So I'll be getting my new iMac in a couple days. This machine will replace a mid 2011 iMac which of course only uses usb 2. I want to reuse my 2 external drives...one for Time Machine and one for photos and music. Assuming the drives are actually usb 3, do I need to replace the cables? One drive is a My Passport 25E3: 1 TB drive. The other is 3 TB Seagate spinner.

Thanks and I reserve the right to ask additional questions as i begin the migration path.

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Asheville, NC Area

If the drives are USB 3.0, and the cables have been working (and presumably came with the drives), the cables should be fine I think.

I agree, if the drives are in fact USB 3, then they should have come with the correct cables.

I am in the same boat with my mother's computer going from a 2011 to 2020 iMac. She is currently using an OWC drive with Firewire 800 and USB 3 and is currently using Firewire so I know I will have to change out the cable. Hope I can find the USB 3 cable that came with the drive.

ETA on her new iMac is this Friday and she is genuinely excited.

If the cables look like one of these, then you should be set. The new iMacs have 4 USB 3.0 "A" ports.

Quote
Schpark
I am in the same boat with my mother's computer going from a 2011 to 2020 iMac. She is currently using an OWC drive with Firewire 800 and USB 3 and is currently using Firewire so I know I will have to change out the cable. Hope I can find the USB 3 cable that came with the drive.

ETA on her new iMac is this Friday and she is genuinely excited.

My computer is coming Thursday. It was in Ireland, then Germany and then Newark.

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Asheville, NC Area

Quote
MartyStickle

Quote
Schpark
I am in the same boat with my mother's computer going from a 2011 to 2020 iMac. She is currently using an OWC drive with Firewire 800 and USB 3 and is currently using Firewire so I know I will have to change out the cable. Hope I can find the USB 3 cable that came with the drive.

ETA on her new iMac is this Friday and she is genuinely excited.

My computer is coming Thursday. It was in Ireland, then Germany and then Newark.

Hers went from Shanghai and now is in Osaka.

When you get your new iMac, launch System Reports or whatever it's called in the newest OS — Catalina?

Scroll down to USB and look for your enclosures on the USB 3.0 tree in System Reports.

Depending on the USB 3.0 enclosure(s) you have, you should see Speed: Up to 5Gb/sec' or 'Speed: Up to 10Gb/sec' for your enclosures.

If it shows 'Up to 480Gb/sec' something is off, as that's USB 2.

It could be the enclosure (box) or cable.

The blue inserts shown above are supposed to indicate some flavor of USB 3.0.

The odd looking micro-USB 3.0 connector on the right is a clear indicator of 3.0 compatibility.

That said, I was seeing 'Up to 480Gb/sec' on a 3.0 and 3.1 Gen 2 boxes on my 2012 mini.

It turned out to be a defective USB 3.0 cable that I got with one of the boxes.

Somebody mentioned that I was getting 2.0 speeds when I should be getting 3.0, so I had to spend some time with System Reports.

Some 3.1/Gen 2 Type A to USB-C and USB-C to USB-C cables ordered from AMZ and all is well.

I loaned my 2T 2.5" 3.1/G2 SSD/box/cable version to my girlfriend so she could move some file off her 2017 MBA.

She immediately noticed how much faster it was than her 2.5" external spinner!

New iron is always fun!

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2020 11:27AM by RAMd®d.

Mbs, Gbs, who cares, it’s all fast.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2020 04:46PM by Speedy.