Disk Requirements to Install Public Beta

[ParagJain]

Hi, Can anyone suggest what would be the space requirement to install the public beta. My macbook pro is currently 34GB free, i can free up more space if I remove MS Office, pages, numbers, etc..i guess, can easily get about 10 GB more. But, hoping that 34 GB is good so that i don't have to delete software and then re-install again and again..

thanks.

 

[0128672]

Hi, Can anyone suggest what would be the space requirement to install the public beta. My macbook pro is currently 34GB free, i can free up more space if I remove MS Office, pages, numbers, etc..i guess, can easily get about 10 GB more. But, hoping that 34 GB is good so that i don't have to delete software and then re-install again and again..

thanks.

"Note that you will need about 20GB of free space on your hard drive before attempting an installation."

How to Install the macOS Big Sur Public Beta

Apple in August released the macOS Big Sur beta for its public beta testing group, allowing them to test out the new software for Macs ahead of its...

www.macrumors.com

 

[ParagJain]

"Note that you will need about 20GB of free space on your hard drive before attempting an installation."

How to Install the macOS Big Sur Public Beta

Apple in August released the macOS Big Sur beta for its public beta testing group, allowing them to test out the new software for Macs ahead of its...

www.macrumors.com

thank you .. think will go ahead and try the installation, lets see how it goes.

 

[Fishrrman]

WARNING

You shouldn't be fooling with the public beta UNLESS YOU ARE PROPERLY BACKED UP.
If you find you don't like, it's going to be difficult to "get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged" without a backup.

A better way to play:
Buy a cheap 2.5" SSD -- 128gb is all you need. $20 or so.
Get a USB3 2.5" enclosure like this:

Inateck 2.5 Inch USB 3.0 Hard Drive Enclosure External SATA HDD and SSD Case - Optimized for 9.5mm 7mm 2.5" SSD, Tool Free (FE2002)

Attention: package contains an extra foam sticker for 7 mm thickness hard drives, you should attach the sticker to the original one inside the lid before you insert the hard drive; 12.5 mm hard drives might be incompatible with this product. 70% faster than traditional USB 3.0 With UASP transfer ...

www.amazon.com

Now install the beta onto the EXTERNAL USB3 SSD.
It will boot and run quickly.
It will also leave your internal drive untouched.
So you can experiment with the new OS BEFORE you commit yourself to it.

 

[ParagJain]

WARNING

You shouldn't be fooling with the public beta UNLESS YOU ARE PROPERLY BACKED UP.
If you find you don't like, it's going to be difficult to "get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged" without a backup.

A better way to play:
Buy a cheap 2.5" SSD -- 128gb is all you need. $20 or so.
Get a USB3 2.5" enclosure like this:

Inateck 2.5 Inch USB 3.0 Hard Drive Enclosure External SATA HDD and SSD Case - Optimized for 9.5mm 7mm 2.5" SSD, Tool Free (FE2002)

Attention: package contains an extra foam sticker for 7 mm thickness hard drives, you should attach the sticker to the original one inside the lid before you insert the hard drive; 12.5 mm hard drives might be incompatible with this product. 70% faster than traditional USB 3.0 With UASP transfer ...

www.amazon.com

Now install the beta onto the EXTERNAL USB3 SSD.
It will boot and run quickly.
It will also leave your internal drive untouched.
So you can experiment with the new OS BEFORE you commit yourself to it.

Yeah..i realize the risks but, honestly, my entire macbook, rather entire apple eco-system is on icloud..so if anything fails, i just restore it from icloud..

The only investment is needed is 4/5 hours of my time will go away and that's okay -

Its not my work machine so not at risk of loosing any work time..

And i like your idea of external SSD, i guess, if this attempt fails and all future attempts will be via the SSD.

 

[macbookguy]

Yeah..i realize the risks but, honestly, my entire macbook, rather entire apple eco-system is on icloud..so if anything fails, i just restore it from icloud..

