Need help fixing split fusion drive

[cwall427]

I bought a 2019 iMac from a family member recently and I reset it using the disk utility in the recovery os. I don't remember exactly how I did it and if the fusion drive was split before that or not. I then proceeded to reinstall a fresh copy of macOS Sierra and it took literally a day and a half on my internet connection, then it took around another day to update to Catalina. I finally got into it and started setting it up and went to install windows using boot camp as I have some work related programs that need windows to run. But besides that, it said that it could not continue due to an issue with the fusion drive. I did a little bit of research and found an apple article on how to fix it. I went into the recovery os and used the terminal with the diskutil and resetFusion commands and it said it was successful. I then went through the arduous task of installing macOS Sierra and then updating to Catalina again for the drives to still show as 2 separate drives instead of the fusion drive. I just want to make sure before I waste another 2 to 3 days on the process again and have to resort to using my old, not so fast windows laptop. Another question I have is if I use Time Machine, will it backup the issue with the split disk and just restore it if I go that route? I don't know why I didn't think to backup the first time.

I have some images attached below.

 

[chscag]

The iMac you bought from a family member could not have been a 2019 model otherwise you would not have been able to install Sierra. A 2019 iMac came pre-installed with Mojave. More than likely it's a 2017 model.

How to fix a fusion drive that has been split: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207584

 

[cwall427]

The iMac you bought from a family member could not have been a 2019 model otherwise you would not have been able to install Sierra. A 2019 iMac came pre-installed with Mojave. More than likely it's a 2017 model.

How to fix a fusion drive that has been split: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207584

How would I find that out? This is honestly my first non-mobile related apple product lol. Thats the link I tried though and it said it was successful but when I got macOS reinstalled, it still showed 2 separate disks instead of the fusion drive.

Nevermind, I see it in "About this Mac". It is a 2017 5k 27 inch if that changes anything.

 

[Fishrrman]

You can "re-fuse" the two drives, but the 28gb "flash portion" inside is really too small to be of much use.

What you REALLY ought to think about is an EXTERNAL SSD to serve as the boot drive.

It could be USB3.
Or it could even be a Samsung X5 thunderbolt3 drive.
Put one of those on, and it will become a VERY FAST iMac ...!

 

[cwall427]

You can "re-fuse" the two drives, but the 28gb "flash portion" inside is really too small to be of much use.

What you REALLY ought to think about is an EXTERNAL SSD to serve as the boot drive.

It could be USB3.
Or it could even be a Samsung X5 thunderbolt3 drive.
Put one of those on, and it will become a VERY FAST iMac ...!

I didn't even think of that as an option, that honestly seems like the best choice and then I would have a brand new drive that I know would probably last for a good 3-4 years at the very least. Do you know if going that way would still allow me to use boot camp?

 

[chscag]

The problem with that option is that neither Apple nor MS allow installing Windows on an external drive using Boot Camp.

Thats the link I tried though and it said it was successful but when I got macOS reinstalled, it still showed 2 separate disks instead of the fusion drive.

I think the refusing may have been successful. However, you may be misreading what Catalina shows. Catalina divides your main drive into two: MacIntosh HD and Data. Is that what you're seeing?

 

[Fishrrman]

I'm going to -guess- that you CAN use bootcamp IF you are booted from a thunderbolt3 drive like the X5 I mentioned above.

I don't know, because I DON'T use bootcamp and I suggest that you DON"T USE it, either.
Instead, use "an emulated solution" such as VMWare Fusion or Parallels. Be aware that -some- Windows apps can run with something called "Crossover", which doesn't require the installation of Windows at all. But the number of apps that work with it may be limited.

 

[cwall427]

The problem with that option is that neither Apple nor MS allow installing Windows on an external drive using Boot Camp.



I think the refusing may have been successful. However, you may be misreading what Catalina shows. Catalina divides your main drive into two: MacIntosh HD and Data. Is that what you're seeing?

It also shows up as a separate disk in finder, as if I had an external drive plugged in. Then it says this when trying to use boot camp.

 

[chscag]

It also shows up as a separate disk in finder, as if I had an external drive plugged in. Then it says this when trying to use boot camp.

Something then is not right. You mentioned above that the process you used to join the drives back together was successful.

The two drives showing up in Finder is normal for Catalina. The SSD in my iMac shows up as: Macintosh HD and Data.

Unless you have to run a Windows game or something that is graphic intensive, you should consider using virtual machine software instead of Boot Camp. Parallels, Fusion, and the free VirtualBox can run Windows programs and you would not have to reboot each time.

 

[shenfrey]

Something then is not right. You mentioned above that the process you used to join the drives back together was successful.

The two drives showing up in Finder is normal for Catalina. The SSD in my iMac shows up as: Macintosh HD and Data.

Unless you have to run a Windows game or something that is graphic intensive, you should consider using virtual machine software instead of Boot Camp. Parallels, Fusion, and the free VirtualBox can run Windows programs and you would not have to reboot each time.

Does a fusion drive run okay in Catalina? I have just ordered a late 2014 with 1TB fusion drive (128 SSD + 1TB).