Fix Your Stuff Community Store

Released on October 23, 2012. Core i5 or Core i7 Processor. Apple Fusion Drive.

208 Questions View all
Question Closed

Options

How to make your SSD bootable?

I have now used my mac mini for a couple of months and i don/t want to lose the data on my regular hard drive. Can someone please tell me how to save all this data and copy it to the SSD and make it bootable ? I understand how to perform the actual replacement of the hard drive with the ssd (there are great videos about that on youtube) but just can't figure out how to make the ssd bootable without loosing data? can anyone give me step by step solutions please ?

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

Is this a good question?

Yes No
Score 0
Add a comment

3 Answers

Filter by:
Most Helpful Newest Oldest
Chosen Solution

Options

Install Carbon Copy Cloner on your hard drive. http://bombich.com/

Use a external drive for your SSD and clone the hard drive. http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20W... Use the fire wire case to make the external drive bootable.

Install the SSD in the Mini and your hard drive in the external case as a backup.

Was this answer helpful?

Yes No
Score 1

3 Comments:

Ok thanks ! :) I just dont understand this part: Use the fire wire case to make the external drive bootable. How do i do that ? What is a fire wire case ?

by

Here is a link showing firewire cables--but if you read the data on the external drive case you will see it includes the cable.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/accessori...

by

This Mac Mini should have Thunder & USB-3 connections, if so a USB-3 external case will be an easier & cheaper option to house the current internal HD if that is what is desired here.

by

Add a comment

Options

The Mac mini has a second SATA port that you can connect your SSD to internally. So you don't need to remove your current HD at all.

Just make sure you get the needed SATA cable. iFixIt only offers it in a kit 2nd HD install kit others offer it alone.

Once you have your SSD connected externally or internally (with your current HD still installed in the system). You can run Mountain Lion installer to make the SSD bootable. Leaving your current HD files alone. Then copy over what you need on the SSD and remove the duplicates.

I strongly recommend you make a full backup copy of your drive before even opening your system onto an external HD (via firewire, USB-3 or Thunderbolt connections).

Mac mini Dual Drive Kit Image

Product

Mac mini Dual Drive Kit

$26.99

Was this answer helpful?

Yes No
Score 1
Add a comment

Options

I installed a ssd (samsung 840 pro 256gb) to use in addition to the stock 1tb hdd. now I try to install mountain lion on the ssd (with recovery hd stick) but both drives in diskutility now are highlighted red and I cannot prepare the ssd for mountain lion to be installed. any help?

Was this answer helpful?

Yes No
Score 0

1 Comment:

Did you first format & partition the SSD? Most SSD's are formatted with FAT32 which will not work for Mac OS's

by

Add a comment
View Statistics:

Past 24 Hours: 0

Past 7 Days: 0

Past 30 Days: 0

All Time: 7,146