iMac Fusion Drive SSD Not Detected: Cloned in Two Hours After a Failed First Attempt

Can data be recovered when an iMac Fusion Drive SSD is not detected? In this case, yes. The 128GB Apple SSD showed nothing through a USB adapter, but it was detected instantly over PCI Express. We cloned both halves, found bad sectors from age, and the Fusion volume came back together in Disk Utility.

Sound familiar?

• The SSD from your iMac shows nothing when you plug it into a USB adapter.
• The hard drive half tests fine, but your files still will not open.
• Disk Utility shows two unrecognised partitions instead of one drive.
• Someone has already had a go and nothing came back.
• The iMac is close to ten years old.

Same problem? Call 1300 444 800 or request a free assessment.

A Quote Declined, Then Approved a Few Weeks Later

This job came with a bit of history. About a month before it reached the bench, we quoted Katie to recover the data from her iMac Fusion Drive. She declined and took the drives to a friend who said he could do it cheaper.

A few weeks later nothing had been recovered. Katie came back and approved the original quote.

There is no blame in that. A Fusion Drive looks simple from the outside. It is two drives. The catch is that both halves have to be read, and one of them may not show up at all on ordinary equipment.

The Problem: Why Was the Fusion Drive SSD Not Detected?

On the desk were the two halves of the Fusion Drive: a Seagate 1TB hard drive and a 128GB Apple NVMe SSD. The SSD uses Apple’s own connector rather than a standard M.2 slot, so it needs an adapter before any computer can talk to it.

Our data recovery engineer started with the hard drive on the Atola Insight Forensic. It was detected straight away. SMART status was clean, with no hardware problem at all.

Then he switched to a USB-C adapter for Apple SSDs to test the other half. Nothing. No detection. He checked the cables, unplugged it and plugged it back in. Still nothing.

At that point it looked like the SSD might be dead. That would have been bad news, because a Fusion Drive needs both halves. The hard drive on its own does not hold a readable copy of the files.

How We Read the SSD Over PCI Express

Before calling the SSD dead, the data recovery engineer wanted a second opinion. He moved it to the DeepSpar Disk Imager with its PCI Express SSD card, which reads the drive directly over PCI Express instead of through a USB enclosure.

It was detected instantly.

He started a sector by sector clone. At first it flew along. A few minutes in, it hit a rough patch: a stretch of slow reading and bad sectors. That was the real fault. With an SSD close to 10 years old, simple old age was the cause.

The clone finished about two hours later. From then on the work used only the clones, never Katie’s original drives.

iMac Fusion Drive SSD Not Detected: The Results

With both clones ready, the data recovery engineer connected them to one of our iMacs. With Fusion Drives he much prefers to work on a Mac rather than a Windows machine.

Then came the moment in Apple Disk Utility. Instead of two unrecognised partitions, the drives came back up together as a single Fusion volume, exactly as Apple intended. No recovery software and no RAID rebuild were needed at all.

He formatted a new 2TB Toshiba drive for Mac and backed everything up with Carbon Copy Cloner. Katie receives an email with a full file listing and a video preview of her recovered files. She then chooses to collect the drive in person or have it shipped back free of charge.

Why Does a Fusion Drive SSD That Will Not Show Up Need a Lab?

Two things decided this job. The first was not calling the SSD dead too early. Through a USB-C adapter it showed nothing. Read directly over PCI Express on the DeepSpar Disk Imager, the same SSD was detected instantly.

The second was working only from clones. Once each drive had been cloned sector by sector, every later step was done on the copies, never on Katie’s original drives.

If your iMac has a Fusion Drive and something has gone wrong, keep both drives together. Do not reformat either one, and stop plugging the SSD into adapters to see if it wakes up. Send both halves in and let us test them.

Why People Choose Payam Data Recovery

When an iMac will not start, its data is often locked to its own chips, so those chips have to be working again before anything can be copied. On an iMac with a Fusion Drive, the SSD and the hard drive inside both have to be read and put back together as one drive. That is the work we do every day.

