best way to optimize external SSD

[TheRes0rector36]

Hey guys im new to the Mac computer world, iv had the phone for years but when the M1 came out I decided to take the leap a get one. I didn’t want to pay the bloated apple pricing for storage so bought an external SSD, Yesterday I finally decided to make it an external boot drive, worked like a charm but ran a speed test and was surprised at how SLOW it is after I converted it to a boot drive here are the number prior:

Exfat 1856 write / 2620 read

APFS 1924 write / 2633 read

all these numbers a after several sweeps or runs done using Black Magic speedtest. Now after I convert to the boot drive on the first sweep it looked fine it hit 1817 write / 2615 read. I was very pleased then noticed on the second sweep or run the numbers really dropped drastically 609 write / 349 read. Anyone have any idea why that is? I even erased the drive and went back to Exfat and the numbers went back up with no problem, then went back and made it an APFS and the numbers were still great but as soon as it turned back to a boot drive the numbers dropped back to those poor numbers. So is there a way to make my SSD the default storage drive without converting it into a boot drive or what's the best way to have it set up? sorry if its all jumbled together but I copied part of the reddit post I made yesterday but they were d!cks on there so I decided to come to this forum for help lol

 

[Apple_Robert]

Which model SSD did you get?

You really should be using the internal SSD for your main use. It is much faster than any external SSD.

 

[Juicy Box]

but ran a speed test and was surprised at how SLOW it is after I converted it to a boot drive

as it turned back to a boot drive

What do you mean when you say "converted" and "turned back to a boot drive"?

Do you mean you installed an OS on the external or cloned your internal drive (or some other boot drive) to your external drive?

If either is the case, the external drive is most likely indexing, which will make the drive overall slower until it is done. It usually takes a few hours to a day or two.

 

[TheRes0rector36]

What do you mean when you say "converted" and "turned back to a boot drive"?

Do you mean you installed an OS on the external or cloned your internal drive (or some other boot drive) to your external drive?

If either is the case, the external drive is most likely indexing, which will make the drive overall slower until it is done. It usually takes a few hours to a day or two.

I converted it back to a normal ssd non boot and the speeds pick right back up but as soon as I install the OS on it and use it to boot up the read and write speeds drop. I tried it several times and always with the same results

 

[TheRes0rector36]

Which model SSD did you get?

You really should be using the internal SSD for your main use. It is much faster than any external

Which model SSD did you get?

You really should be using the internal SSD for your main use. It is much faster than any external SSD.

I got a sabrent rocket xtrm-q 1TB. That’s why I was asking if there’s a way to set up the ssd to be the default HD.

 

[Juicy Box]

I converted it back to a normal ssd non boot and the speeds pick right back up but as soon as I install the OS on it and use it to boot up the read and write speeds drop. I tried it several times and always with the same results

Stop doing this.

but as soon as I install the OS on it and use it to boot up the read and write speeds drop.

Again, it is most likely because the external drive is indexing.

Indexing usually takes a few hours to a few days to complete. Once indexing is complete, the speed of the external drive will most likely improve, and you will be back up to the speeds prior to installing the OS.

Each time you wipe the drive and reinstall the OS, the indexing starts all over again.

So, stop wiping your drive. Be patient. Give the OS time to index.

If you leave your Mac on for a few days, and the speed has not improved, then there could be something else going on.

 

[TheRes0rector36]

Stop doing this.


Again, it is most likely because the external drive is indexing.

Indexing usually takes a few hours to a few days to complete. Once indexing is complete, the speed of the external drive will most likely improve, and you will be back up to the speeds prior to installing the OS.

Each time you wipe the drive and reinstall the OS, the indexing starts all over again.

So, stop wiping your drive. Be patient. Give the OS time to index.

If you leave

Stop doing this.


Again, it is most likely because the external drive is indexing.

Indexing usually takes a few hours to a few days to complete. Once indexing is complete, the speed of the external drive will most likely improve, and you will be back up to the speeds prior to installing the OS.

Each time you wipe the drive and reinstall the OS, the indexing starts all over again.

So, stop wiping your drive. Be patient. Give the OS time to index.

If you leave your Mac on for a few days, and the speed has not improved, then there could be something else going on.

