As a precaution given that my Mac is running well I downloaded BS onto an external HD, however whenever I boot up and select the ext. HD Big Sur runs glacially slow. The spinning beach ball is on the screen for several minutes while just trying to open a program. Would it run quicker had I downloaded it directly onto the Mac's own HD? Also why does BS run so slowly when using the ext HD?
Thanks
I am using Big Sur installed on an external SSD (Crucial MX500) and booted from a 2014 MacBook Air with 4GB RAM via USB3.The interactive performance with Big Sur is quite acceptable in my case. There is a reason I chose not to use an external rotational (HD) drive, as that would have been glacially slow.
I am using Big Sur installed on an external SSD (Crucial MX500) and booted from a 2014 MacBook Air with 4GB RAM via USB3.The interactive performance with Big Sur is quite acceptable in my case. There is a reason I chose not to use an external rotational (HD) drive, as that would have been glacially slow.
After using a less antiquated ext HD and putting BS onto it the glacier is now moving at a much improved rate.
Thanks
Performance from an external drive can be affected by a number of factors.
The biggest potential issues being the type of drive (SSD or Mechanical), and the interface speed (USB 2, USB 3, Firewire, etc.)
You haven't provided enough information to be able to determine what the issue might be.
Schrodinger56 wrote:
As a precaution given that my Mac is running well I downloaded BS onto an external HD, however whenever I boot up and select the ext. HD Big Sur runs glacially slow. The spinning beach ball is on the screen for several minutes while just trying to open a program. Would it run quicker had I downloaded it directly onto the Mac's own HD? Also why does BS run so slowly when using the ext HD?
Thanks
Did you try a different drive to rule out a drive issue/cable issue/controller issue/enclosure issue ...
Big Sur runs Glacially Slow.
