong?
I tried internet recovery several times, and it finally worked.
I’m getting an i7 quad 2012 mini and I wanted to know if instead of putting the ssd in the slot of the original hdd can i just put the ssd on top of the hdd with no problem and the same results? Seem like that would be easier or no?
Adding a second drive to a 2012 Mac mini that was originally purchased with only one drive, requires some additional parts – namely the drive mounting hardware and the connecting cable.
Luckily, OWC has you covered with our OWC ‘Data Doubler’ SSD/2.5″ Hard Drive installation Kit for Mac mini 2011-2012 Models.
Perhaps I missed it or am confused, but I don’t see any mention of this when adding a SSD to a MacBook Pro with a standard drive. Is the Fusion aspect of the OS only built into the Minis?
At this time, yes.
Hi,
just received the kit. I put my SSD that was in my old MBP. So the OS is already installed on the SSD. Can I just boot from this disk (the SSD) directly, without reformating it? Then I can format the HDD to erase it, right?
Thanks
Assuming you were running the same up-to-date OS on both machines before hand, then that shouldn’t pose a problem. I suggest making double-sure you have a working backup of that drive though before proceeding though just in case you run into any permissions, directory, or other unforeseen issues. That way, as a worst case scenario, your shortcut just becomes more time consuming – as opposed to rendering all your data as unrecoverable.
Hi Michael,
thanks for you answer. My mac mini came with 10.8.1. As I had an old MBP 17″ from 2006, I wasn’t able to install OS 10.8 on my machine. So I put the SSD (with 10.6.x installed) directly in the mac mini (after a carbon copy cloner backup on an external HDD). I just booted the mac mini normally (on the HDD) and then reformatted the SSD. I finally installed OS 10.8 using your method described above and using the migration assistant, all my datas which were on an external HDD saved with Carbon Copy Cloner were copied on the SSD. I reformatted the HDD.
So now I have my OS 10.8.2 and the applications running on the SSD and all my datas on the HDD. I added 8GB of RAM, my mac mini works like a charm (10 seconds to boot…).
Thanks OWC!
Hi I purchased an SSD upgrade kit for my 2011 MacMini .
I have just bought the 2012 i7 2.3 version and wish to transfer the drives from the old to the new.
Problem and I have tried twice now, and have experience at doing this, but however hard I try I am unable to remove the motherboard in the 2012 mini, it refuses to budge despite following your video and with experience of the earlier model which was easy.
Has anybody else had this problem, as i have used reasonable force to slide it out, but it appears to be locked in…
Any suggestions would be appreciated
If you’re encountering that much resistance in getting the motherboard to move, chances are that there was a screw missed that attaches the motherboard to the housing. Go back through the video and double-check that you’ve removed all the screws – and note that the 2011 model and 2012 models have slight variations in assembly, so the videos for each model are not interchangeable.
If you’re still experiencing problems, our technical support team is here to help. You can contact them directly at 1(800)275-4576, via live chat or email.
Can I just use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the HD onto my new SSD?
I considered it a good thing, but the OS X 10.8.2 version of Disk Utility did this to me after installing an Intel 180GB 330 SSD alongside the stock 500GB HDD in my base Mac mini (Late 2012) and rebooting with a cloned installation from an external drive.
Steps:
0. Bought a base Mac Mini with 10.8.1 pre-installed.
1. Cloned OS X 10.8.2 boot drive from internal HDD to external HDD.
2. Installed SSD with OWC kit and online video. Reassembled machine.
3. Booted from external HDD.
4. OS X 10.8.2 Disk Utility popped up a message the two drives were damaged or corrupted or something–I don’t remember the exact language–and offered to fix it for me. The two drives/volumes were showing in red in the sidebar.
5. I told it to repair it for me.
6. It repaired it into a 680GB Core Storage Volume.
7. I tested it and then cloned my installation back from my external HDD.
8. Booted from my “Fusion” drive.
9. (Later used Internet Recovery to recreate a Recovery partition on my external HDD, because the Fusion repair trashed my Recovery partition, the only downside.)
The performance has been great.
John
I have a question.
If theres a situation that you need to use the recovery partition and the disk utility of , what do you do?
Should be any different as having one drive in your machine – the recovery partition should still be there for use.
Im sorry for the missunderstanding.. My question was referenced to the disk utility in the recovery partition. In a case of need to use it what do you do?
I am a novice at best. 1) Buy as much SSD as you can afford from OWC. 2) Order the OWC SSD/Disk Doubler install kit. 3) Follow the instructions INCLUDING the 10.8.2 disclaimer addendum. 4) Don’t bother with Fusion Drive set up and lay out two drives with a boot from the new SSD. 5) Store all the stuff you will use once a year on the OEM 1TB HDD (if you go over that, what in the world are you saving?) and just live the dream.
