IMac Fusion Drive Usage

How do I determine the usage for the Flash Storage (SSD) and the regular hard drive?

If you have a fusion drive and your total disk usage exceeds the size of the SSD portion, then you are using all but 4 GB of the SSD.  OSx keeps 4GB open in normal operation so it can quickly put something on the SSD, after it will move things off the SSD to get back to 4GB.

Similar Messages

  • Any Thoughts on New iMac Fusion Drive for Editing Video

    I was wondering if there were any thoughts about the new iMac for editing 720/1080 HD video from say an iPhone 5 or Canon Power Shot camera. The drive speed is now only 5400 RPM in the 21.5" model. I was curious if the the combo SSD/5400 RPM HDD had the same editing power as as a 7200 RPM drive.

    Thanks, I've read it, well I should say I've tried to read it. Somewhat over my head, but not totally. I'm just curious if some of the video editing tasks would be done on the HDD or faster SSD drive. I'll have to go back to the article and see if there is any mention of that type of task.
    I'm a little disappointed that you need to move up to the 27" iMac to get a 7200 RPM Fusion Drive. Do not need a 27" desktop.

  • 2011 imac fusion drive

    Can i add a fusion drive to my 21.5inch mid 2011 imac? it has the i5 processor.

    Not officially, no. A Fusion drive from Apple is really just software that "bridges" together a mechanical hard drive and an SSD, so there are ways to create your own documented on the web. It won't be supported by Apple, though, so if problems arise, you may have to reformat the drives back to separate volumes. You'll also have to figure out how to squeeze in an SSD in addition to the hard drive your iMac has. For tips see this for starters:
    http://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/56867/Adding+a+2nd+Hard+Drive+to+a+iMac+2011
    Regards.

  • How to restore a 3TB imac fusion drive back to its original state?

    I bought a 27"imac with a 3TB fusion drive which stopped working. Ended up having to boot from the internet and since my HD stopped working and wasn't being found by disk utility I erased it using Disk Utility an re-installed OS X. Did OSX automatically get installed in the 128gb SSD drive (under disk util i only see one macintosh hard drive with another one under its first branch but there is no separate ssd drive)?
    Also, since then my imac's hard drive haven't stopped making a constant cranking noise as if it's working non-stop (unless the computer goes into sleep mode). Is this normal? Anything I can do to bring it back to its original state?

    The problem is that I bought my computer in the US and brought it with me to my home in Brazil and over here it's going to take a long time to get it fixed or repair/replace parts if it's necessary. Any other procedure I can try on my own before throwing the towel and taking it in?
    Thanks

  • Fusion Drive on a 2010 iMac with 2tb HDD & 256gb SSD

    Hi,
    well basicailly the title says it all!
    I have a 2010 iMac with the 256gb SSD and 2TB HDD which to me seems like it would be great option for the Fusion Drive...
    Does anyone have any ideas on how I could make the drives work like the new Fusion Drive?
    I've seen the Macworld Tutorial on a DIY Fusion Drive but i'm still not sure if doing that will work in the same way as the preinstalled 2012 iMac Fusion Drive... I know that Mac OSX will treat the combined drives as one, but in terms of moving files depending upon their usage is another matter.
    If the Macworld step by step is followed will Mountain Lion handle frequently used files / apps like the apple presentation states or will it just use the drives as one and not increase the performance of my machine?
    Any help on this would be much appreciated, especially if anyone has followed the Macworld steps etc!
    Thanks
    Darren

    Thanks fir the reply, I thought with the fusion drive the SSD and HDD were two seperate storage devices seen by OSX as one volume, and the software determins where the files most used will be placed and accessed from.
    I've read a bit about this here;
    http://macs.about.com/od/diyguidesprojects/ss/Setting-Up-A-Fusion-Drive-On-Your- Current-Mac.htm
    but would be great to hear first hand experience!!
    With this DIY approach it appears that the same functionality of the 2012 iMacs is achieved but simply not using the older Disk Utility, but a newer version only included on the newer models...

