Migrating to external SSD and booting off that

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Ka_Bloom Author

Level 1

8 points

Migrating to external SSD and booting off that

Hi, my current computer is working, but is extremely slow at times, despite several attempts to speed it up.

(Mac Mini Late 2014, 500gb HDD, 4GB Ram, Dual core 1.4 GHz I5)

My current plan is to:

Buy a SSD
Migrate current machine to external drive using migration assistant
Boot off of the external drive (at least temporarily)

I've looked at other options, I don't feel comfortable replacing the drive myself.

The cost of paying someone else to do it seems exorbitant, especially as I'm not 100% sure this will make my computer as fast as I'd like.

My thinking is that if I try my method, worst case scenario I have a spare SSD lying around which I'm sure I can use.

My questions are:

Is my plan even possible?
Am I being silly? Are there options I'm missing, including just biting the bullet and buying a new machine?

Thanks

Mac mini, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 15, 2021 8:08 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

RUSD tech

Level 4

1,525 points

Jan 15, 2021 9:03 AM in response to Ka_Bloom

I have done this to my 2012 Mini that had the super slow spinning 1TB drives.

Using a Thunderbolt 1/2 Transcend or LaCie SSD drive as my boot and apps drive made a huge difference.

The internal 2x1TB spinning drives were used for photo / video archive.

Even did the same setup with my wife's 2012 iMac - she thinks it a newer machine because of the lack of spinning beach balls.

Prices on used LaCie and Transcend TB drives are dropping on the used market - I picked mine up for around $50 each (1TB SSD).

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Answer 2

tbirdvet

Level 6

14,483 points

Jan 15, 2021 9:41 AM in response to Ka_Bloom

I do this all the time. I would use Carbon Copy Cloner to make the external boot drive. Much easier to use. Be sure you use an enclosure that supports USB 3.0+ speeds with the SSD. A TB enclosure will not be much better using a standard SSD.

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Answer 3

Jan 15, 2021 11:10 AM in response to Ka_Bloom

One thing to note, is that your machine only has 4GB of RAM which

these days is somewhat anemic, especially if you have multiple programs

open or have lots of tabs/windows open with a web browser. What is

more unfortunate is that the RAM is not upgradable.

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Answer 4

Ka_Bloom Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 18, 2021 6:36 AM in response to woodmeister50

Cheers, that's my main worry as to whether it's worth it. I've learnt to never have too much open at once!

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Migrating to external SSD and booting off that

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