Maybe the problem is the fact you are trying to install the OS on a small capacity thumb drive. Have you tried the usb installer on a regular external drive?
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Create bootable High Sierra USB from Mojave
- Thread starter Dr. McKay
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Maybe the problem is the fact you are trying to install the OS on a small capacity thumb drive. Have you tried the usb installer on a regular external drive?
Yes, as mentioned above, I have tried the same on a 128Gb USB3 thumb drive, and on an external USB3 2Tb HDD. Same problem...
OP wrote:
"It then rebooted, and I lo and behold, I got to the registration screen where I could create a user name and password, but everything was very slow and jerky. Ultimately, I succeeded in entering my username and password but after that it just gave me the 'spinning beachball' for half an hour, and then a black screen, with the mouse pointer still visible (I could still move the mouse pointer with the trackpad - this didn't work on my iMac since I use a BT mouse and keyboard).
Waited for half an hour longer but it never got to the desktop."
That's because USB flash drives are SLOW.
Other than that, you had "a successful install" to the flash drive.
You said you also tried to install on an 2tb USB3 drive. If that drive was also "platter-based" (not an SSD), it's not going to run very fast.
Want things to go better?
Then... try doing the same thing, but next time do it on a USB3 SSD.
I assure you, things will go MUCH BETTER that way.
"It then rebooted, and I lo and behold, I got to the registration screen where I could create a user name and password, but everything was very slow and jerky. Ultimately, I succeeded in entering my username and password but after that it just gave me the 'spinning beachball' for half an hour, and then a black screen, with the mouse pointer still visible (I could still move the mouse pointer with the trackpad - this didn't work on my iMac since I use a BT mouse and keyboard).
Waited for half an hour longer but it never got to the desktop."
That's because USB flash drives are SLOW.
Other than that, you had "a successful install" to the flash drive.
You said you also tried to install on an 2tb USB3 drive. If that drive was also "platter-based" (not an SSD), it's not going to run very fast.
Want things to go better?
Then... try doing the same thing, but next time do it on a USB3 SSD.
I assure you, things will go MUCH BETTER that way.
You might have a problem with the USB ports. Take a look "Mac USB Ports Stopped Working? It’s Likely Easy to Fix" http://osxdaily.com/2015/08/09/mac-usb-ports-not-working-fix/
What are the odds that all my USB ports stopped working on both my iMac and MB Pro at the same time ?
Think you might be right about the speed of USB flash drives, better do as you suggest and get an external SSD.
I would also invest in Parallels, but sadly, I’d have to buy two licences as you can only install it on one Mac. But still thinking about it, as it may come in handy for stuff other than work…
These are my Macs :
iMac :
iMac "Core i5" 3.4 27" (5K, Mid-2017) Specs (Retina 5K, Mid-2017, MNE92LL/A, iMac18,3, A1419, 3070): EveryMac.com
Technical specifications for the iMac "Core i5" 3.4 27" (5K, Mid-2017). Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.
everymac.com
Macbook Pro :
MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.5 15" Mid-2015 (DG) Specs (Retina Mid-2015 15", MJLT2LL/A, MacBookPro11,5, A1398, 2910): EveryMac.com
Technical specifications for the MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.5 15" Mid-2015 (DG). Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.
everymac.com
The iMac has a 512Gb SSD and 32Gb of RAM, running Mojave ; the MB Pro also has a 512Gb SSD, and the standard 16Gb, running Mojave as well.
I’ve got USB3 and Thunderbolt 3 on the iMac, and USB3 and Thunderbolt 2 on the MB Pro.
Is a USB3 external SSD fast enough (I’m asking the question as my external USB3 HDD seems to be just as ‘slow’ as my USB3 flash drives), or should I look at other interfaces ?
A 256Gb drive would be enough but a 500Gb is only marginally more expensive so better opt for a bit more storage, might come in handy later on. Any brand in particular that you can recommend ?
Been looking a LaCie, Samsung, Sandisk, Western Digital, Seagate. They’re all USB 3.1, and have similar specs, with maximum read speeds between 450 and 550 Mb/s, and maximum write speed between 550Mb and 1Gb/s and are priced similarly.
Ideally, I’d like to be able to do a clean boot from the external SSD on both the iMac and MB Pro, but also have the possibility to use that disc image virtually with Parallels.
Edit : been watching some reviews and kind of narrowed it down to the Samsung T5 and the Lacie Mobile SSD (which is basically the same as the Seagate Mobile SSD, even the design is the same).
They offer very similar read and write speeds and the prices are near identical. Any reason to pick one brand over the other ?
And then there's also the Thunderbolt drives, which are practically as fast as the internal SSD's in my Macs but also double the price. The Samsung X5, for example is more than double the price of the T5, but would that be worth it ? I don't need to transfer large 4K video files, I would only need it to be fast enough to boot and work from it, no heavy duty stuff...
On the other hand, my Toshiba 128Gb USB3 flash drive has a 120Mb per second maximul read speed. That Samsung T5 has a theoretical speed that’s 4 times faster, a big difference but not massive.
How do I see this in real life conditions ? What can I expect in terms of speed when compared to my internal SSD ?
That X5 looks awesome but only my iMac has Thunderbolt 3, my MB Pro only has Thunderbolt 2.
Can I expect more or less the same ‘working speed’ on both my iMac and MB Pro when using the T5, or is that unthinkable (which is what I was kind of expecting from that USB flash drive, how incredibly naive of me) ? Or better go straight for the X5 ? I assume the X5 would work on my MB Pro with Thunderbolt 2 as well ?
Edit : just read that there's no TRIM support for SSD drives over USB3, contrarily to Thunderbolt which does support TRIM. I believe this is kind of important for the longevity of SSD drives, or am I wrong ?
Also, most reviews I've read or seen on Youtube speak of these drives as fast storage devices and test the drives in this capacity. But that's not really my use case...
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Anyone have any real life experience with booting Mac OS from a Samsung T5 or equivalent USB3 SSD ? Or how it compares to something like a Samsung X5 ?
Anyone ?
Edit : seems the X5 is not backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 2, so even with Apple's Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter, it wouldn't mount at all on my Macbook Pro. I guess I'll have to stick with the T5.
Anyone have real-life experience with booting Mac OS from a T5, if it's not too much bother ?
Edit : seems the X5 is not backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 2, so even with Apple's Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter, it wouldn't mount at all on my Macbook Pro. I guess I'll have to stick with the T5.
Anyone have real-life experience with booting Mac OS from a T5, if it's not too much bother ?
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Bought a Samsung T5 500Gb and installed High Sierra onto it. No problems, everything without a hitch and works perfectly...
Ya know, in this day and age, it's amazing to me that Apple just will not supply OSX install disks, not even if people are willing to pay for them! Why is this such a problem? Is it that Apple has concluded that most people will just go out and purchase a new computer instead of going through these mind numbing rounds of idiocy?