  • How reformating Imac 27' Fusion Drive

    Hello Mac Comunity,
    I need to reformat the hard disk drive IMac Fusion
    Is there a special procedure to be followed or I can do like other Mac?
    Thanking you in advance for your help,
    best regards,
    Francois
    Bonjour,
    J'ai besoin de reformater le disque dur de IMac Fusion drive
    Est-ce qu'il y a une procédure particulière à respecter ou je peux le faire comme sur les autres Mac ?
    En vous remerciant d'avance pour votre aide,
    Cordialement,
    Francois

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities
    Both have got problems with Windows on Boot Camp, so it doesn't mind which one you have. Note that 3 TB hard disks support came with OS X 10.8.3, so there may be problems with it.
    To avoid problems, I recommend you to install Windows on a virtual machine using Parallels, VMware Fusion or VirtualBox. However, it's not good for things like graphic performance, and it doesn't use all the hardware of your computer. To be honest, it's better to choose a 1 or 2 TB hard drive, so you can be sure that Windows will work correctly

  • Fusion drive spin speed

    does anyone know the spin speed of the HDD in a 2013 iMac fusion drive?  The stand alone drive is 7200rpm, is it the same drive in a fusion setup?

    It depends on the model, the 21 inch model has 5400rpm drives, the 27 inch models have 7200rpm drives.
    Also the new iMacs utilize a PCI-e flash drive with nearly 50% better prefromance.
    If your planning to buy a new iMac, i recommend the 27 inch model, i just purchase one myself and couldnt be happier.
    Good luck.
    Dr. C.

  • Disabling Fusion Drive and Installing Windows on SSD of Late 2012 iMac

    Hi, everyone.  After a two-year wait, I'm ready to buy my first iMac (was waiting for USB 3.0).  Before I get into my questions, I'll give you an overview of where I'm coming from so we can keep the discussion focused.
    My Usage
    I'm buying an Apple computer because it is the best-looking, quietist, and most powerful all-in-one computer I can find right now, but Windows is still my preferred operating system.  I've used OS X before – it looks great and I'm sure it works great for a large number of people, but it's not for me.  Windows works well and efficiently for me and I have thousands of dollars of design software for Windows.  I'm not interested in a virtualization solution because of my performance needs.  However, I do want to keep the OS X installation, if possible, for website testing and to play around with to learn the operating system better.
    What I Want
    I was attempting to buy the Late 2012 iMac last weekend, but it appears the BootCamp specifications and the Fusion Drive are currently limiting my usage needs.  I'm configuring the top model iMac with the i7-3770 processor, 24GB RAM (8 default + 16 from Crucial), GTX 680MX, and the 3TB Fusion Drive.  I don't actually want to use the Fusion Drive, though.  I want Windows 7 64-bit and OS X 10.8 installed on the 128GB SSD and to use the 3TB hard drive as storage for my music, videos, photos, and documents.
    My Questions
    1.  I've found a bunch of posts regarding installing Windows on the Fusion Drive, but they all seem to be about putting Windows on the slower 3TB hard drive portion and/or about trying to keep the Fusion setup after installing Windows.  Does anyone have a walk-through for a new Mac user on how to break the Fusion Drive configuration and install Windows 7 and preferably OS X on just the SSD?
    2.  I've seen a bunch of posts debating about whether Windows can be installed natively using EFI to bypass the BootCamp limitations.  Is this possible?  The 21.5" version is running EFI version 2.0, so I can only assume the 27" would too, but it's not been added on the Apple website yet (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1237).  From what I understand, Windows requires at least version 2.0 to run in EFI mode.  Also, if I am able to get this method to work, will I still be able to install the Windows drivers from the OS X installation USB (or do they even come with USB drives anymore?)?
    3.  If I have to use BootCamp, I assume I will have to split the 3TB drive into 1TB and 2TB partitions for BootCamp to see it (so Windows can see it).  So I'd have Windows 7 and OS X on the SSD, and two storage partitions on the 3TB HDD that would show up as two drives for my files that both operating systems could access.  Is this assumption correct?
    4.  I've seen posts about OS X automatically trying to rebuild the Fusion Drive.  Let's say I'm able to get Windows installed on the SSD.  Will OS X, or future updates to it, ruin my Windows installation?  I would hate to do all this work and then have an Apple update corrupt everything.
    I know this is a long post, but I don't want to spend over $3,000 until I can be sure I can make it work for me.  Thanks to anyone who can help!
    iMac, Windows 7

