iMac9,1 & large SSD not compatible?

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Level 1

93 points

iMac9,1 & large SSD not compatible?

Tried upgrading an iMac9,1 (early 2009) with a Sandisk Ulta II 960GB SSD. This is a SATA III SSD. Ended up with a white screen upon boot. Absolutely would not boot with this drive (internally or externally). I did test the SSD thoroughly and even installed it into a late 2009 iMac10,1 which booted just fine. Then I put a 240GB Kingston (also SATA III) into the 9,1 and it booted fine. Checked the System Report and the SATA interface reported 3Gb negotiated to 1.5Gb. The speed improvement was still phenomenal as the SSD had El Cap on it and all operations from booting onward were quite speedy.

I recall OWC having 3Gb SSDs (and a quick search at OWC for an SSD compatible with the imac9,1 confirmed they recommend 3Gb).

What have been the experiences of other iMac9,1 owners who have done this sort of upgrade? Which large (960GB/1TB) SSDs have worked for you?

Thanks!

Barry

Posted on Feb 27, 2016 7:27 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

361,731 points

Feb 27, 2016 7:39 PM in response to Barry Levine

The issue might be that it's from SanDisk which doesn't always work well on Macs. I suggest you return it and get refund. Open that either on an OWC 3G SSD. No point spending extra for a 6G SSD when you won't get any better performance. Now, it is also conceivable that your model simply cannot support SSDs that large. I don't know. OWC does make SSDs that large for older iMacs like yours.

I can also suggest trying an OCZ SSD. I believe the Vertex models support 3G as will newer ones. Amazon usually has good deals on OCZ SSDs.

Now, just so I don't overlook anything. Did you partition the new SSD for GUID and format Mac OS Extended, Journaled. The SSD will not have arrived that way. How did you put OS X on this drive, and what version of OS X did you install.

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Answer 2

Barry Levine Author

Level 1

93 points

Feb 27, 2016 8:36 PM in response to Kappy

I always have use for the Sandisk SSD on newer Macs so I'll not return it.

OWC's 3G SSDs are actually more expensive than the equal size Sandisks so, if the need was urgent, I'd get one. Certainly the 3G speed would be better but, as the 1.5G speed is quite sufficient in the machine's current use, I'll keep it as is. I know the user will decide to get a new machine in a couple of years so the $200 savings (960GB >> 240GB) will be appreciated when that time comes.

(BTW, 1.5G speed is fine as I regularly upgrade old white MacBooks with SSDs and the improvement is jaw-dropping.)

As for the formatting - Yep, GUID, MacOS Extended, Journaled, non-case-sensitive. I used CCC to clone the El Cap installation from the 240GB Kingston. When that didn't boot in the iMac (and the 240GB Kingston had been booting in other machines just fine), I tried booting from a USB El Cap installer I have used for a number of months but that white screen issue wouldn't even let me bring up the list of bootable drives with the Option key depressed. I removed the Sandisk and installed from scratch on another Mac (with the same USB installer) but returning it to the iMac9,1 resulted in the white screen again. Once I dropped the 240GB Kingston into the iMac, though, the problem was resolved.

It's probably the 3G issue as OWC doesn't even list the imac9,1 on their SSD page; you have to actually select it from a popup menu on that page in order to be brought directly to the 3G SSD page. [Edit: the Kingston is 6G but was probably old enough to have compatibility to older 3G motherboards; newer SSDs don't have this need today.]

I seem to recall a couple of MacBook Pros from the 2009-10 vintage that had this problem, as well. I think Apple issued a firmware update for those units that resolved the issue. I did check for such a firmware update for the iMac but Apple's support area listed the latest update as one that was already installed and an attempted install reported the iMac was already updated.

Thanks for your reply!

Barry

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

361,731 points

Feb 27, 2016 8:37 PM in response to Barry Levine

(BTW, 1.5G speed is fine as I regularly upgrade old white MacBooks with SSDs and the improvement is jaw-dropping.)

But you want the 3G speed to make your computer faster. No reason to cripple it by putting in a slower SSD when the faster one is not much more expensive. I'm Jewish, too, but not that Jewish. 😁😁

You can check firmware updates here: About EFI & SMC firmware updates for Intel-based Macs.

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Answer 4

Barry Levine Author

Level 1

93 points

Feb 27, 2016 8:54 PM in response to Kappy

Even the 1.5G with the SSD is -way- faster than any spinning hard drive. Hey! It's running El Cap faster than a new iMac with a spinning HD.

The client was happy with the 240GB and agreed the $200 savings (left in her pocket) would be applied to her new Mac when the time comes. (I did upgrade the RAM to 8GB from 4GB.)

If it had been my iMac, I might have been more demanding but clients are more sensitive to changes in costs after the initial proposal. As I have other business from this client, I felt giving her the choice of spending more or saving for a newer machine later was the right thing to do. My clients pay what I pay for the hardware; I don't profit from that.

To confirm: Firmware was up to date.

