Is it possible to perform a GUID partition of a flash drive. Disk Utility does not provide that option.
Mac mini, macOS 10.15
GUID is the Partition Map for the drive. One must give it a File Format first ie: HFS Journaled or APFS
I have two Mac mini. One is a M1 the other is a late 2012 with a 500 GB external SSD. The latter one is running Catalina and I wanted to see if I could get Big Sur to run on that system without jeopardizing the SSD. Xcode support appears to stop at 12.4 for Catalina and Xcode12.4 doesn't support IOS14.6. So is the 2012 mac mini now a boat anchor?
And I hope it ( MM 2012 ) will keep the boat well Anchored as that is all it can be for now. The Specs of the MM 2012 do Not Qualify for for Big Sur no matter how you what to run it, internal of External. It just will Not Work.
To get the MM 2012 to dry land ( Operational ) again How to create a bootable installer for macOS from a qualifying computer to download, create the Installer drive and with the version of macOS Compatible with the MM 2012. Or, How to Revert to Pervious Version of macOS specific for the MM 2012
Ok I did that. Now I get the message "You may not install to this volume because the computer is missing a firmware partition."
Is it possible to to install Big Sur to a flash drive?
You can't run Big Sur on an internal or external drive with a Late 2012 Mac mini.
Thanks for the comments. The 2012 Mac mini is still operational. It appears that in the afterlife it will be a Linux machine.
Thanks for the comments. The 2012 Mac mini is still operational. It appears that in the afterlife it will be a Linux machine.
I'd just run High Sierra on it. Use real Unix.
Gandolph2021 wrote:
Ok I did that. Now I get the message "You may not install to this volume because the computer is missing a firmware partition."
Is it possible to to install Big Sur to a flash drive?
This usually indicates that the macOS installer does not see a valid internal drive that is properly formatted for macOS. Even installing macOS to an external drive requires an internal drive that is properly formatted since the system firmware updater included with the macOS 10.13+ installer requires this configuration in order to update the Mac's system firmware. It is a really annoying. Keep in mind Apple doesn't plan for any unexpected situations or configurations.
Really NOT SUGGESTED. The drive are not designed for this purpose at all.
If one what's to install Big Sur to an external drive - better to have a Reliable SSD with at least 256 GB or larger
You have to erase the drive, not the volume.
In Disk Utility, you must select Show all devices from the View popup menu.
However, your ultimate goal is impossible, as already noted.
GUID partition of flash drive