    First, an advice: Boot Camp isn't compatible with 3 TB hard disks and Fusion Drive. For 3 TB hard disks, there's a workaround, but it doesn't work on a 3 TB Fusion Drive, so you won't be able to install Windows until Apple fixes this, so my advice is to wait until Apple launches OS X 10.8.3 or buy the iMac with a 1 or 2 TB hard disk and an external disk.
    1. The SSD is used automatically by OS X to store the applications and data you most use, but Windows can't use it, and there's no workaround for this.
    2. You can try to install Windows 8 in EFI mode, but I don't guarantee that it works. I tried it on my iMac and I started getting BSODs after some startups. Also, Macs don't use UEFI 2.0 (Macs use EFI 1.x), so you can't use Windows 8 advanced features such as Secure Boot. For Windows 7, you can't install it in EFI mode (it requires UEFI 2.0 or later)
    3. Fusion Drive only allows you to have two volumes, and with Boot Camp, you can only have two volumes on your computer: one for OS X and the other one for Windows. That's because Boot Camp emulates a BIOS to make Windows run (although it isn't neccesary in Windows 8, if Apple would want).
    4. First, you can't install Windows on the SSD. Then, OS X shouldn't ruin Windows because each operating system have got its space

  • Should I get standard hard drive or fusion drive on a new 21.5" iMac?

    I'm thinking about getting a new 21.5" iMac.  How do I decide whether to get the standard hard drive (5400 rpm) or the Fusion Drive?  Besides Web surfing and email, I would be using it to play flash games, listen to Internet radio, and stream movies occasionally on Netflix. 

    @TmanW:
    Technically you cannot control where data goes on the Fusion drive 100% of the time as in the case of a two drive setup (SSD + HDD), but you can tilt where the data goes by watching disk usage and also partioning. My understanding how the Fusion drive works from MacPerformanceGuide.com (where they tested the Fusion on a late 2012 27" iMac) is that as long as you do not have more the 112GB filled on the Fusion, the drive won't kick data to the HDD when peforming tasks that use more than the 4GB buffer. I interpret this to mean as long as I keep the capacity below this 112GB threshold, I am more likely to get SSD performance. And to keep things under this threshold, one could just use the Fusion drive for system and apps only and perhaps targeted file usage (working Photoshop files that would be transferred back to non-SSD storage afterwards).
    MPG also tested the Fusion drive with a partition method that biases the first partition to be 2/3 SSD and in this scenario a user can effectively (though once again not 100%) target SSD usage most of the time.
    Once I get my new iMac, prior to cloning my existing system on to the Fusion drive, I will see firsthand if these tests are true to form with their results.

  • 27" iMac:  i7 vs. Fusion drive upgrade?

    Hi all -
    Thanks for all the previous support on the purchase of a new iMac.  I tend to keep my computers for a long time, so I tend to be very overcautious when buying a new.  If my history is a guide, I will have this one for many years, too.  I am going to buy a new 27" iMac (woo hoo!) and I am wondering about upgrades to the system.  I have been debating between the i7 processor, but also the Fusion drive, and I wanted to solicit opinions if either would be a good upgrade for me. 
    The main uses of the computer would be:
    Photos: Aperture
    Browser:  I use this for a small business, and I have multiple windows going throughout the day
    Basic Numbers and Keynote usage (nothing too crazy)
    Games (who am I kidding - I am going to use it for WoW!)
    In terms of other improvements I considered, the upgrade between the 775M and the 780M video card seemed marginal at best, and the memory upgrade is something I would probably do at a later date. So, to me, neither of those seemed a good investment for me (I could be very wrong).
    A very good article was shared with me regarding the i7, and how it probably would not be best for me, today.  But as I tend to keep a computer for many years (current iMac is 5+ years old) I am wondering if the benefits would be better for the future, as the computer gets older (and slower).  Also, I am considering the Fusion drive upgrade over the SATA.  I am not a patient person, especially with technology (only marginally better with people).  As neither of these could be upgraded later, based on how I've described using the machine, do either seem like good investments?
    Thanks for the feedback!

