How to know if my SSD is still working in iMac fusion drive?

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Level 1

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How to know if my SSD is still working in iMac fusion drive?

My iMac late 2103 has been failing recently. The HDD showed failing status. I replaced it with a new drive and was able to recover from internet to full working mac. However it is rather slow, showing disk read/write speeds of around 60MB/s which is expected for the 7200 rpm drive. But this iMAC came with fusion drive and for some reason I'm not able to see the SSD drive, although the Apple SSD Controller is visible in System Information.

Wondering if anyone could help investigate what could have happen? Is it possible the SSD failed as well?

Posted on Apr 13, 2021 5:39 AM

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Answer 1

thenuskot Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 13, 2021 5:45 AM in response to thenuskot

For info, I took an export of the system information 3 weeks ago when things started failing and the SSD was still showing as per screenshot below.

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Answer 2

Allan Jones

Level 9

66,919 points

Apr 13, 2021 10:13 AM in response to thenuskot

In System Information, select "Storage" from the left0hand contents pane to find the mechanical part of the Fusion drive.

This Apple article shows how to tell if a Fusion drive is "split."

How to fix a split Fusion Drive - Apple Support

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Answer 3

Jack-19

Level 8

45,197 points

Apr 13, 2021 12:04 PM in response to thenuskot

Hi thenuskot,

I don't think the "Split" Fusion Drive issue applies to you, as it is not being identified in Disk Utility or System Information. It just has a generic "Apple SSD Controller" rather than the actual SSD.

Cheers,

Jack

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Answer 4

thenuskot Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 13, 2021 1:18 PM in response to Jack-19

I agree with you Jack-19. the SSD is not showing in the SATA SSD controller

Allan, that was a good guess, but unfortunately the SSD is not showing at all.

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Answer 5

Jack-19

Level 8

45,197 points

Apr 13, 2021 1:36 PM in response to thenuskot

Instead of opening the Mac for the SSD, I would suggest just getting an external USB SSD and run macOS from that. It will be just as fast as a Fusion Drive, if not better. It will be around 420 MB/s read/write. If you're interested in this, please read: How to Setup and Use an External SSD as y… - Apple Community.

Cheers,

Jack

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Answer 6

thenuskot Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 13, 2021 3:03 PM in response to Jack-19

Opening the Mac and accessing the SSD is not a problem as it is already open to swap the HDD. I'm really wondering why the SSD stops showing up. I've even tried booting in recovery and SSD continues to not show up.

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Answer 7

Best answer

Jack-19

Level 8

45,197 points

Apr 13, 2021 3:55 PM in response to thenuskot

Then there is some hardware fault with the SSD.

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How to know if my SSD is still working in iMac fusion drive?

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