kopte3

Q: SSD + HDD iMac configuration (with Bootcamp)

I have a Mid 2011 iMac with 1TB HDD storage configured with Bootcamp. I plan to add a 512GB SSD to it. I would like to split the SSD for operating systems, and as for HDD i would like to have three partitions - OS X Extended for Mac data, NTFS for Win data, and FAT32 for shared data. Is this configuration even possible? Are there any things i should be aware of?

 

Thanks!

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Oct 30, 2015 7:27 PM

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Q: SSD + HDD iMac configuration (with Bootcamp)

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  • by Loner T,Solvedanswer

    Loner T Loner T Oct 30, 2015 8:18 PM in response to kopte3
    Level 7 (24,307 points)
    Safari
    Oct 30, 2015 8:18 PM in response to kopte3

    1. Please check if your specific iMac was designed to hold a Fusion drive. If it was, then, you can add an SSD without removing the Optical drive. iFixit can confirm with a teardown of your specific model or their dual-drive setup for this specific Mac.

    2. If you plan to remove the Optical bay to add an SSD, installing Windows is a very painful exercise.

    3. Your setup is possible. On the SSD, split it in half, without using CoreStorage, and install OS X and Windows, without the HDD in the mix. Once OS X and Windows work, add the HDD and Disk Utility to partition as you see fit. It is also possible to do this when both SSD/HDD are connected, but it requires some work in Terminal using diskutil cs resizestack. Please see OSX and Bootcamp discussion for some of my tests.

    4. All my Macminis have a 256/512Gb SSD and a 1/1.5TB HDD with Bootcamp/Windows on the SSD. The HDD was too slow for Windows 7 boots. They al use similar configurations.

  • by kopte3,

    kopte3 kopte3 Nov 1, 2015 10:23 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 1, 2015 10:23 AM in response to Loner T

    Thank you very much for your detailed response! I've checked the iFixit and the dual drive configuration is possible.

     

    Would you recommend any SSD manufacturer?

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Nov 1, 2015 11:34 AM in response to kopte3
    Level 7 (24,307 points)
    Safari
    Nov 1, 2015 11:34 AM in response to kopte3

    You can use Samsung, OWC, Crucial, Intel SSDs. Kingston OEM s Intel SSDs. I do not have much experience with other brands.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Nov 1, 2015 1:31 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 7 (24,307 points)
    Safari
    Nov 1, 2015 1:31 PM in response to Loner T

    This is from one of my Mac mini installations.

     

    diskutil list

    /dev/disk0

       #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

       0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *256.1 GB   disk0

       1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1

       2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         128.0 GB   disk0s2

       3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk0s3

       4:       Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP                127.7 GB   disk0s4

    /dev/disk1

       #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

       0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.0 TB     disk1

       1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk1s1

       2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         999.3 GB   disk1s2

       3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               650.0 MB   disk1s3

    /dev/disk2

       #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

       0:                  Apple_HFS OSX-FusionHD           *1.1 TB     disk2

     

    diskutil cs list

    CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)

    |

    +-- Logical Volume Group DF140929-90E7-48E1-AC3D-C9C75BA88D1D

        =========================================================

        Name:         OSX-FusionHD

        Status:       Online

        Size:         1127375384576 B (1.1 TB)

        Free Space:   69632 B (69.6 KB)

        |

        +-< Physical Volume C856A74C-EB57-4D1F-8223-0A22215218ED

        |   ----------------------------------------------------

        |   Index:    0

        |   Disk:     disk0s2

        |   Status:   Online

        |   Size:     128030257152 B (128.0 GB)

        |

        +-< Physical Volume 80D91A14-CCC9-47B1-B071-B9ADFF23924F

        |   ----------------------------------------------------

        |   Index:    1

        |   Disk:     disk1s2

        |   Status:   Online

        |   Size:     999345127424 B (999.3 GB)

        |

        +-> Logical Volume Family 019D610F-21AC-4B54-AB0A-6D5F90D520A7

            ----------------------------------------------------------

            Encryption Status:       Unlocked

            Encryption Type:         None

            Conversion Status:       NoConversion

            Conversion Direction:    -none-

            Has Encrypted Extents:   No

            Fully Secure:            No

            Passphrase Required:     No

            |

            +-> Logical Volume D9DC0F70-38C7-4AE6-BAC4-CFBE0F8D4F68

                ---------------------------------------------------

                Disk:                  disk2

                Status:                Online

                Size (Total):          1118844862464 B (1.1 TB)

                Conversion Progress:   -none-

                Revertible:            No

                LV Name:               OSX-FusionHD

                Volume Name:           OSX-FusionHD

                Content Hint:          Apple_HFS