MacMini with new SSD startup drive

I have recently added an external 256G SSD drive to use as a boot drive with my mac mini. I installed a new system on the SSD and added a user with the same name etc as that on the existing internal hard drive. After booting from the new drive in Users & Groups I used Advanced options to select the Home Folder on the internal drive. I had loaded Applications to the SSD and expected all files etc to be saved, downloaded etc to the internal drive.
That sort of happens but I find the I now have two conflicting Desktops. The desktop that I see with all of the icons (i.e.not in a window) is that of the internal HD. The desktop that appears in the Sidebar is that on the SSD. Choosing Desktop as asave location in dialog boxes sometimes gives me the internal drive, sometimes the SSD.
What should I do to ensure that there is only one Desktop, and that it will be consistent across all applications, sidebar etc.
Thanks

Whew, no idea why it'd be inconsistent!???
Next time it happens click on the Apple icon at top left & see which drive it thinks it's booted from.

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Permissions problem with new SSD boot drive

I recently installed an OWC SSD drive as a boot drive on an iMac I've had for many years. I’m having some sort of permissioning error that I can’t figure out how to resolve.
I’ve setup the SSD as the boot drive (created user named “Boot Admin”). 10.9.3. All data and files remain on my old spinning disk
When the computer first boots, as expected, I’m presented with 2 users at the login screen (“Boot Admin”; Original User Account). If I choose my old user account, I receive the following error:
"You are unable to log in to the user account “<name of original user account>" at this time. Logging in to the account failed because an error occurred.”
If I choose the Boot Admin user I’m able to login without issue as the Boot Admin user (no access to my original apps and data). At that point, I can choose Log Out from the Apple menu and then login using my old user account. When I follow that sequence, I’m able to login with no issues. Apps are there, data is accessible etc. I can enjoy the speed of the SSD.
Although, if browse within Finder to the Boot Admin user on the hard drive, none of the folders are accessible (the little red icon is on the folders). Similarly, if I boot straight into the Boot Admin user and browse to my original User on the hard drive, none of its folders are accessible!
I am at a loss on how to troubleshoot. Ideally, I would like to login in directly to my old user account (eliminate the 2 step — login to Boot Admin, log out, login to Original User) and have full file access to things within both the Boot Admin user and my original user account.
Any guidance or tips on how to troubleshoot? thanks in advance

I appreciate the continued assistance. I'm clearly overlooking something and Google is not my friend! I've tried.
At the expense of repeating myself, I'll share my current configuration:
10.9.3
2 hard drives (new SSD with name "Boot Drive" and original spinning disk "Macintosh HD")
Startup Disk in System Preferences is "Boot Drive"
"Macintosh HD" has 3 User Folders: bootadmin, jayelevy, shared
jayelevy is my home folder - all my documents are in tact
bootadmin has the normal home folder structure
"Boot Drive" has 3 User Folders: bootadmin, jayelevy, shared
jayelevy is empty; no folders
bootadmin has the normal home folder structure (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Movies, etc), but each is empty with the exception of Movies and Pictures. I've moved my Aperture databases to these 2 folders to take advantage of the speed of the SSD
When I restart the iMac I'm presented with 2 user choices: jayelevy and bootadmin
If I initially select jayelevy, I receive the error mentioned at the start of the thread
If I initially select bootadmin, I can login without issue, but get the standard Mac desktop (not my home).
If I then log out of bootadmin (not restart, but logout) and then choose jayelevy, the signin completes successfully and my desktop/home folder is restored to it's normal and expected condition.
I am still trying to avoid this step of login/logout/login.
I imagine I'm overlooking the obvious, but I'm in uncharted grounds for me! Here I thought the hardware swap to replace my optical drive with SSD would be the hard part. That was simple! I've stumbled on the software side!

