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Stu.uk

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 11, 2012
6
0
Hello all,

First let me assure you I have searched through a good amount of threads and I am still struggling.

I have recently upgraded my late 2009 iMac from SL to ML. I decided it could do with being a bit quicker, especially after my recent purchase of a MBA with a SSD.

I have read that it is perfectly possible to install a second SSD in the late 2009 iMac in the optibay but this is where I need clarification.

1. Parts seem to be few and far between in the UK, the only adapters I could find are: http://bit.ly/QYKI9I - will this fit?

2. With the adapter above, do I require a special SATA adapter?

3. Do the fan speed issues occur when installing a SSD into the optibay or is this with replacing the original HD?

4. Are there any generic adapters in the UK for making the optical drive external? I've seen a few on the Internet but wasn't sure if they are specific to the apple optical drive only?

Many thanks for help on the above, this could be a very cheap upgrade for me considering I can pick up a SSD for £30!

Thanks again,

Stuart.
 

CASLondon

macrumors 6502a
Apr 18, 2011
536
0
London
Hello all,

First let me assure you I have searched through a good amount of threads and I am still struggling.

I have recently upgraded my late 2009 iMac from SL to ML. I decided it could do with being a bit quicker, especially after my recent purchase of a MBA with a SSD.

I have read that it is perfectly possible to install a second SSD in the late 2009 iMac in the optibay but this is where I need clarification.

1. Parts seem to be few and far between in the UK, the only adapters I could find are: http://bit.ly/QYKI9I - will this fit?

2. With the adapter above, do I require a special SATA adapter?

3. Do the fan speed issues occur when installing a SSD into the optibay or is this with replacing the original HD?

4. Are there any generic adapters in the UK for making the optical drive external? I've seen a few on the Internet but wasn't sure if they are specific to the apple optical drive only?

Many thanks for help on the above, this could be a very cheap upgrade for me considering I can pick up a SSD for £30!

Thanks again,

Stuart.


I've just put an optical drive SSD in my early 2009 iMac, with a 3 terabyte drive in the original slot. I used iFixit.com for reference/instructions, both print and the videos with the super cute tech girl showing how to take apart the imac, but its not worth shipping internationally.

I went with my parts from highly useful http://thebookyard.com

They have the optical caddy, you want the 12.7 mil one, Sata to Sata. They have the optical drive external enclosures as well. You'll also want to buy a nylon spudger and two of the suction cups to remove the glass, as well as have LCD cleaner kit handy for re-assembly, and the various screwdrivers you'll need if you don't have them

I'm in the process of moving data around, so I can't yet comment on fan behavior , but so far touch wood everything seems very happy and normal. I'm going to run system/boot off the SSD, with photos, movies, music, and a recovery boot clone partition of the ssd on the large internal hdd

If you are contemplating changing the internal (and my view was why not, I had the case open already and I got 3 Tb for 80 quid), that is where you need to be careful to use the same brand drive as the original, as the temp sensor is unique and from late 2009 on, this is an issue.

Use the bookyard, they are very useful and they can talk to you about it.
 

Stu.uk

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 11, 2012
6
0
I've just put an optical drive SSD in my early 2009 iMac, with a 3 terabyte drive in the original slot. I used iFixit.com for reference/instructions, both print and the videos with the super cute tech girl showing how to take apart the imac, but its not worth shipping internationally.

I went with my parts from highly useful http://thebookyard.com

They have the optical caddy, you want the 12.7 mil one, Sata to Sata. They have the optical drive external enclosures as well. You'll also want to buy a nylon spudger and two of the suction cups to remove the glass, as well as have LCD cleaner kit handy for re-assembly, and the various screwdrivers you'll need if you don't have them

I'm in the process of moving data around, so I can't yet comment on fan behavior , but so far touch wood everything seems very happy and normal. I'm going to run system/boot off the SSD, with photos, movies, music, and a recovery boot clone partition of the ssd on the large internal hdd

If you are contemplating changing the internal (and my view was why not, I had the case open already and I got 3 Tb for 80 quid), that is where you need to be careful to use the same brand drive as the original, as the temp sensor is unique and from late 2009 on, this is an issue.

Use the bookyard, they are very useful and they can talk to you about it.

Thank you very much, this helped a bunch.

I will be keeping the original HD, 1TB is plenty for me.

The SSD will be system and apps, the original hard drive as it were.

Again, thank you.
 

CASLondon

macrumors 6502a
Apr 18, 2011
536
0
London
Thank you very much, this helped a bunch.

I will be keeping the original HD, 1TB is plenty for me.

The SSD will be system and apps, the original hard drive as it were.

Again, thank you.

Great, glad to help. 1 Tb is enough, my early 2009 had only 320g, and I'm using it as the home media server/family photo archive/home office machine, so it was a necessary upgrade.

Taking an iMac apart is fun and not that hard, just go slowly not to miss a step, have magnetic screw drivers for the fiddly little screws so they don't get dropped in the guts of the machine, and make sure your lcd/glass is clean as you reassemble.
 

Stu.uk

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 11, 2012
6
0
Great, glad to help. 1 Tb is enough, my early 2009 had only 320g, and I'm using it as the home media server/family photo archive/home office machine, so it was a necessary upgrade.

Taking an iMac apart is fun and not that hard, just go slowly not to miss a step, have magnetic screw drivers for the fiddly little screws so they don't get dropped in the guts of the machine, and make sure your lcd/glass is clean as you reassemble.

Thanks a lot, it doesn't look massively hard to honest.

Also, having that separate partition for a bootable backup of the SSD is genius - I just looked into it but encountering problems with it being already having Boot Camp on that hard drive, described in this separate thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1466376/
 
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