If the SATA drive will simply be a storage drive, please see the 3rd section of this article - Installing a SATA Drive as a Storage Unit.
Boot Drive - 10.11
Boot Drive - 10.6 to 10.10
Storage Drive - 10.11
Storage Drive - 10.6 to 10.10
Installing a SATA Drive as a Boot drive 10.11
Note: Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you
want off the drive prior to formatting.
-
Physically install the drive into the Mac.
-
Insert the Mac OS X install CD or USB drive.
-
Power on the computer while holding down the option key.
-
Select Installer.
-
Select Disk Utility.
-
Highlight the drive.
-
Select Erase.
-
Enter Volume information (Name, Format, and Scheme).
-
Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for Format.
-
Select GUID for Scheme.
-
Select Erase. (Note: This will erase all data from the drive.)
-
Click on Disk Utility and select Quit Disk Utility.
-
Select Install OS X from the options
-
Select your drives as the destination and install
Installing a SATA Drive as a Boot drive 10.6 to 10.10
Note: Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you
want off the drive prior to formatting.
-
Physically install the drive into the Mac.
-
Insert the Mac OS X install CD or USB drive.
-
Power on the computer while holding down the option key.
-
Select Installer.
-
Select Disk Utility.
-
Highlight the drive.
-
Select Partition.
-
Select 1 Partition
-
Name the drive
-
Choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Partition for the volume format.
-
Click Options - Select GUID
-
Select OK
-
Select Apply (Note: This will erase all data from the drive.)
-
Select partition
-
Click on Disk Utility and select Quit Disk Utility.
-
Select Install OS X from the options
-
Select your drives as the destination and install
Installing a SATA Drive as a Storage Unit - 10.11
-
Physically install the drive into the Mac.
-
Turn the Mac on
-
Select Applications.
-
Select Utilities.
-
Select Disk Utility.
-
Select the Erase tab.
-
Verify that the correct hard drive is selected in the left column.
-
Enter Volume information (Name, Format, and Scheme).
-
Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for Format.
-
Select GUID for Scheme.
-
Select Erase. (Note: This will erase all data from the drive.)
Installing a SATA Drive as a Storage Unit - 10.6 to 10.10
Note: Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you
want off the drive prior to formatting.
-
Physically install the drive into the Mac.
-
Turn the Mac on
-
Select Applications.
-
Select Utilities.
-
Select Disk Utility.
-
Highlight the drive
-
Select Partition.
-
Select 1 Partition
-
Name the drive
-
Choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Partition for the volume format.
-
Click Options - Select GUID
-
Select OK
-
Select Apply (Note: This will erase all data from the drive.)
-
Select partition
-
Click on Disk Utility and select Quit Disk Utility.
-
Select Install OS X from the options
-
Select your drives as the destination and install
-
Allow time for the drive to format.
-
Verify the drive is mounted on the Desktop.
