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Mac Mini 2018 external boot with failed internal SDD

rimvydukas

rimvydukas

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 3, 2009
33
6
Hi,
So i'm interested with the following - is it possible to boot mac mini 2018 from external media with completely failed and non functional internal SSD? Thanks.
 
I could be wrong, but I think the t2 chip may prevent booting from an external source IF the internal SSD has failed. (others please correct me)

To clarify, you can still boot from an external (with a t2 equipped Mac) -- but ONLY if the internal drive is still functional.

Why do you ask this question?
Do you have a 2018 Mini with a "failed" SSD?
If so, what leads you to believe that it has failed?
 
Fishrrman said:
I could be wrong, but I think the t2 chip may prevent booting from an external source IF the internal SSD has failed. (others please correct me)

To clarify, you can still boot from an external (with a t2 equipped Mac) -- but ONLY if the internal drive is still functional.

Why do you ask this question?
Do you have a 2018 Mini with a "failed" SSD?
If so, what leads you to believe that it has failed?
Click to expand...

I'm asking this because I'm considering about used mini 2018 purchase which would be used for long term project. And I do not want to be forced to throw this mini directly to waste bin in case of complete internal ssd disk failure.
 
Boyd01 said:
I'm also curious about this. Have read that this is case with the new M1 Mini, but not sure if that also applies to the 2018 model.
Click to expand...

So sad to see Apple's move to soldered ssds even without ability to boot machine in case of SSD failure:/ It is very strange to see that there were no lawsuits regarding such computer design.

And now even better - its not possible to do clean Monterey install if I have and want to preserve my additional data apfs volume which is on internal ssd :/
 
Have you tried making an bootable USB thumb drive with the macOS installer of your choice? Of course, you need another Mac to make the installer. If it boots from the installer, then perhaps you can also connect a USB3 SSD drive to see if you can install and boot. Not as fast as an internal, but it appears you have limited options.
 
Fishrrman said:
I could be wrong, but I think the t2 chip may prevent booting from an external source IF the internal SSD has failed. (others please correct me)

To clarify, you can still boot from an external (with a t2 equipped Mac) -- but ONLY if the internal drive is still functional.

Why do you ask this question?
Do you have a 2018 Mini with a "failed" SSD?
If so, what leads you to believe that it has failed?
Click to expand...
Would turning off secure boot and allowing any boot media (before the SSD died) make any difference?

macos-big-sur-recovery-mode-startup-security-utility.png


If this solves the problem of dead-soldered-SSD-preventing-booting-off-external-drives, then that would be the first thing I'd do when getting a new modern Mac.
 
OP wrote:
"I'm considering about used mini 2018 purchase which would be used for long term project. And I do not want to be forced to throw this mini directly to waste bin in case of complete internal ssd disk failure."

Actually, that may become a problem with ALL new Macs, from this point on.

With the newfangled "integrated CPU/RAM/drive", it seems if the drive portion fails, the computer can't be booted, even from an external drive with a good copy of the OS on it.

Unless Apple changes to a design in which the entire "integrated heart" of the computer can be removed from the motherboard and replaced, the only other option for a failed drive may become to replace the entire motherboard.

Nothing Apple has ever done with their Macs has been this "radical" insofar as the inability to repair is concerned.

I'm wondering if this could cause their customer/fan base to turn against the Mac, in the future. Depends on how many drives will actually fail under routine use...

EugW wrote:
"Would turning off secure boot and allowing any boot media (before the SSD died) make any difference?"

I don't think this is relevant at all.
In other words, if the internal SSD fails, you can't boot from an external drive, no matter what the internal settings are.
(again, I could be wrong, and I welcome correction)
 
Fishrrman said:
In other words, if the internal SSD fails, you can't boot from an external drive, no matter what the internal settings are.
Click to expand...
Well, that sucks. :(

That puts into new light the 2018 Mac minis I see on eBay getting bids despite the sellers saying that they can't start them up or install macOS. I'm sure some of the bidders just want them for the parts, but I suspect some bidders may mistakenly think they can boot them with external drives.
 
I think Fishrrman has a valid concern. Of course, as far as someone with a dead internal drive in a 2018 model, if the security has not been changed from factory setting the horse has already gotten out of the barn.

The moderator also makes a valid point but I wouldn’t expect Apple to provide information about this. Perhaps someone like iFixit could.
 
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Yeah, I just don't know (but would like to). I don't recall any discussion of this issue before the M1 was released, but maybe I missed it. If SSD's were failing and locking people out, you'd expect to see posts here but I have not. Then again, it's only a 3-year old model so you wouldn't expect many failures.
 
I can't speak for the 2018 Mini directly.

But I recall reading elsewhere (sorry, I don't have a link to post to support this) that if the internal drive fails on either a t2-equipped Mac or an m1 Mac (sorry, I can't remember if it was one or the other or both), that the computer will be unbootable from an external drive, as well.

Again, you'll note that in both my posts above, I mentioned that I welcome correction if wrong.
 
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Thanks! This confirms that the problem is specific to M1 Macs (assuming the author is correct).

"One way 1TR differs from the firmware on Intel-based Macs is that the 1TR partition stores your decisions about startup security policies, the directives you set in the Startup Security Utility available in recoveryOS. You can set a separate policy for each external volume you allow to boot your Mac, but that policy is stored only on the internal drive in the 1TR partition."
 
Thanks for the link, Phil.
Like Boyd said, looks like this is "an m-series problem", rather than a "t2 problem".

So I may be in error by having stated that the same affliction could happen to a 2018 Mini (or probably to a 2020 iMac, as well)...
 
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