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Answer 5

Kappy

Level 10

361,731 points

Feb 28, 2016 10:02 AM in response to Barry Levine

I did not realize this was not for you but a client. Hope the questions have been answered/solved. 🙂

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Answer 6

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Feb 28, 2016 10:06 AM in response to Barry Levine

Barry Levine wrote:

Even the 1.5G with the SSD is -way- faster than any spinning hard drive. Hey! It's running El Cap faster than a new iMac with a spinning HD.

It is exactly half as fast as it should be.

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Answer 7

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,486 points

Feb 28, 2016 11:39 AM in response to Barry Levine

Barry, the problem is that the clients iMac has an Nvidia MCP79 SATA 3Gb controller in it and 6Gb SSD's that use a Sandforce or Marvell controller will only run at 1.5Gb when connected the the MCP79. There is no firmware update that will correct it. I now that OWC 3Gb, and 6Gb SSD,s from Crucial and Samsung will work at 3Gb but cannot vouch for other brands. Later iMacs like my late 2009 have an Intel 5 series chipset and will negotiate most 6Gb SSD's to 3Gb without problems.

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Answer 8

Barry Levine Author

Level 1

93 points

Feb 28, 2016 12:28 PM in response to SeaPapp

Mike,

Thanks (and thanks to others who provided add'l asistance). I figured I had one of the incompatible controllers and OWC's SSD page (with the popup where I selected the imac9,1 and was directed to the proper 3G SSDs) confirmed this.

I went to the Crucial website but, when I provided the model of the iMac, it showed -no- compatible SSDs; it didn't specifically -say- "not compatible" but only displayed compatible RAM and -no- SSDs.

I moved away from the Samsung SSDs only when I needed one quickly and only the Sandisk was available at that moment; since then, I've been using the Sandisks with good success up to this point. I will have to test a Mac with that MCP79 controller and a Samsung. I'll order one in so I both the Sandisk and the Samsung on hand when a Mac of that vintage shows up.

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Answer 9

BC001

Level 1

4 points

Apr 3, 2016 10:58 AM in response to Barry Levine

Barry,

Thanks for posting this story. I've struggled with a 960GB SanDisk Ultra II install into a iMac 9,1 for 1.5 days now. I had no issues installing a fresh copy of OSX and migrating files. I also booted off of the drive externally without issue. But as soon as the drive is installed in the internal bay, I get the gray/white screen and I'm dead in the water. No "Option" key for startup options, No Recovery Mode, No safe mode, etc. I tried everything I could find on multiple blogs including PRAM resets, etc. No change. Tried to enable TRIM since you can do that now in El Capitan. No dice.

I think the drive is not compatible and I'll have to return it. I was really hoping to upgrade this iMac to get a couple more years out of it, but I'm petrified of picking another SSD brand / size because I'm not sure how to ensure the next pick will work in this machine. I had a 640GB HDD before, so I really something around 1TB....if the size of the drive is part of the compatibility issue, I may be out of luck.

Brian

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Answer 10

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Apr 3, 2016 2:46 PM in response to BC001

If it works eternally and not while mounted internally, replace the internal cable (SATA)

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Answer 11

Barry Levine Author

Level 1

93 points

Apr 3, 2016 3:12 PM in response to Csound1

I'll assume you haven't read my initial post. This is a drive controller issue which doesn't matter if the drive is connected via USB. Your suggestion might be correct if the HD in question was a standard spinning type.

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Answer 12

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Apr 3, 2016 3:18 PM in response to Barry Levine

Barry Levine wrote:

I'll assume you haven't read my initial post. This is a drive controller issue which doesn't matter if the drive is connected via USB. Your suggestion might be correct if the HD in question was a standard spinning type.

Which is connected via a cable designed for a much slower HDD

Do as you please, it will have no effect on my Mac.

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Answer 13

Barry Levine Author

Level 1

93 points

Apr 3, 2016 3:44 PM in response to Csound1

At the risk of encouraging a troll:

Okay; I'll bite. Please point to the correct Apple part numbers for the two different cables designed for this old Mac (iMac9,1) - one for the spinning hard drive and the other for the SSD.

Perhaps I had a chair leg on the cable which squeezed it allowing only a small portion of the data to flow through it? 😁

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Answer 14

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Apr 3, 2016 3:47 PM in response to Barry Levine

We have already been there, so I will pass thanks.

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Answer 15

BC001

Level 1

4 points

Apr 3, 2016 4:05 PM in response to Csound1

Csound1,

Appreciate the additional suggestion. I saw references to others going down the new cable path when getting similar issues. It seemed like a lot of those cases were folks driven to replace the original HDD due to performance issues or failure. In this case, the existing HDD works fine. Just wanted a performance upgrade.

In addition, I'm not asking it to go any faster than the SATA controller it connects with...i.e. SATA II 3GB/s. I would be surprised that Apple used a cable that couldn't fully support the speed of the controller they installed. Again, while the SSD is capable of SATA III 6GB/s, it would be expected to negotiate at 3GB/s with the controller, so no out of spec demand on the existing cable.

I think the fact that Barry had no issues with a different SSD, by a different manuf. and a different size, points more towards compatibility than it does towards a cable issue.

Brian

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