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leondurupt

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 1, 2019
6
1
Shenzhen
I'm new to the forum, go easy on me. I've been trying to no avail for several days now to setup an external SSD RAID 0 configuration on my mid 2010 iMac using High Sierra's Disk Utility. Currently I have only succeeded in setting up a JBOD, which is fine if that's the only one that will work, but I would ideally like to have the RAID 0 setup as that same setup on another iMac of mine (internal 1T SSDs in a RAID 0 format, most excellent!) has worked flawlessly and there's very noticeable improvement in performance.

I'm aware that external drives on a mid 2010 iMac will be inherently slow since the interface is USB 2.0, but that would still allow for a significant improvement in performance from these 2 SSD drives, were they to be combined into RAID 0.

So what happens when I do attempt to use Disk Utility to do this is that the formatting process begins, then the screen goes dark for a few seconds, then white, and then an error message comes up saying something to the effect that the computer needs to be restarted because of a problem (unspecified problem). After rebooting, the RAID will show up in Disk Utility greyed out and unable to mount, erase, or do anything other that to Delete RAID, which I've had to do each time.

I've tried this same process using APFS formatting, MacOS Journalled, different partition tables. None of these have worked.

So, my friends, I reach out to you in desperation. Can this be done on my unit? Am I missing something? I believe I have followed all the instructions at my disposal and have even tried different ways to handle this but nothing seems to work. I await your wisdom and experience.
 
So what happens when I do attempt to use Disk Utility to do this is that the formatting process begins, then the screen goes dark for a few seconds, then white, and then an error message comes up saying something to the effect that the computer needs to be restarted because of a problem (unspecified problem).

So, my friends, I reach out to you in desperation. Can this be done on my unit? Am I missing something? I believe I have followed all the instructions at my disposal and have even tried different ways to handle this but nothing seems to work. I await your wisdom and experience.

I had thought the ability to do Raid was eliminated in Disk Utility a version or two of the os back. Left to only using the command line like I did last time I made one. Exactly El Capitian now I have searched for the instructions.

https://www.lifewire.com/use-terminal-managing-raid-0-striped-array-2260098
 
I had thought the ability to do Raid was eliminated in Disk Utility a version or two of the os back. Left to only using the command line like I did last time I made one. Exactly El Capitian now I have searched for the instructions.

https://www.lifewire.com/use-terminal-managing-raid-0-striped-array-2260098

No, there is a RAID Assistant in High Sierra, that's what I was using. However, I will try this method by using terminal (fingers crossed) and let you know how it worked out.
 
A useless endeavor. You’re limited by the USB 2 or FireWire 800 bus which is slower than the SATA III drives you are using.

Unless you go inside, that is.

The busses are SATA II, Besides the one the hard drive is on, there is a 2nd bus inside that was never used and a third that the optical drive is using.

The OWC Data Doubler bracket lets you replace the optical drive. In addition, they also have a turnkey eSATA modification that converts the unused bus — I had this done to my 2010 when brand new. Available for the 2010-11 only.

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/turnkey/iMac_2010_27/add_eSATA

As often as I’ve had my 2010 open over the years, I never looked to see where the eSATA cable connected internally. Find the right cable and you’re good.

If you still have an HDD inside that 2010, do yourself a favor and get rid of it. While in there, replace the NV RAM battery — it’s way past time. Without the spinning heat pump, you don’t need the heat resistant BR2032 battery—a common CR2032 is identical inside and fits perfectly.
[doublepost=1567368422][/doublepost]I never had the OWC mod done on my 2011. These have Thunderbolt. Although eSATA docks are far less expensive than a TB dock, the modification cost more.

No big deal in any case. Going inside on a 2010 or 2011 is very easy. The conversion bracket works on either.

Last I heard, you can’t boot from RAID 0 in Mojave without a T2 chip but, since Mojave is useless on the 2010-11, that shouldn’t be an issue.
 
Thanks Mike, I have already ordered the internal upgrades you mentioned, I stuck with the HDD and Optical upgrades from OWC. Love those guys. The vacant SATA port is on the backside of the motherboard, I installed one in a 2011 iMac at work. That unit is screaming compared with before.

I wouldn't say it's a useless endeavor, I was booting from an external USB SSD until going for this upgrade and it was definitely much much faster than the internal 7200 HDD. At the time I didn't do any benchmarks but suffice to say it was much snappier and so much easier to work with. The old HDD, even with fresh install, just regularly gave me the spinning rainbow.

So regardless whether it's a useless endeavor or not, I cannot get it to work on this unit. Does that mean it cannot be done without an external RAID enclosure? Unfortunately that would be outside what I'm prepared to pay, and as Mike noted, the performance benefits would indeed be limited. I just assumed that it would work, but for now, I'm only able to say that JBOD (concatenated, another new word for me, and I LOVE the acronyn, Just a Bunch of Disks!) is the only options that works for me. I'm currently backing up my internal HDD to that JBOD in preparation for installation of my new internal SSDs tomorrow.

So if anyone can let me know how they got 2 external SSDs to work with a 2010 iMac in RAID config, please let me know!
 
Thanks Mike, I have already ordered the internal upgrades you mentioned, I stuck with the HDD and Optical upgrades from OWC. Love those guys. The vacant SATA port is on the backside of the motherboard, I installed one in a 2011 iMac at work. That unit is screaming compared with before.

I wouldn't say it's a useless endeavor, I was booting from an external USB SSD until going for this upgrade and it was definitely much much faster than the internal 7200 HDD. At the time I didn't do any benchmarks but suffice to say it was much snappier and so much easier to work with. The old HDD, even with fresh install, just regularly gave me the spinning rainbow.

So regardless whether it's a useless endeavor or not, I cannot get it to work on this unit. Does that mean it cannot be done without an external RAID enclosure? Unfortunately that would be outside what I'm prepared to pay, and as Mike noted, the performance benefits would indeed be limited. I just assumed that it would work, but for now, I'm only able to say that JBOD (concatenated, another new word for me, and I LOVE the acronyn, Just a Bunch of Disks!) is the only options that works for me. I'm currently backing up my internal HDD to that JBOD in preparation for installation of my new internal SSDs tomorrow.

So if anyone can let me know how they got 2 external SSDs to work with a 2010 iMac in RAID config, please let me know!

Just in case anyone is interested, I'm now booted into the JBOD external SDD backup created by Carbon Copy Cloner, zipping along nicely compared to the internal drive. No spinning rainbows, fast app startups. It's looking like this will be a viable option for backing up those spanking new internal SSDs once I get them up and running. I'd still love to run the RAID 0 setup if anyone knows, but this will do in a pinch.

I forgot to say thanks, Mike, for the heads up on that battery. I'll try to get something for that before I open the unit up.
 
Yea, get rid of the HDD and no need for a BR2032 once you do—go ahead and substitute the CR. You think it’s fast now, just wait!

Use this style bracket (brand doesn’t matter) and you can stack a 2nd drive with a triple-layer of foam poster tape (small squares on each corner—you want space between the drives to increase cooling).
https://www.amazon.com/Fenlink-Internal-Hard-Drive-Converter/dp/B01ELRRKW8/ref=sr_1_7?crid=24DFOP8WLK80D&keywords=2.5+to+3.5+hard+drive+adapter&qid=1567376880&s=gateway&sprefix=2.5,aps,225&sr=8-7

You can short the leads to the original HDD temp sensor but I don’t recommend it. Although you can use the OWC temp sensor, most are now using repurposed optical drive sensors.
https://www.amazon.com/Rinbers-Temp...c+temp+sensor&qid=1567376598&s=gateway&sr=8-6
 
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