Bootup Drive Help

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I am going to be installing an ssd to my iMac (Mid 2011), but I can't seem to find any steps on how to make the ssd the default/ primary boot drive. Would I need to reinstall OS X Lion to the ssd? Thanks in advance!
 
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G'day and welcome to the forum.

Yes. Install the SSD, not the easiest job on an iMac,and if it is 2.5" drive you will need something like an Icy Dock to mount the drive in, boot from Lion thumb drive or DVD if you made one, go into Utilities > Disk Utility and format the drive Mac OS Extended (Journalled), then into Partition, and opt for GUID setup under Options, and proceed with the install.

If you have an external or Time Machine, backup from there when the install finished. SSD drives do not take kindly to cloning from platter drives.
 
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G'day and welcome to the forum.

Yes. Install the SSD, not the easiest job on an iMac,and if it is 2.5" drive you will need something like an Icy Dock to mount the drive in, boot from Lion thumb drive or DVD if you made one, go into Utilities > Disk Utility and format the drive Mac OS Extended (Journalled), then into Partition, and opt for GUID setup under Options, and proceed with the install.

If you have an external or Time Machine, backup from there when the install finished. SSD drives do not take kindly to cloning from platter drives.

Hello, thanks for the reply. Is there another way since my Imac came already installed with Lion and there is no disc?
 

chscag

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Make sure you know what you're doing before installing an SSD in the Mid 2011 iMac. The hard drives and SSDs that are used by Apple (factory pre-installed) in an iMac are proprietary and can not easily be replaced by off the shelf units. You may run the risk of voiding your warranty if you attempt to install it yourself. And as Harry indicated, it's a not an easy task.
 

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