How do you live with a small amount of SSD?

[artinnj]

Hi all. Since the new minis make us suffer through the T2 chip, I wanted to know how people are getting by on small amounts of SSD. I have a 3rd gen Mac Pro and can't afford the jump to the new beast. I don't want to pay the Apple tax for going to a 2Tb internal SSD on the device.

Ideally, I would like to keep just the macOS on the internal drive and have an external SSD via thunderbolt to store the user file and if possible the apps. I want to reinstall the OS and set up the user accounts on the external drive and then restore the user files via Time Machine.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to do this (if at all possible)? I would possibly consider a NAS if people have a way of doing that.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Fishrrman]

On the internal boot SSD:
- OS
- apps
- "basic" accounts (less stuff noted below)

On EXTERNAL drive(s), which can be either HDD or SSD:
- movies
- pictures
- music

I'll reckon that 75% of the users who pay through the nose for 1tb or even 2tb internal SSDs from Apple, store next-to-nothing of consequence on those drives.

 

[getrealbro]

I run my 2018 i7 Mini w/ 256GB SSD & 32GB RAM just like Fiserrman describes.

I have always kept my System/Apps and Data in separate partitions. So when I got the 2018 Mini I cloned my 2104 Mini’s 1TB HDD to two partitions on a 1TB Samsung T5. Then I cloned the System partition on the T5 to the 256GB SSD on my 2108 Mini. I left/use the Data partition on the T5. This leaves the unmounted System partition on the T5 as a bootable backup system in case I do something stupid

GetRealBro

 

[timidpimpin]

OS and Apps on the SSD. Everything else on an external. Meaning personal files, and any files you create with apps or download.

I have an 09 mini I can put any size SSD in, but I choose to only use a 120GB, because it will never need more than 20-25GB for my OS and apps. The more empty an SSD, the faster and healthier it will be.

You shouldn't be keeping all your things on your boot drive to begin with. Even if you boot from a large drive. It's best to keep your OS drive pure and clean.

 

[opeter]

I have a Mac mini with 128 GB internal and 480 GB external SSD (USB-C) + additional two external HDDs for archive (USB 3.0).

I am using it the following way:

• on internal SSD, I have the OS, Apps and the actual ongoing project
• external SSD: some Apps, that don't need to be on the internal SSD, some things like the mail folder etc., bootcamp partition
• external HDDs for backup, the smaller HDD is for time machine (and a cloned macOS partition for disasters situation) and archive of documents

I do make a 8,5 GB DVDs (2 copies) for the projects, that were finished and wont need/open anymore. For this I am using an external DVD-burner.

 

[Ungibbed]

Have a 240GB SSD on my 2012 Mini and saving and gaining the courage to upgrade it to some serious storage soon. Just have to study the upgrade guide from ifixit as I would like to have two internal SSD’s

Right now I have just my basic apps and Catalina install. Have all my data on a 2GB spinner and another archive backup on a 500GB spinner. Would like to retire these HDD’s eventually.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

.

 

[jeyf]

i have a iMac with half a TB and it works just fine.
I put everything on a local home network NAS (s) box. I have a private vpn into my home network if i am mobile.

i do not even backup my computers. If they die i still have all my active work on my home NAS box and it is backup to a second local NAS box. I avoid the cloud.

putting work on a local computer is an invitation to disaster.

 

[astrorider]

Not using the internal 128GB drive at all since everything fits and runs great on the external SSD (OWC 2TB Thunderbolt 3)

 

[dandeco]

I put a 960 GB SSD in my quad-core 2012 Mac Mini; it was just over $100 but not too bad a price for me. For my late 2009 polycarbonate MacBook I went with a 256 GB SSD, because that's only my machine for when I am at my college or on the go elsewhere, and if I'm going to do any digital media production I'd use an external hard drive. Same with my Mac Mini; when I do audio and video production I have a couple of 2 TB 7200RPM drives hooked up via USB 3.0.

 

[Reflej0]

Hi, it is related to the consumption of each person's personal space.
I think that with 128 GB today is insufficient for anyone.
The 256GB option is the minimum acceptable option.
I think the option you should take (without knowing your use) is 256GB or 512GB
(512GB being more secure) after the typical use of an external disk (be it HDD, SSD or SSD NVME) for data storage.
In a few days I will buy a SATA to USB 3.1 C adapter (No thunderbolt 3, since it is very expensive) and I will try.

 

[Strangedream]

My MBP has a small internal SSD (only 512GB) which stores

• OS
• Documents
• Apps
• Pictures (only personal ones)
• Movies (intended to be viewed soon)
• Save games

I also have an average-sized external Samsung T5 (1TB) which stores

• Documents (backup)
• Games
• Pictures (full library)
• Movies (intended to be viewed later)
• Music (full library)
• Save games (backup)

Oh and I also have a 512GB iPad Pro which stores

• iOS
• iOS Apps
• Pictures (full backup)
• Music (full backup)

While I do keep all my music (312GB library), I tend to delete my movies after I watch them. Only cult movies or movies that I really like a lot stay on the external SSD. I also have a 2nd document backup on iCloud and a 3rd one on OneDrive.

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

I run Mac OS on an external thunderbolt enclosure (from AliExpress) with a 512GB NVMe SSD. I used my internal 256GB SSD for Bootcamp (Windows 10). Then a 6TB External USB 3.0 HDD for storage (ext format to access from both OS's)

 

[harriska2]

I put all my data on a 10tb usb3 drive. Music and photos are ‘moved’ to the external. I use symlinks on finder favorites.

