2011 imac Trying To Figure Out External Connection To Use Multiple Windows Software

[clarkr]

Hi again all. This is what my system is:

Mid 2011 imac 12,1 - 12 GB Ram - 2 TB HDD OWC Hard Drive
System: Mac High Sierra - Windows 8.1 Pro - Bootcamp 5.1
Firewire 400 and 800 ports
Thunderbolt 1 port
USB 2 ports - There are no USB 3 ports on this mac

I use the Windows side nearly exclusively to be able to run Photoshop 6 and Illustrator 9 on. This software works perfectly on this system.

Problem: The browsers on 8.1 have stopped working correctly because of the age of the OS. Firefox won't connect to PayPal, has limited connection to some features for other online browsing. I am going to have to upgrade to Windows 10 or 11 which won't run the above mentioned softwares correctly, if at all.

What I would like to do is install Windows 8.1 Pro on an external HD and install my Adobe software on that so I can use it when working on files. I currently am working on very large files in high resolution in Photoshop and it is NOT an option to go with updated PS cloud crap for what little I use it. So...

I would like to upgrade to Windows 10 and then 11 on the imac/Bootcamp hard drive partition and use this for normal online activity and be able to connect or boot into the external drive from my imac to use the Photoshop software on the 8.1.

I am thinking of getting an external Thunderbolt 1 HD that will have a Thunderbolt 1 port to connect to my imac's TB port.

Will this work? Any other suggestions as to how to accomplish my objective? Maybe Firewire 800 (although it's a lot slower)?

Will Bootcamp allow me to install the 8.1 on an external drive and keep the partition I currently have to upgrade Windows?

Thanks to all in advance for your help,
Clark

 

[Bigwaff]

Problem: The browsers on 8.1 have stopped working correctly because of the age of the OS. Firefox won't connect to PayPal, has limited connection to some features for other online browsing.

Modern Firefox for Win 8.1

GitHub - ToprakBZK/Modern-Firefox-For-Windows-8.1: With the official end of support for Windows 8.1, many modern software applications, including web browsers like Firefox, have stopped functioning properly on this older operating system. This projec

With the official end of support for Windows 8.1, many modern software applications, including web browsers like Firefox, have stopped functioning properly on this older operating system. This proj...

github.com

 

[Snowlover]

You can use DiskGenius to clone/migrate your windows 8.1 partition to an external drive. Click the " boot from usb" button so it is bootable as external.
It is free and easy to use. I have used it to make bootable clones of windows 10 and 11 , it is supposed to work on 8.1.
My external drives are in usb3 enclosures, and booting from thunderbolt is supported, booting from firewire is if you machine supports it ( from chat on disk genius site).

DiskGenius: Data Recovery, Partition Manager, Backup & Disk Utilities

Recover files, resize partitions, back up data, and improve disk performance — all in one.

www.diskgenius.com

 

[clarkr]

Modern Firefox for Win 8.1

GitHub - ToprakBZK/Modern-Firefox-For-Windows-8.1: With the official end of support for Windows 8.1, many modern software applications, including web browsers like Firefox, have stopped functioning properly on this older operating system. This projec

With the official end of support for Windows 8.1, many modern software applications, including web browsers like Firefox, have stopped functioning properly on this older operating system. This proj...

github.com

Thanks for the reply. I will keep this in mind if I can't get the external disk to do what I want.

 

[clarkr]

You can use DiskGenius to clone/migrate your windows 8.1 partition to an external drive. Click the " boot from usb" button so it is bootable as external.
It is free and easy to use. I have used it to make bootable clones of windows 10 and 11 , it is supposed to work on 8.1.
My external drives are in usb3 enclosures, and booting from thunderbolt is supported, booting from firewire is if you machine supports it ( from chat on disk genius site).

DiskGenius: Data Recovery, Partition Manager, Backup & Disk Utilities

Recover files, resize partitions, back up data, and improve disk performance — all in one.

www.diskgenius.com

Thanks, I will look into this. Any suggestions on an external drive? As I said the 2011 doesn't have USB 3. Just Thunderbolt 1 and Firewire. I am going to run Photoshop on this drive. Should I go for the Thunderbolt 1 external or Firewire for the speed of Photoshop use?

Also to boot this drive do you hold down Option Key at bootup and choose or go into Mac side and designate it as startup disk or can you open it another way? Also can you migrate files between the two systems?

 

[!!!]