So, I’m still kind of wondering how the mini sees 2 separately formatted hard drives. I do not want to fiddle around with this Fusion drive nonsense. I just bought a SSD and a Data Doubler kit from you all and want to boot straight from my SSD, using the TB as my storage drive with music, movies, app files, etc. and possibly formatted for a second time capsule. How do I do a clean install of Mountain Lion onto my new SSD(should be free since it came with my 2012 Mac Mini)? And do I put the SSD into the spot the original 5400rpm TB hdd was?
Totally new to Mac. Wanted to add 256GB SSD to my new Mac Mini. How do I tell what version of OS X was PRE-INSTALLED? I am running 10.8.2 right now and inside System Information, the Software Installations show OS X Update as version 10.8.2 with a date of 12/26/12 at 9:49AM – an hour after I bought the machine at Best Buy. I know I said ok to online software updates that morning – does this info indicate that it shipped with something earlier than 10.8.2 and I am safe to proceed without the special methods? Thanks!
Updating the OS should update your recovery partition as well, so your best bet is to follow the instructions in the article just in case.
Followed intall instructions and got everything running again EXCEPT the Mac mini no longer sees the original 1TB disk that was originally built into the computer. Is it as simple as undoing the HDD connector and re-seating it?
Like I said – the Mac is up and running off the SSD after Internet recovery.
Thanks
The first thing to check would be disk utility to verify the drive is not showing up (as opposed to the volume not mounting). If it indeed isn’t showing up, then yes, open up the mini and try reseating that connector.
The very first sentence of this article says ‘the fusion drive option’ – so is this problem confined to Mac Minis that were purchased with the fusion drive option from Apple and then try to swap out/add drives and use disk utility?
Is it an issue for people who order the mini with the standard 1tb hdd and just want to add a secondary ssd drive?
My understanding is that the new version of Disk Utility shipped with the Mini (capable of creating the fusion drive) is what makes installing the second disk risky if you choose the wrong option. Can you install a second disk into the data doubler and then format it using terminal without any issues? What terminal commands would you use to format the drive?
What about a scenario such as this: (1) clone original disk shipped with the mini onto external SSD using Carbon Copy cloner; (2) replace original drive with cloned SSD; (3) install second drive with data doubler; (4) format second drive as described in first paragraph.
Thanks for your help.
The issue is with Disk Utility version on the Recovery Partition itself. The version in the OS has given us no problems.
While your suggested method may work, we only recommend the method outlined above.
Either way, it is recommended you have a copy of your data on an external drive which you should then disconnect before performing any sort of upgrade and/or transfer.
I am having the late 2012 MacMini, the reason that i recently bought the OWC SSD is wanting to set up my own Fusion Drive… but I found out that my late 2012 Mac mini HDD recovery partition is 10.8.1 not the 10.8.2 ,.. Can anyone tell me how I can upgrade my partition from 10.8.1 to 10.8.2 .. So that the system can setup the Fusion drive
Much appreciate
rgd
Hang tight, we’ll be getting up our guide on how to set up your own Fusion drive in the 2012 Mac mini in the next few days (when the craziness of Black Friday / Cyber Monday subsides).
I have a 2012 Mac Mini that went from new in box (never started) to OWC data doubler and ram upgrade. I’m staring at a flashing folder icon with a question mark, upon starting the computer. Please hurry with the post regarding 2012 mac mini. Command-R doesn’t work.
The flashing folder icon with question mark indicates that your Mac mini can’t find the Operating System to boot from. And command-R not working indicates it can’t find the recovery partition either. Makes me think that the mini actually can’t find the original hard drive.
Assuming you still have the original internal drive installed, I’d double check that the hard drive cable is connected to the motherboard (I’ve mis-seated it once or twice in the past myself).
Beyond that, I’ve never added an upgrade to a never previously booted machine before. Our first step in testing the new machines is to boot and setup an administrator’s account. So I suppose it is possible that the pre-boot change in configuration could be causing the issue. I’d suggest putting the drives back to the factory configuration (you can leave in the additional memory – that won’t make any difference in this case) and running through setup before re-installing the second drive.
If you’re still having issues, we’re here to help. You can contact our Technical Support Team at 1(800)275-4576, via email or live chat for assistance in troubleshooting the issue.
Providing you have a good internet connection,Reboot holding “Command + Option + R” until you get Internet Recovery Mode. From there make sure your system sees both drives. At this point either follow the steps provided in the article above or allow Disk Utility to “Fix” both drives which will then create a “Logical Drive” (Fusion Drive). Then you can install the OS using Internet Recovery.
Does this still apply if I’ve ordered a Mac Mini with a single SSD from Apple, and I want to add a 500GB Western Digital HDD using your Data Doubler? I just ordered the Mac Mini so it probably has 8.2 on it.
