Installing macOS Monterey on an External SSD drive

I use an app, MDS.app, that is a developer's app. See if this link works for you: https://bitbucket.org/twocanoes/macdeploystick/downloads/ . If it does download this version:

Download it and launch. Click on macOS Download and select the 12.2.1 version.

I haven't read the article the Jack-19 linked to but here's how I create an external SSD with Monterey as well as Big Sur, Mojave and High Sierra: How to create a bootable installer for macOS. As the article indicates you'll need a flash drive/stick of at least 16 GB in size.

This is the file from inside the installer that you'll need to drag into the Terminal window:

If I've pointed to the same article that Jack did then you have two recommendations for that method. If not you have two methods to choose from.

In the Terminal enter this command:

softwareupdate --list-full-installers

If it returns that 12.2.1 (and others are available for your Mac), enter the following to download the 12.2.1 installer

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 12.2.1

jwhite1953 wrote:

Last task is to rename the delivered Macintosh HD, as I now have two and Time Machine is objecting. Eventually I'll erase the old one, but for now I just wanted to rename it.

does that mean you are asking how to rename the drive?

there are a couple different methods to do so. for me, the easiest way is to go into Finder Preferences in the General tab and add External disks to the list.

then click once on the name of the drive to highlight it.

and then while highlighted, press your return key. you will then be able to rename the external drive.

jwhite1953 wrote:

It maybe that it can only be renamed as part of reformatting by the Erase utitlity.

no, i can assure you that you can rename the drive without an erase and reformat. there is another method you can use.

open Disk Utility and choose the level of your drive with the name "Macintosh HD". (mine is named "Macintosh SSD")

then click on the name underlined in red below, this will give you the option to change the name.

then you can rename the drive.

after that, close Disk Utility and then reopen it to see the changes.

i do understand what you mean. you want to change the name of your internal drive. the method i showed in my last reply is exactly how it works to change the internal drive name on my mac. and it appears in your latest reply (screenshot) that you are indeed attempting to change the name of the correct drive. i don't understand why it's not working for you. my final suggestion would be to "control-click" on the drive's name in the sidebar and choose "rename" before clicking the name underlined in red below.

since your mac is already running monterey, you could use recovery to download and install monterey on the external SSD. first make sure the external drive is connected to your mac. then you can use the keyboard combination of "command-R" to start up into recovery. once in recovery, you will choose "reinstall macOS monterey". then slowly follow the prompts until you get to the window where it asks you to choose which disk you want to install monterey onto. just choose your external SSD, and then choose to start the download and installation process.

i just had another thought. i wouldn't think it makes a difference, but are you booted into the internal drive while trying to change it's name? if not, maybe try and boot into the internal drive and attempt to change the name then.

in that case, the steps above will work. but instead of choosing the "external disks" option in finder preferences, you can instead choose "hard disks".