• We are a specialist data recovery lab, not a computer repair shop. We have been recovering data since 1998, from over 300,000 devices.
• We are listed on Apple’s data recovery provider page, one of three recommended data recovery providers.
• Board level repair under the microscope, and professional tools such as the Ace Lab PC-3000 for failing drives, all by our own data recovery engineers, here in Australia and never outsourced overseas.
• Over 2,000 IT companies and computer shops across Australia send us their customers’ complex cases, and data recovery labs and IT companies in more than 50 countries have sent us their difficult cases over the past ten years.
• Your data stays private. Our data recovery engineers open only a few random, non-sensitive files to check the recovery worked, and we can sign an NDA on request.
• Rated 4.9 from more than 2,300 Google reviews.
• See your files before you pay. You tell us which files matter most. Before you pay for the recovery, we’ll send you a list of your recovered files so you can check them. If any of the files you listed are missing, tell us and we’ll search again.
• There is no card surcharge. Pay by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Afterpay, Zip or bank deposit (EFT).

We are not the cheapest. We are the best in Australia at this work. We know what to do, how to do it, and we will do our very best for you. Your best chance of getting your data back is with us.

iMac Data Recovery Pricing and Services

Every iMac and Fusion Drive case starts with a free assessment and a written quote. We test the drives, then email you the problem we found, how we can help, the cost and the time involved, for your approval before any chargeable work. Nothing is charged until you say yes.

The price depends on what we find, with Priority and Emergency service levels available when you need it faster, and current prices are on our iMac data recovery page. An SSD that reads with bad sectors, like this one, usually carries no attempt fee. Jobs that need donor parts or cleanroom work, such as a Fusion Drive whose hard drive has damaged heads, carry a non-refundable attempt fee that forms part of the total price: you pay it to begin, then the balance only if the data is recovered. Where it applies, it is stated in the quote before you approve anything. We can supply a destination drive, or you can send your own.

We handle every iMac data recovery configuration: Fusion Drives, SSD only, hard drive only, and Apple silicon iMacs with storage on the logic board. If your iMac is dead rather than just the drive, send the whole machine.

How Our Process Works for International Customers

International customers are always welcome. The easiest way to reach us from overseas is by email at help@payam.com.au, which works in every time zone. Start with the free quote form. If the indicative pricing suits you, we send job instructions and you post both halves of the Fusion Drive, or the whole iMac, to our main data recovery lab in Rhodes, NSW by a tracked courier. Recovered data comes back on a new drive.

Frequently Asked Questions

My iMac Fusion Drive SSD is not detected. Is the data gone?
Not necessarily. In this case the 128GB Apple SSD showed nothing through a USB-C adapter, but it was detected instantly when read directly over PCI Express. It had bad sectors from age, and a full clone was still possible. Stop testing it in adapters and have it assessed.

Can you recover a Fusion Drive if only the hard drive works?
The data is spread across both halves, so we need both. The hard drive alone does not hold a readable copy of your files. That is why this job depended on getting the SSD read. If either half has been reformatted or thrown away, recovery becomes far harder or impossible.

Someone else already tried. Have I made it worse?
Not always. Katie’s drives had been with a friend for a few weeks and nothing was recovered, yet both halves still cloned and the Fusion volume came back. The biggest risks are reformatting, repeated power cycling of a failing SSD and opening the drives. Tell us what was tried when you request a quote.

Did you need recovery software to rebuild the Fusion Drive?
Not on this job. Once both drives were cloned and connected to one of our iMacs, Disk Utility recognised them together as a single Fusion volume, exactly as Apple intended. No recovery software and no RAID rebuild were needed. Some Fusion cases do need a rebuild, and the quote tells you which.

How long does an iMac Fusion Drive recovery take?
The clone of this SSD took about two hours, including a stretch of slow reading over the bad sectors. Healthy drives clone faster and badly worn SSDs take longer. Your written quote gives a realistic timeframe for the service level you choose: Economy, Priority or Emergency.

