Can I use an external SSD drive as main drive?

I would like to use an external SSD drive as my boot/operating drive. Basically a clone of my current HD but have the option of booting to and using the external SSD drive for system and apps and data. Is it possible and if so how?

Certainly can, however its a bad idea due to extreme cost and having to buy an awkward external enclosure for the microSATA or PCIe SSD
SSD and an enclosure like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-3-0-mini-pci-e-mSATA-SSD-adapter-external-Enclosure- case-with-cable-driver-/221178575483
OWC sells better SSD enclosures however.
Also a bad idea due to BUS SPEEDS, and SSD are far too expensive, and you cant get enough storage to cover your internal conventional HD in its size
Clone your internal HD with an external 1TB conventional HD for $70

Similar Messages

Buying a new iMac - can you use an external SSD drive as boot drive?

Here is the question: Can you attach an external SSD and use that as your boot drive accompanying an iMac? This way all the Apple warranties stay valid but I am not saddled with the expense of the Apple installed SSD price?
Now for some background ...
I am looking to buy a new iMac replacing my loved but woefully underpowered Mac Mini. In a perfect world I would like the following set-up based on how today's iMacs can be configured:
Processor: 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
Memory: 16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB
Hard Drive: 1TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GDDR5
Optical Drive: 8x double-layer SuperDrive
The problem is I'd rather not spend $3200+. I would imagine most people plug something similar in and then begin to ID must vs. nice to haves. So, here are my must haves:
Memory: Minimum 16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB (I was thinking of starting with minimum and then purchase the right RAM and installing myself)
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 1GB
Hard Drive: 256GB Solid State Drive
I like to work the graphics side and have a media library of almost 1TB (uploading, downloading, converting, editing, etc.). With my existing setup I have 3+TB of external storage but again, am suffering massively in the horsepower department as it takes hours for me to do what I believe a new iMac can help me accomplish in a fraction of that time. This is not my profession so while I looked at the towers I still need this computer to serve as a family computer as well. Appreciate your thoughts and feedback.
Cheers,
-Jim

Ok this is great as we are progressing through.
So yes it can be done but there's the caveat of the "pipes" once you go external. The only option for an external SSD Drive with thunderbolt that I know of is LaCie's 240 GB version ... Priced at $800.
I think what I will need to do is suck it up. The new MacBooks have the core technology I'd like but we really want the larger screen.
Last question - should I wait/when might we expect an updated line of iMacs? In a few months or not for a while? That answer may provide some direction if it is anticipated to be sooner vs later.
Thank you!

Can I use an external hard drive instead of replacing a defective one?

I'm almost certain I need another hard drive; the current one has been installed less than a year. I'm experiencing regular kernel panics; i've done a clean reinstall.
Can I use an external HD as my main drive? Other than the kernel issues, everything else works fine
Message was edited by: joell109

Has using information on 'resolving kernel panics' helped to
define or troubleshoot the list of potential causes of these;
or has the process been partly a guess?
resolving kernel panics - troubleshooting the issue:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/kernelpanics.html
Poor or under-qualification RAM, failed or unable to work
in a later system than a computer was first shipped with,
can lead to kernel panic issues. So can a combination of
software that is incompatible. And if there is a problem in
how the computer reads and writes data to and from the
hard disk drive, it may be putting corrupted data on the HD.
{And the logic board or hardware data flow controller (ATA)
may be defective in such a way as to cause kernel panics..}
An over-full hard disk drive could be damaging the content
of the drive in such a manner (due to over-writing content
and the system being cannibalized) as to cause failures.
What brand of hard disk drive have you installed into there?
An external hard disk drive within a FireWire enclosure, one
that is self-powered so it is on before the computer (and you
have to consider carefully how you detach or attach it to the
Mac, since these have to be unmounted a certain way, etc)
and perhaps large enough in capacity to have it partitioned
so as to give you a backup location for items or utilities that
can run from the computer to help you maintain it, etc.
The externally enclosed FireWire hard disk drive, with AC
power adapter, and cables, should be able to boot the Mac.
Not all can do that... ones with a chipset similar to those
known as 'oxford chipsets' can do this. That is the first test
to do when you get a FW external HD drive, is to see if it
can do this primary task with a boot volume installed.
You can make nice clones, too, if you have a healthy FW
externally enclosed HDD, a bootable one, & self-powered.
Mine are full-computer clones; not just the OS, and not
just the file changes such as a simple backup may provide.
Carbon Copy Cloner by Bombich is a good tool to have.
And there are others.
If your computer is essentially eating hard disk drives and
there are kernel panics within a relatively short period of
operational time, there may be something else involved.
A vintage Disk Warrior may be helpful, if you can find one
that will work with the current OS on the computer and
also on the hardware you have, to look into the HDD.
And the original Mac OS software set included with that
computer shipped with an Apple Hardware Test... also,
system logs should indicate the chain of failure; but those
are often cryptic and few people grasp their messages.
Good luck & happy computing!

