i have the iMac 5k and i am thinking to buy an external tb ssd to boot windows 8.1 from there. is really any success and simple way to install bootcamp on the external ssd like winclone that somebody mention? i have already installed with bootcamp win 8.1 to my 1tb fusion but the boot time is very slow 1.40 min.
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Booting Thunderbolt iMac from LaCie Rugged SSD
- Thread starter shelt
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I started using this external SSD solution about a year ago. I bought the LaCie Rugged 500 GB Thunderbolt and I use that as my main boot drive on my mid 2011 27" iMac i7 quad core, 2 gig video card, 32 GB ram.
Let me say that it has been working flawlessly up until Mac OS X update 10.10.5 and 10.11. When I installed those, it would boot up to a grey screen and the pointer was there and moveable but it wouldn't go any further. Good thing I had time machine backups. I could restore it back to 10.10.4 and all would work. Eventually I did a clean install of 10.11 and migrated all my files back in and now it works just fine. But for whatever reason it kept messing up on the updates.
I tried getting help from LaCie about the problems I was having and their response was that this drive is not intended to be used as a boot drive and I should go back to my internal and only use the SSD for storage.
Anyway, I am back up and running and loving the speed and performance of this setup.
Let me say that it has been working flawlessly up until Mac OS X update 10.10.5 and 10.11. When I installed those, it would boot up to a grey screen and the pointer was there and moveable but it wouldn't go any further. Good thing I had time machine backups. I could restore it back to 10.10.4 and all would work. Eventually I did a clean install of 10.11 and migrated all my files back in and now it works just fine. But for whatever reason it kept messing up on the updates.
I tried getting help from LaCie about the problems I was having and their response was that this drive is not intended to be used as a boot drive and I should go back to my internal and only use the SSD for storage.
Anyway, I am back up and running and loving the speed and performance of this setup.
Has anyone had heating issues?
I'm worried about the unit overheating if it's permanently in use, such as when used as a fusion drive.
I'm worried about the unit overheating if it's permanently in use, such as when used as a fusion drive.
No issues here, I must have the machine turned on running 24/7 for about three years or so!
Thank you for sharing.
I have a iMac mid 2011 that now needs an upgrade.
I was thinking about getting the Lacie rugged thunderbolt and change the internal HDD with an SSD samsung Evo 850 and clean install OS Sierra on it.
Any suggestion or issues with the new OS?
What about TRIM?
Thank you,
dk
I have a iMac mid 2011 that now needs an upgrade.
I was thinking about getting the Lacie rugged thunderbolt and change the internal HDD with an SSD samsung Evo 850 and clean install OS Sierra on it.
Any suggestion or issues with the new OS?
What about TRIM?
Thank you,
dk
Hey ya'll. I followed this thread for a long time, and back in June dove in and picked up a Monster Digital Overdrive 240GB to use an an external.
Paid 135 for it (same price now) and it was the best way to bring life to this old girl. (Mid 2011 27", 2.7 i5)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SBSLZXY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You can read my review on there (Kevin K), but I'm getting ~340 write, and ~440 read speeds.
Anyway, the reason I finally posted over here, is that I did an update to 10.12.2 today and a few things went weird. After the update did it's reboot, it actually started back on the internal drive, so almost everything on my computer had a ? instead of the correct icon. Took me a few minutes to figure that out, and then I rebooted and forced it to the external (holding option on boot up).
Now everything seems to be working, and all that, but my pictures, documents, movies, music folders where all empty. I backup with time machine so restoring them wasn't an issue, but I'm wondering if I did something wrong when setting those folders up that caused the OS to clear them. My internal is 2TB so I store all 4 of those folders on the internal. My main OS and most commonly used applications are on the MONSTER, and everything seems fine with all that.
Just curious if anyone has had an issue with the "personal" folders clearing like this.
Thanks!
Paid 135 for it (same price now) and it was the best way to bring life to this old girl. (Mid 2011 27", 2.7 i5)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SBSLZXY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You can read my review on there (Kevin K), but I'm getting ~340 write, and ~440 read speeds.
Anyway, the reason I finally posted over here, is that I did an update to 10.12.2 today and a few things went weird. After the update did it's reboot, it actually started back on the internal drive, so almost everything on my computer had a ? instead of the correct icon. Took me a few minutes to figure that out, and then I rebooted and forced it to the external (holding option on boot up).
Now everything seems to be working, and all that, but my pictures, documents, movies, music folders where all empty. I backup with time machine so restoring them wasn't an issue, but I'm wondering if I did something wrong when setting those folders up that caused the OS to clear them. My internal is 2TB so I store all 4 of those folders on the internal. My main OS and most commonly used applications are on the MONSTER, and everything seems fine with all that.
Just curious if anyone has had an issue with the "personal" folders clearing like this.
Thanks!
Last edited:
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d82k wrote:
"I have a iMac mid 2011 that now needs an upgrade.
I was thinking about getting the Lacie rugged thunderbolt and change the internal HDD with an SSD samsung Evo 850 and clean install OS Sierra on it."
My advice:
Leave the internal drive alone, don't open it. It's a delicate job and there's always the risk of breaking something inside.
However, DO consider an external thunderbolt drive, it will TRANSFORM the iMac, speed-wise.
You don't need to add a high-capacity external SSD. Either 240 or 480gb will do the job very well. No need to spend too much $$$ here. Again, even 240gb is fine.
Set it up to be "the external booter", with the OS, apps, and your accounts.
However, leave large libraries (such as movies, music or pics) on the internal drive, so they don't clog up the SSD. You want the SSD booter to remain "lean and clean", so it will stay running fast.
You'll have two drive icons to manage on the desktop, but that's no problem at all.
"I have a iMac mid 2011 that now needs an upgrade.
I was thinking about getting the Lacie rugged thunderbolt and change the internal HDD with an SSD samsung Evo 850 and clean install OS Sierra on it."
My advice:
Leave the internal drive alone, don't open it. It's a delicate job and there's always the risk of breaking something inside.
However, DO consider an external thunderbolt drive, it will TRANSFORM the iMac, speed-wise.
You don't need to add a high-capacity external SSD. Either 240 or 480gb will do the job very well. No need to spend too much $$$ here. Again, even 240gb is fine.
Set it up to be "the external booter", with the OS, apps, and your accounts.
However, leave large libraries (such as movies, music or pics) on the internal drive, so they don't clog up the SSD. You want the SSD booter to remain "lean and clean", so it will stay running fast.
You'll have two drive icons to manage on the desktop, but that's no problem at all.
Thank you all for your kind answers.
Yes def I would avoid opening it and disassembling it, too much work and prefere not mess up with it.
Thanks, how do I know if the SSD I have is compatible? it's a Samsung 850 EVO Basic - 500GB [ MZ-75E500B/EU ]
Thank you,
dk
Yes def I would avoid opening it and disassembling it, too much work and prefere not mess up with it.
Thanks, how do I know if the SSD I have is compatible? it's a Samsung 850 EVO Basic - 500GB [ MZ-75E500B/EU ]
Thank you,
dk
Hi Shelt,
how much did this LaCie ssd lasts you as external boot rom in the end?
Thank you