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iMac Intel 27" EMC 2309 (Late 2009, Core 2 Duo 3.06 or 3.33 GHz) ID iMac10,1, EMC 2374 (Late 2009, Core i5 2.66 GHz or Core i7 2.8 GHz) ID iMac11,1

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SSD speed and upgrade

Hi,

I desperately need to speed up my late 2009 iMac, I see that adding a SSD drive does not seem to be possible unless I add it into the optical enclosure.

The questions I have are:

1. Am I correct that I cannot replace the existing WD drive with a SSD?

2. If I add the SSD using the optical drive kit, can I set this to be the boot device.

3. Will this improve performance.

PS. The existing HDD is a 1TB WDC WD1001FALS-40U9B0.

Thanks!

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Speed up desperately why? For what end? MAXing RAM will increase performance more than an SSD would. SSDs will read faster, boot faster (for certain values of faster) but they are not like sticking a HEMI or adding nitrous to an auto.

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The machine is getting slower and slower and I suspect the HDD is giving up. That is why I am considering the upgrade. The machine already has 16GB or RAM, so I don't think that that is the issue.

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Q3: Hi! I have upgraded my iMac recently. First I had added the memory (4Gb->8Gb). iMac goes little bit faster, but not enough...((( Then I changed DVD with 240Gb SSD. And... I was delighted with increase in speed!!! It`is incredible! It really works!

Q1: You can! But u have to solve a little problem with a temperature sensor of HDD. Cause SSD hasn`t the sensor (Apple`s HDD has one!) u can`t plug the temperature connector to it. In consequence of this iMac speed up the fan to 100% - it`s noisy )))

Q2: Sure, u can boot!!!!

Notes:

I think it is not worth change HDD with SSD! Better way is replacement DVD with SSD and using SSD for system (OS X) and HDD for data. Or u can merge SSD with HDD in the one large logical volume by using Apple`s Fusion technology. I have done so. And now I have capacious (1T+240Gb) disk like HDD and rapidly one like SSD. I bought very chip usb-box for removed SuperDrive, as a result of this I have a nice external DVD.

It is not necessary to buy an optical drive kit. U need only special SATA cable (like in OWC Internal SSD DIY Kit for All Apple 27" iMac 2011 Models) and two pieces of the double sided scotch tape.

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Late 2009 iMac does NOT have a third SATA connection from the motherboard like the 2011 models. I swapped the Superdrive out and put a Crucial M500 480GB SSD in using an expansion bracket. I then combined them into a Fusion drive. This has been a great upgrade re: snappier booting, log-ins etc... WARNING: I have been unable to use Bootcamp to load Windows back on to the computer. Even with many of the info.plist hacks.... Bootcamp expects the installation disks to be on the internal Superdrive and I could never get it to load from the install USB thumb drive I eventually created.

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Yes it is not easy. But I did it! After changing the info.plist (of Bootcamp assist)), it was possible to create an install USB but installation still impossible... I found another way. You can install Windows without Bootcamp by using an external DVD. (And this way is better cause is: if u have a Fusion drive, Bootcamp will create partition for Win ONLY at HDD, NOT at SSD! )

How to do:

== 1. == Before u should boot from Yosemite install USB and go to terminal.

== 2. == Using 'discutil cs create...' commands u should create a Fusion drive which take 100% space SSD+HDD (WARNING: data lost).

== 3. == Using undocumented command `diskutil cs recizeDisk....' u should shrink a physical volume on SSD and create a new FAT partition in the newly-formed free space gap.

== 4. == Install Yosemite from USB on Fusion drive then Install Windows7-64 in FAT partition from external DVD by pressing 'alt' when booting.

== 5. == Sorry for my english))))

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Sometimes making ISO or DMG on the main volume substitutes for not having an on board drive.

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So how did you overcome the problem with a temperature sensor of HDD?

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Here's what you need: OWC In-line Digital Thermal Sensor for iMac 2009-2010 Hard Drive Upgrade

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You can set the optical SSD to be your boot volume

There are many reasons that a machine "slows" down. Depending upon what you're doing it could be a network issue, a swap/free space issue, a fragmented HD issue, a failing HD issue or an issue I've not even mentioned (like an anti-virus. or malware using up resources in the background).

Graphic intense applications require a lot of resources and it's best not to over tax the machine when using them. Many former Windows users don't realize that clicking the red dot does not quit all applications (only those with single windows like Disk Utility, Calculator, System Preferences) will quit when the red button is clicked.

Activity Monitor can tell you which application(s) are using resources.

Adding/changing an SSD is not a surefire way to increase computer speed.

There is an alternative.

If this answer is acceptable please remember to return and mark it accepted.

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Don't listen to anyone who says 'don't do it.' I replaced my optical drive with an OWC 500 GB SSD, and my late 2009 iMac now starts up in 8 seconds!

All programs load and run super-fast, and install took 15 minutes, with plenty of advice on youtube. I definitely recommend it.

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Did you connect your SSD to the optical's SATA?

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Depending on your exact model swapping out the optical drive for the SSD is quite workable.

Just make sure your optical drive is a SATA drive not the older IDE version. You also need to make sure the SSD you get is able to run at the SATA speed your system runs at most of the older systems have SATA II (3.0 gb/s) optical drives so bake sure the SSD spec sheet states it can run at that speed some don't.

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Ryan Kahan crwdns2934231:0crwdne2934231:0
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