1) Is it possible to expand the Hard disk of iMac?
2) If not, is it possible to instal program on external drive?
3) if not is it possible to connect to iMac monitor a mac book pro od mac mini?
Thank you!
iMac 27″, macOS 11.2
1) No... not without replacing the hard disk with a larger one.
2) Yes. It is easy to store documents on external drives. Applications are harder: MacOS security may require that an application be first run from your Application's folder before allowing it to be moved elsewhere. Alternatively you could get a big enough external drive to reinstall MacOS and migrate all your data onto it.
3) No. Retina iMacs cannot be used as a display for other macs. The closest you can get is to use 3rd party screen-sharing software.
I have a 2019 iMac 27" and use an external drive. An NVME SSD in a Thunderbolt enclosure will run faster than the internal drive. I just cloned my internal to the external using Carbon Copy Cloner. You can then use the internal for other storage uses.
I have that setup. Drive is powered directly from the TB port. I used Carbon Copy Cloner to make the external drive (easy process). I use a WD NVME M.2 1TB drive in a Trebleet TB3 enclosure. This has very consistent fast speeds. Just a note that NVME drives run very warm to the touch but they have been designed to stand the heat.
Yes. Make sure the SSD is Thunderbolt 3. An option is the LaCie 1TB Rugged SSD Pro External Drive with Thunderbolt 3.
Sorry, I must have gotten you confused with someone else I was replying to.
Yes, 2019 iMacs have Thunderbolt 3 which can use bus-powered external SSDs.
2019s can also use USB 3.1/3.2 gen 2 USB-C devices/enclosures which will be almost as fast as Thunderbolt 3.
1) It is moderately difficult. Special tools and parts are required and there are several ways a mistake could damage the iMac. Maybe 3 out of 4 people do the upgrade without problems, but it hurts if you are the 4th with problems.
2) An external USB 3.0 SSD will be merely quite fast where an internal SSD is lightning fast. Unless you are a professional photo/video editor or like who regularly uses large files you probably won't notice.
3) Same.
Thunderbolt 3 will not have a slowdown compared to an internal installation.
External drives do not require external power for 2019 iMacs.
Thank you padams35!
But about 1) can I do this without problem?
Like replace my iMac ssd hd of 1 terabyte with another of two or three?
And about 2) if I migrate my os on external drive this could slow down the system?
About 3) is the same of mackBook for the Mac Mini?
Thank you again!
Note: Thunderbolt 3 enclosures are only compatible with Thunderbolt-2 iMacs (2015) if if the drive/enclosure has an external power supply. A Thunderbolt 2 enclosure/drive would be perfect if you could find one, but these days those tend to be expensive and rare.
I'm Sorry but now, with the several and different answers, the confusion is mine :-) but the different contributions, which give to me e more information and for which I am grateful, help me to rephrase my question:
a) Is it right that it is possible to instal the operative system (my computer is iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) whit last big sur) on an external ssd drive (with about 2 or 3 tb) Thunderbolt 3, with no slowdown compared to internal drive? (see also tbirdvet answer);
b) the external drive must be powered or could be not powered? (see also Jack-19 link/answer).
Thank you all!
My iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) has Thunderbolt 3, so I can use external ssd with or without external power.
Is this right?
Thanks.
iMac 2019 uses TB3 which is what I use and what GCK7 would need.
Expand Hard Disk of iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
