Mac mini (Late 2014) Thunderbolt ports

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Mac mini (Late 2014) Thunderbolt ports

I would like to connect a high capacity drive with a USB-C cable to the Thunderbolt 2 port directly or through an adaptor/adaptor cable. Any recommendations?

Mac mini, macOS 12.3

Posted on May 7, 2022 8:53 AM

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Answer 1

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read_baron Author

Level 1

9 points

May 7, 2022 1:35 PM in response to den.thed

I am not trying to replace my internal drive, this is to replace an external drive. The drive I bought is a 4 TB Crucial X6 portable SSD. It will replace my 1 TB Toshiba which works fine but it is running out of room as a Time Machine backup disk. The new drive is described as follows: "Crucial X6 4TB Portable SSD – Up to 800MB/s – USB 3.2 – External Solid State Drive, USB-C - CT4000X6SSD9". It comes with a short cable with USB-C terminals at both ends.

Note that the new drive is not powered externally, I assume the USB-C connection provides the power.

Thank you for your help!

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Answer 2

den.thed

Level 10

83,230 points

May 7, 2022 10:55 AM in response to read_baron

That will not work for bus powered USB-C drives. You’re best bet for an external boot drive, is to just get and use a USB-A 3.0 SATA SSD. FWIW a 3.0 SATA SSD will give you around 500 MB/s which is around 7 or 8 times faster than your 2014 Mac Mini’s slow 5400rpm internal drive.

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