2012 27" iMac : Fusion Drive failing, need info please

[VideoBeagle]

I have a 27" 2012 iMac with the 1TB Fusion Drive.
The Flash part is getting SMART failure warnings. (APPLE SSD SM128E)

I suspect it's not long for the world.

I'll be taking it to the AppleStore and having them do their checks and see what service and deals they might offer, but barring them saying "Oh, we'll fix it for free", I am looking up and exploring options so I can make a decision on what to do (in a few weeks time).

There's a local Mac independent Apple repair shop that I'm getting estimates info from.

I'm also considering the Fix-it-yourself option. I've done similar before, though not on something as complicated as an iMac (I've watched OWC's videos). I _could_ do it, but if not too expensive, I'd rather the pros do it.

But there's also the replacing the drive. Is OWC the only/best place to go for a new one? Are there other good retailers for it?

If I do it myself, or take it to the local place, I might decide to go ahead and replace both the Flash and the HDD of the fusion drive all at once. I could also look into just replacing the current HDD with a large Solid State drive and forget the 1128flash drive part entirely going forward. (the just HDD looks a lot less trickey than the flash part)..depending on costs, that may well be the way I go.

Anyway, I'd appreciate shopping advice on this, as well as comments on options I haven't considered. (I could also just redo the drives so the HDD is the only drive but I do rather like the speed flash/SSD gives me.)

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

It will be quite expensive at that model had the glued screen, not the magnetic clip offs. Don't iscopunt the flash. Apple use a special blade, and I believe it is the same (Samsung) as fits MacBook mPros etc. As PCI-e is the fastes, always worth a quoye for a 512GB drive.

Then you could use a standard 7200rpm 3.5" drive externally in a USB3 caddy.

 

[VideoBeagle]

Don't iscopunt the flash.

I'm afraid I don't understand.

(yeah, the glue part is one of the reasons I'm concerned about doing it myself...OWC has a DIY kit with new glue and tools I'd likely get if I go that way).

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Don't discount using an all Flash drive. See if OWC sell these.


https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/SSDIM12Y240/

Another option would be an external SSD in a caddy connected via USB3 or Thunderbolt. Clone tje operating system to it, and choose as the boot driv e iin System Preferences > Startup Disk.

 

[VideoBeagle]

Don't discount using an all Flash drive. See if OWC sell these.


https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/SSDIM12Y240/

Another option would be an external SSD in a caddy connected via USB3 or Thunderbolt. Clone tje operating system to it, and choose as the boot driv e iin System Preferences > Startup Disk.

Thanks!

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Does your iMac have USB3?
If so, you could get an EXTERNAL SSD and use that to boot and run the iMac.

Once running that way, you could erase both the internal SSD and HDD.
IF the SSD still shows "bad", I'd use the HDD as "just an internal hard drive" while still booting and running from the external SSD.

Getting an external SSD set up and running as the boot drive is trivially easy on the Mac.
Could save you money and trouble this way.

With an external USB SSD, you'll see read speeds of 430mbps and writes in the 275-350mbps range (depends on make and size of SSD).