Steps to migrate when users folder(s) is on an external drive?

Answering my own question here… I made the switch to a Mini using the external I setup on my MBP. Went mostly smooth, but had a few corrupted preference files. I had more trouble with some apps than anything else.

All good now.

Unfortunately that does not answer what I asked. I know how to do a normal migration. I’ve done tons.

I asked what do I need to do differently when the user(s) folder(s), hence the home directories, are on an external drive. this is something I haven’t done before which is why I asked the question. Could you read the full post and let me know??

Nope. That isn’t remotely what I’m asking. Not sure how else to put this so it can be understood. Let’s try this…

Setup:

Mac - OS and “admin” account ONLY

External drive with home/User directories, except “admin”

External Time Machine backup

In this setup where the home/User directories will stay 100% intact on the external drive, there should be no need to do a restore from backup. However the applications and settings WILL need to be restored from backup.

So again I ask, in this setup, will the user accounts - not the user data - be restored with the home folder location and settings intact or will I need to manually setup the user accounts and point them to the folders? If done manually, are there any possible issues I need to be aware of?

Thanks. Yeah I knew about the splitting of system and data, but wasn’t sure if that had any bearing on keeping User home folders on an external drive. In the past it certainly was not easy to do this, but now it’s super easy. Providing it doesn’t cause anything unforeseen. :)

So if you’ve run in this configuration can you tell me if I will need to manually add the Users accounts and map them to their respective home folders or will restoring the system files take care of that? I haven’t had to restore anything in quite some time so this new arrangement gives me pause.