Upgrading Mac Mini or MacBook Pro to SSD Drive can significantly boost its performance. You will find below the steps to upgrade Mac to SSD Drive and transfer Data to New SSD Drive on Mac.
- Is the SSD the same physical size as my current hard drive? The standard Apple Mac Mini 2006-2012 hard drives are an industry standard 2.5 inch notebook drive. They are physically exactly the same physical size. Can I use any SSD here to upgrade my 2014-2019 Mac Mini? From 2014 the Apple Mac Mini SSD was a proprietary NVME SSD.
- And adding an internal SSD to an older PC as a new boot drive remains a great, cost-effective upgrade. If you're still relying on spinning metal, you'll find it one of the easiest ways to an.
Replace Existing Hard Drive on Mac with SSD Drive. Now that you have a Time Machine Backup on a separate external drive, you can safely remove the current Hard Disk on your Mac and replace it with a New SSD Drive. To upgrade Mac Mini to SSD, you will need a New SSD Drive, TR6 and T8 Screw drivers, Logic Board Removal Tools and Spudger.
Upgrade Mac to New SSD Drive
The main concern when it comes to upgrading Mac to SSD drive is the possibility of data being lost and how to safely transfer data to New SSD Drive on Mac.
Luckily, macOS software provides multiple data transfer methods and you can choose from Time Machine, Migration Assistant or the Cloning method to safely transfer data to new SSD Drive.
Perhaps the easiest way to transfer Data from Mac to New SSD Drive is to use Time Machine, unless you have an older Mac running macOS High Sierra or MacOS Mojave.
In which case, the external hard drive gets formatted as extended journal and cannot be used for Time Machine Backups (you will need to use the cloning method on older Macs).
1. Make Time Machine Backup to External Hard Drive
The first step is to back up all the data and programs on your computer to an external Hard Drive using Time Machine Backup.
1. Connect External Hard Drive to the USB Port of your Mac.
2. Click on the Apple Logo and click on System Preferences in the drop-down menu.
3. On the System Preferences screen, click on Time Machine.
Apple Ssd Hard Drive Upgrade Tool
4. On the next screen, check Show Time Machine in menu bar option and click on Select Backup Disk… button.
5. On the next screen, select your Backup Disk and click on Use Disk button.
6.. If the selected disk is not formatted, you will be prompted to erase the disk first. Click on Erase to proceed.
7. After the disk is formatted, click on Backup Now to start the process of Time Machine Backup.
If you are making a Time Machine Backup for the first time, it may take multiple hours to complete the Backup process.
2. Replace Existing Hard Drive on Mac with SSD Drive
Now that you have a Time Machine Backup on a separate external drive, you can safely remove the current Hard Disk on your Mac and replace it with a New SSD Drive.
To upgrade Mac Mini to SSD, you will need a New SSD Drive, TR6 and T8 Screw drivers, Logic Board Removal Tools and Spudger.
To upgrade MacBook Pro to SSD, you will be needing a New SSD Drive, P5 Pentalobe Screwdriver, T5 Torx Screwdriver and Spudger.
The steps to replace 2014 Mac Mini Hard Drive with SSD can be found in this ifixit guide and you should also watch this video on YouTube.
To replace 2015 MacBook Pro Hard Drive with SSD, you can refer to this ifixit guide and you should also watch YouTube videos applicable for your model of MacBook.
3. Format New SSD Drive Using Disk Utility
If you have replaced the Hard Drive on Mac with a New SSD Drive, you need to format the disk to APFS format.
1. Turn on the Mac and immediately press and hold Command + R keys on the keyboard of your computer.
2. Release both the keys when you see your Mac starting with white Apple Logo. This should make your Mac go to macOS Utilities startup screen.
3. On macOS Utilities screen, select Disk Utility option and click on Continue.
4. On the next screen, type a Name for your SSD Drive and click on Apply to start the format process.
5. When the SSD Drive is formatted, close the screen and this should take you back to macOS utilities startup screen.
4. Transfer Data From Old HDD to New SSD Drive on Mac
The final step is to transfer Data from Old SSD Drive to New SSD Drive on your Mac. You can skip steps 2, 3 below, if you are already on macOS utilities screen.
1. Connect External Hard Drive containing Time Machine Backup to the USB Port of your Mac.
2. Turn on the Mac and immediately press and hold Command + R keys on the keyboard of your computer.
3. Release both the keys when you see your Mac starting with white Apple Logo. This should make your Mac go to macOS utilities startup screen.
4. On macOS utilities screen, select Restore From Time Machine Backup option and click on Continue.
5. On the confirmation screen, click on Continue to confirm.
6. On the next screen, select your Time Machine Backup Disk as the restore source and click on Continue.
7. Select the New SSD Drive on your Mac as the destination source and click on Restore.
8. Patiently wait for the Restore Process to be competed.
Once Time Machine Restore is completed, restart Mac and see if all your data is intact.
