User profile for user: pvirgo
pvirgo Author
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boot from ssd

can I share the same ssd (with Catalina) between my iMac (late 2013) and my laptops (2019 MacBook Pro, and 2012 MacBook Pro)


Posted on Jan 4, 2023 04:09 PM

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User profile for user: Grant Bennet-Alder
Grant Bennet-Alder
User level: Level 10
138,635 points

Posted on Jan 4, 2023 05:05 PM

Yes, you can share that drive, even as a Boot drive, between that combination of Macs.


The 2019 model has a T2 chip, and you will need to change its settings to allow it to boot from an external drive.


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If that is a data-only drive, you can share any version of MacOS with any other version, except that Macs running earlier than 10.13 High Sierra may not recognize a newer Apple File System (APFS) formatted drive, because it is newer than they know about. Otherwise, any is compatible with any.

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User profile for user: Grant Bennet-Alder
Grant Bennet-Alder
User level: Level 10
138,635 points

Jan 4, 2023 05:05 PM in response to pvirgo

Yes, you can share that drive, even as a Boot drive, between that combination of Macs.


The 2019 model has a T2 chip, and you will need to change its settings to allow it to boot from an external drive.


--------

If that is a data-only drive, you can share any version of MacOS with any other version, except that Macs running earlier than 10.13 High Sierra may not recognize a newer Apple File System (APFS) formatted drive, because it is newer than they know about. Otherwise, any is compatible with any.

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boot from ssd

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