Ok will do. So is there another way to turn the external ssd to your main storage drive without making it a boot drive? I know I can make it my download destination in safari or any other browser but what about like I said as my main

 

[nieks]

I didn’t want to pay the bloated apple pricing for storage so bought an external SSD,

So is there a way to make my SSD the default storage drive

I got a sabrent rocket xtrm-q 1TB.

I am so curious right now, so I've got a few questions:
- Which M1 Mac did you get?
- How much did you pay for the external disk?

Because if we assume you got yourself an M1 MacBook Air, you probably went for the cheapest option: the 999 edition.
List price of the external disk is 299, but I saw it on amazon for 200. So you paid 1200 dollars for your set up, which always involves a connected external disk, with which you now have the hassle of figuring out how to set things up properly.

You could have gone for the integrated 1TB SSD at apple, for which you would have paid 1399. This would have given you the fasted SSD option on a Mac there is, no fumbling with cables, and it would've saved you the hassle of making a bootable disk.

Oh and another question, why do you need the disk to be bootable? I don't get it, you want your Mac to run the OS on the external disk instead of the internal SSD? Why? Why not just use it as a normal external ssd, and place your documents and (photo and music) libraries on there?

 

[radus]

SSD980 pro 2TB
write 2681 read 2498
JEYI ThunderDock JHL7440

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"as soon as I install the OS on it and use it to boot up the read and write speeds drop. I tried it several times and always with the same results"

Wouldn't an external boot drive experience the same problem of "excessive writing to the disk" that seems to be a problem with the internal drive on m1 Macs?

Because of the fact that it WAS "a boot drive"?

Seems to me this is why the speed drops when you make the external a boot drive, vis-a-vis just using it as a data drive (the excessive swapping would then "go back" to the internal).

All that extra swapping would certainly "get in the way" of a utility designed to measure drive speeds...

 

[Juicy Box]

Hey guys im new to the Mac computer world

Based off of your posts, I am assuming you are new to computers in general?

There is nothing wrong with that, everyone starts somewhere.

Ok will do. So is there another way to turn the external ssd to your main storage drive without making it a boot drive?

For some apps, you can select a place to store data from the app.

Personally, I feel like this is not an ideal setup. Too much micromanaging.

Why not just continue using the external as your boot drive?

Wouldn't an external boot drive experience the same problem of "excessive writing to the disk" that seems to be a problem with the internal drive on m1 Macs?

Maybe, but I would bet on the indexing. This is a normal process after installing the OS, especially if one migrates a large amount of data over from another Mac, iPhone, etc..

It usually goes away in a few hours, but can take longer.

I have seen multiple threads with people experiencing the same exact issue after installing their OS. It usually gets back to full speed in less than a day.

Here is a thread from a few days ago with the same issues, just on a Fusion Drive:

1TB Fusion Drive 2013 27" after OS clean install - Terrible Performance

Just updated the OS with a clean install of Catalina for 27" iMac late 2013 i5. Original 1TB fusion drive and machine has been mine since brand new in Dec 2013. Performance of the fusion drive is appalling at about 20MB/s - TBH I never tested it before the reinstall of OSX. Apps like Word and...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Apple_Robert]

Indexing on an SSD is accomplished in a few hours not days.

 

[Fishrrman]

"Indexing on an SSD is accomplished in a few hours not days."

There is never a problem with "indexing" on my drives, because one of the very first things I do when setting up a new Mac is to TURN OFF Spotlight -- and leave it turned off... FOREVER.

I don't want it mucking with my drives..!

 

[Juicy Box]

Indexing on an SSD is accomplished in a few hours not days.

I covered that here:

It usually takes a few hours to a day or two.

Based off of what the OP said, it sounds like they are installing the OS, migrating their content, and immediately testing the speed of the external drive.

They get a speed much slower than prior to the OS install, then immediately wipes the external and reinstall the OS just to have the same stuff happen.

Rinse and repeat.

Another passport reason is maybe the external drive is being filled too much. I just assumed this was not the case, but I guess maybe it should be asked.

OP, how much free space is leave after the install and migration?

 

[TheRes0rector36]

I am so curious right now, so I've got a few questions:
- Which M1 Mac did you get?
- How much did you pay for the external disk?

Because if we assume you got yourself an M1 MacBook Air, you probably went for the cheapest option: the 999 edition.
List price of the external disk is 299, but I saw it on amazon for 200. So you paid 1200 dollars for your set up, which always involves a connected external disk, with which you now have the hassle of figuring out how to set things up properly.

