New boot drive.

sllewk · Jul 9, 2020

Hi all, yes it is me, trouble again.I have a spare 1tb solid state hard drive and I had a thought about making it my 'boot drive' with Catalina on board. Now the snag is this :- I have not got a clue how to do it and it is named 'Mac OX' (for the want of something better).
I need very easy detailed step by step instructions as to how to do the job. I do not want to see GUI etc because I simply do not know what it means. The reason behind this is the hard drive fitted to my iMac is an old fashioned spinner with er er------'Fusion drive' on the 'side'. Being a spinning drive plus something daft thing on the side worries me. I cannot see me splitting my iMac to remove the fitted hard drive and replacing it with my spare 1tb solid state drive, that means getting it going as an external hard drive. Dream on my boy you have not got a clue! That being the case I appeal to anyone of my friends on Macforums for help. I am told in various places it is not difficult ---- oh please pull the other one, it has bells on it. Regards from Keith in Derby England.

MightyGem · Jul 9, 2020

All you need to do, assuming that your 1tb drive is already formatted for Mac, is to install MacOS on it. If you have an installer on your iMac you can use that, or download from the App Store.

When you run the installer and are asked where you want to install it, just chose the external drive.

After installation, you then go into Sys Prefs>Start Up Disk and chose the external drive. Your iMac should then use that disk all the time.

sllewk · Jul 10, 2020

Hi MightyGem, I thank you for your reply and possibly tomorrow will try to do the job. As Corona virus restrictions have been revised we are having a bit of a family get together because today is my birthday, that means that time is rather limited for Mavis and myself. Tomorrow is pretty much free all day.

Regards from Keith in Derby.

MacInWin · Jul 10, 2020

Happy birthday, Keith! Enjoy your day.

sllewk · Jul 11, 2020

Hi Jake, many thanks for the birthday wishes. We, the family, had a super time and it was the first time a gathering of that nature has been allowed for about three months------- wonderful!!!

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.

sllewk · Jul 15, 2020

Good morning all, after days of studying and even trying, I have decided that a bootable external hard drive is way outside my capabilities. That being the case the 1tb hard drive goes back into the cupboard for future escapades. Thanks to all who tried their best to help, it is my state of mind the is the problem --- sorry!

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.

Randy B. Singer · Jul 15, 2020

sllewk said:
Hi all, yes it is me, trouble again.I have a spare 1tb solid state hard drive and I had a thought about making it my 'boot drive' with Catalina on board. Now the snag is this :- I have not got a clue how to do it ...
I need very easy detailed step by step instructions ...

See if these directions are easy enough to follow:

Preparing your destination disk for an installation of macOS | Carbon Copy Cloner | Bombich Software

bombich.com

sllewk · Jul 19, 2020

Hi Randy B. Singer (and of course every-one else), I have reached the state of mind that I am playing at least three leagues above that which I can do. I have spent the best part of this Sunday afternoon wrestling with the problem of an external boot drive and I simply cannot get any where near reaching an end, I get to a certain point (it can be anywhere) and it all goes blank - start again my old son it will become clear if you try hard enough------- lying bustard, it does not because the fog thickens. That being so I am forgetting all about an external bootable hard drive, in fact I wish I had never thought about it in the first place. Heartfelt thanks to all who were interested enough to offer help --- sorry I have failed in my quest.

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.

Randy B. Singer · Jul 20, 2020

sllewk said:
Hi Randy B. Singer (and of course every-one else), I have reached the state of mind that I am playing at least three leagues above that which I can do. I have spent the best part of this Sunday afternoon wrestling with the problem of an external boot drive and I simply cannot get any where near reaching an end, I get to a certain point (it can be anywhere) and it all goes blank...

Well, sometimes we all need to have a 12 year old in the house to help us with our computers.

I know that I miss having one.

I'm just curious. Did you access the Bombich page that I recommended? At what point did it start to go over your head?

sllewk · Jul 20, 2020

Good morning Randy B Singer, It is very difficult to pin point a spot where things went pear shaped as it varied on each attempt. Sometimes it was early on and once (at least) later. I honestly feel that the level of frustration had a lot to do with abandoning the whole project because with frustration comes bigger errors; then things become absolutely impossibly hopeless. Yes I did get onto the Bombich page which helped to make thing a little better for a short time. There is no-one more sorry than yours truly that I could not reach a good end -- but that is the way the cookie crumbles. It is a case of 'Abandon Hope all Yea who Enter Here'.
PS. A twelve year old is a wonderful accessory!!!

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.

IWT · Jul 20, 2020

Hi Keith,

No worries. Reading your first post on this Thread, it seems that you were looking for something to do with your "spare 1TB SSD".

So, it's not a vital necessity; almost a hobby

You failed. So what? You did it in style; that's the main thing. Failing at multiple levels, on a random basis, takes skill. Bask in the glory!

Ian

sllewk · Jul 20, 2020

Ian, nice to hear from you again; not really looking for something to do with my SSD, my iMac has a 'spinner plus a fusion drive' on the side (not good really), plus the fact since leaving High Sierra behind the machine seems to have slowed down. That being so I thought it might be a good idea to employ the SSD as a boot drive instead of the spinner; I do not fancy splitting the iMac to replace the HDD with the SSD - too much hassle. Oh I am very good at failing and since I started to put a few years on the clock have awarded myself a' VD and scar plus a WC chain and bar' as a reward for super knowledge on the subject; self taught and fully qualified and I believe not alone. Thank you for your comments and as always nice to hear from you.

Very best regards from Keith in Derby.