Boot with external SSD connected

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Level 1

8 points

Boot with external SSD connected

Hi,

I bought my Mac Mini 2018 second hand and it arrived with some configuration already on. That was no problem I created a new account and removed the old data etc.

I recently bought an external SSD which I'd like to leave permanently connected (only got 128GB internal disk). I don't want to boot from the external SSD. It's a Crucial X8 connected via one of the Thunderbolt ports.

Problem is, when I reboot or switch on the Mac I just get an Apple Logo with no loading bar which hangs (I've left it for 20 minutes, no change). It's as though it's trying to boot from the Crucial. But in settings the Internal drive is selected as the Boot device.

Can anyone help?

Mac mini, macOS 10.15

Posted on Nov 25, 2020 12:51 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

den.thed

Level 10

83,356 points

Nov 25, 2020 2:54 PM in response to Alex469

The seller did not properly prepare the Mac Mini for re-sell..

see > https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201065

At this point, your best bet is to follow the "erase your hard drive and reinstall macOS" in step #7.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208496

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT20849

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Answer 2

Alex469 Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 28, 2020 2:06 PM in response to den.thed

Hi Den

Thanks so much, I went through this today - did Step 1 - 7 (full factory reset and NV-RAM erase etc) and still the same deal. If the Crucial X8 is unplugged the Mac boots fine. If it's plugged in I just get an Apple logo and it hangs there until I turn it off and unplug the Crucial. I've ensured that Secure Boot is on and that boot from external media is not allowed

Any more ideas or do I have some weird defective device?

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Answer 3

den.thed

Level 10

83,356 points

Nov 29, 2020 12:46 PM in response to Alex469

Hmm.. how is the X8 formatted? Is there a clone or macOS installed on it?

Personally I've only seen Mac's hang, if there is a flaky clone or macOS install on the external drive.

Could be a bug in Big Sur, but it wouldn't hurt to also check-in with Crucial and see if others are reporting the same issue with the X8.

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Boot with external SSD connected

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