Set-up Question - Separate Home from Boot Drive

[jngphoto]

I'm setting up my MacPro and received suggestions to have one drive for boot and applications only. Then have a separate drive for data.

I know I can set up a separate USER account and point to another HD and leave the Admin untouched, except for installing new applications.

Can I just have one user (admin) and still have the HOME folder in another HD. Is there an advantage of one over the other? Suggestions?

 

[edesignuk]

I'm a little confused by your question, but I'll give it my best shot and hope this makes sense. It sounds like you're trying to do what I already do myself.

1st drive - [Boot] OS X / Apps
2nd drive - Data (my accounts home folder)

To achieve my setup...

Install OS X & Apps to boot drive.
Create Admin account to be used in the event I break my own, this one I leave in it's default location on the boot drive.
Create my user account and move it's home folder off to another drive.

You can do all this with no problem at all.

 

[bozz2006]

yes you can just have one user and relocate the home folder to a separate drive. the link provided by edesignuk explains how to do this. i highly recommend doing it. that's how my machine is set up. for one, you're hedging your bets in case one of your drives fails. for another, it makes opening files so much quicker. especially if you use large files.

 

[jngphoto]

That was what I was trying to ask. So I can't move or copy Admin Acct? It is best to create a new user. Thanks for the info.

I'm a little confused by your question, but I'll give it my best shot and hope this makes sense. It sounds like you're trying to do what I already do myself.

1st drive - [Boot] OS X / Apps
2nd drive - Data (my accounts home folder)

To achieve my setup...

Install OS X & Apps to boot drive.
Create Admin account to be used in the event I break my own, this one I leave in it's default location on the boot drive.
Create my user account and move it's home folder off to another drive.

You can do all this with no problem at all.

 

[edesignuk]

You can move any account anywhere, doesn't matter if it's admin or not. I've just always figured it's best to have a backup admin account who's files are local to the boot drive in case of some bizarre problem down the road.