What if you cannot recover it? What do I pay then?
Yes. The assessment and quote are free, and for most faults there is nothing to pay unless we recover your data. See your files before you pay. You tell us which files matter most. Before you pay for the recovery, we’ll send you a list of your recovered files so you can check them. If any of the files you listed are missing, tell us and we’ll search again. The one exception is cleanroom and other high risk work, where part of the quoted price is a non-refundable attempt fee paid upfront so we can begin. That covers the data recovery engineer time and donor parts we commit whatever the outcome. If an attempt fee applies to your job, it will be stated clearly in your quote before you approve anything.

Will using an Apple-recommended provider affect later Apple service?
Payam Data Recovery is listed by Apple as a recommended data recovery provider. Apple states it will not exclude warranty coverage because a company it recommends modified a product during data recovery. The cost of the recovery itself is not covered by the Apple Limited Warranty or AppleCare.

I am overseas. Can I send you my iMac drives?
Yes. International customers are always welcome. Request a free quote first, then post both halves of the Fusion Drive, or the whole iMac, by tracked courier once the indicative pricing suits you. The easiest way to reach us from overseas is by email at help@payam.com.au, which works in every time zone.

About Payam Data Recovery

Payam Data Recovery has been recovering data since 1998, with more than 300,000 devices recovered. Apple lists us as one of three recommended data recovery providers, and team members hold Apple Certified Macintosh Technician and Apple Certified iOS Technician certifications. For drives and SSDs the lab runs the Atola Insight Forensic, DeepSpar Disk Imager and Ace Lab PC-3000. Everything is done in Australia and never outsourced overseas. Head office and full service lab in Sydney CBD, with our main data recovery lab for complex cases in Rhodes, NSW, full service labs in Melbourne and Brisbane, and secure drop-off offices in Adelaide and Perth with free overnight express delivery to Rhodes, NSW. You can read more about Payam Data Recovery.

Request a Free iMac Data Recovery Assessment

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Video Transcript

Hey, it’s Mike back at Payam Data Recovery in Sydney, Australia for a job with a bit of history behind it. About a month ago, Payam quoted a customer named Katie to recover data from her iMac Fusion Drive. She declined and took it to a friend who said he could do it cheaper. A few weeks later, with nothing recovered, Katie came back and approved the original quote.

On the desk, the two halves of a Fusion Drive: a Seagate 1TB hard drive and a 128 gigabyte Apple NVMe SSD using Apple’s own connector rather than a standard M.2. Payam started on his Atola Insight Forensic. The hard drive was detected straight away. SMART status clean, no hardware problem at all. Then he switched to a USB-C adapter for Apple SSDs to test the other half, and nothing. No detection. He checked the cables, unplugged it, plugged it back in. Still nothing. It looked like the SSD might be dead.

But Payam wanted a second opinion before calling it. He took it over to his DeepSpar Disk Imager with the PCI Express SSD card, reading it directly over PCI Express instead of through a USB enclosure. It was detected instantly. Payam started a sector by sector clone, and at first it flew along, but a few minutes in it hit a rough patch: a stretch of slow reading and bad sectors. That was the real fault. And with an SSD close to 10 years old, simple old age was the cause.

2 hours later, working only from the clones and never the customer’s original drives, Payam connected both to one of his iMacs. He told me that with Fusion Drives, he much prefers to work on a Mac rather than a Windows machine. Then came the moment in Apple Disk Utility. Instead of two unrecognised partitions, the drives came back up together as a single Fusion volume, exactly as Apple intended. That meant no recovery software and no RAID rebuild were needed at all.

Payam formatted a new 2TB Toshiba drive for Mac and backed everything up with Carbon Copy Cloner. Katie gets an email with a full file listing and a video preview of her recovered files, then chooses to collect it in person or have it shipped. Fusion Drives and Apple devices are one of this lab’s specialties. If yours has failed, Payam Data Recovery in Sydney, Australia takes on cases like this from across the country and around the world with a free assessment and quote. Thanks for watching this real life case study.