Best way to salvage a 2TB SSD from 2019 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display?

[KitEGrace]

I have a 2019 iMac (27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display) that bit the dust; it completely shut down while I was using it. Turned it back on, it worked maybe 10 minutes, and it shut down completely again. Oddly, the Time Machine backup I had been doing seems to have no files in the Desktop folder, even though there were a lot of files on the desktop. So, I'm very hopeful to see if I can salvage any files from the 2TB SSD that came with the iMac.

Does anyone have any suggestions the best way to proceed? From the videos I have seen online, it looks like there is more involved in taking apart one of these iMacs than it was previously. Has anyone had success accessing files from the SSD? What would be the best way to hook that up?

I did take apart my last iMac that was a 2013 to salvage that hard drive before recycling it, but it looks like things have changed substantially with the process. Would really appreciate advice, please.

 

[PaulD-UK]

You basically have to dismantle everything in the iMac to get at the SSD - hoping you do mean 2TB SSD not the 2TB fusion drive that most standard higher spec 2019 iMacs shipped with...

I can only given a rough idea of the various process involved, but others here can give you more detailed instructions, since I haven't has to do this with my 2019 27" iMac.

Once you have the logic board out you can remove the SSD.

You then have two choices:

1. Get another 2019/17? iMac, dismantle, and insert your SSD.
Reset it up so your old Apple ID/login is exactly the same as it was on the failed 2019 iMac. Access your files - you hope.

2. Get an external drive case that will accept your non-standard Apple SSD blade - there are a few available.
Connect to another that has been installed with your Administrator login exactly like the 2019 iMac was.
Hopefully you can do an OS install using 'migrate' from the SSD, or external-boot to the SSD, or at least access it with your permissions intact so you can access the user folder.

But, when you have a nice new AS Mac to continue using, throw away the old iMac internals, and turn it into an external monitor, with instructions from this MR thread.

Of course you could instead get your old iMac repaired...
And you could check how much of a TM backup you have, remembering the backup is only accessible with your permissions set on the Mac you are recovering to.
If you access it with those permissions set, you may be able to see the files in the Desktop folder, and other User folders.

 

[KitEGrace]

You basically have to dismantle everything in the iMac to get at the SSD - hoping you do mean 2TB SSD not the 2TB fusion drive that most standard higher spec 2019 iMacs shipped with...

I can only given a rough idea of the various process involved, but others here can give you more detailed instructions, since I haven't has to do this with my 2019 27" iMac.

Once you have the logic board out you can remove the SSD.

You then have two choices:

1. Get another 2019/17? iMac, dismantle, and insert your SSD.
Reset it up so your old Apple ID/login is exactly the same as it was on the failed 2019 iMac. Access your files - you hope.

2. Get an external drive case that will accept your non-standard Apple SSD blade - there are a few available.
Connect to another that has been installed with your Administrator login exactly like the 2019 iMac was.
Hopefully you can do an OS install using 'migrate' from the SSD, or external-boot to the SSD, or at least access it with your permissions intact so you can access the user folder.

But, when you have a nice new AS Mac to continue using, throw away the old iMac internals, and turn it into an external monitor, with instructions from this MR thread.

Of course you could instead get your old iMac repaired...
And you could check how much of a TM backup you have, remembering the backup is only accessible with your permissions set on the Mac you are recovering to.
If you access it with those permissions set, you may be able to see the files in the Desktop folder, and other User folders.

Thanks, Paul. Yes, it is a 2TB SSD - definitely not the fusion drive. I already had to get a new Mac and monitor due to my work, so I would be going the external drive case route. This sounds a bit more complicated than I imagined, but thank you so much for your insight.

Is there a recommendation as to an external drive case that would work for this iMac?

 

[Slix]

Have you tried accessing the computer using Target Disk Mode? Hold down T at startup, and connect a Thunderbolt or USB cable to another Mac and your iMac, and see if it can read the disk.

 

[PaulD-UK]

Search for an OWC Envoy Pro 1A
That is one that specifies it works with 2019 SSDs.
Ones that only work with 2013-2015 Macs are likely to work differently I think.

 

[KitEGrace]

Have you tried accessing the computer using Target Disk Mode? Hold down T at startup, and connect a Thunderbolt or USB cable to another Mac and your iMac, and see if it can read the disk.

No, I haven't. Assuming I would go ahead and connect a Thunderbolt cable first from the iMac to my new Mac Studio and my Mac Studio would already be on...then I would power on the iMac and press T on its keyboard - if this works, then would it appear on the Mac Studio as an external drive, so I could attempt to copy files over? Does that sound about right?