    If you are looking at future proofing the Mac, the fusion drive isn't really a consideration.  It's nice, but it won't make a bit of difference five years from now.  So, your options for future proofing are upgrading the processor and the graphics card. 
    Of the two, more important is the graphics card.  It not how much of an upgrade it is now, but will it help the computer last longer.  In my opinion, it will.  The processor is actually less important than the video card for the future.  You can last a lot longer on a slower processor than you can on a non-optimal graphics card.  This is all arguable, but I've been following those basic guidelines for my systems of quite a while.  A computer I bought in 2009 can still play WoW on ultimate settings because I bought the best video card I could afford, skimping some on the processor.  Not that WoW is that hard on a graphics card, but since you mentioned that's what you play, I thought it was a good example.
    Memory.  Memory is a good upgrade, but do it yourself.  If you don't feel you can afford it right now, then get the base amount of 8gb, and wait until you can add more.  Personally, I would (and did) purchase Crucial memory from Amazon, 16gb for $140.  That brings you up to a total of 24gb, when you feel you want or need it.  But it doesn't have to be now.
    The fusion drive is very nice.  It is very fast, and if you can afford it, I'd certainly recommend it.  But the speed gain doesn't really help that much for the future.
    I recently purchased an iMac.  While I was deciding what I could afford, I always knew I'd put the 780 in the machine.  Everything else was negotiable.  Personally, I went with the i7, the 780, and a 1tb fusion drive, plus 16gb aftermarket memory.  Of those things, I'd give up the i7 first, as it has the least affect on what I do.  Next would be memory.  But I'd want the fusion drive (I've been using computers with SSDs), and I'd insist on the 780.
    Enjoy.

  • I am planning to buy an iMac 21.5 inch with Fusion drive and 16 GB RAM while i visit USA for a conference. My country of origin is India. Once i am back to India, will my iMac be covered by the Apple's Protection Plan?

    I am planning to buy an iMac 21.5 inch with Fusion drive and 16 GB RAM while i visit USA for a conference. My country of origin is India and the option of configuring to my need is not avaialble here in India. My concern is once i am back to India, will my iMac be covered by the Apple's Protection Plan if something goes wrong here in India?
    I recently came across some posts regarding International warranty related issues for iPhone and iPad....hence this crossed my mind...
    Waiting for response from the support group members...

    Thanks Ralph
    This essentially means that if my iMac develops some problem (both software and hardware) in my country (India), it will be completeley attended (even the whole system requires replacement) by the AASP in India...is that what you say?

  • Is there a way to run a external ssd with my mid 2011 iMac hdd in a raid configuration and basically have a fusion drive

    is there a way to run a external ssd with my mid 2011 iMac hdd in a raid configuration and basically have a fusion drive

    A Fusion Drive is not a RAID; it's a CoreStorage logical volume group. While it's technically possible to do as you suggest, there would be little or no benefit from it.

  • Fusion Drive of late 2013 Imac

    Is the fusion drive of the late 2013 iMac a combination of a PCIe ssd and a HD or does it have a sata ssd?

    Apple - Press Info - Apple Updates iMac
    says it's PCIe

  • Fusion Drive option for iMac 21.5" late 2013

    Fusion Drive option for iMac 21.5" late 2013 will upgrade main SATA HDD to 7200rpm model? Or just add SSD to standart 5400 rpm HDD for 21.5"?
    Thank you for your attention.

    You can't add an internal drive, but you can add as much storage as you want via Thunderbolt.

