Macs will not boot from an external drive

Stefan Mileschin · 26th May 2021, 07:18

Keeping backups in house

The ability to boot from an external drive on an Apple Silicon Mac may not be an option for much longer, with the creation and use of the drives apparently being phased out by Apple, according to developers of backup tools.

Mike Bombich, the founder of Bombich Software behind Carbon Copy Cloner, wrote in a May 19 blog post that the company will continue to make bootable backups for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, and will "continue to support that functionality as long as macOS supports it".

However, with changes in the way a Mac functions with the introduction of Apple Silicon, the ability to use external booting could be limited, in part due to Apple's design decisions.

The first problem is with macOS Big Sur, as Apple made it so macOS resides on a "cryptographically sealed Signed System Volume" which could only be copied by Apple Software Restore. While CCC has experience with ASR, the tool was deemed to be imperfect, with it failing "with no explanation" and operating in a "very one-dimensional" way.

https://fudzilla.com/news/52924-macs...external-drive

26th May 2021, 07:18	#1
Stefan Mileschin [M] Reviewer Join Date: May 2010 Location: Romania Posts: 148,902	Macs will not boot from an external drive Keeping backups in house The ability to boot from an external drive on an Apple Silicon Mac may not be an option for much longer, with the creation and use of the drives apparently being phased out by Apple, according to developers of backup tools. Mike Bombich, the founder of Bombich Software behind Carbon Copy Cloner, wrote in a May 19 blog post that the company will continue to make bootable backups for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, and will "continue to support that functionality as long as macOS supports it". However, with changes in the way a Mac functions with the introduction of Apple Silicon, the ability to use external booting could be limited, in part due to Apple's design decisions. The first problem is with macOS Big Sur, as Apple made it so macOS resides on a "cryptographically sealed Signed System Volume" which could only be copied by Apple Software Restore. While CCC has experience with ASR, the tool was deemed to be imperfect, with it failing "with no explanation" and operating in a "very one-dimensional" way. https://fudzilla.com/news/52924-macs...external-drive

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
How to Boot a Linux Live USB Drive on Your Mac	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	6th April 2015 06:01
How to Boot Linux ISO Images Directly From Your Hard Drive	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	29th September 2014 09:58
Install Windows 8 from a USB Drive, Dual-boot with XP, Vista and 7	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	13th June 2012 08:40
Kingston SSDNow V Series 30GB Boot Drive	jmke	WebNews	0	17th April 2010 11:34
Kingston SSDNow V Series 30GB Boot Drive	jmke	WebNews	0	10th March 2010 16:08
Kingston SSDNow V Series 40GB Boot Drive	jmke	WebNews	0	19th November 2009 08:39
Kingston SSDNow V 40GB Boot Drive SSD	jmke	WebNews	0	11th November 2009 14:47
Kingston SSDNow V Series 40GB Boot Drive Review	jmke	WebNews	0	30th October 2009 09:04
Microsoft and Samsung ready fast flash boot drive	jmke	WebNews	0	7th May 2006 23:18
Intel Macs May Boot Windows XP After All	jmke	WebNews	2	17th January 2006 11:47