Thanks, I will look into this. Any suggestions on an external drive? As I said the 2011 doesn't have USB 3. Just Thunderbolt 1 and Firewire. I am going to run Photoshop on this drive. Should I go for the Thunderbolt 1 external or Firewire for the speed of Photoshop use?

Also to boot this drive do you hold down Option Key at bootup and choose or go into Mac side and designate it as startup disk or can you open it another way? Also can you migrate files between the two systems?

USB 2 is pretty painful for almost any OS, but I hesitate to recommend FW or TB1, both are essentially discontinued and they no longer make products for them.

At one point in time I was booting up some version of OS X from a FW800 HDD, it was workable from what I remember. I would definitely try to get either a TB or FW800 adapter to an SSD.

 

[clarkr]

USB 2 is pretty painful for almost any OS, but I hesitate to recommend FW or TB1, both are essentially discontinued and they no longer make products for them.

At one point in time I was booting up some version of OS X from a FW800 HDD, it was workable from what I remember. I would definitely try to get either a TB or FW800 adapter to an SSD.

Thanks for the response. I am currently looking at Thunderbolt only drives if I can find them. The 2011 imac will work with the Thunderbolt 1 and 2. I have also read with an Apple adapter I can connect a TB 3 to it. In all instances the TB drives will not perform beyond the TB 1. That is ok as long as I can run Photoshop at a reasonable clip on the external drive.

So looking for a SSD with Thunderbolt 1-3. I am not concerned with file transfer speeds, just mainly running PS from that drive from my imac.

 

[PaulD-UK]

@clarkr
Another option is to get a TB1, or more likely a TB2 dock, which will have a USB 3.0 port.
A USB 3 SSD will be easier to find than old TB1/2 ones...

As long as you are using Bootcamp you should have the drivers to use this with Windows as well as MacOS.

 

[clarkr]

@clarkr
Another option is to get a TB1, or more likely a TB2 dock, which will have a USB 3.0 port.
A USB 3 SSD will be easier to find than old TB1/2 ones...

As long as you are using Bootcamp you should have the drivers to use this with Windows as well as MacOS.

This is what I am thinking along...

1. Apple MMEL2AM/A Thunderbolt 3 USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter A1790. This I believe converts TB3 to TB2. This is Bi-Directional.

2. Samsung T9 Portable 2TB 2000MB/s SSD. This is a TB 3 SSD drive. OR...

3. SABRENT Rocket XTRM Plus 2TB Thunderbolt 3 Portable SSD

I know I will not get the benefit from the TB 3 as it will lower it to the lowest denominator which is TB 1 on my imac. I hope this external drive running Windows 8.1 Pro and Photoshop 6 will give me a fast alternative to my native HD.

Anyone see any Bootcamp problems with this configuration?

 

[PaulD-UK]

@clarkr
"1. Apple MMEL2AM/A Thunderbolt 3 USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter A1790. This I believe converts TB3 to TB2. This is Bi-Directional.

2. Samsung T9 Portable 2TB 2000MB/s SSD. This is a TB 3 SSD drive. OR...

3. SABRENT Rocket XTRM Plus 2TB Thunderbolt 3 Portable SSD"

No. That simple an arrangement doesn't work, because...
...the Apple TB3<>TB2 adapter has no power cabling built in.

So you would need a TB enclosure with it's own power supply, which the ones above don't.

The workaround is to use a cheap TB3 dock which will have it's own power supply, and a then plug the bus-powered SSD into the dock.
With a dock you could then use it's USB-C ports to connect the (bus-powered) SSD - you will only get ~10Gbps speeds.

As I posted originally, it would be simpler/cheaper just to get a TB2 dock with USB 3.x ports, unless you have later Macs you might want to use.

Additional info: TB1/2 doesn't carry a USB signal, so you have to use either a TB enclosure, or have a TB dock attached, to convert to USB.

Edited to correct.

 

[DAVID-200026]

Elgato thunderbolt 2 dock is easy and USB 3.0

 

[clarkr]

Thanks all, I appreciate all the help you have given. It seems like I would need a few items to get this to work - like a dock and then the external drive plus expensive cables. I really don't have the resources for that at the moment so I am going to roll the dice on this.

I bought an unused version of Photoshop CS6 and have my fingers crossed that it will work if I update Windows on here from 8.1 to 10 to 11. From what I read it 'should' work. If it doesn't work then I guess I am right back here again and will have to buy all these components and would appreciate more input. If it works I will let it be known on here.

Thanks again,
Clark