Replacing the 1TB fusion drive on late 2012 Mac Mini with SSD

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Level 1

8 points

Replacing the 1TB fusion drive on late 2012 Mac Mini with SSD

I have a late 2012 Mac Mini model whose Fusion drive has failed. After diagnostics from Apple I was told the SSD part is OK but the spinning disk part has failed. I would like to replace the entire thing with an SSD, either 512MB or 1TB. Has anyone tried this with luck? I was thinking about these hard drives:

I also see kits floating around like these from OWC:

My question is whether I should go with a kit, or try and save from money by installing the Samsung SSD? Is it compatible? Which OS drive format should I use for it?

macOS Mojave (10.14.1)

Posted on Nov 18, 2018 2:11 PM

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Answer 1

dwb

Level 7

32,920 points

Nov 19, 2018 10:07 AM in response to evagorasc

I prefer Micron Technology & OWC (macsales.com) for memory and SSDs. The kit is just an easy to use external enclosure which makes it easier to clone the SSD from the original drive. If your original drive isn't functional, the kit isn't going to be useful. BTW, don't bother setting up the fusion drive again with the SSD. Let the computer see that it has 2 internal drives and use the original SSD for backups or a secondary boot drive.

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Answer 2

dwb

Level 7

32,920 points

Nov 19, 2018 11:45 AM in response to evagorasc

You said your computer had a fusion drive so it already has a small SSD as well as the broken rotational drive. The fusion drive isn't an SSD on a rotational drive - they are separate. When you replace the rotational drive you'll have 2 SSDs because the Fusion drive SSD is on the logic board. You'll have to reformat it but it will be usable as a separate drive.

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Answer 3

evagorasc Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 19, 2018 12:01 PM in response to dwb

I did not realize that. I thought they were on the same drive. Thanks for clarifying. I see that it's possible to install a second drive on the mac, so if I do, does that mean I will then see 3 drives?

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