Solution: Apple Mac does not recognize the built-in SSD

If you have given your Apple Mac, MacBook or iMac a new SSD hard drive or replaced the HDD with it, it may not recognize it. This is especially annoying if you have to set up the computer again with the new storage medium and the macOS installer does not display the hard drive. The Mac does not recognize the built-in SSD and this begs the question: Why? In the following you will not only find the answer, but of course also the solution to the problem, so that you can also install the Apple operating system macOS on the converted iMac, MacBook and Co.;)

The Mac does not recognize the built-in SSD and you cannot find it when installing the operating system? Your search for answers is now over;)

Problem: Mac recognizes built-in SSD - Solution: Disk Utility

Can you assume that the new hard drive is not defective and have you cabled it correctly? Then the problem is probably not in the hardware. On the software side, the solution to the problem is Disk Utility. So before you get the USB boot stick with the one on it Installer for Mac OS X or macOS Connected to the Mac, you call the disk utility. If that's not about the safe mode works, you can call the utility for hard disk management partly as part of the installer execution. 

Sample screenshot for Disk Utility. If the newly installed SSD is not displayed in the installer, the hardware does not have to be defective. Look into this program, maybe it just needs to be formatted or partitioned.

You can also start the Mac from the USB stick and then call up the hard disk utility via the folder structure Applications -> Utilities -> Hard disk utility. The said boot stick is also worthwhile for this, even if you want to install the current operating system or the most recently available operating system for your Apple computer from the Internet. How this works and what different options are available for using the "Recovery Mode" or recovery mode on the Apple Mac, you can read in this post: On Mac Restart - Recovery Keyboard Shortcuts.

Depending on the operating system: Specify the file format and / or partition

Depending on which generation Mac, iMac, MacBook, Mac Mini or other Apple computer you have and which operating system version you want to install, a certain procedure is necessary in the hard disk service program. Sometimes a partition has to be created, sometimes the newly installed SSD simply has to be brought into the correct file format - for example, formatted for HFS + or APFS. If you want to install two different macOS versions on one hard drive, you also have to choose between APFS volume and partition. You can find the individual advantages and disadvantages in this post.

Possible solution for the SSD not recognized in Mac, iMac and MacBook

The Mac does not recognize the built-in SSD - while looking for a solution to this problem, I found various instructions, forums and technical pages. Most refer to the Disk Management Utility, so this is my main focus for this guide. It will be in one too Thread mentioned in the Apple Talk Forum; However, a user (Post # 5) described there that trying things out and not using a specific approach helped. Even after one RAM reset the SSD in the iMac was not recognized and the utility was simply closed and reopened on a trial basis. Lo and behold - the new hard disk was displayed. So if in doubt, just try instead of studying: D

Jen Kleinholz( Founder & Sir Apfelot )

Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He appears as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with problems of a technical nature. In his free time he drives electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with his iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions for current bugs.