HT1338 Can't start up from new SSD hard drive

Hello,
I installed a new SSD hard drive in MacBook Pro, but can't select it as my start up disk. I get the message "You can’t change the startup disk to the selected disk. The bless tool was unable to set the current boot disk."
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I swapped my HD in my MBP for a SSD (samsung 840 pro) last week. I took a different approach: a clean install.
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So, I am completely stuck.
My plan;
Mac Pro (2008) with RAID card. 4x750Gb drives as RAID5, Home Folder is resident there at 1.25Tb.
Purchased 160Gb SSD. Performed clean install of 10.6.7 on it connected by e-SATA.
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50% success but many of the sub folders in ~Library are locked with permissions. Preferences, Mail etc.
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Cheers

Hi all,
I just went through a similar issue and solved it with a little persistance.
Follow these steps:
1) All you need to do is cmd + i or "get info" on the folders you want access to
2) in the bottom right of the window that pops up click the small padlock symbol
3) enter your password (the login password for you mac) to "authenticate"
4) Click the arrow by "sharing and permissions" to open that drop down
5) click the + button in the bottom left corner
6) in the new window that pops up click administrator or your specific user (both work fine)
7) when it adds that user click the "privilege" and choose Read & Write
Hey presto, when you refresh the finder window the folder will be accessilble!!!
Yay

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i am new in lenovo forum.
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My late 2012 mac mini boots slow with new ssd drive

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Yes, my solution fixed the issue. I went from a 47 to 53 second boot time to a 17 second boot time. The ssd drive is significantly faster than the original drive that came with my late 2012 mac-mini. This is my first post and I wasn't sure how to post this as a tip. I have another tip regarding usb 3.0 hubs.

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Hi badgerbuzz,
I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publically post ( serial numbers and case details).
If you are unfamiliar with how the Forum's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.
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I've seen some of the threads on drive transfer but wanted to get more input. I currently have late 2008 Macbook Pro with 750gb hard drive running Lion latest version. I bought a new Mac Mini i7 with dual 500 gb drives. I also have new SSD 512gb. I want to use SSD as boot drive for Mac Mini and install 750gb drive as 2nd drive. I know how to remove and install the drives. What is best sequence, software and procedure to execute the exchange? Any help would be greatly appreciated in advance.

Hello,
Not clear on your circumstances, but...
Best way to get an exact bootable copy of your old drive to the new one is with Carbon Copy Cloner...
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html

Cannot boot with new SSD

Installed new OWC 240G SSD in 2007 iMac. Started up with old HD in external case running OS 10.10.2. Initialized SSD with Disk Utilities, and it mounted on the desktop. Transferred contents from old HD to new SSD. Computer boots fine from old HD in external case, but does not boot with internal SSD. After displaying Apple symbol for a few seconds of the startup process, computer goes to a kernel panic and gets into a loop of retry message-Apple symbol-message-etc. The SSD shows on the desktop, but does not show as a startup disk in System Preferences pane. Disk Utilities shows drive is fine, but repair of permissions is grayed out. Window says permissions repair is only permitted on OS installed with an Apple installer. System folder on the SSD does not show the "blessed" symbol. Have tried recloning using Time Machine backup - same result. Installed eDrive on SSD with TechToolsPro, and can start up in eDrive thru TTP window, thus verifying all cabling. After booting with original internal HD installed in external case, SSD will show on desktop, but will disappear in a few minutes after a message says it was improperly ejected. Suggestions? Is there a way to access OS 10 software purchased and downloaded from Apple site?

Many possibilities here. Maybe a bad connection when you installed the drive. Maybe a bad drive. Maybe a bad SATA cable.
How did you format the drive? Should be Mac OS Extended Journaled. When you boot into the recovery drive, access disk utility from there and see if you can access the drive.
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You can still download the Yosemite installer from the App Store in your purchases providing you downloaded it from the App Store already.

Mountain Lion and Mavericks with new SSD

I tried Yosemite on my MBA (mid-2011) and lost my hard drive. Apple replaced it with an SSD at no charge
since my Apple Care had only recently expired. Now I need to find my 2013 tax return on my Seagate
external hard drive but cannot find it on Time Machine backups. Can you help me?
The lost hard drive was using Mountain Lion. The new SSD has Mavericks.

