I was quite unsure if this was going to work, but after i connected and it gave me no errors. Before continuing, make sure that you have a backup of any files that you want to keep. Choose reinstall os x from the os x utilities window, then follow the onscreen instructions. For one, its practically the same as apples superdrive in every way, and second, its got a usb c cable so i can connect it to my macbook pro without needing any additional adapters. If you have a disk already mounted and your system goes to sleep, it also powers down ports, including usb ports.
Connect the external hard drive to a different usb port or a different mac. If windows does not boot from the usb flash drive after showing the windows logo, you may have to run the following command to. There is no room in the model for two sata drives as in previous models. By default, mac starts from its builtin hard disk, but a startup disk can be any storage device that contains bootable contents that compatible with your mac. It took around 56 mins to complete on mac mini 2012 with ssd and 10gb ram copying to a usb 3. Looking to add storage, or for a smart way to back up your mac. If the mini originally came with the pcie ssd then there will be room for a sata device. How to upgrade your mac mini with an ssd 2019 updated.
Mar 08, 2020 there are several reasons why your mac wont recognize a drive. Heres how to access the contents on a usb drive that wont open on your mac. Mac mini mid2011 installing an ssd dri apple community. The mac will boot the linux system from the connected usb drive. So your first move is to make usb can be recognized again, and then you can use mac hard drive data recovery software to recover files if the usb becomes inaccessible. Note you just need to replace the term usb in the terminal command with the name of your drive. Optical drives went the way of the dodo bird a few years ago on mac computers due to most software, movies, and music all moving online, but sometimes you still need a good old fashioned cd drive. If you are able to fix the hard drive or ssd in your mac or an external drive using disk utility you will hopefully be able to recover your files. Click the erase button after selecting the entire drive to erase the entire drive and create a single partition on it. It connects to your macbook pro with retina display, macbook air, imac or mac mini with a single usb typea cable thats built into the superdrive. Lacie rugged mini 4tb external hard drive portable hdd usb 3.
Apart from data transfer, you can use external dvd drives for watching movies, burning disc, and more. External hard drives, thumb drives, usb drives, flash memory cards, and devices like ipod are examples of storage devices that you can connect to your mac using thunderbolt, usb, or firewire cables, or connect wirelessly using bluetooth. And while the various cloning apps have a lot more features, if you dont have access to thirdparty apps, using disk utility will create a perfectly usable clone, although it may require a few more steps and lacks some nice features, such as automation and scheduling. You have to format the usb drive and insert the proper operating system, which is os x. How to create a bootable usb drive for macos sierra. After setting up your new mac mini boot it into recovery hd,connect your external hdd or flush drive and do a clean intall. How to boot a mac from usb drive with pictures wikihow. Erasing a disk or volume permanently deletes all of its files. Use external storage devices with mac apple support.
This guide provides 2 ways to boot a mac from a usb flash drive. You need to prepare your usb drive beforehand for this specific purpose. Connect your external drive to your mac and wait for the icon of the pluggedin drive to appear. Mac mini wont boot from usb flash drive m apple community. Go to file new disk image frommac os x install dvd name will correlate to the disk you inserted. Jul 31, 2018 by default, mac starts from its builtin hard disk, but a startup disk can be any storage device that contains bootable contents that compatible with your mac. I wanted to use this mount drive feature to plug in usb tv media player hard disk to my macbook in living room so my imac in the office can direct transfer files to the usb media player hard disk using airport network user sharing. Take important files with you when you travel with this g drive mobile usb c hard drive. Insert the system disk you wish to backup into your superdrive orif using a newer mac without a onean external disk drive. This seagate lacie mobile drive provides compatibility with a wide range of devices and ensures rapid data transfers with the included usbc and usb 3. How to upgrade aluminum mac mini hard drives or ssds. For example, if you install macos or microsoft windows on a usb drive, your mac can recognize that drive as a startup disk.
Can an external ssd match the mac minis pricey inbuilt storage. Check out the best external cddvd drives for mac in 2020. Youll never have to worry about lost cables with the apple usb superdrive. I have a mac mini, and would like to add an external ssd. Doubleclick the icon of the drive in order to open it its window. Upgrade your mac mini to up to 8x more capacity and 92x faster speeds than with the apple factory drive.
