Hello! I am waiting on delivery of a new M1 Mac mini, and would love some advice about installing user files. My 2012 Mac mini had two internal SSD's; I had the OS on one HDD and user files on the other, to minimize downtime in the event of hard drive failure. I really liked that set up because it allowed me once or twice to wipe the OS and do a clean install without much hassle. My new Mac mini will have the 2T ssd. I am thinking of creating a separate volume for user files, so that if I need to reinstall the os for some reason I won't have to wait hours while I restore a terabyte of video/photo data. I'm wondering what folks around here do, and whether that is still a reasonable choice for set up? Thank you!
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Thoughts on installing user files on separate volume...?
- Thread starter se1961
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That's a good practice to make reinstalls easier. I don't see any reason to change. You'll just be using separate partitions rather than drives. Although with APFS you don't need to set separate partitions. You set up volumes which are much more dynamic. Rather than strictly dividing space. They can have access to all available storage space. Making use of whatever they need. Until the drive is full of course.
Has anyone tried this recently? I thought I read about problems/headaches with putting /Users on an external volume.
I think it’s a waste of time. You’ll never need to reinstall the OS, and even if you do it won’t touch your data.
I don’t understand why you think this protects you from hard drive failure. Only one thing can do that—backups.
They didn't say "avoid downtime", they said "minimize downtime". If you read the rest of OP's OP it's fairly self-explanatory as to how they came to that conclusion.
Which would you choose - restoring 1TB from a backup or doing nothing (while, obviously, maintaining that backup for when it is actually needed)
It depends on the circumstances.
It helps in the case of an intentional wipe (software-based problems) since a single volume can be deleted while the other is maintained.
Putting files across different volumes doesn't help at all in case of hardware failure... though in OP's case they currently have two hard drives, which does.
Essentially... OP wants to maintain the benefits of the current setup, but with a single SSD rather than two HDs. Can be done for software/intentional wipes. No benefit in case of hardware failure.
For at least 25 years (perhaps longer, going back to my ownership of a Macintosh SE30), I've partitioned my internal drive into at least two partitions.
The first partition always contains the OS and apps -- it's the boot partition.
The second partition contains my user-created files.
This way, I can keep my "user files" backed up independently of the OS.
When I run a CarbonCopyCloner incremental backup on my user file partition, it takes 5 seconds or less.
This has worked for me for a LONG time, and I won't be doing things any other way.
It seems to me that Apple itself has drifted towards this same concept, by segregating all the OS files onto the "secure system volume" (with the default name of "Macintosh HD"), and having a second partition for the user-created/installed files (now called "Macintosh HD Data", if I'm not mistaken).
The first partition always contains the OS and apps -- it's the boot partition.
The second partition contains my user-created files.
This way, I can keep my "user files" backed up independently of the OS.
When I run a CarbonCopyCloner incremental backup on my user file partition, it takes 5 seconds or less.
This has worked for me for a LONG time, and I won't be doing things any other way.
It seems to me that Apple itself has drifted towards this same concept, by segregating all the OS files onto the "secure system volume" (with the default name of "Macintosh HD"), and having a second partition for the user-created/installed files (now called "Macintosh HD Data", if I'm not mistaken).
at last sombody who shares my opinion on partitioning. I have also been exactly doing that for about 25 years but on windows pc's.
M1 mcmini is my first mac and in searching the internet I noticed that APFS Big Sur handles the GB's of volumes (not the same as partitions https://bombich.com/kb/ccc5/working-apfs-volume-groups) to is own liking. You cannot limit them.
Also I came accross many people who partion, but to have more OS'ses. Some even find it ridiculous to partion, because Apple knows best. Well, perhaps, but I feel more at ease with 2 partitions so .. thanks, now I can move on with my Mac Mini
Partitioning is great - and old - idea and its is in more extreme done in most linux distributions.
I personally stayed away from the partitioning main drive for single reason - it wasted more space. I had to make a good guess how much space I will need on each partition. Changing partition sizes was always bit dangerous and challenging.
Apple with APFS created the best of both worlds - you can have as many partitions (containers or whatever the name now is) - but the size allocated to them is flexible and any can take as much space as it needs if it is available. While this does not protect against specific disasters when one partition grows beyond reason, it is very convenient and space efficient.
So, you already have the partitioning done by current macOS. You have - four partitions - system, Data, and two hidden (recovery and something else) if I recall correctly.
Moving Data on completely separate hardware is possible. The question is, how much it is supported by Apple. You can always link/shortcut to external drive - that is what I have done on my mini setup (lack of space - Apple SSDs are too expensive to buy large), but it would be nicer to make this transparent to users and tell system where to put the Data container. Not sure you can do that.
It will add fragility to the system as any external storage is more likely to be disconnected than internal SSD.
I personally stayed away from the partitioning main drive for single reason - it wasted more space. I had to make a good guess how much space I will need on each partition. Changing partition sizes was always bit dangerous and challenging.
Apple with APFS created the best of both worlds - you can have as many partitions (containers or whatever the name now is) - but the size allocated to them is flexible and any can take as much space as it needs if it is available. While this does not protect against specific disasters when one partition grows beyond reason, it is very convenient and space efficient.
So, you already have the partitioning done by current macOS. You have - four partitions - system, Data, and two hidden (recovery and something else) if I recall correctly.
Moving Data on completely separate hardware is possible. The question is, how much it is supported by Apple. You can always link/shortcut to external drive - that is what I have done on my mini setup (lack of space - Apple SSDs are too expensive to buy large), but it would be nicer to make this transparent to users and tell system where to put the Data container. Not sure you can do that.
It will add fragility to the system as any external storage is more likely to be disconnected than internal SSD.