can't install Ventura on external SSD

Question

Level 1

5 points

can't install Ventura on external SSD

Hi,

I have a MacBook Pro M2 and I am trying to install Ventura onto and external SSD. It starts the download, then says that I don't have enough free space to install it. It is a new built SSD with 2 terabytes I formatted the SSD with APFS and GUID Scheme...I am using a thunderbolt 3 cable which I have tried in both slots. Is there something I am missing. Also, I am brand new to Macs/Apple, so please be detailed in any help. Thanks.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 13.1

Posted on Jan 17, 2023 02:21 PM

Reply

Answer 1

bruno75

Community Specialist

Jan 18, 2023 05:29 PM in response to myadonai777

Hey there myadonai777,

We'd like to help by providing the steps to make a macOS Ventura bootable drive: Create a bootable installer for macOS You mentioned that it's a 2TB drive, newly formatted, so none of the storage is being used. That being said, we also find it odd that your Mac is saying it doesn't have enough storage, as 2TB is plenty for what you're trying to do.

With the above details in mind, we'd like to confirm more details to better understand what's happening, along with ruling out some other possible causes:

When did this first start to occur, or is this the first time you're using your external drive to create a macOS Ventura bootable?
Sometimes unexpected behavior can be resolved with a restart. Check out the section ‘Restart your Mac' here: Log out, sleep, wake, restart, or shut down your Mac
Have you already tested a different external drive to see if you're able to create a macOS Ventura bootable?

Cheers!

Reply

can't install Ventura on external SSD

Similar questions