Formatting, OS Installation, and Migration Guide

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).

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 update, Cmd-Opt-R may install

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.

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 SSD installation process was already followed and completed.

• If the SSD is installed on a laptop, make sure the power adapter is connected before you begin the steps below.

• macOS 10.15 Catalina-compatible

• macOS 10.14 Mojave-compatible

• macOS 10.13 High Sierra-compatible

• macOS 10.12 Sierra-compatible

• Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan-compatible

• Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite-compatible

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.

• If the Recovery method selected targets macOS 10.13-10.15, please continue with the steps below.

• If the Recovery method selected targets OS X 10.11 or macOS 10.12, please skip ahead to page 5.

• If the Recovery method selected targets OS X 10.7-10.10, please skip ahead to page 8.

• If you have already formatted the drive and are ready to review OS and data migration options, skip to page 11.

Formatting Steps: 10.13-10.15

Step 1 – from the macOS Utilities window, select the Disk Utility option and click Continue.

Step 2 – to ensure that all internal devices and volumes are shown from the start, open the View menu widget near the top-left corner of

the Disk Utility window and choose ‘Show All Devices’.

Step 3 – in the sidebar area at left, select the

icon or label for the physical disk (item A at

right) Note: some SSDs may also include a

factory-formatted volume, listed beneath

the physical disk item; this factory volume

— or any others on the drive — will be

permanently erased.

Step 4 – click the ‘Erase’ button (item at right)

to continue.

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 – type a name for your new system volume in the ﬁeld supplied (item C). Note: the volume names shown in later sections will not

match the one shown here because the examples are from diﬀerent sources. However, whatever volume name you choose at this step,

will be applicable when choosing a destination for your system and/or data ﬁles during the migration process, as well.

Step 8 – click the ‘Erase’ button (item D) to format the drive. In many cases it will only take a few seconds.

During the format process, by default the screen will look similar to what you see below. Note that it is possible to see the details of the

formatting process by clicking the ‘Show Details’ widget (item A), but it is not necessary to complete the process.

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).

When ﬁnished you can choose Disk Utility > Quit from the main menu. This will take you back to the main Recovery screen. Please skip

ahead to page 11 to begin the process of OS installation and/or data migration.

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; this factory volume — or any others on the drive — will be permanently

erased during this process.

Step 3 – click the ‘Erase’ button (item B below) to continue.

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 – type a name for your new system volume in the ﬁeld supplied (item C). Note: the volume names shown in later sections will not

match the one shown here because the examples are from diﬀerent sources. However, whatever volume name you choose at this step,

will be applicable when choosing a destination for your system and/or data ﬁles during the migration process, as well.

Step 7 – click the ‘Erase’ button (item D) to format the drive. In many cases it will only take a few seconds.

During the format process, by default the screen will look similar to what you see below. Note that it is possible to see the details of the

formatting process by clicking the ‘Show Details’ widget (item A), but it is not necessary to complete the process.

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).

When ﬁnished you can choose Disk Utility > Quit from the main menu. This will take you back to the main Recovery screen. Please skip

ahead to page 11 to begin the process of OS installation and/or data migration.

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; this factory volume — or any others on the drive — will be permanently

erased during this process.

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. However, whatever volume name you choose at this step,

will be applicable when choosing a destination for your system and/or data ﬁles during the migration process, as well.

Step 6 – click the ‘Erase...’ button (item D below) to begin the formatting process.

While formatting you will see a progress meter (item A below) near the bottom of the window. The process may take several seconds.

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.

OS and data migration options begin on the next page.

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. Recovery: ‘Reinstall macOS’ (i.e. a clean install) + Migration Assistant (move data after OS install)

2. Recovery: (Full) ‘Restore from Time Machine Backup’ (i.e. transfers system and user data together)

3. Transfer system and user data from a Carbon Copy Cloner backup (also transfers both together)

Notes

• If your latest backup does not include system 10.13 or later, a clean macOS install is required as a ﬁrst step. [Aura Pro X, X2, N only]

• If you do not need to set up a clean OS install, please skip ahead to Page 13 to migrate both your system and user data via ‘Restore

from Time Machine Backup’, or to Page 15 if you’re using Carbon Copy Cloner.

