Late 2009 iMac with removed internal hard drive

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Late 2009 iMac with removed internal hard drive

I recently bought a late 2009 iMac with it's internal hard drive removed and I was looking for how to use an external hard drive as the main drive instead of going through the process of putting in a new internal hard drive.

I know I could just use it as a secondary screen but I was hoping to try and get some computing power out of it even though it is pretty old by today's standards.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, this is first time I've tried to do anything like this.

Earlier Mac models

Posted on Sep 4, 2023 10:20 PM

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Answer 1

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Jack-19

Level 8

46,318 points

Sep 4, 2023 10:30 PM in response to Skrimlunar

Hi there!

You can use an external FireWire drive to use as a startup disk for your Mac. FireWire would provide better performance when compared to USB on your older Mac. Other World Computing still manufacturers the older FireWire-type drives. I would recommend the 250GB OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro SSD - OWC with the OWC Power Adapter for Mercury On-The-Go - OWC.

To install macOS on the drive, you'll need an original Apple Mac OS X Snow Leopard installation disc. If you don't have one, some might be available from 3rd party resellers. Alternatively, if you have access to a second Mac, you might be able to create a macOS bootable installer. Let us know if you do, and if so, what model it is.

-Jack

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,954 points

Sep 5, 2023 9:47 AM in response to Skrimlunar

Using any external drive on a 2009 iMac will be extremely slow. As mentioned FW800 is the fastest external bus a 2009 will support however it is considerably slower than USB 3. IMHO, install an internal HD or get rid of the thing as it is extremely obsolete and buy something more current. If you cannot buy a new Mac then buy a used one from a reputable source such as Macsales.com. NEVER EVER buy a used Mac from places like EBay, Marketplace, Craigslist, your local computer store etc. ONLY buy from trusted sources!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Late 2009 iMac with removed internal hard drive

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