 

[macintoshmac]

I used to have two 1TB HDDs in a hackintosh setup, where one was dedicated to Mac OS X and the other to Windows. Then when I got a MacBook Pro it was cut down to a 750GB HDD, and I replaced that with a 256GB SSD in 2013. Till today I have had computers with 256GB SSD, and I have about 140GB always free on these. I have data stored on external drives and some in iCloud such as photos and about a gigabyte in iCloud Drive that is stored in Desktop and Documents. I have not felt the need of a larger system disk, though I have found the need of more storage, which I alleviate through purchasing another disk.

I have a 1TB disk dedicated to Carbon Copy Cloner backups, a 2TB disk and two 1TB disks that together hold software images, movies, Apple photo library backups among other backups, and RAW image library, etc.

The laptop contains things I need everyday or frequently, and would like to have available whenever, wherever.

That said, I think 512GB is a comfortable minimum that should be on offer today, especially for the price Apple charges.

 

[dryjoy]

I have several external drives. The OS, apps and a basic admin account are on the internal 512GB SSD (loads of room left).

My regular user account folder and all documents, photos downloads etc are on an external drive - this works well and there is an option to relocate your home folder in system prefs.

I have another separate drive for audio for Logic and another one (6TB) for backup. It’s a good setup, although I do miss having four internal drives on my old Mac Pro.

 

[avkills]

I am going to try something new and have my work stuff on DropBox which should make it easy to ping pong from one machine to the next.

Right now I am just using the internal drive for everything; but have a backup on an external. Work projects get backed up to external drives pretty often, so I generally only have 3-4 projects on hand at a given time.

 

[teksurv]

I use the internal 256GB SSD for the OS and some music. I use an external USB-C 4TB SSD for movies. I have a portable 4TB spinner for backups.

 

[bigfatipod]

Have a 240GB SSD on my 2012 Mini and saving and gaining the courage to upgrade it to some serious storage soon. Just have to study the upgrade guide from ifixit as I would like to have two internal SSD’s

Right now I have just my basic apps and Catalina install. Have all my data on a 2GB spinner and another archive backup on a 500GB spinner. Would like to retire these HDD’s eventually.

Last year, I replaced my i7 2012's fusion drive with two 2TB SSDs. I'm been extremely happy with the mini and have delayed upgrading to the 2018 because of it. I think 2TB SSDs these days can go for about $200 each, so its pricey but not the worst thing.
Plus, when I do upgrade down the road, I would pull at least one 2TB ssd out and use it as an external drive.

 

[Ungibbed]

Last year, I replaced my i7 2012's fusion drive with two 2TB SSDs. I'm been extremely happy with the mini and have delayed upgrading to the 2018 because of it. I think 2TB SSDs these days can go for about $200 each, so its pricey but not the worst thing.
Plus, when I do upgrade down the road, I would pull at least one 2TB ssd out and use it as an external drive.

Was the surgery a major thing? I’m afraid of destroying my Mini. Years ago I did upgrade an Aluminum PB G4 HDD and thankfully, I had the time and patience to perform that job successfully (thanks to an ifixit guide). Looked at the one for my i5 Mini and it looks terrifying!

 

[timidpimpin]

Was the surgery a major thing? I’m afraid of destroying my Mini. Years ago I did upgrade an Aluminum PB G4 HDD and thankfully, I had the time and patience to perform that job successfully (thanks to an ifixit guide). Looked at the one for my i5 Mini and it looks terrifying!

The 2012 mini is one of the easiest to get into. If you were able to replace a HDD in a PBG4 then you're good to go. Be sure to follow a guide like before. The mini will be much easier to upgrade.

 

[Ifti]

I have a 1TB SSD in my MBP, but I literaly only useless then 50GB. This store just the OS, my applications, and some of my documents.
Everything else is stored on external TB3 drives or my NAS.

 

[Bandaman]

You shouldn't be keeping all your things on your boot drive to begin with. Even if you boot from a large drive. It's best to keep your OS drive pure and clean.

Why? There’s literally no benefit to doing that. You can still keep a back up of everything. Apple makes that incredibly easy with Time Machine. There’s no benefit to a “pure and clean” drive except for maybe appeasing an OCD.

 

[bigfatipod]

No,

Was the surgery a major thing? I’m afraid of destroying my Mini. Years ago I did upgrade an Aluminum PB G4 HDD and thankfully, I had the time and patience to perform that job successfully (thanks to an ifixit guide). Looked at the one for my i5 Mini and it looks terrifying!

It wasn't too bad. I had watched some videos from OWC and that was great preparation. I actually had a second Mac that allowed me to replay the video while I did the surgery - I would really recommend doing it that way (or on your phone).
My biggest issue is that I try to do things quickly, so often I leave out a screw and have to go back in afterwards to put it back.

I definitely recommend taking an external backup of your data before opening it up.

 

[Ungibbed]

No,

It wasn't too bad. I had watched some videos from OWC and that was great preparation. I actually had a second Mac that allowed me to replay the video while I did the surgery - I would really recommend doing it that way (or on your phone).
My biggest issue is that I try to do things quickly, so often I leave out a screw and have to go back in afterwards to put it back.

I definitely recommend taking an external backup of your data before opening it up.

Think I might after I get some study on the subject. I do back up often to a 2GB spinner.