Well, the only place for your records would be on your backup(s). The hard drive was replaced, so there is nothing there unless Apple restored all your data from your old drive to the new one after the replacement. If they didn't, then your only hope is your backup.

T410 will not boot with new SSD

I've cloned my HDD to a new SSD, but it will not boot. It goes into a Lenovo Think Bios splash screen / Black screen loop. I booted off a repair disk and performed a repair, but it is still doing the bios loop thing. This has happened with both an OCZ and a Kingston SSD. Any ideas? Thanks...
Solved!
Go to Solution.

I'm going to venture a guess that the drive was not cloned properly.
The "new" drive must be in the machine's HDD bay, and the "old" one in the USB enclosure.
I always use Clonezilla for the rare occasions that I actually clone something, but Acronis should do just fine as well.
Good luck.
Cheers,
George
In daily use: R60F, R500F, T61, T410
Collecting dust: T60
Enjoying retirement: A31p, T42p,
Non-ThinkPads: Panasonic CF-31 & CF-52, HP 8760W
Starting Thursday, 08/14/2014 I'll be away from the forums until further notice. Please do NOT send private messages since I won't be able to read them. Thank you.

Upgraded hardware, and went from XP to Win7 - how do I transfer/install CS5 onto new SSD hard drive?

I recently upgraded all my computer internals; new mobo, Samsung SSD (solid state drive), CPU and ram. Also went from XP Pro to Win 7 Pro, with Win 7 Pro now residing on the new solid state drive. I still have the old 1TB Serial ATA hard drive connected as a storage device, and this is where CS5 resides. But of course, my CS5 applications are now unusable.
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Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Dave F. in Rhode Island

don't transfer, reinstall.
if you need to reset your activation count, contact adobe support - http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/service1.html
Downloads available:
Suites and Programs: CC 2014 | CC | CS6 | CS5.5 | CS5 | CS4 | CS3
Acrobat: XI, X | 9,8 | 9 standard
Premiere Elements: 12 | 11, 10 | 9, 8, 7
Photoshop Elements: 12 | 11, 10 | 9,8,7
Lightroom: 5.5 (win), 5.5 (mac) | 5.4 (win), 5.4 (mac) | 5 | 4 | 3
Captivate: 8 | 7 | 6 | 5
Contribute: CS5 | CS4, CS3
Download and installation help for Adobe links
Download and installation help for Prodesigntools links are listed on most linked pages. They are critical; especially steps 1, 2 and 3. If you click a link that does not have those steps listed, open a second window using the Lightroom 3 link to see those 'Important Instructions'.

Installed new SSD boot drive, Time Machine won't backup

I installed a new 240 GB SSD boot drive (cloned using Super Duper) in my Mac Pro and want to use it as my startup disk. When I boot up using the new 240 SSD drive and try to start Time Machine to back it up onto a 500GB external drive it tells me it failed because the estimated backup size is over 2 TB. I suspect that Time Machine still has the last backup from my old boot drive, which was a 3TB hard drive. I go to Options and tell it not to back up any of my other hard drives but that doesn't help. So now what? How can I get rid of the last backup, which was from my 3 TB hard drive, so that I can backup a 240 GB SSD on a 500 GB external drive? Or is it another problem? Help!! Thanks!!

Problem solved, wasn't using Options/Exclude items properly.

Macbook pro new ssd hard drive upgrade

Hi
i have a 2011 Mac book pro with a 320g hard drive. just purchased a samsung ssd 840 evo 250g hard drive that i want to upgrade.
i am backing up my current hd using time machine on a external hd drive i have .
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or is their something im forgetting to do ?
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The easiest way to do this would be to put the new drive in an external enclosure and use Carbon Copy Cloner to copy the old drive to the new one.
http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-Inch-Aluminum-Enclosure-EC-TB4P/dp/B005EIGUD4/ ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1395884125&sr=8-3&keywords=2.5+enclosure
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Cannot partition nor erase new SSD hard drive

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Do I understand correctly that you're replacing the new machine's original hard drive with this SSD? If so, here's a different approach to installing the OS on it:
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MacMini with new SSD startup drive

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