MargeHomer Author

Level 1

72 points

Is There A Limit On How Big An External SSD Drive Can Be Attached To A 2014 Mac Mini

Have a 2014 Mac Mini running Big Sur that I want to attach an external SSD to for backups. I'm looking at a Samsung 2TB. Sometimes there are limits as to how big an external drive computers will support. Is there a limit that I need to be aware of for the 2014 Mac Mini?

Mac mini, macOS 11.6

Posted on Jun 8, 2022 2:45 PM

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3 replies

Level 6

13,964 points

Jun 8, 2022 9:01 PM in response to MargeHomer

No, none exists. Go ahead!

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Level 6

16,988 points

Jun 9, 2022 4:55 AM in response to MargeHomer

The limitation is usually the dock or enclosure on how large a drive it will support. Should be no issue with a 2TB drive.

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Level 8

35,938 points

Jun 8, 2022 11:22 PM in response to MargeHomer

There are a few larger than average SSDs for external and internal installations.

OWC has some in the range of 16-TB (Mercury Enterprise Pro) 6G 2.5-inch SATA.

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/S4DMEP7E16T/ ($2,999. w/ free shipping)

Enclosure and accessories are extra; some are listed on their main SSD drive pages.

More options are there as well; some not as large capacity; hard to say what is ideal.

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/storage

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc

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Is There A Limit On How Big An External SSD Drive Can Be Attached To A 2014 Mac Mini

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