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OK, I don't want to make this even more complex, but your questions have multiple answers. First, can you use it as it is? Yes, just select the 1tb as the install drive instead of the SSD and ignore the SSD. (EDIT: YOU can set the default boot to the HDD instead of the SSD and never see the SSD. end EDIT) You can even erase the SSD entirely and leave it in some non-Apple format (you can do that with Disk Utility after getting the 1TB going) and it won't come into the mix at all.
But that brings a new issue to the foreground--APFS is designed for SSDs and is relatively inefficient on rotating drives. You would avoid some of that inefficiency with a fusion, but not all of it, so the downside here is kind of likely to be small. You would already be taking a hit in performance from losing fusion, the additional lost performance in being only on the rotating drive would be marginal on top of the lost fusion efficiencies. You didn't say why you wanted to do a factory reset, you only said, "And the reason for the fresh install is because there were things that were very annoying."
The issue with the too small to update/upgrade was caused by the broken fusion and the fact you installed the OS to the SSD, which is, in fact, too small for both the OS and the upgrade files. Had the fusion been in place, it would have worked just fine for the update. If you leave the fusion broken and install to the rotating drive, space won't be an issue at all, it's a TB of space!
So it's up to you. But for me, I would do the re-fusing, then install to the fused drive and get back the fusion efficiencies. The fact that there will be inefficiencies from APFS on a rotational drive will still be there, but it won't be added to the loss of fusion efficiency and speeds.
If the fusion process goes south, you really haven't lost anything as you can still follow chscag's advice and get a professional to sort it out. Might cost some, but you would be up and running. From my point of view, at this point trying the process in the Apple article has very little downside to giving it a go.
But I'm fearless, so there is that...do you want to take the advice of a crazy ex-Naval Aviator?
But that brings a new issue to the foreground--APFS is designed for SSDs and is relatively inefficient on rotating drives. You would avoid some of that inefficiency with a fusion, but not all of it, so the downside here is kind of likely to be small. You would already be taking a hit in performance from losing fusion, the additional lost performance in being only on the rotating drive would be marginal on top of the lost fusion efficiencies. You didn't say why you wanted to do a factory reset, you only said, "And the reason for the fresh install is because there were things that were very annoying."
The issue with the too small to update/upgrade was caused by the broken fusion and the fact you installed the OS to the SSD, which is, in fact, too small for both the OS and the upgrade files. Had the fusion been in place, it would have worked just fine for the update. If you leave the fusion broken and install to the rotating drive, space won't be an issue at all, it's a TB of space!
So it's up to you. But for me, I would do the re-fusing, then install to the fused drive and get back the fusion efficiencies. The fact that there will be inefficiencies from APFS on a rotational drive will still be there, but it won't be added to the loss of fusion efficiency and speeds.
If the fusion process goes south, you really haven't lost anything as you can still follow chscag's advice and get a professional to sort it out. Might cost some, but you would be up and running. From my point of view, at this point trying the process in the Apple article has very little downside to giving it a go.
But I'm fearless, so there is that...do you want to take the advice of a crazy ex-Naval Aviator?