Keep in mind that some usb hubs and external usb storage devices need an external power supply. Apple usb superdrive disk drive md564lla tigerdirect. There are several reasons why your mac wont recognize a drive. I have this model cddvd drive for my mac computers for multiple reasons. How to transfer files from a mac desktop to an external hard. Oct 06, 2019 tried plugging a usb hard drive into my ipad mini 5, but it says it cant connect because the drive uses too much power, even though the ipad is plugged into power with an apple usb and lightning dongle. For a nominal fee, owcs apple certified technicians can install a supermultidrive, hard drive, andor memory upgrade into your mac mini. How to start up your mac from a bootable cddvd, usb thumb. The first thing you can do is to make sure that your disk is connected to your mac properly. See all external hard drives shopping ideas related to external hard drives for mac mini. Restarting would often free up 20 to 40gb of disk space on the minis internal 500gb hard drive.
Including how to format a drive to be used on a mac and a pc and. If your mac has a fusion drive and you see a flashing question mark or alert, see the troubleshooting section of the apple support article about fusion drive, a storage option for some mac computers. External 3d blu ray dvd drive burner, wihool ultra slim usb 3. However, if the computer was not originally equipped with a fusion drive you might have to obtain mounting hardware and a cable for your second storage device. The best thunderbolt 3 ssd and hard drives for your macbook. Carry this device almost anywhere as its just slightly bigger than a cd case. Open disk utility and ensure the disk has mounted by finding it in the drive listing on the left side of the app. Again, formatting a drive will erase it completely, so make sure you have everything backed up that you want to keep. Reconnect your external hard drive to your mac and ensure that it fits the usb port snugly. Theres no separate power adapter, and it works whether your mac is plugged in or running on battery power. This drive is easily compatible with macbook pro with retina display, macbook air, imac late 2012 and later, mac mini late 2009 and later, and mac pro late 20 devices. This hanging plastic shell u disk is capable of supporting usb versions 2. You can easily burn a bootable image of os x on a dvd by using disk utility. The owc ministack is the compact, stackable, external hard drive solution designed to complement the look and feel of the latest mac lineup.
I intend to replace the standard hard drive with this one. Try connecting the usb drive to another port on the hub. The hard drives in the new 2018 mac mini are pcie which means they are very fast, but also expensive. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. How to make a bootable macos installer on an external drive. Apple usb superdrive disk drive play and burn both cds and dvds with the apple usb superdrive disk drive, irrespective whether youre at office or on the road. Jul 05, 2017 in the screenshot below, the drive is formatted with the exfat file system. Usb port need no external power that easy to operate and its capacity includes 8gb16gb32gb. But thanks to the usbc interface on the new mac mini, an external ssd drive is now a good option. Insert the usb flash drive into an available usb port on the mac. If you continue to have problems with your disk or it cant be repaired.
Youll be asked to provide a name for the disk, which will appear and identify the disk when you connect it to a mac, pc, or another device. Unlike previous models, you cannot upgrade the internal hard drive. Mar 20, 2019 the new mac mini doesnt come with a keyboard here are the best options as is the norm with mini computer desktops, apple gives you the freedom to bring your own display, keyboard, and mouse. This g drive mobile usb c hard drive has a transfer rate of up to 6mbsec.
How to transfer files from a mac desktop to an external hard drive. Either draganddrop the files to the opened drives window or copy and paste the data you want to transfer. Share an external hard disk drive macrumors forums. How to install windows 10 on your mac mini with an external drive.
Hey all, i just got myself a crucial m500 240gb ssd drive for my mid2011 mac mini. The new mac mini doesnt come with a keyboard here are the best options as is the norm with mini computer desktops, apple gives you the freedom to bring your own display, keyboard, and mouse. How to install os x on new hard drive on a late 2012 mac mini. Upgrade or replace the hard drive in a mac mini cnet. After that, there are external hard drives that use either usb.
It has 1tb of space to store a library of music, photos and documents, and its compatible with both mac and pcs. The bootable usb drive is ready to use how to boot from the installer drive step 1. If you have a bunch of old usb drives, this is a good way to make good use of them rather than throwing them away. But thanks to the usb c interface on the new mac mini, an external ssd drive is now a good option. Feb 03, 2020 use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. Heres what you need to know, along with our toprated applefriendly drives. Mac mini external ssd as boot drive macrumors forums. Every mac running os x lion and later has a small 650mb hidden recovery partition called recovery hd located on your macs internal hard drive which is reserved for common utilities such as time machine backup,terminal utility, disk utility, hardware.