Option 1: Reinstall the OS + Migration Assistant

This option is most commonly required when your system backup uses a version of macOS that is earlier than the SSD’s base requirement

(e.g. an Aura Pro X2 customer whose last backup uses 10.12.6 or earlier). Some people also choose this route if they were having stability

trouble with the macOS around the time it was last backed up, or just for peace of mind that the system will be installed fresh on their

new drive. To create a clean install you can stay within Recovery mode and use the macOS Utilities following the steps below.

Step 1 – select the ‘Reinstall macOS’ or ‘Reinstall OS X’ option from the Utilities window. Reminder: if you’re using OS 10.7-10.11, your

window will say “OS X Utilities” but the options provided will be the same.

Step 2 – once the macOS installer opens, follow the prompts as you normally would to install the system onto a new drive). Once the

installation is complete the system will reboot to your new drive.

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. It is also possible to migrate data by connecting your

original drive via external enclosure using the ‘From a Mac, Time Machine Bacup, or startup disk’ option.

Step 4 – What you do next will depend on the type of backup you have. If you have a Time Machine drive, connect it to your Mac then

select the ‘From a Mac, Time Machine Backup, or startup disk’ option (shown above), and click continue. Follow the remaining prompts to

select your Time Machine backup volume and migrate your selected data. Note: to learn more about the Migration Assistant, please see

this page. When you’re ﬁnished migrating your data, follow any remaining prompts for the Setup Assistant to ﬁnish that process.

If you’re using Carbon Copy cloner, you can connect that disk to the host computer and select it by choosing the ‘From a Mac, Time

Machine backup, or startup disk’ option and following the prompts. More information is available here.

Step 5 (optional) – once the process of installing the OS and migrating data is complete, we strongly recommend you run Software

Update to make sure your system resources and apps are fully up-to-date.

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:

• Make sure your Time Machine backup drive is connected and powered on before proceeding.

• The volume icons and names shown in the following steps are examples and diﬀer from those shown earlier.

Step 1 – choose ‘Restore From Time Machine Backup’ from the macOS Utilities screen then click Continue. Reminder: if you’re using OS

10.7-10.11, your window will say “OS X Utilities” but the options provided will be the same.

Step 2 – from the ‘Select a Restore Source’ window (below) select your Time Machine backup disk then click Continue.

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.

Step 5 (optional) – before using your Mac, we strongly recommend you run Software Update to make sure your system resources and

apps are fully up-to-date.

Option 3: Full Restore from Carbon Copy Cloner

If you recently cloned your system drive using Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC), you should be able to boot to your cloned system backup and

then migrate data as shown below. These steps are recommended by the developer (Bombich). Notes:

• Make sure your CCC backup drive is connected and powered on before proceeding.

• The volume icons and names shown in the following steps are examples and diﬀer from those shown earlier.

Step 1 – from the Apple menu at the top of the screen, choose ‘Restart’. Once the computer restarts and you hear the system chime, hold

down the 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.

Step 2 – select your Carbon Copy Cloner backup volume from the list and click the arrow (similar to the one shown above) to continue

the boot process.

Step 3 – once the Desktop is available, launch the Carbon Copy Cloner application, then click the ‘New Task’ button in the toolbar (unhide

the Sidebar if needed). Name the newly created task (e.g. ‘Restore’).

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 – click the ‘Clone’ button (highlighted in red below). The transfer can take a while depending on the amount of data and the

connection type. After the process is complete, go to System Preferences, choose ‘Startup Disk’ and select your new startup volume, then

restart the computer. Notes:

• You will need to provide administrator credentials to access and set the Startup volume.

• After restarting we strongly recommend you run Software Update to make sure your system is fully up-to-date.

OWCDRVSET-Mercury25 Revision 1 – May 28, 2020