Replace HDD with SSD in late 2015 iMac

Post by **jimmy57** » 22 Jul 2019, 22:39

A friend has this iMac late 2015 21.5 inch display that has a wonky hard drive and they purchased a new one. It would not do anything and the Apple genius bar (hehehehehehehehe, can't help it, I giggle every time I say or type that) ran diags and watever and said new HDD and motherboard. I got it to start and after many attempts go to the utilities and wiped it as they were not wanting it to get loose with all the stuff on the hard drive. Now that it is cleaned it does work but has significant hard drive segments not accessible. OK, the question: has anyone installed SSD in one of these? apparently 2012 brought changes that make it more difficult. #2. Does the replacement drive have to be the same size? I actually don't need 1 TB and would probably go with a 500 GB drive.

Post by **abscate** » 01 Oct 2019, 04:56

Just saw this one jimmy,I’ll pm you too.

If this is still open , try ifixit for the overview.

500 Gb SSD down to about $130 now!

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel ... ment/57817

Post by **jimmy57** » 01 Oct 2019, 08:36

Thanks. I was given this iMac due to its wonky performance and the genius bar saying it needed everything. It does have issues and it will give memory allocation message. I guess I'll try an SSD I have here and see what happens.

93Regina · Post by **93Regina** » 04 Oct 2019, 04:22

Can You Upgrade the Hard Drive or SSD In Your Mac?

Post by **kallekula** » 04 Oct 2019, 07:09

jimmy57 wrote: ↑01 Oct 2019, 08:36 Thanks. I was given this iMac due to its wonky performance and the genius bar saying it needed everything. It does have issues and it will give memory allocation message. I guess I'll try an SSD I have here and see what happens.

Hope u get it running. I swapped an HD with an SSD on an old Macbook Pro laptop a while ago. The performance increase was more than satisfactory!

Post by **xHeart** » 04 Oct 2019, 08:38

2015 iMac is a stable workhorse.
SSD 1TB is a good decision.
Run Mojave on 8GB DDR3, 32GB if you run multiple Applications.

Post by **jimmy57** » 04 Oct 2019, 12:01

I have the model with fusion drive and soldered RAM. The problem it is having is that it is unstable. Has anomalies like a Centrino processor HP running windows 98.

93Regina · Post by **93Regina** » 04 Oct 2019, 18:35

jimmy57 wrote: ↑04 Oct 2019, 12:01fusion drive and soldered RAM.

While the previous generation iMacs had many of the same issues resulting in a low repairability score, iFixit notes that the new iMac has a number of the same downsides and then some…

The publication notes that tape must be replaced after every repair, the RAM and Fusion Drive won’t be upgradeable even with the usual required DIYing, and the “CPU is soldered to the logic board, and cannot be replaced or upgraded.” In addition, iFixit points out that the “glass and LCD are fused together, increasing the cost of replacement.”
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If soldered RAM can be accessed....I'd get out a big magnifying glass, with a good light, and examine board/RAM. Where's there is heat, another area to examine.

93Regina · Post by **93Regina** » 04 Oct 2019, 18:38

https://blog.macsales.com/33640-owc-tea ... -soldered/

Post by **xHeart** » 05 Oct 2019, 05:49

jimmy57 wrote: ↑04 Oct 2019, 12:01 I have the model with fusion drive and soldered RAM. The problem it is having is that it is unstable. Has anomalies like a Centrino processor HP running windows 98.

Screen shot and post "About This Mac"