Cannot mount external hard drive on mac, how to fix. Pre2010 mac mini models support a single serial ata drive with speeds of 3 gbs. To actually boot the drive, reboot your mac and hold down the option key while it boots. Your mac came from apple equipped with at least one internal hard drive. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. I chose to buy the smaller and cheaper 250gb mac mini. Compare models like airport time capsule or apple usb superdrive for office and home and shop online. To inject the drivers, the mac must be booted from the usb flash drive. Using an external hub to connect several usb storage devices may cause your mac to fail to recognize them at boot time. How to install windows 10 on your mac mini with an. I also recommend picking up a can of compressed air to clean out. This installs the os x that came with your mac when it was new.
Cddvd drives are disappearing from computers, leaving usb storage as the only option when reinstalling an operating system. Best external hard drives for macs in 2020 techradar. One thing to note is that old usb drives, especially usb 1. Whether you want a mechanical, usb, or bluetooth keyboard, here are tons of great options for you to use with your mac mini. So, even in 2019, there are still situations when you need an external optical drive. Mac users can now download and install mac os high sierra 10. Lacie rugged mini 2tb external hard drive portable hdd usb 3. Theres no need to buy a new computer, simply swap out the old drive for a new one.
In this simple and easy to understand tutorial, you will be able to create mac os high sierra 10. Repair a storage device in disk utility on mac apple support. David wants a new mac mini but doesnt want to pay apples eyewatering price. Using your usb drive to boot mac is not as simple as you think. Usb drives can be formatted on your mac using the disk utility application. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc users in. Owc ministack the external drive with a mac mini footprint. External usb hard disk, usb ipod, usb thumb drive in browsing network sharing. Here are a couple of thigs that are still unclear to me. Disk utility can fix certain disk problemsfor example, multiple apps quit unexpectedly, a file is corrupted, an external device doesnt work properly, or your computer wont start up.
The process is fairly painless and, if you have a bit of time and patience you. If you want to use a different file system on your usb drive, youll need to format it. Regular mid2010 aluminum unibody mac mini models, which have optical drives, support a single 2. Also included is the shipping safe box, shipping to other world computing, and return delivery of the upgraded mini to you. How to make a bootable macos sierra usb flash drive for imac. Most optical discs are a standard 12cm in diameter, are round, and besides some potential manufacturing incompatibilities with. Has your mac mini hard drive filled to capacity or burnt out. Hack old usb drives into a mini raid on a mac make tech. Sep, 2010 how to use mini or other nonstandard optical discs on your mac. Transferring files from your mac desktop to a usb flash drive or an external hard disk seems to be a simple task, right.
Here are the best external drive enclosures for your new. On a 2014 mac mini wouldnt that apple nonsata ssd be a pcie ssd. If your mac mini 2014 shipped from apple with a fusion drive, then your mac mini has both the sata and the pcie connector. With a footprint identical to the 2010 and later mac mini, the two stack together for seamless desktop integration. Proceed based on whether youre erasing your startup disk or some other disk. Disk utility cant detect or repair all problems that a disk may have. How to open an external drive thats not showing on mac. Most external hard drives and usb drives are compatible for use on mac computers as long as you format the devices for use with mac os x. Well, that might not be as easy as you think, especially if you are more familiar with windows. Jun 18, 2016 i was quite unsure if this was going to work, but after i connected and it gave me no errors. When you wake your mac up, for whatever reason, your external drive does not wake up. Western digital my passport 4tb external hard drive. If you choose to use another mac, you can do this with a program like roxios toast, or disk utility you will first need to create an image in disk utility, then burn the image to disc. Adding an ssd to the new 2018 mac mini macintosh how to.
Its perfect device when you want to watch a dvd movie, install software, create backup discs, and more. Will it be noticeable enough to spend the extra cash. How big of a difference will i see between a thunderbolt interface, and a firewire or usb 3. Mar 04, 2014 upgrade or replace the hard drive in a mac mini. If you have a usb drive larger than 1 gb, you can create a 1. How to transfer files from a mac desktop to an external.
How to eject usb devices and memory cards in macos laptop mag. Now eject the usb drive before removing it from the mac. How to create a bootable usb drive ifixit repair guide. Wait while disk uitlity creates the partition and sets up the drive this can take. Sep 14, 2015 using an external hub to connect several usb storage devices may cause your mac to fail to recognize them at boot time. Open disk utility from the os x utilities window, then use disk utility to erase your builtin hard disk using the os x extended journaled format. This article will help you create a mac os x or macos recovery usb drive to use in case of disaster or no boot from internal hard drive. Disk utility is free and included with every copy of the mac os. When your usb flash drive is not showing up on your mac, the reasons might be the usb port, or usb contains errors that make the drive undetectable. It connects to your macbook pro with retina display, macbook air, imac, or mac mini with a single usb typea cable thats built into the superdrive. External hard drive enclosures and optical drives for macs.