You could have gone for the integrated 1TB SSD at apple, for which you would have paid 1399. This would have given you the fasted SSD option on a Mac there is, no fumbling with cables, and it would've saved you the hassle of making a bootable disk.

Oh and another question, why do you need the disk to be bootable? I don't get it, you want your Mac to run the OS on the external disk instead of the internal SSD? Why? Why not just use it as a normal external ssd, and place your documents and (photo and music) libraries on there?

I paid 200 for a TB and I got a Mac mini

 

[TheRes0rector36]

I covered that here:


Based off of what the OP said, it sounds like they are installing the OS, migrating their content, and immediately testing the speed of the external drive.

They get a speed much slower than prior to the OS install, then immediately wipes the external and reinstall the OS just to have the same stuff happen.

Rinse and repeat.

Another passport reason is maybe the external drive is being filled too much. I just assumed this was not the case, but I guess maybe it should be asked.

OP, how much free space is leave after the install and migration?

That’s correct Iv just been testing speeds after the transfers are done and I guess didn’t give it time to do the indexing. Like I said Iv got a few months ago mainly to learn some graphic design stuff since I got all this time on my hands cuz cuz of covid, all Iv Rea farted is about 60gb to the external ssd

 

[Mac... nificent]

You really should be using the internal SSD for your main use.

that's ridiculous and a matter of personal opinion.

 

[Apple_Robert]

that's ridiculous and a matter of personal opinion.

There is nothing ridiculous about using the internal SSD for main OS use. It doesn't make sense to buy a new M1 and then buy an SSD to boot from and use apps, while leaving the internal SSD unused.

It makes more sense to use the internal SSD for main OS use and then store important files on the external.

If you still think I am ridiculous, don't bother replying. I am not going to get into a debate other this.

 

[Mac... nificent]

Ok will do. So is there another way to turn the external ssd to your main storage drive without making it a boot drive?

I'm running a 2TB NVMe SSD as my main boot drive. No speed issues here. As Verticle Smile has mentioned above, it will take some time for the indexing to complete. Simply allow this to happen. I also have an external SSD on which I install all my programs on. When you install a new program it will (normally) ask you where to install it. Simply point to the external drive and give it permission to access the external drive.

BTW, welcome to the Mac computer world. You made the right decision ?

There is nothing ridiculous about using the internal SSD for main OS use.

Correct, and the same exact thing also applies to anyone using an external boot drive. Different people have different needs.

It doesn't make sense to buy a new M1 and then buy an SSD to boot from and use apps, while leaving the internal SSD unused.

Who said anything about leaving it unused? You could use it as an emergency recovery drive, or a drive to put media on, etc. Depends on each person's needs.

 

[Mr Screech]

Remember that for now, external boot drives on a M1 don't allow for reduced security.
This might clash with software/drivers you need.

 

[xraydoc]

I got a sabrent rocket xtrm-q 1TB. That’s why I was asking if there’s a way to set up the ssd to be the default HD.

What do you mean by default HD? On macOS, you can install an app any place you like. They don't have to go in the boot drive's Application folder. Just drop it from the installer disk image to wherever you want it to go. App Store apps will get installed on the boot drive but you can move them after the fact. You can continue to use the internal drive as the OS/boot drive and install larger apps onto the external drive and store any documents you need. You can also move your Photos library to the external drive if you wish (which can save a lot of space on the internal drive if you've got a big Photos library). Music and movies/TV libraries can also be moved.

 

[Mac... nificent]

What do you mean by default HD?

They probably mean the last drive that was booted from in Startup Disk.

 

[TheRes0rector36]

well some of you guys were right and I guess it just needed to do some I indexing cuz I just ran a speedtest today and to my surprise this thing is flying! 3039 write and 2956 read

 

[Juicy Box]

There could be all sorts of reasons for slow drive performance, but given the situation and your explanation, I think this is a good example of Occam's razor. The newly installed OS needs to index, and drive performance will suffer until it is done.

well some of you guys were right and I guess it just needed to do some I indexing cuz I just ran a speedtest today and to my surprise this thing is flying!

I am glad it worked out. Like I said, just be patient and it would most likely get back up to speed after the indexing is done.

3039 write and 2956 read

And much faster than it was before.


Welcome to Macs!