The 500GB Western Digital HDD is not an SSD, so no, this article does not apply.Thanks for your reply – I understand that the Western Digital is not an SSD, but since the computer would already have an SSD in it, I would still have a single SSD and another HDD in the computer, which is what the Fusion drive is made of, right? So just to verify, the fact that I have them in different slots (because the SSD was installed first, and by Apple) means that I won’t experience this issue if I attempt to use disk repair at some point in the future?
Sorry, I think I mis-read your original question as purchasing the mini with a single SSD just isn’t a cost-effective way to do that upgrade.
So I change my position… Yes, it would apply (assuming of course, that 10.8.2 is the OS pre-installed) since there would be one SSD and one HDD in the system.
So have you then tested using data doubler + OWC SSD and setting up Fusion drive vs two separate drives?
We have been testing fusion drive setups and should have a detailed blog post by early next week on our findings with instructions on how to setup a Fusion Drive on your Mac mini with an OWC SSD.
I purchased and installed a Mercury Elite 240GB SSD and data doubler for my late 2012 MacMini i7 2.66GHZ 16GB RAM. After the install I experienced the same results as you described in your article. After much fiddling and fussing trying to get Recovery DU to see the drives normally and having iMovie post “unexpected error” messages I did an Internet Recovery Disk Utility Repair Disk on both drives as they showed as having an error. Once DU finished on both drives I then erase/formatted the newly created Fusion Drive and installed the OS (10.8.2 (12C2034)) onto it. The “normal build” of 10.8.2 that I find on my iMac and MBAs is (12C60). I’ve been running it for a couple of weeks now and it doesn’t appear to have any issues, performance is good. The SSD Link Speed is 6G Negotiated 6G as well. The 1TB 5400rpm is Link Speed 3G and Neg Speed 3G. I don’t know what the link/neg speeds are on an Apple Fusion drive, could be 3/3 but haven’t been able to find info on that.
question
Mac Mini 2012 2.3 GHz i7 OS X 10.8.3.
Add a SSD as a boot disk
The HDD for files and movies and so on …
When I opened the HDD were still all original applications.
Format HDD with SSD Disk Utility to erase all content. Use 5220-22 M system happens 7 times “0″. It took 24 hours or so.
Continue applications on the SSD and HDD.
Is there any solution to clear HDD applications without erasing the SSD?
If you are looking to simply erase your applications from the HDD you can drag the Applications folder to the trash can. it will prompt you for your admin password to accomplish this. Once it is in the trash can you can empty the trash can and it will be gone and your SSD will be unaffected.
I just ordered a Mac Mini (due to arrive next week) and I’ve ordered 16GB RAM and 240GB Extreme SSD from OWC (w/ data doubler), along with OWC’s install service (watching the install video, I think I have an 80% chance of doing it right, but have decided the 20% chance I won’t is worth $99). When OWC gets my Mini, will this issue be taken care of (I assume it’ll have the current OSX version)? I didn’t plan on adding any data to the Mini before sending it to OWC other than running through setup to see if things are working. Anything I should watch for is appreciated!
About your external enclosure solution to format the SSD….What enclosures are compatible with SSD drives? Thanks!
FireWire 800 / USB 3.0:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MSTG800U3K/
USB 3.0:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MOTGS3U3/
the above on-the-go models highly recommended for highest performance and reliability with today’s higher performance, higher power draw SSD. Thanks.
Is merely running the recovery partition Disk Utility enough to break things, or do you have to agree to a prompt for it to do the “repair”?
There is a prompt to fix the fusion – you’ll get a warning saying that the Fusion drive is broken, do you want to fix. But the only option you’re given is to fix the “broken” Fusion or ignore. If you ignore, it just goes back to Disk Utility and the drives themselves remain unable to be used until the Fusion drive is fixed. Thus the reason we wrote article for how to get around it.
So if you add an SSD drive to an up to date Mountain Lion system, Disk Utility will by default try to set up a FusionDrive?
I think that is a GOOD thing, not a bad thing that this article is based on. :-)
Up until now, everything I’ve read has stated you have to go into the command line to set up after market drives as a FusionDrive.
It’s good in some instances – but could be disastrous to your data if you don’t have a proper backup before upgrading. :-)
Backups should always be made before opening a Mac for any reason.
I think there is a market for those of us with pre 2012 macs to get a “fake” fusion setup using external thunderbolt ssd & hdd drives. I am waiting for the tools to mature (and thunderbolt solutions to become less expensive.)
So, what you are saying is, that adding an SSD with data doubler to a 2012 mini, causes OS X / the mini to think it needs to repair a fusion drive … instead of just allowing the SSD to be set up as an extra drive. Right?
That would be a horrible trap to fall into.
Happy I read this here, as I intend to get the data doubler etc.
That’s exactly it – for 2012 models that came with 10.8.2
10.8.1 that got upgraded to 10.8.2 is ok – all has to do with the version that is on the recovery partition.
This responsive should be added to your blog post. Puts things into context. Else readers will be left wondering the same thing.