I would like to know if you have to back up a macbook hard drive, can I use a external hard drive that has been previously used to back up several pc 's, or is it best to have a separate external drive for the Mac?

I would like to know if you have to back up a macbook hard drive, can I use a external hard drive that has been previously used to back up several pc 's, or is it best to have a separate external drive for the Mac?

In the Mac side of things, backups usually come in two flavors: clones or incrementals.
A bootable clone is a bit-for-bit copy of all essential files in the startup volume. If using the Lions, clones can be made using CarbonCopyCloner or just plain old Disk Utility. These backups represent the safest protection of your info, but take the longest to do. Recovery is an inverse process: you copy the clone back into the internal drive.
Incremental backups start with a complete backup of the startup volume and only copy whatever changed from the previous run. OS X includes the fully integrated Time Machine backup utility to do this. It is extremely easy to do and takes the least amount of time. Recovery is another matter altogether since you have to start with a freshly installed instance of the OS and have to apply all intervening backups to bring the result to the latest saved version.
As for where the backup takes place, the recommended media is an external dedicated drive or drives connected via the fastest interface available on your Mac: Thunderbolt, USB3, Firewire, or USB2. Network-based backups, wired or wireless, are attractive but may not offer the same performance and hence take longer. Also important to note that the entire drive need not be completely dedicated to a single backup. The Mac's EFI firmware infrastructure allows for an unlimited number of partitions on a hard drive and each can be used for either type of backups.
Holler if you need specifics on how to do each. This was just an executive summary.

SSD in Bios and can be used as storage but not as general drive

Hello I need some help and was pointed here by another MS Forum. The following is where I am at so far:
Hello,
I need some help. I have bought a SanDisk SSD and intalled it into my PC with the hope I could go from HDD to SSD but although the
BIOS appears to show that it has picked the drive up and it can be used as Storage Space, I am not able to use it as a general or main drive or migrate so it becomes the main drive.
I have Win 8.1 pro with media and a Asrock ConRoe 1333-D667 Motherboard.
Any help possible?
Geethu B replied on
May 11, 2014
Microsoft
Support Engineer
Hi Luke,
For a better understanding of the issue, when you say “main drive”, do you want Windows 8.1 to be installed on SSD drive?
You may create System Image of Windows 8.1 from HDD. Then remove HDD from the computer. Now Restore System Image to SSD and check if
it works.
To take System Image refer to the article.
How to create a system image to refresh your
Windows 8 PC
To restore files to SSD, follow these steps.
a. Open
Recovery by pressing Windows Key + C, and typing
Control Panel. In the search box, type recovery, and then click Recovery.
b. Click
Advanced recovery methods.
c. Click
Use a system image you created earlier to recover your computer, and then follow the steps.
Hope this information helps. Reply to the post with updated status of the issue to assist you further.
lukecahill replied
on May 11, 2014
Thank you,
Yes I would like Windows to run from the SSD.
The main problem I have is when I tried to clone the drive to SSD it not even registering as a drive the same if I try doing a clean
install.
It shows as an available drive to clone to if I set it as a storage device but then when you attempt it it says not enough room even
though the drive has 127gb available and the drive being cloned only has bout 105gb on it.
Geethu B replied on
May 12, 2014
Microsoft
Support Engineer
Hi Luke,
Issues related to cloning drives are supported in TechNet Forums. I would suggest you to post the query in TechNet Forums.
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/home?category=w8itpro
Hope this information helps.

Hi!
If you have the possibility to do a clean installation, which I can see that you have, this is the best option.
What you need to do is to remove all drives from your computer, then connect the SSD only, enter BIOS and change the SATA Compability mode to AHCI.
Then install Windows to your drive and when completed, attach the other drives again.
I hope this helps!
Best regards
Andreas Molin
Andreas Molin | Site: www.guidestomicrosoft.com | Twitter: andreas_molin

Can i use an external hard drive in windows to add additional storage after my initial partition is set up. i want to add a 500 GB hard drive to use with my windows. I set windows up in boot camp with a 50 GB partition?

can i use an external hard drive in windows to add additional storage after my initial partition is set up. i want to add a 500 GB external hard drive to use with my windows. I set windows up in boot camp with a 50 GB partition? I now want to add another 500 GB?

Yes. Windows supports external USB drives.

Can I use one external hard drive for 3 of my Macs?

I have a 2007 white MacBook, a 2011 MacBook Pro, and a 2013 MacBook Air.
I want to be able to transfer all of my precious family photos off of my MacBook and Macbook Pro onto an external hard drive and then wipe those computers clean, and then I want to be able to backup and wipe clean my Macbook Air so that I can update it to Mavericks.
Can I use one external hard drive to do this for three of my Macs? Will it be compatible with all of them? And will I still be able to use the hard drive with my Air once it is updated to Mavericks?
Which hard drive do you recommend?

