2014 Mac mini PCIe ssd only can add another 2.5" ssd with the dual hhd kit?

[spoon72]

2014 Mac mini PCIe ssd only can add another 2.5" ssd with the dual hhd kit? Can I clone the OS to an Ext harddisk (normal 3.5") and if later on when the PCIe ssd break down I boot up from the 2.5" ssd drive after I clone it from the backup 3.5" Ext drive ?

 

[Kaida]

Yes, using the same "upper" cable from Mac mini 2012.

When you insert a new USB harddisk, the system will prompt you if you want to create a time machine backup. You can recover the 2.5" from the USB harddisk time machine.

 

[Fishrrman]

If all you're trying to do is create a bootable cloned backup for emergency purposes, just do so on an EXTERNAL USB3 SSD.

Much less trouble. Why go through the hassle of opening the Mini to do this? There's always the danger of breaking something inside during the process.

Use CarbonCopyCloner to create it. It will clone over the recovery partition as well.
CCC is FREE to download and use for the first 30 days.