Installing Big Sur on an external SSD

4 Apr 2021 16:24:56

Michael Corgan

I have installed a copy of Big Sur onto a new SSD but it won't boot. I asume it is because there is nothing in the Users folder and I don't know how to add a user to that drive. When I re-start, holding down "Alt", the SSD is not among the drives shown.

I have tried copying the User folder, the indivdual 'Michael Corgan" sub-folder and for luck, some applications, from my existing Big Sur partition on my iMac to the new drive, but none are accepted. Users and Groups in System Preferences shows me as Admin, and I can boot into the El Capitan partition on the Mac with no problem. How do I add the necessary User details to allow me to use the SSD?

During the installation of Big Sur (downloaded from the Apple Store) there was no point at which adding a User came up. Have I missed it somehow?

Re: Installing Big Sur on an external SSD

5 Apr 2021 12:57:25

Tony Still

I have not ventured near Big Sur yet but the inimitable Howard Oakley has been playing with bootable external drives (albeit he has the additional complication of using an Apple Silicon Mac). He has written several columns on the subject, you might get some inspiration from this one.