You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

How do I make 2 Mac Startup Disks on the same device?

Hi,

I want to have 2 startup disks on the same device so I can completely separate my work and personal data, apps, device configurations, etc.

I've been exploring adding volumes and partitions using disk utility, but whenever I make one it's always on the same startup disk.

I want two startup disks that I can toggle between (using option during boot-up or startup disk from system preferences).

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

-Dan

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.14

Posted on May 15, 2021 11:24 AM

Top-ranking reply

makeupbelieve Author

Level 1

8 points

Posted on May 16, 2021 4:47 PM

I figured it out. Here's what I did:

Create a new partition using Disk Utility
Restart the computer and hold Command R on bootup
Select the Re-Install Mac OS Option
Select the newly created partition as the target drive
Wait for the installation to complete

View in context

Similar questions

5 replies

Top-ranking reply

makeupbelieve Author

Level 1

8 points

May 16, 2021 4:47 PM in response to BDAqua

I figured it out. Here's what I did:

Create a new partition using Disk Utility
Restart the computer and hold Command R on bootup
Select the Re-Install Mac OS Option
Select the newly created partition as the target drive
Wait for the installation to complete

BDAqua

Level 10

245,657 points

May 15, 2021 3:46 PM in response to makeupbelieve

Hi Dan,

I wonder if it wouldn't make more sense to just have 2 accounts in the one OS?

Open System Preferences>Users & Groups, unlock the lock, click on the little plus icon, make a new admin account, log out & into the new account.

May 15, 2021 9:30 PM in response to BDAqua

Sorry I’m really trying to keep personal and work completely separate with no chance of cross contamination and totally different device configurations. The only way I can think of doing that is having each partition on separate startup disks.

BDAqua

Level 10

245,657 points

May 16, 2021 6:35 AM in response to makeupbelieve

Yes, you can do that, you need another external drive or to Erase & Partition your existing drive.

BDAqua

Level 10

245,657 points

May 16, 2021 5:11 PM in response to makeupbelieve

OK, good work, thanks for the post my friend. :)

How do I make 2 Mac Startup Disks on the same device?