Mojave clone instead of install

[allanmulwee]

So in order to speed things up a bit at work I've decided to start cloning Mojave instead of installing it. Today I successfully cloned Mojave 10.14.4 to at 2018 trackbar Macbook Pro and it runs fantastic. Only issue is that the original drive I cloned from is in HFS+. I suppose the next big update will probably try to convert back to apfs which at this point is rubbish in my opinion. Anyone got any insight here? So far this thing runs great!

 

[chrfr]

So in order to speed things up a bit at work I've decided to start cloning Mojave instead of installing it. Today I successfully cloned Mojave 10.14.4 to at 2018 trackbar Macbook Pro and it runs fantastic. Only issue is that the original drive I cloned from is in HFS+. I suppose the next big update will probably try to convert back to apfs which at this point is rubbish in my opinion. Anyone got any insight here? So far this thing runs great!

You’re also missing important firmware updates that would get applied when you installed the 10.14.4 update.

 

[allanmulwee]

This machine had already been on 10.14.4 The customer had tried to erase it and hosed it. I've spent a LOT of time just installing Mojave over the last year. And reinstalling it.

 

[jbarley]

Next time format the target machine as APFS, then do the clone.
That way you'll end up with a fully functional APFS system.

 

[allanmulwee]

Yes that is the plan, to get an SSD to clone from. What I did was partitioned a 500GB drive four ways then installed Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra and El Capitan and installed updates and CC Cloner on each. The idea is to boot to that drive then clone the other partition. I tried it today and it worked pretty well actually.

 

[Fishrrman]

"I suppose the next big update will probably try to convert back to apfs which at this point is rubbish in my opinion. Anyone got any insight here? So far this thing runs great!"

Heh.
If it's "running great" in HFS, you could leave it there

In fact, right now as I type this reply...
I'm setting up my new 2018 Mac Mini which arrived a few hours ago.
However, this is going to be perhaps the only 2018 Mac Mini in the country that DOES NOT USE APFS.
It's going to run HFS+ instead, just as did older Macs.

The internal drive has already been erased to HFS+, and as I type I'm cloning a copy of Mojave (from an HFS+ drive) to the Mini's internal drive.

Result:
Mojave running on HFS+ from the Mini's INTERNAL drive.

EDIT:
Just as I was completing this reply, CCC finished the HFS+ clone, and created an HFS+ style recovery partition as well.
Next step, after I post this, will be the moment of truth:
Will it boot?

EDIT #2:
Yes, it did!

How many other owners of the 2018 Mac Mini have theirs booting and running (from the internal drive) using HFS+ ???

 

[allanmulwee]

Yessir!