  • Installing Windows 7 on Late 2013 iMac w/ Fusion Drive

    Sorry in advance for the long post, but I have tried to exhaust all possibilities, and bring as much knowledge about our environment to the table to avoid confusion.
    Here's our goal:  Install Mac & Windows on a Late 2013 iMac with a 1TB Fusion Drive
    Install our Mac Image with Deepfreeze on Partition 1
    Install our Windows 7 x64 Image with DeepFreeze on Partition 2
    Here's why our goal cannot work out of the box:
    Deepfreeze for Mac, is not supported on a Fusion Drive. Now before anyone says "just don't use deepfreeze"...we are using it, and that is that.
    In order to get our existing image to work on the iMac, we had to split the Fusion Drive.
    Splitting Up the Fusion Drive
    We booted into Recovery, Opened up terminal, retrieved the LvGUID, deleted it, and split up the SSD from the HD.
    So now, we have a 128GB SSD, and 1TB HD showing up under Diskutilitiy.
    We then partitioned the 1TB HD, into two, 500GB Partitions. One for Mac OSX 10.9.4, and the other for Windows.
    The 128GB SSD is going to be used for scratch space, temp, etc. And is irrelevant at this time.
    Deploying our Mac Image
    After splitting the Fusion Drive, we netbooted and installed a "NetRestore" of our image. Worked completely fine, no issues. DeepFreeze Works fine, the 128GB SSD shows up just fine, and the other 500GB Windows Partition shows up fine. All drives / partitions can be written to with no problem.
    Deploying our Windows Image
    Deployed our Windows Partition image as we have done in the past, by booting into a windows PE Disk. (We have other various 2009, 2010, and 2011 iMacs across campus, with NO FUSION DRIVES installed, and dual boot them successfully using the same procedure. Minus the splitting of the fusion drive part of course) After the Windows image is deployed to the windows partition, we then boot it up to a Windows 7 Install disk to fix the MBR, Bootrec, and BCD options to allow it to boot properly. Here's where we run into issues: Upon getting the Windows 7 Install screen, the USB Keyboard and Mouse, DO NOT WORK.
    Here's the options we've tried to get them to work properly
    1. Tried another known working Mac USB Keyboard & Mouse = Failed
    2. Tried a known working Windows Keyboard & Mouse = Failed
    3. Plugged Just a known working Mac Keyboard into each USB Port to see if recognized = Failed
    4. Plugged Just a known working Windows Keyboard into each USB Port to see if recognized = Failed
    5. Plugged Just a known working Mac Mouse into each USB Port to see if recognized = Failed
    6. Plugged Just a known working Windows Mouse into each USB Port to see if recognized = Failed
    7. A Windows 8.1 Recovery USB will boot and the USB Mouse & Keyboard are recognized and installed! (YAY!!) However, we cannot repair a Windows 7 install with Windows 8.1..
    BootCamp Drivers & Support Media
    Downloaded the Current BootCamp Support drivers to enable the USB and other various drivers to be loaded during setup (Placed the $WinPEDriver$ and AutoUnattend.xml, and BootCamp folder on the Root of a USB, and modified a Windows7 Installation disk and placed on the root as well) The drivers do not load. Have also placed on a brand new USB2, and USB3 flash drive formatted at FAT32, to see if that made a difference, which it did not. The BootCamp USB made within Mac, it loads saying "Now booting into Boot Camp Assistant Created USB Drive..." or something like that (Don't remember the exact Message)
    Side Note:
    Restored Fusion Drive to its original State, and booted from the BootCamp USB drive, still no usb Mouse & Keyboard Support.

    I have same issue
    Tried everything differend hdd,ssd  as well
    Basically when trying instal win 7 via iOS maverick when reboting and windows booting to the first scree everything freezing cant do  much.
    Also tried install clear ssd without any system, but soon after format ssd or hdd I have error that I cant use this disk to install windows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    What is funny Windows 8 installing without any problem!!!
    what is going on APPLE??wher is support
    This issue I have only on Late 2013 on my other Late 2012 this issue not exist and everything working as should.

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