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+--- Thread: External boot drive suggestions (/showthread.php?tid=295127)
Re: External boot drive suggestions - special - 03-19-2025
OK good to know, it sounds like you still need a working internal drive to make updates and troubleshoot once in a while.
Re: External boot drive suggestions - Robert M - 03-19-2025
Bern,
Absolutely. The Envoy Pro SX my office has is Thunderbolt 3 and we use it as a boot drive for our Mini M4 Pro.
My brother uses an Envoy Express box for his Mac Mini models. They Thunderbolt 3 and he's happy with them. He doesn't do anything with photos and such but I suspect it'd be find even if that was one of his computing tasks.
Note, Apple Intelligence gets disabled when you're booting your machine off an external drive. That doesn't concern me because I don't care about Apple Intelligence. I bet it won't be an issue for your dad.
Robert
Re: External boot drive suggestions - special - 03-19-2025
Note, Apple Intelligence gets disabled when you're booting your machine off an external drive.
Interesting, maybe this is the bit I had in the back of my mind.
Re: External boot drive suggestions - BernDog - 03-20-2025
Thanks, everyone. I think it might be a TB4 1TB that he’s using for file storage now, which in hindsight was complete overkill. I’ll know when I get there on Friday.
So if my memory is correct, I think I’ll want to get something else as file storage. Where’s the sweet spot on that? Can I just get any sata usb c drive, as long as it’s a decent brand?
Re: External boot drive suggestions - Black - 03-20-2025
BernDog wrote:
Thanks, everyone. I think it might be a TB4 1TB that he’s using for file storage now, which in hindsight was complete overkill. I’ll know when I get there on Friday.
So if my memory is correct, I think I’ll want to get something else as file storage. Where’s the sweet spot on that? Can I just get any sata usb c drive, as long as it’s a decent brand?
One of these plus any $15 USB3 enclosure (I like Sabrent) will be fine.
https://www.amazon.com/INLAND-Platinum-Internal-Solid-State/dp/B09NPXMJH3/ref=asc_df_B09NPXMJH3?mcid=47d0d560e3da359cbc75e808f0492006&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693606546447&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2932225551241903643&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9213010&hvtargid=pla-1635335938729&th=1
Just for kicks, once the backup drive is all set up you might try booting from it- you'll see even USB3 booting is fine with an SSD.
Re: External boot drive suggestions - Robert M - 03-20-2025
Bern,
While a 2.5" SATA drive in a USB 3 enclosure can do the job - an iMac I just replaced used a 2.5" SATA SSD as its boot drive - dollar for dollar, it isn't cost effective. An NVME PCIE stick and enclosure are similar in cost to a 2.5" SATA drive in a SATA box these days.
If you go the USB 3 route, for similar costs or a few dollars more, you can get an NVME drive and USB 3.x enclosure and it'd be near twice as fast as the 2.5" SATA solution. Since your dad has an M series machine, I'd go for the faster solution. It makes a difference in booting and makes tangible difference when transferring data from one drive to another and absolutely huge a difference when doing mass backups.
I also prefer a "one and done" configuration. I keep the OS, apps and data all on the boot drive. I keep the entire drive backed up. As necessary, I move data from the main drive to an archive drive and keep a backup of the archive drive. That is in addition to cloud storage solutions like Dropbox and iCloud.
Robert
Re: External boot drive suggestions - Robert M - 03-20-2025
Special,
Correct. With M series Macs, the internal drive must be in proper working order even if you're booting the machine off an external drive. The machine becomes a paperweight if the internal drive goes kablooey. It’s another reason why backups are a must and one of the reasons I prefer keeping the boot drive, apps and data external. If the machine goes, replace it and move the external hardware to the new machine.
Our M4 Pro Mini has three drives. The first is its internal 1TB SSD. The second is its 1TB external Thunderbolt boot drive. The third is a backup of the boot drive. If the Mini's internal drive craps out, we'll replace it with an identical mini (if available). Configure its boot settings to allow booting from an external. Connect the external boot drive to it. Reboot and go back to work.
If the replacement is a newer model mini, we'd nuke the backup of the boot drive. Reinstall the OS and then use Migration Assistant to carry over the data from the old boot drive. The old boot drive, in turn, becomes the new backup of the boot drive.
Robert
Re: External boot drive suggestions - Black - 03-20-2025
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Re: External boot drive suggestions - Robert M - 03-20-2025
Black,
You’re right. It should have said the imac used an external 2.5” ssd in a usb 3 enclosure as its boot drive. The enclosure was actually a USB 3.1 Gen 2 enclosure. It was connected to one of its USB 3 ports. Hope it makes sense now.
Robert
Re: External boot drive suggestions - BernDog - 03-20-2025
Robert M wrote:
Bern,
While a 2.5" SATA drive in a USB 3 enclosure can do the job - an iMac I just replaced used a 2.5" SATA SSD as its boot drive - dollar for dollar, it isn't cost effective. An NVME PCIE stick and enclosure are similar in cost to a 2.5" SATA drive in a SATA box these days.
If you go the USB 3 route, for similar costs or a few dollars more, you can get an NVME drive and USB 3.x enclosure and it'd be near twice as fast as the 2.5" SATA solution. Since your dad has an M series machine, I'd go for the faster solution. It makes a difference in booting and makes tangible difference when transferring data from one drive to another and absolutely huge a difference when doing mass backups.
I also prefer a "one and done" configuration. I keep the OS, apps and data all on the boot drive. I keep the entire drive backed up. As necessary, I move data from the main drive to an archive drive and keep a backup of the archive drive. That is in addition to cloud storage solutions like Dropbox and iCloud.
Robert
I’m pretty sure what I’ve got set up for him right now is the internal as boot with OS and apps, and files (might be just his photos library, but that’s pretty much all the substance he has) on the external. All that is backed up to another external as a Time Machine backup.
My initial thought would be to do it the same, but use the current TB drive for OS and apps, and get another drive for the photos library. But, if there’s still plenty of space on the TB, I might just keep it simple and do it all there.