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Formatting, OS Installation, and Migration Guide
OWC Mercury Series 2.5 inch SATA SSDs
Important Notes
• This process requires a working internet connection on the host computer.
• This guide assumes that the
• If the SSD is installed on a laptop, make sure the power adapter is connected before you begin the steps below.
Start with Internet Recovery
This guide provides the information required to format your OWC SSD, as well as options for installing the Mac operating system and
migrating your data. The process starts by booting into Internet Recovery, using one of the keyboard shortcut listed below. Because the
shortcut used and the specific Mac determine the OS used by Recovery it is worthwhile to determine the latest compatible OS for your
Mac before choosing a method. We have included Apple's official compatibility lists for the last several OS versions (see below).
•
macOS 10.15 Catalina-compatible
•
macOS 10.14 Mojave-compatible
•
macOS 10.13 High Sierra-compatible
Recovery Option 1: Cmd-Opt-R (Recommended)
Power on the Mac then immediately press and hold Cmd-Opt-R until you see a screen similar to the one at right (in some cases it may
be grey). If you see a Wi-Fi menu, choose your preferred network to continue; you may need to provide network credentials.
This Recovery option ensures that later in the process, if you use
the 'Reinstall macOS / OS X' function (i.e. a clean OS install) the
latest compatible version will be used.
Exception:
If your SSD is installed on an Accelsior S PCIe
card and is installed in a 2019 Mac Pro, and you have not
previously
installed a macOS
the macOS version that was most recently used on your Mac.
Recovery Option 2: Cmd-R
Power on the Mac then immediately press and hold Cmd-R until you see a screen similar to the one shown above (in some cases it may
be grey). If you see a Wi-Fi menu, choose your preferred network to continue; you may need to provide network credentials.
This option ensures that if you use the 'Reinstall macOS / OS X' function (i.e. a "clean install") later in the process, the most recently installed
OS version will be used.
Exception:
If you recently had your Mac logic board replaced during a repair, Recovery might instead install the latest compatible OS.
Additional Notes:
• OS 10.11 and 10.13 included changes to Disk Utility that will determine which formatting instructions to use (see next page).
• If you want to verify the OS version that you booted into before choosing the formatting instructions, you can use the Terminal.
From the main menu at the top of the Recovery screen, choose Utilities > Terminal, then type the command sw_vers and press
Return. The OS version that you have booted into will be displayed. If it's the version you expected based on the information
provided earlier, you can continue to the Formatting section below. If not, you can try again by choosing Apple Menu > Restart,
waiting till the screen turns black and then pressing and holding a different Recovery shortcut, to see if you get the result you want.
If you do not it is possible the version of the OS you are looking for is no longer available for your specific Mac.
SSD installation process
was already followed and completed.
•
macOS 10.12 Sierra-compatible
•
Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan-compatible
update, Cmd-Opt-R may install
1
•
Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite-compatible
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Related Manuals for OWC Mercury Series
Summary of Contents for OWC Mercury Series
- Page 1 Start with Internet Recovery This guide provides the information required to format your OWC SSD, as well as options for installing the Mac operating system and migrating your data. The process starts by booting into Internet Recovery, using one of the keyboard shortcut listed below. Because the shortcut used and the specific Mac determine the OS used by Recovery it is worthwhile to determine the latest compatible OS for your Mac before choosing a method.
-
Page 2: Formatting The Ssd
Formatting the SSD Once you have booted into Recovery, use the Disk Utility to format the SSD. While the process of formatting your drive is simple in all cases, the appearance and steps within Disk Utility can vary based on the OS version. We have set up examples for each version. Please note: the drive labels or information in this document may differ from your drive, but the processes won’t change. - Page 3 Step 5 – a sheet will open containing the settings needed to format the drive. From the ‘Scheme’ menu (item A below) set the value to ‘GUID Partition Map’ if it’s not already selected (required). Step 6 – from the ‘Format’ menu (item B below) choose ‘APFS’ . This is the recommended format for Mac SSDs for 10.13 and later. Step 7 –...
- Page 4 Step 9 – once the process is complete, click the ‘Done’ button (item A below). You should now see the newly created volume under the physical disk you selected in Step 3 (here it’s called ‘OWC SSD’ , item B below).
- Page 5 Formatting Steps: 10.11-10.12 Step 1 – from the macOS Utilities window, select the Disk Utility option and click Continue. If you’re using 10.11 the utilities window will say ‘OS X Utilities’ but the options presented will be the same. Step 2 – in the sidebar area at left, select the icon or label for the physical disk (item A below). Note: some SSDs may also include a factory-formatted volume, listed beneath the physical disk item;...
- Page 6 Step 4 – a sheet will open containing the settings needed to format the drive. From the ‘Scheme’ menu (item A below) set the value to ‘GUID Partition Map’ if it’s not already selected (required). Step 5 – from the ‘Format’ menu (item B below) choose ‘Mac OS Extended (Journaled)’ . Step 6 –...
- Page 7 Step 8 – once the process is complete, click the ‘Done’ button (item A below). You should now see the newly created volume under the physical disk you selected in Step 2 (in this example it’s called ‘OWC SSD’ , item B).
- Page 8 Formatting Steps: 10.7-10.10 Step 1 – from the OS X Utilities window, select the Disk Utility option (bottom item in the list shown below) and click Continue. Step 2 – in the sidebar area at left, select the icon or label for the physical disk (item A below). Note: some SSDs may also include a factory-formatted volume, listed beneath the physical disk item;...
- Page 9 Step 3 – if the formatting options are not already visible, click the ‘Erase’ tab (item A below) to display them. Step 4 – from the Format menu (item B below) select ‘Mac OS Extended (Journaled)’ . Step 5 – in the field provided (item C below) give your new volume a name. Note: the volume names shown in later sections will not match the one shown here because the examples are from different sources.
- Page 10 Step 7 – you should now see the newly created volume under the physical disk you selected in Step 2 (in this example it’s called ‘OWC SSD’ , item A below). Choose Disk Utility > Quit from the main menu. This will take you back to the main Recovery screen.
- Page 11 OS Install Methods & Data Migration Once you have created a new volume on your SSD, there are three methods we typically recommend for setting up a new system drive with your data on it. Which one you choose will depend on your situation and on your preferred backup method. The options are: 1.
- Page 12 Step 3 – by default the Setup Assistant will open, walking you through a few screens to help get your new system setup. One of these is the Migration Assistant screen (below). While this is optional after a clean OS install, for this guide we assume that you have data to move to your new drive, either from a Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner backup.
- Page 13 Option 2: (Full) Restore From Time Machine Backup If you have a recent, working Time Machine backup of your entire system drive, the simplest method of migrating all system and user data is to use the ‘Restore from Time Machine’ option in the macOS / OS X Utilities window. Notes: •...
- Page 14 Step 3 – If your Time Machine disk is encrypted, you will need to unlock it first by providing an administrator password. Otherwise the ‘Select a Backup’ window will appear. Choose the desired backup instance, then click Continue. Step 4 – from the ‘Select a Destination’ window, choose the new volume you created earlier on the SSD, then click ‘Restore’ . When the process is finished, restart to verify that the transfer of your data was successful.
- Page 15 Option key until you see the Startup Manager screen and the available boot drives. Note: the example below shows a typical default boot drive name and icon. The icon for a new OWC SSD will be different than the example below, as well as the name, but the process described is the same.
- Page 16 Step 4 – in the ‘Source’ area of the window, click on the drive icon and then select the desired backup from the menu. Step 5 – in the ‘Destination’ area, click on the drive icon and then select the new volume you created in the Disk Utility. Step 6 –...
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