 

[Slix]

No, I haven't. Assuming I would go ahead and connect a Thunderbolt cable first from the iMac to my new Mac Studio and my Mac Studio would already be on...then I would power on the iMac and press T on its keyboard - if this works, then would it appear on the Mac Studio as an external drive, so I could attempt to copy files over? Does that sound about right?

Yup! Exactly right. Here's a support document if you need any further clarification: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/transfer-files-mac-computers-target-disk-mode-mchlp1443/mac

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I have a 2019 iMac (27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display) that bit the dust; it completely shut down while I was using it. Turned it back on, it worked maybe 10 minutes, and it shut down completely again. Oddly, the Time Machine backup I had been doing seems to have no files in the Desktop folder, even though there were a lot of files on the desktop. So, I'm very hopeful to see if I can salvage any files from the 2TB SSD that came with the iMac.

Does anyone have any suggestions the best way to proceed? From the videos I have seen online, it looks like there is more involved in taking apart one of these iMacs than it was previously. Has anyone had success accessing files from the SSD? What would be the best way to hook that up?

I did take apart my last iMac that was a 2013 to salvage that hard drive before recycling it, but it looks like things have changed substantially with the process. Would really appreciate advice, please.

The best way is to take your iMac to a professional repair shop and have it fixed.
I guess your iMac got a thermal issue (fans are not working of something) or PSU issue and the repair job wouldn't be a hard one.

 

[Fishrrman]

I agree with Nguyen above.
A 2019 iMac with a 2tb SSD should still be a very usable Mac.

It sounds like a power supply problem.
I've never been inside one of these, but changing the power supply might be easier than removing the SSD (IF you don't have to physically remove the entire motherboard).

If you don't feel like doing it yourself, a 3rd-party shop that handles Macs might be able to.

 

[KitEGrace]

Yup! Exactly right. Here's a support document if you need any further clarification: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/transfer-files-mac-computers-target-disk-mode-mchlp1443/mac

Unfortunately, even though my new Studio seemingly saw the iMac per the Thunderbolt/USB4 Device Tree, it never showed the drive on the Desktop (and I do have Finder set to show all External Drives). I got the iMac so I could go into Disk Utility, but it then no longer showed the SSD at all. I think this SSD has to be dead in the water at this point.

 

[KitEGrace]

The best way is to take your iMac to a professional repair shop and have it fixed.
I guess your iMac got a thermal issue (fans are not working of something) or PSU issue and the repair job wouldn't be a hard one.

Thank you - I think the SSD is likely dead. I already had to get a new computer due to my work.

 

[KitEGrace]

I agree with Nguyen above.
A 2019 iMac with a 2tb SSD should still be a very usable Mac.

It sounds like a power supply problem.
I've never been inside one of these, but changing the power supply might be easier than removing the SSD (IF you don't have to physically remove the entire motherboard).

If you don't feel like doing it yourself, a 3rd-party shop that handles Macs might be able to.

Thank you; I have a friend who I'll have take a look at it when he has time, but I really think the SSD is "done."

 

[TwoH]

I'd be intrigued to know if you have an i9 model 2019.

I've had a few 2019 27" before that just randomly crash, and all of them have been issues with the i9 CPU, not had it on the i5s or i7s

 

[KitEGrace]

I'd be intrigued to know if you have an i9 model 2019.

I've had a few 2019 27" before that just randomly crash, and all of them have been issues with the i9 CPU, not had it on the i5s or i7s

Yep! So sorry about the issues you have experienced.

These are the specs from my Apple order confirmation back in 2019:

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display​

With the following configuration: 3.6GHz 8-core 9th-generation Intel Core i9 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory 2TB SSD storage Radeon Pro 580X with 8GB of GDDR5 memory​

 

[TwoH]

Yep! So sorry about the issues you have experienced.

These are the specs from my Apple order confirmation back in 2019:

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display​

With the following configuration: 3.6GHz 8-core 9th-generation Intel Core i9 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory 2TB SSD storage Radeon Pro 580X with 8GB of GDDR5 memory​

Very intriguing then!
I'm wondering if you're having the same issues and the CPU is at fault

 

[KitEGrace]

Very intriguing then!
I'm wondering if you're having the same issues and the CPU is at fault

Quite possibly. At this point, I'll have my friend at work tinker with it when he has time, but I'm thankful to be back in business as the backup drive did restore things pretty well - missing about a month of stuff, but thankful to have the majority of the files back on my new Mac Studio.