For a step-by-step tutorial on how to set up an external boot drive with Mac OS Mojave, check out the video tutorial in this article. If you are running a similar setup using solid state drives. To do this, open Disk Utility and connect the drive to your Mac. Under External in the left hand menu, click on your external hard drive and then click on the Erase button. Make sure you backup any data before you erase the drive. When you click Erase, a dialog will pop up where you can configure some options.
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- Plug-in your external drive to your MacBook Pro and select disk utility from options. Connect your external drive. Select drive and click partition type. Go over to the left side of the window that opens up and select your external. Select options and click on GUID partition.
- Connect new SSD and use Disk Utility to format it to Mac format (either HFS+ or APFS) 2. Download CarbonCopyCloner from here: (CCC is FREE to download.
Migration Assistant copies all of your files to your new Mac so that you don't have to copy your files manually.
- If your files are currently on a Windows PC, follow the PC migration steps instead.
- If your new Mac is using OS X Mountain Lion v10.8 or earlier, follow the Mountain Lion migration steps instead.
Check software, settings, and power
- Install all available Apple software updates on both Mac computers. Install any updates for your third-party apps as well.
- Make sure that your old Mac is using OS X Lion or later.
- Make sure that your old Mac has a computer name: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Sharing and check the Computer Name field.
- Connect both computers to AC power.
Connect the computers to each other
- If both computers are using macOS Sierra or later, just make sure that they're near each other and have Wi-Fi turned on. If either is using OS X El Capitan or earlier, connect them to the same network using Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
- Or connect them using target disk mode and the appropriate cable or adapter. Then start up your old computer in target disk mode.
- Or connect your new Mac to a Time Machine backup of your old Mac.
Use Migration Assistant
On your new Mac:
- Open Migration Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
- Click Continue.
- When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer from a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk.
- Click Continue.
On your old Mac:
If you started your old Mac in target disk mode or are migrating from a Time Machine backup, skip these four steps.
If you started your old Mac in target disk mode or are migrating from a Time Machine backup, skip these four steps.
- Open Migration Assistant.
- Click Continue.
- When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer to another Mac.
- Click Continue.
On your new Mac:
- When asked to select a Mac, Time Machine backup, or other startup disk, click the appropriate icon.
- Click Continue. You might see a security code.
On your old Mac:
If you started your old Mac in target disk mode or are migrating from a Time Machine backup, skip these two steps.
If you started your old Mac in target disk mode or are migrating from a Time Machine backup, skip these two steps.
- If you see a security code, make sure that it's the same code as on your new Mac.
- Click Continue.
On your new Mac:
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- Choose the backup to transfer information from.
- Click Continue.
Continuing on your new Mac:
- Select the information to transfer from the backup.
- Click Continue to start the transfer. If you have a lot of content, the transfer might take several hours to finish.
In the example above, John Appleseed is a macOS user account. If you transfer an account that has the same name as an account on your new Mac, you're asked to rename the old account or replace the one on your new Mac. If you rename, the old account appears as a separate user on your new Mac, with a separate home folder and login. If you replace, the old account overwrites the account on your new Mac, including everything in its home folder.
After Migration Assistant is done, log in to the migrated account on your new Mac to see its files. If you're not keeping your old Mac, learn what to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your old Mac.
By default, Mac starts from its built-in hard disk, but a startup disk can be any storage device that contains bootable contents that compatible with your Mac. For example, if you install macOS or Microsoft Windows on a USB drive, your Mac can recognize that drive as a startup disk. This guide provides 2 ways to boot a Mac from a USB flash drive.
Requirement
Starting up your Mac from an external disk requires the following: Word for mac trial version.
- Intel-based Mac.
- Bootable USB thumb drive formatted with a GUID partition type and containing an OS X installer or a usable operating system.
Let’s see how to boot a Mac from a bootable USB drive and what to do if your Mac doesn’t start up from it.
Way 1: Boot Mac from USB Drive using Startup Manager
Getting your Mac to load from a USB drive is fairly straightforward. Use the following steps, you can easily set Mac boot from an external drive in Startup Manager, so it’ll only boot from USB that one time.
Where is fn on mac keyboard. Step 1: Insert the USB boot media into a USB slot.
Step 2: Turn on your Mac (or Restart your Mac if it’s already on).
Step 3: Press and hold the Option key immediately after you see the Apple logo. Holding that key gives you access to OS X’s Startup Manager. Once the Startup Manager screen appears, release the Option key. The utility will look for any available drives that include bootable content.
Step 4: Using either the pointer or arrow keys on the keyboard, select the USB drive you wish to boot from. Once selected, either hit the Return key or double-click your selection. The machine will start to boot from the USB drive.
Way 2: Set a Mac Boot from USB Drive using Startup Disk
When you use Startup Disk preferences to set Mac boot from an external drive, so it’ll boot from that disk until you choose a different one. Here is how:
Step 1: Go to Apple menu > System Preference, then click Startup Disk.
Step 2: Click the locked icon and then enter your administrator password.
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Step 3: Select External drive as the startup disk, then restart your Mac.
What to do if your Mac does not boot from the selected drive
If you see a message prompts that your security settings do not allow this Mac to use an external startup disk, check the External Boot setting in Startup Security Utility, and then allow your Mac to use an external startup disk.
Step 1: Open Startup Security Utility.
Turn on your Mac, then press and hold Command (⌘) + R immediately after you see the Apple logo. Your Mac starts up from macOS Recovery. When you see the macOS utility window, choose Utilities > Startup Security Utility from the menu bar. When you’re asked to authenticate, click Enter macOS Password, then choose an administrator account and enter its password.
Step 2: Select “Allow booting from external media“.
If you want to select an external startup disk before restarting your Mac, quit Startup Security Utility, then choose Apple menu > Startup Disk.
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Note: If you’re using Boot Camp in a dual-boot Windows/OS X environment, you may be unable to boot negatively into supported versions of Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 10 operating systems installed on external USB hard drive.
Make sure disk has been formatted with a GUID partition type
Intel-based Macs support starting from an external USB storage device’s volume that has been formatted with a GUID partition type. If you wish to boot from the drive, it’s important to format the partition as “GUID Partition Table” rather than either of the other two ahead of time when you use that drive as a bootable drive.
Make sure your disk is bootable
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Volumes that aren’t bootable and don’t contain a copy of a valid operating system aren’t listed in Startup Disk or Startup Manager. Make sure the external drive you’re trying to start from contains a usable operating system.