Booting iMac from Samsung Portable SSD T1

[mac4sujit]

Hi All,

Hope you all are doing good.

As the subject says, I would like to know if it is possible to boot my late 2013 21.5" iMac from this SSD.

After a bit of research I found out that UASP support is necessary. Does Samsung Portable SSD T1 supports UASP ?

If not I can see some good youtube videos and links for setting this up with a USB (Cost effective) or Thunderbolt SSD enclosure. This will work with either Samsung 850 EVO or Pro as per the other forum topics.

What is your recommendation? I didn't find much information on this particular (Samsung Portable SSD T1) device. Hence posting it here to get some insight.

Thanks.

 

[Racineur]

Hello, don't know about all the tech issues you mention but this is exactly how it works for me. I have an external Samsung T1 SSD 250 g and Yosemite 10.5 installed on it and boot my Imac late 2013 either with Yosemite on the T1 or with Mountain Lion installed on the internal 1t fusion drive. No problems, no hassle, no beachballs, nothing. Works as intended since I still cannot decide between ML and Yo and I'm even not talking about EC which will probably end up on another T1. For what it's worth, ML has been rock solid with absoluetly no kernel panic or beachball whatsoever.

 

[dZp]

Does Samsung Portable SSD T1 supports UASP ?

Yes it does.

 

[mac4sujit]

Hello, don't know about all the tech issues you mention but this is exactly how it works for me. I have an external Samsung T1 SSD 250 g and Yosemite 10.5 installed on it and boot my Imac late 2013 either with Yosemite on the T1 or with Mountain Lion installed on the internal 1t fusion drive. No problems, no hassle, no beachballs, nothing. Works as intended since I still cannot decide between ML and Yo and I'm even not talking about EC which will probably end up on another T1. For what it's worth, ML has been rock solid with absoluetly no kernel panic or beachball whatsoever.

Thanks Racineur,

I would like to use EC on the T1 and would like it to start by default.

1. So the question is without any key press or prompts can I just boot in few seconds as if I had an internal SSD in my Mac ?

2. From the video demo of T1 it seems this drive forces you to create passwords. Does that mean you have to type a password at boot and then at OS again ?

Thanks.

 

[mac4sujit]

Yes it does.

Thanks dZo,
But does that mean booting from 850 EVO and T1 will make no difference to the user at all?

 

[atrebbi]

Yes it does.

I have a Samsung Portable SSD but it does not function after upgrading to El Capitan ; you mena your is functioning ?

 

[Racineur]

Hi again, I didn't use the Samsung apps coming with the T1. I ignored it and I didn't have to create a password. Some info on the Net about that. My experience with the T1 and Yosemite on it is excellent. No problem at all. Boots in a flash. No kernel panic. I can use some of my apps that reside on the internal FD of the iMac. Yosemite creates new preferences on the SSD. Couldn't say though about EC. From what I read, a real pain in the neck. So I don't upgrade to EC. But I admit, it's tempting knowing I just could wipe the T1 and go back to Yosemite since I kept the installer on an external HD.

 

[mac4sujit]

Hi again, I didn't use the Samsung apps coming with the T1. I ignored it and I didn't have to create a password. Some info on the Net about that. My experience with the T1 and Yosemite on it is excellent. No problem at all. Boots in a flash. No kernel panic. I can use some of my apps that reside on the internal FD of the iMac. Yosemite creates new preferences on the SSD. Couldn't say though about EC. From what I read, a real pain in the neck. So I don't upgrade to EC. But I admit, it's tempting knowing I just could wipe the T1 and go back to Yosemite since I kept the installer on an external HD.

Finally I got my T1 last month and used it as a USB drive. So far so good. But today I tried to set it up as external bootable drive to meet the purpose of my investment. I must say that I haven't been able to use this T1 drive on EC so far as it doesn't recognise it as a bootable drive.

I know this can be done (

) but not sure how. This video proves the fact that it can be done. But what exactly are the steps ?

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote above:
"But what exactly are the steps ?"

Here are the steps, exactly:

1. Download either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper.
CCC is FREE to download, and it's FREE to use for 30 days.
SD will create a full clone FOREVER without registering, but if you want to do incremental cloned backups, you need to register the app.

2. Connect the external drive.

3. Launch CCC (or SD). In CCC's window, the "source" drive should be on the left (your internal). The "target" drive should be on the right (your external).

4. Let CCC do its thing. It will take some time to copy everything over if you have a lot of stuff.

5. When done, SHUT DOWN the computer for a moment -- ALL THE WAY OFF.

6. Press the restart button. As soon as you hear the startup sound, hold down the option key and KEEP HOLDING IT DOWN until the startup manager appears.

7. You should see the icon for the external drive. Select it with the pointer and hit the return key.

8. If you have a good clone, you should now boot from the external drive. IT WILL LOOK EXACTLY AS YOUR INTERNAL DRIVE DID. After all, "it's a clone".
So ... go to "about this mac" (Apple menu) and make sure you're booted from the external drive.

9. Now go to the startup disk preference pane. Click the lock icon and enter your password, then click the icon for the external drive to select it to be the boot drive.

10. Now, restart one more time. Do you boot right up from the external drive?

If so, you're done.

 

[mac4sujit]

Thanks Fishrrman. That worked like a charm.
However it still takes about 29 seconds to open. If I take away my password typing delay then its 24 seconds.
What is your experience ? Can it be any faster to boot up?

I haven't tested any application yet though.

 

[Fishrrman]

Experiment:
Shut down, all the way off.

Press power-on button and after the startup sound, hold down the option key until the startup manager appears.

Click the icon for your external startup drive, and hit return.

As soon as you hit return, time the bootup process.

How long?

 

[mac4sujit]

As you can see in the video, it took about 16 seconds.

 

[mac4sujit]

Hi Fishrrman,

Is that the optimum performance you can get ?
My MBA mid 2012 boots up in 10 seconds. So was wondering.

Another question, is it possible to use the Mac internal drive as temporary storage ?

 

[Fishrrman]

Seems like El Capitan boots in about 12-13 seconds on my setup (from the time the apple first appears to the appearance of the login screen).

Could depend on the particular SSD, the enclosure/dock you have, etc.
Don't expect it to boot as quickly as the latest MacBook Pros with their VERY fast blade SSD's.

I have my internal drive partitioned into FIVE separate partitions:
- boot (CarbonCopyClone of my boot OS partition on SSD)
- main (main files: financial, tax, work, etc.)
- music
- media (photos, etc.)
- general (odds & ends storage)

Having the CCC clone on the internal drive gives me an immediately-accessible second boot source if for any reason I have trouble with the external booter. Actually, haven't had any.
BUT -- you ALWAYS want a second FULLY BOOTABLE drive easily available. You won't understand its value until you get into an "I can't boot!" moment.
Seen plenty of that here, with folks a-flippin' and a-floppin' around in all directions...