Install to USB HDD

[Azzin]

Gurus,

Although I've got a Time Capsule with up to date backups, I don't really have the time for any potential dramas, so I'd like to install Yosemite, but run it off a USB HDD.

I presume it is simply a case of choosing which drive to boot from (internal MBP SSD or USB with Yosemite)?

I've seen various references to using this method, but all have slightly different 'experiences', so I wondered if there is a definitive way of doing this?

Many thanks.

 

[Kelmon]

Personally, I used Macworld's guide that they posted last night/this morning (delete as applicable) to install the beta onto a USB 3 memory stick, so I would expect the process to be exactly the same for your HDD. They give 3 ways to do it, depending on how much you like the Terminal, but I went with Option #1 and that worked fine.

 

[Azzin]

Personally, I used Macworld's guide that they posted last night/this morning (delete as applicable) to install the beta onto a USB 3 memory stick, so I would expect the process to be exactly the same for your HDD. They give 3 ways to do it, depending on how much you like the Terminal, but I went with Option #1 and that worked fine.

A USB memory stick? Genius!

That makes life much simpler, I'll check it out now, thanks.

 

[jmerrilljr]

I installed on a USB HD. This way I have access to everything on my internal HD -- it is seen as a device. I've made aliases of whatever apps and folders I use frequently. I think at this point Yosemite is a bit more responsive than Mavericks.

 

[Azzin]

Personally, I used Macworld's guide that they posted last night/this morning (delete as applicable) to install the beta onto a USB 3 memory stick, so I would expect the process to be exactly the same for your HDD. They give 3 ways to do it, depending on how much you like the Terminal, but I went with Option #1 and that worked fine.

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear...

What I want to do is install Yosemite on a seperate USB HDD.

That MacWorld guide I think just gives you a USB Installer drive.

That's fine and dandy (and useful), but what I want to then do is install Yosemite from that USB memory stick and onto a seperate USB HDD (so keeping it away form my MBP's SSD).

Hopefully that makes sense!

 

[Kelmon]

I have the beta installed on a 32GB Lexar JumpDrive P10, which was a reasonably priced USB 3 memory stick with a decent read/write speed. The beta is running off this memory stick. The MacWorld guide downloaded the Yosemite Beta installer, copied the necessary installation files to the memory stick and then the system was rebooted using the memory stick as the startup disk. This then started the installation process and the OS was installed onto the memory stick. I believe, if I understand your requirements correctly, that is is what you are trying to achieve and I can confirm that it works OK, although it certainly is not as quick as the internal SSD of my MacBook Pro.

 

[Weaselboy]

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear...

What I want to do is install Yosemite on a seperate USB HDD.

That MacWorld guide I think just gives you a USB Installer drive.

That's fine and dandy (and useful), but what I want to then do is install Yosemite from that USB memory stick and onto a seperate USB HDD (so keeping it away form my MBP's SSD).

Hopefully that makes sense!

Just follow this.

 

[Saturn1217]

This is exactly what I did. Besides making sure that your external is formatted correctly (GUID partition map and mac os journaled) I didn't do anything special and didn't run into any issues.

Tip. You should NOT add you main internal drive to the spotlight privacy list. i did this worrying that I would accidentally bring up my apps from mavericks when I did a spotlight search (which is an issue on mavericks etc.). Spotlight in yosemite is smart enough to only launch apps from the current install and this saves you having to rebuild your spotlight index when you switch back to your main drive. I know that probably didn't make much sense but basically just don't worry about spotlight and have fun

 

[thedeejay]

Just follow this.

There's no better/simpler explanation than this one posted by Weasel. Enjoy

 

[Azzin]

Thank you everyone, I'm going to give this a go today.

I'll keep you posted!