Complete step-by-step instructions for installing a new copy of macOS to an external disk, making it bootable. For Intel and M1 Macs of all flavours.
external drive
macOS 11.4 has finally fixed all the problems with installing current and older macOS on external disks, and booting an M1 Mac from them.
Big Sur 11.3 progresses support of external bootable disks by M1 Macs, but can still appear flawed and […]
How to measure read speed on storage using 1600 files totalling over 320 GB, enabling comparison between internal and external SSDs.
Is it possible to update a bootable external SSD connected to an M1 Mac from 11.2.1 to 11.2.2? A quest through nearly 60 GB of macOS updates in less than 4 weeks.
Fast compact external SSDs are prone to thermal throttling. This is demonstrated during tests writing 96 files, when transfer rates fell from 2 GB/s to around 700 MB/s.
Although little more expensive than good Thunderbolt 3 cables, what are the differences in Thunderbolt 4? When do you need a new TB4 cable?
Making an external bootable SSD for an M1 Mac has proved tricky. Has this changed in macOS 11.2? If you’ve already got 11.1 running on one, how do you update it to 11.2?
If you’ve been unable to create a bootable external disk to use with your M1 Mac, this explains what you need and its limitations and quirks.
Connecting external storage to the USB-C ports on an external display is a great idea until the display goes to sleep.
