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Using an external hard drive as the only hard drive for iMac

My son's internal hard drive failed. He has an iMac from 2009. We have an external hard drive that we could use to connect to that computer and basically just use that computer as his monitor - but I need to know if that's even possible. We absolutely cannot afford a new internal hard drive for his iMac, so at this point it's just a brick. I do have my own iMac I can use to transfer operating systems and files onto the external hard drive. I'm fairly computer literate, but this is beyond my skillset. Can anyone help with recommendations or info on how to do what I'm trying to do? Thanks.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Jan 15, 2020 12:45 PM

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Good luck! You could replace the HD with a SSD by yourself. As I don't know if it's a early 2009 or late 2009 and don't know the screen size I have included links install videos for all of them.


https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_20_early09_hd/iMac9-1-20/

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_24_0708e09_hd/iMac9-1-24/

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_late21_2009_hd/iMac10-1-21.5/

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_late27_2009_hd/iMac10-1-27/


It is doable by someone handy but this computer is old which means the internals will be brittle so addititional care is recommended. You can replace the HD with a 1 TB SSD for about $165.00

Posted on Jan 15, 2020 1:11 PM

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Jan 15, 2020 1:11 PM in response to Bmailand

Good luck! You could replace the HD with a SSD by yourself. As I don't know if it's a early 2009 or late 2009 and don't know the screen size I have included links install videos for all of them.


https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_20_early09_hd/iMac9-1-20/

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_24_0708e09_hd/iMac9-1-24/

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_late21_2009_hd/iMac10-1-21.5/

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_late27_2009_hd/iMac10-1-27/


It is doable by someone handy but this computer is old which means the internals will be brittle so addititional care is recommended. You can replace the HD with a 1 TB SSD for about $165.00

Question marked as Helpful

Jan 15, 2020 9:53 PM in response to Bmailand

Yes that upgrade kit will allow you to replace the original 3.5" Hard Drive with another 3.5" Hard Drive.


If you want to go from the original 3.5" Hard Drive to a faster 2.5" SSD, then you will also need the SSD mount.

see > https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIDIMCL0GB/


Or better yet, just go with one of their upgrade bundle kits, that has the tools cable, SSD mount and the 2.5" SSD.

for example > https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/KITIM09HE500/

Using an external hard drive as the only hard drive for iMac

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