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Hi Guys. I was recently given an old 2008 Mac Desktop (A1224) with an old storage drive (non ssd). It’s a statement to Mac software about how well it still works for what I need it for (browsing and basic tasks. I also have an old non working Macbook 2012 (I believe an a1466) with a broken logic board - however the SSD on that laptop is still perfectly fine and contains a bunch of old photos and things that I’ve always wanted to retrieve. I had the thought that if i could take the SSD from the mac air and somehow install it/replace the old drive in the desktop mac, I’d solve two problems at once for no real cost (other than an adapter perhaps). Is this possible? Just FYI my daily user is a 2019 mac pro, so I dont want to upgrade or spend any money on newer tech - ilI get that it’s old, but i really love the old desktop and I’m not at all interested in replacing it while it’s still doing everything I need it to. Really just wanting to know if this SSD swap is feasible - and how I would be able to install a working version of apple OS that still works on the old desktop if it is at all possible. Please include links to guides if they exist! Thank you very much. Glenn Update (02/19/2020) I’ve managed to remove the SSD from the old macbook air - Its a 256gb MZ-EPC2560/0a2. Which connector would i need to adapt this to the old (presumably sata) connectors of the Desktop mac?
While the adapter will convert Apple’s mSATA interface to a standard SATA. You are likely to encounter a secondary issue here which is the system you are planing on installing the drive an older 20” iMac which only has a SATA II (3.0 Gb/s) interface vs the much faster blade SSD which is SATA III (6.0 Gb/s). This drive just won’t work properly in your system. Internally as its just too fast for the system. You also have a mounting issue as the internal frame is not setup to support this smaller drive and I don’t know of any adapter frame. If you want to recover the data you’ll need a SATA to USB adapter or case. Or a FireWire drive case to install it if you want to gain the most performance this drive can offer using the 800 MBit/s connection (the case needs to be able to support the 6.0 Gb/s). So if you are still trying to get a new drive internally you’ll need a drive that supports the slower SATA II data I/O which is getting harder as these drives are disappearing! Most systems today offer SATA III so the drive makers have moved on. There are a few auto sense drives which are drives which have special circuits to sense the data flows data rate and match the drives I/O to your system. As an example the Samsung 860 QVO or Samsung 860 EVO both will work in your system. Note in the spec sheet how 3.0 is listed as supported. If the drive you get doesn’t list SATA II or 3.0 Gb/s then it worn’t work in your system. As your system used a 3.5” drive you’ll need an adapter to fit the 2.5” drive.
Sorry there is no way to adapt that flash storage stick to your 2008. The 2008 needs the old style 2.5” standard hard drive or SSD 2.5” drive. The A1466 is a MacBook Air You can put the stick in an OWC Envoy enclosure to use it as an external drive and recover your data. https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MAU3…