1. Yes. Note that anything you want to keep should be on at least two drives in case one of them fails.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
(110959)

How can I use my external hard drive for my iphoto instead of my mac book pro memory?

i don't know if this question has been asked before: how can I use my external hard drive for my iphoto instead of my mac book pro memory? just like itunes all my song are save on my external hard drive. make sense?

Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
LN

Can i use ANY external CD/DVD drive with the NEW mac mini?

We just got the newest Mac Mini and want to get an external drive for importing and burning CD's and DVD's.
Can we use ANY external CD/DVD drive or do we NEED to use the "Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive."
Thanks
Eliot

Maybe.
I've had some situations where a non-Apple DVD drive would not do a particular job. When I tried the same project with the Apple SuperDrive everything worked perfectly.
This is an area where I would not try to save money.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC684ZM/A

Can I use an external usb super drive on my iMac 10.6.8 ?

Can I use an external USB SuperDrive on my 10.6.8 iMac the internal drive is not working at all? Thank you.

DrGerega wrote:
Can I use an external USB SuperDrive on my 10.6.8 iMac the internal drive is not working at all? Thank you.
The answer is no unless you are willing to modify a system file. See this article. Read the entire thing and the comments before deciding if it is the route for you.
If it were me I'd go with Shootist's advice and get another brand--for the reasons he stated.
I have a SuperDrive that I use with my 2012 MBA but with my late-2012 27" iMac, which does not have an internal CD/DVD drive and therefore will work with the SuperDrive, I use a 3rd party that is both faster and cheaper than the SuperDrive.

Can you use a external hard drive to keep all your iTunes info on it

Can you use a external hard drive to keep all your iTunes info on it

Yes.
The easiest way is to copy the whole iTunes folder out to the external drive, then press and hold down shift as you click the icon to start iTunes. Keep holding shift until asked to "Create or choose a library". Choose the library on the external drive.
tt2

HT1766 Can you use an external hard drive to back up my movies in iTunes but still be able to access them or is there a device so I don't have to use a pc ??

Can you use an external hard drive to back up my movies in iTunes but still be able to access them or is there a device so I don't have to use a pc ??

You can store them on a separate hard drive, you don't need to keep them on your laptop's hard drive. On your computer's iTunes on the Advanced tab in Edit > Preferences there is a 'copy files to iTunes media file when adding to library' tickbox - if you untick that, you should be able to copy the films to a separate drive and add them back to your iTunes library (File > Add To Library) and it should then point to them on that separate drive and not copy them to your hard drive. When you are happy that it is what is happening and that they are safely on your external drive you can delete the films from your laptop's hard drive.
If you plug the external drive into a different USB port next time (assuming that your laptop has more than one) then it might get a different drive letter, so you might need to always use it with the same port.

Hey, can i clone my Macbook Pro internal hard drive and then paste it all onto a formated external hard drive, then make the Mac use the external as the primary hard drive?

hey, can i clone my Macbook Pro internal hard drive and then paste it all onto a formated external hard drive, then make the Mac use the external as the primary hard drive? please help for i only have around 618mb left out of 189GB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If what doesn't work?
If cloning your internal drive to the external drive is not successful, I expect CCC will tell you so. Assuming that doesn't happen, you will have a bootable replica of the internal drive on the external drive once CCC has finished.
You can then do any of several things:
1. Replace your internal drive with a much larger one (320GB or 500GB, or even larger), and clone the external drive's contents onto the new drive so you'll have all your data in one place. Note that if you do this, you'll also need to buy an external drive that's large enough to back the new internal drive up on.
2. Boot from the external drive as a temporary measure while you clear at least 30-40GB of data off the internal drive, allowing you to keep using it and saving small amounts of data to it. The external drive will then contain the only copies of the files you've deleted from the internal drive, so you'll need a seond external drive large enough to back both the other drives up on.
If you can't comfortably clear a minimum of 30GB off the internal drive, you really need a larger internal drive right now, and you shouldn't bother fooling around with the inadequate one you have — you'll just quickly overfill it again.
3. Replace the optical drive in your MBP with a large conventional hard drive, giving you two hard drives inside the machine. You will then need one or more external drives large enough to back up both of the internal drives.
If you sense a theme here — back up, back up, back up — you are correct. It's flat-out foolhardy to own or use a computer without maintaining complete, up-to-date backups of everything at all times.

Can I use an External hard drive and my computers hard drive for apple tv

Can I use an External hard drive and my computers hard drive for apple tv

If you mean to hold iTunes content to stream then the answer is yes. Your iTunes library folder and the media usually live in the same location, but media can be in a different or several different locations. The external drive wuld have to e connected and powered to stream media to AppleTV.

Can I use an external hard drive with my ipad 2

can I use an external hard drive with my ipad 2

There are WiFi enabled portable hard drives available that can stream media, such as music or video, to your iPad, but no external hard drive in the sense of how you would use one with a computer.

Can I use an external SSD drive as main drive?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for