URGENT: Can I use fusion drive from Mac in Windows PC

[xeni]

Hello All

I upgraded my MacMini's storage from a 1tb Fusion drive from Apple to a pure SSD, and am currently building a PC, and wanted to know if i can use the Fusion Drive under Windows?

I wouldn't mind at all if I plugged it in and it showed up as two drives, as long as it works.

I ask coz I don't want to blow up the drive or have it not show up due to ROM/logic board incompatibility.

Many thanks in advance,
xeni

EDIT: Just so you know I've already found another thread about a somewhat similar situation but it is from 2012 so...

EDIT2: just to clarify this isn't bootcamp, it's a completely separate Windows box

 

[maflynn]

Fusions is a software solution that is built into OS X. You cannot use that technology in Windows AFAIK.

 

[xeni]

OK thanks.

If I plugged it in would it show up as two separate drives? i.e. 120gb ssd and 1tb hdd?
I am hesitant to try in case I damage it.

 

[Celerondon]

Urgent: No

As maflynn said, Fusion Drive is an OS X thing. Only computers running newer versions of OS X support it.

Can you remove the components and use them in a Windows machine? Maybe. Any serious attempt would definitely cost you all of the data on the drives. I figure that your chances of getting the spinner to work are much better than the SSD since the OEM part is supposed to be a special Apple component. AFAIK the 5400 rpm HDD is just a standard part.

If you do find a way to make either of those parts work on a Windows machine, they won't be a Fusion Drive. The SSD or HDD would simply be discrete components. So yes, they would be two separate drives. Any attempt to format or write to the media would kill the original FD relationship between the components.

 

[chrfr]

OK thanks.

If I plugged it in would it show up as two separate drives? i.e. 120gb ssd and 1tb hdd?
I am hesitant to try in case I damage it.

It will not show up in Windows whatsoever. However, do not do any disk formatting or partition in Windows or you will delete the Fusion drive, and your Mac data.

 

[Gjwilly]

There's no such "thing"'as a fusion drive.
That's simply Apples name for a SSD/HD hybrid.
If you replaced your fusion drive that probably means you removed the HD.
What did you do with the SSD?
The HD is an ordinary hard drive that can be repartitioned and reformatted for Windows.
That will of course destroy all of the existing data.
Same with the SSD. If you can find an enclosure for it then you could repurpose it for Windows but not without first destroying the data.

 

[xeni]

I don't care about the data on the drive, and I thought that maybe i might be able to use intel SRT to make a hybrid, but it doesn't look to be possible.

The whole point was so I could get enough storage space while also getting faster boot than a regular drive.
So would a Seagate 1tb SSHD be good enough?

 

[dyt1983]

Uhhh you do realise that it's one physical unit right?

Uhhh no it's not. If you have only one physical unit, then you don't have a Fusion drive. Fusion drive is a fusion of a hard disk and a separate SSD.

 

[xeni]

Uhhh no it's not. If you have only one physical unit, then you don't have a Fusion drive. Fusion drive is a fusion of a hard disk and a separate SSD.

TIL I'm an idiot. Apologies.

So would a Seagate SSHD be fine?

 

[dyt1983]

TIL I'm an idiot. Apologies.

So would a Seagate SSHD be fine?

EDIT: no I was right, it's a MacMini fusion drive. It is a single unit requiring one SATA connector. It's been awhile so I went and had a look at it and I was right.

You're welcome to believe what you want, but you might want to do some reading before those beliefs solidify.

http://www.macworld.com/article/2013805/fusion-drive-an-overview.html

Regardless of a single drive, multiple drives, whatever, all the drives from a Mac Mini 2012 can be used in a PC. They will not be a "Fusion Drive" no matter what you have or think you have.

 

[xeni]

You're welcome to believe what you want, but you might want to do some reading before those beliefs solidify.

http://www.macworld.com/article/2013805/fusion-drive-an-overview.html

Regardless of a single drive, multiple drives, whatever, all the drives from a Mac Mini 2012 can be used in a PC. They will not be a "Fusion Drive" no matter what you have or think you have.

Well, I just discovered that I left the second drive in the MacMini when I upgraded. *facepalm*

Alright thanks for helping me understand

 

[dyt1983]

Well, I just discovered that I left the second drive in the MacMini when I upgraded. *facepalm*

Alright thanks for helping me understand

You can use the SSD part in a PC too! It just won't be one drive with the 1TB, but it might be good for something. Or throw it in an enclosure and use it as a fast flash drive. Or just leave it because it's buried deep in the Mini.

 

[Gjwilly]

I don't care about the data on the drive, and I thought that maybe i might be able to use intel SRT to make a hybrid, but it doesn't look to be possible.

You can get hybrid drives for PCs but they actually are one physical unit. A HD with a small SSD inside the same enclosure. Supposed to be the same effect as a Fusion -- all the storage of a HD but the added speed of an SSD. Western Digital and Seagate both make them. I had a 750GB one years ago so there's probably a 1TB version by now.
But then you wouldn't be reusing the drive you already have.

 

[Celerondon]

Fusion Drive ≠ Hybrid Drive

You can get hybrid drives for PCs but they actually are one physical unit. A HD with a small SSD inside the same enclosure. Supposed to be the same effect as a Fusion -- all the storage of a HD but the added speed of an SSD. Western Digital and Seagate both make them. I had a 750GB one years ago so there's probably a 1TB version by now.
But then you wouldn't be reusing the drive you already have.

Nope, "supposed to be" is the gateway to misinformation on that topic. Although the marketing hype would have us believe otherwise, the commonly available Hybrid Drives are nothing like an SSD in operation. Instead they are mostly like a HDD. The Fusion Drive on the other hand, is nothing like a regular HDD and similar to an SSD. Although an SSD will often outperform the Fusion Drive, the difference is small and often undetectable.

Macrumors noted this distinction on October 12, 2012 before we knew much about Fusion Drive with this comment "Some thought the drive might be Apple's implementation of a Hybrid drive which uses SSD as a caching system, but it appears that Apple's system is distinct."

https://www.macrumors.com/2012/10/23/apples-new-fusion-drive-not-a-typical-hybrid-drive/

By December 1, 2012 we all knew more when PC Magazine said, "Do not confuse the Fusion Drive with a Cache or Hybrid drive."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2412726,00.asp

As time passed, the early reports were confirmed with graphical evidence like this chart from a set published by Bare Feats.
http://barefeats.com/hard176.html

 

[Gjwilly]

Nope, "supposed to be" is the gateway to misinformation on that topic. Although the marketing hype would have us believe otherwise, the commonly available Hybrid Drives are nothing like an SSD in operation. Instead they are mostly like a HDD. The Fusion Drive on the other hand, is nothing like a regular HDD and similar to an SSD. Although an SSD will often outperform the Fusion Drive, the difference is small and often undetectable.

But you're comparing Apples to oranges.
This thread is about Windows where a Fusion drive is simply not possible and in this context, a hybrid drive is as close as the OP is going to get.

 

[Celerondon]

Apples to oranges made me smile...
Yes, I agree. In Windows, a Momentus or similar device is as close as the OP will get to the Fusion Drive. My comment was intended to dispel the notion that he would actually be close to the FD experience. Those commercially available hybrid drives are merely high-performance hard disk drives.

Once separated from OS X or each other, the components of a Fusion Drive will not be able to approach the performance they delivered as automated tiered storage. We seem to agree.