Chosen Solution
Hi all, I have a new iMac Intel 21.5" Retina 4K Display (2017) which is pretty slow. I’d like to upgrade it to an SSD. Now I have an SSD from my old MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013) which I want to use for this. Can I use this SSD using the port as shown in this guide or do I need an adapter to really replace the current HDD like?
Lets clarify a few points This series has two storage ports, a 2.5” SATA port and a PCIe/NVMe blade port. Now the rub! If you bought a SATA drive’d system your system does not have the needed hardware on the logic board to support the PCIe/NVMe blade drive. Basically, Apple did not populate the logic board with the parts! For reference: iMac 21.5" 3.0 GHz i5 (4K, Mid-2017) “*This model has a Serial ATA (6 Gb/s) connector for a 2.5" hard drive. If configured with a Fusion Drive or an SSD at the initial time of system purchase, it also has a PCIe connector, but this connector is not present if the system only is configured with a hard drive.” So your only option is to swap out your current HDD to a SSD or SSHD. As far as your adapter that won’t work with your MacBook SSD. For reference review this great guide: The Ultimate Guide to Apple’s Proprietary SSDs.