The only investment is needed is 4/5 hours of my time will go away and that's okay -

Its not my work machine so not at risk of loosing any work time..

And i like your idea of external SSD, i guess, if this attempt fails and all future attempts will be via the SSD.

I’m the same. My Documents and Desktop are the iCloud version, my photos are all backed up to Photos in iCloud, and Messages in the Cloud for messages. It’s super convenient. I was away from the Mac for five years and everything just came back like I was never even gone.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Yeah..i realize the risks but, honestly, my entire macbook, rather entire apple eco-system is on icloud..so if anything fails, i just restore it from icloud..

The only investment is needed is 4/5 hours of my time will go away and that's okay -

Its not my work machine so not at risk of loosing any work time..

And i like your idea of external SSD, i guess, if this attempt fails and all future attempts will be via the SSD.

@Fishrrman brought up some excellent points that many don't consider before diving into beta. One thing you might want to consider (if you haven't already) is that when you install the beta on your Mac, you might not get consistent continuity between devices, or features you want to use on the Mac may not be available without the other devices being on beta as well. I am not speaking directly about the new betas as I don't have them loaded. I am just making general comments that are often applicable during the beta testing with forum members. What I said may not be of concern to you and your specific usage but, I wanted to mention it for others reading the forum.

 

[ParagJain]

@Fishrrman brought up some excellent points that many don't consider before diving into beta. One thing you might want to consider (if you haven't already) is that when you install the beta on your Mac, you might not get consistent continuity between devices, or features you want to use on the Mac may not be available without the other devices being on beta as well. I am not speaking directly about the new betas as I don't have them loaded. I am just making general comments that are often applicable during the beta testing with forum members. What I said may not be of concern to you and your specific usage but, I wanted to mention it for others reading the forum.

Agree

I already finished ios public beta on ipad and my secondary phone.
Will start off in macbook sometime next week, and if it fails, will revert back using time-machine, just finished that backup.

I agree beta's are not meant for primary workstations but, this macbook pro is not my primary workstation.
So even if it goes dead for couple of days, my work doesn't stop.

cheers !!

 

[ParagJain]

I’m the same. My Documents and Desktop are the iCloud version, my photos are all backed up to Photos in iCloud, and Messages in the Cloud for messages. It’s super convenient. I was away from the Mac for five years and everything just came back like I was never even gone.

Absolutely, just the 2 things that have kept me on apple eco-system, this convenience of icloud and their continuous push for user privacy.

 

[mikzn]

And i like your idea of external SSD, i guess, if this attempt fails and all future attempts will be via the SSD.

Your signature shows a 2015 rMBP ? - you can install a NVMe M.2 SSD + enclosure - if you wish to try on an external drive - IMHO good to have a drive you can swap out when all is good?

- I did this with the last 3 betas - Catalina / Big Sur and recently Monterey all went fine - no regrets

Easy to install on the Caddy (enclosure) with the SSD and then swap the SSD when all is working - FWIW the original apple SSD will not work in the caddy - but it is great to have later if you wish to go back - just swap the SSD's again and you have rolled back.

Here is pic of the SSD (plus adapter) and enclosure I used

 

[ParagJain]

Your signature shows a 2015 rMBP ? - you can install a NVMe M.2 SSD + enclosure - if you wish to try on an external drive - IMHO good to have a drive you can swap out when all is good?

- I did this with the last 3 betas - Catalina / Big Sur and recently Monterey all went fine - no regrets

Easy to install on the Caddy (enclosure) with the SSD and then swap the SSD when all is working - FWIW the original apple SSD will not work in the caddy - but it is great to have later if you wish to go back - just swap the SSD's again and you have rolled back.

Here is pic of the SSD (plus adapter) and enclosure I used

View attachment 1802023

Actually, thank you that you suggested the make/model itself, here in India, i tried searching for SSD and wasn't sure of the compatibility. This makes it easy for me !!

thanks again