Which OS should I choose? I have a iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017). Recently upgraded to Big Sur 11.5.2 and machine severely slowed down. Should I go back to previous version or forward to Monterey?
iMac 21.5″ 4K, macOS 11.5
The newer OS versions all run better on a fast hard drive or SSD. If you have the standard hard drive (1 TB 5400 rpm), then it does not really matter which OS you choose - it will always be of snail like speed. The entry level 21.5" all had the slow hard drive. The only easy way to speed yours up is to make a bootable install/clone on an external SSD and then run your Mac from that, You can then use the internal drive as a Time Machine or other backup.
So, check your specs to see what you have and then you can make a decision.
While I agree that the folks at MacSales are top notch and the products and support are nothing short of fantastic, for those of us who have entered the "golden years" on a fixed income, their prices are a bit on the steep side. And, at $109.99 at Amazon, the Samsung 870 EVO SATA III SSD 1TB 2.5” Internal Solid State Hard Drive is hard to pass up. Add a $15.00 "Sabrent" enclosure and you're done.
Again, just my opinion.
You will find most of us "regulars" are in or past the "golden years". Aside from other considerations, I try to avoid Amazon when I can since I cannot agree with their business model/practices.
Being the age I am, I no longer need the fastest, besides 3 Mercury Elite Pro Minis, these are excellent in my opinion - I've got 3 of them and rotate the backups using a dock:
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/Mercury_Extreme_SSD_Sandforce/Solid_State_Pro
Hello Jack-19, I found your document "How to Setup and Use an External SSD as your Startup Disk on a Desktop Mac" extremely helpful and followed nearly to the letter. It was well organized and clearly written. Thanks for the effort you put into this doc. I did run into two issues that you might want to take note of. Not sure if I was doing something wrong or things have changed since the latest update of your doc, but you can read and decide if updates are needed.
The first issue was downloading the Mac OS installer. I wanted to stay with BigSur fo now. Multiple times I tried to download the installer from the links in your doc and by searching directly through Apple Support. They all led to How to get old versions of macOS - Apple Support, but when I chose the link for BigSur, I only got a blank page. Oddly, the link worked fine from my Macbook Air and seems to work OK after my upgrade. Not sure what happened here but any insight that you could provide would be appreciated.
The second issue had to do with Time Machine after I gave the new external drive the same name as the internal drive (Macintosh HD). Time Machine had two drives with the same name to backup and got stuck. I renamed the internal drive and this seemed to fix the problem.
Again, thank you for your User Tip/guidance document. Could not have done this without it!
The first issue was downloading the Mac OS installer. I wanted to stay with BigSur fo now. Multiple times I tried to download the installer from the links in your doc and by searching directly through Apple Support. They all led to How to get old versions of macOS - Apple Support, but when I chose the link for BigSur, I only got a blank page. Oddly, the link worked fine from my Macbook Air and seems to work OK after my upgrade. Not sure what happened here but any insight that you could provide would be appreciated.
That is a server issue on Apple's side. It should be fixed within a day or two.
The second issue had to do with Time Machine after I gave the new external drive the same name as the internal drive (Macintosh HD). Time Machine had two drives with the same name to backup and got stuck. I renamed the internal drive and this seemed to fix the problem.
I've never had that problem on any of my 20+ external SSDs I have setup to boot from. It was most likely a coincidence.
Thanks for the feedback!
Jack
Thank you Babowa. I do have a 1T 54000 rpm internal drive. Would it be possible to replace the original internal drive with a newer solid state internal drive?
I find them dispensable. I'll leave it at that in these public Apple forums.
fantastic!!!
Actually, the How to get old versions of macOS - Apple Support links are fixed now.
I have 7 of those OWC SSD in a couple of OWC docks and Sata to USB adaptors:
I have Monterey beta on one of them and High Sierra and Mojave on another for running older apps like iDVD.
As for Amazon we find it indispensable. We get all of our OTC medications from it and most everything else except groceries. It has saved us so many trips to many stores to get what we want and comparing prices. Just had delivered today a 75" smart Sony TV to our door. Couldn't have gotten it anywhere local and delivered for the price we paid. At our age we don't drive much at night and most of our entertainment is via TV. Amazon Prime TV is a major part of the mix.
One of the SSDs I recommend is the G-Technology G-DRIVE SSD. At Apple, it is $129.
It is currently on sale at Best Buy for $89. IMO, a great deal. Better than Samsung/Sabrent devices from Amazon.
Jack
Which OS should I choose? I have a iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017). Recently upgraded to Big Sur 11.5.2 and machine severely slowed down. Should I go back to previous version or forward to Monterey?
