iMacs with 1TB Fusion Drive and 32 (28) GB SSD blade - unbearably slow boot times

I have run EtreCheck and even without that piece of software that tries to sell you things you don't need, as a software engineer I knew nothing on my system was or is installed, that could possibly be causing the problem. The problem lies in the fact that 24 or 32 GB SSD blades on Fusion Drive systems are TOO SMALL for BIG Sur.

Thank you, but your answer is irrelevant to my question, which is: HAS ANYONE USING A FUSION DRIVE SYSTEM WITH A 24 OR 32 GB SSD BLADE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE BIG SUR BOOT IN LESS THAN 4 TO 5 MINUTES.

Dear Roelof,

There are hundreds, if not thousands of us, who have the same problem - since the first developers' beta versions came out and were installed (upgrade or clean install) last Summer. Mr Etresoft claims that none of us know what we are doing when searching for the cause of the problem, although Senior Apple Engineers have confirmed to me (and to others) that Big Sur has indeed a problem with unacceptably long boot times on certain iMacs with Fusion Drives (but not only on those computers).

The only workaround that seems to temporarily help the boot times become somewhat faster, is a clean install of Big Sur, after which either you install all your software ("apps") from scratch, and copy your data over from a backup manually (without using Time Machine!), or restoring all your software and data using a third-party application (e.g. ChronoSync).

He doesn't even seem to understand my OP, in which I clearly detailed every single step I have taken, and every single possible solution I have tried. And now he seems to assume our computers are slow because they are old. Mine is not even one year old. Or that our problem is one of Big Sur running slow, which it is not. This is a thread about trying to find a solution for unacceptably long boot times. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not going to tell anyone what to believe and what not.

[Edited by Moderator]

I am absolutely sure it isn't split. During one of the many sessions I spent installing, re-installing, and clean-installing Big Sur, I checked that every single time.

The whole issue lies in the small size of the SSD blade in 1TB Fusion Drives: 24 or 32 GB - in my case 32 of which in fact only 28 are available to the system. Users with 128 GB SSD blades are able to get normal boot times on Big Sur.

Really, thank you all, but PLEASE try to read my FULL original post. I am explaining what I have done so far, what I have tested, what I have been able to do and what not, and my question SIMPLY is: Are there any users who have a Mac with a 1TB Fusion Drive that has a 24 or 32 GB SSD blade, and have been able to make Big Sur boot normally (meaning less than 4 to 5 minutes). I was, but only with a clean install, and ONLY BEFORE I installed - from scratch (not from a backup!) the most basic apps like Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and iMovie. After those installs, the boot time went up again to 4,5 - 5 minutes. And I know many people who are in the same situation, but nobody who is able to use Big Sur in a normal way on Macs like mine, that are LESS THAN ONE YEAR OLD...

I would really like to ask you - for the umpteenth time - to stop writing nonsense about me, my posts, and the advice I give. If you are in any way able to help, please do so. If not, you are wasting my and your time here on this thread. You seem to have an obsession about me. I have tried to contact you personally at your office, but your firm does not even have an e-mail address to which your users could write in case of problems. From now on, I am ignoring you completely. If I could, I would block you on this forum. I have uninstalled your software, cleaned out the mess it leaves behind after uninstall, and you can guess what I will or will no longer use in the future. You really seem to have issues with anyone who says something negative about your "baby". I'm sorry, I really feel for you. In order to repair the damage that I have done to you and your software, I offer to design a new app icon for you - for free... Now back to the point and to what really matters:

I have had contact with Apple and they confirm and acknowledge that the problem I have described in my OP and elsewhere, and that so many other users of Fusion Drive iMacs are having since four months, does exist, has nothing to do with hardware or software issues, but is due to the combination of Big Sur and Fusion Drive iMacs, especially those with small SSD blades. I will post another comment on this thread that finally gives the answer to my question of my OP.

Thanks for reporting back on how you installed 11.4.

It seems to be a very complicated problem as some users are now reporting much better boot times but others say nothing has changed for the better. I wonder if it has to do with how many large files are stored on the Fusion Drive. For example, I have a Lightroom Classic catalog of over 5,6 GB with Previews taking up almost 190 GB, a Music Library of over 90 GB, an iMovie Library of around 6 GB. My 1 TB Fusion Drive has around 520 GB free space left, so that's perfectly alright. I'm starting to wonder if Big Sur has issues with those large catalogs and libraries. The users who have reported back and said 11.4 (or 11.3) solved the problem for them, all seem not to have any huge photo libraries or Lightroom catalogs on their Fusion Drive.

It IS incompatible because it does not allow any iMac with the specifications that I mention, to boot in any normal way.

I don't think you have any idea how much slower Big Sur boots versus Catalina, or else you don't believe me. Big Sur: 4,5 to 5 minutes. Catalina: 20 seconds. On the very same system.

If you say that "recent versions of macOS pretty much require an SSD as a boot drive", you are obviously not telling the truth. Mojave and Catalina boot on my system in 20 seconds. Those versions are recent.

Adding an external SSD to my system, which is LESS THAN ONE YEAR OLD to boot it, is like telling someone who bought a new car to replace the engine after less than one year.

If using a Fusion Drive to boot any mac is "painful", then why were iMacs, equipped with a Fusion Drive, being sold (and are STILL being sold in certain countries in Europe!) and promoted in the first place?...

Finally, I did not ask a question to be told what my system is able to do and what it is not able to do. I was asking a question to see IF ANYONE USING A FUSION DRIVE SYSTEM WITH A 24 OR 32 GB SSD BLADE WAS ABLE TO MAKE BIG SUR BOOT IN LESS THAN 4 TO 5 MINUTES.

Thank you anyway, but you did not give an answer to my question.