5. Desktop & Apps Missing After Time Machine Restore
In our testing, Desktop Files and Program Files were missing on Mac after Time Machine Restore.
If this happens, you can always Enter Time Machine > copy desktop files from Time Machine Backup and paste them on your new desktop.
Similarly, you can copy Program Files from Time Machine Backup and paste them in Programs Folder on your Mac.
With the ever increasing list of tasks that you can now perform on the average personal computer, upgrading your Mac from an HDD to an SSD is becoming increasingly common by the day. Of course, just because it has become a common practice doesn't mean you also have to do it, but if you've already done your research and you are convinced that your computer will benefit from an upgrade, here's how you can upgrade your Mac's disk drive from an HDD to an SSD.
Confirm if Your Mac's Model Allow Upgrades
Some Mac models were designed to allow upgrades from an HDD to an SDD or from a lower-end SSD to a higher-end one, but some Mac models were simply not. If your Mac model came with the default HDD or SSD soldered to the motherboard, replacing it will be very difficult, if not downright impossible, so make sure that you can upgrade your Mac's HDD to an SSD before you head to the store.
Confirm Your Mac's Compatibility With the SSD That You're Buying
Most of the SSDs currently available in the market are compatible with most Mac models, but before you upgrade your Mac's HDD to an SSD, take the time to compare their form factor first. The form factor is basically the size of the HDD or SSD and usually measures 2.5 inches for laptops. There are, however, SSDs that come in the newer MSATA and M.2 form factors which are only a fraction of the size of the standard 2.5 inch. If you don't know the form factor of your Mac's HDD, you may seek assistance from Apple's customer support forum.
Pick Your Preferred SSD Size
SSDs come in different sizes ranging anywhere from 64 GB to 60 TB. What exact SSD size your computer needs will depend on how much information you are looking into storing in your computer, the kinds of tasks that you will be performing on it, and whether you intend to use your Mac's HDD alongside your newly-purchased SSD or just use your SSD alone (some models allow the installation of both HDD and SSD on the computer at the same time; some models don't), but, generally speaking, anywhere between 250 to 512 GB should be more than enough to handle your operating system and a couple of programs and applications.
Back Up Your Files
As always, before you do anything with your hard drive, make sure you backup your files first so that you can always recover them in case something went wrong.
You can do this either by doing it through your Mac's default backup program, the Time Machine, by storing your data in your iCloud,burning your files to a CD or DVD, or copying your files to an external storage device.
Make a Clone or an Image of Your HDD
Disk cloning and disk imaging are two ways to make copies of your files when upgrading from an HDD to an SSD. They mostly work the same way except that cloning your disk allows you to copy the contents of your hard drive to an external storage device then just swap one for the other when you're done without doing any further step.
Imaging your disk, on the other hand, allows you to copy the contents of your hard drive to an external storage device, but to be able to access the files that you copied, you need to install them on your new drive with an imaging program first.
Except for that minor inconvenience, there's not much difference between the two, so whether you should clone your drive or make an image of it is up to you.
Installing the SSD on Your Mac
Apple Ssd Hard Drive Upgrade Hdd
When you're done backing up your files, you may proceed with installing your SSD on your Mac. To do this,
- Flip your Mac and use a Phillips screw to remove the screws that hold the case together
- Lift off the case of your Mac and look for the hard drive.
- Unscrew the strip of black plastic case that holds the hard drive in place then lift it off from its slot.
- Disconnect your hard drive from the ribbon connecting it to your Mac, but be careful not to rip it.
- Look for the four metal screws that secure the hard drive to its enclosure.
- Remove the screws then set them aside for later use.
- Get your SSD then use the screws that you remove from your HDD's enclosure earlier to secure your SSD to its own enclosure.
- Connect your SSD to the cable attached to the ribbon that you disconnected from your HDD before.
- Lay your SSD on the slot previously occupied by your HDD, making sure that the screws fit properly.
- Put the strip of black plastic case that you remove earlier to its designated slot.
- Get the back case of your Mac and screw it back on.
After installing the SSD on your Mac,
- Turn on your Mac.
- Hold the Command and R keys at the same time then wait until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
- Select Disk Utility in the Utilities window.
- Click Continue.
- Select your SSD and designate it as your startup disk.
- Look at the top of the Disk Utility window and click Erase.
- Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the options that will appear in the popup window.
- Click Erase.
- Select Quit Disk Utility from the Disk Utility drop-down menu when you're done and you're good to go.
The whole process (minus the backing up of existing files) shouldn't take you more than 30 minutes and should be fairly easily done on your own, but should you ever have any concerns while upgrading your Mac's HDD to an SSD, don't be afraid to seek assistance from Apple's tech support forum.
Good luck!
