dual boot Yosemite/Sierra

Question

Level 1

125 points

dual boot Yosemite/Sierra

I've upgraded my old iMac (1TB SSD, 2TB laptop drive, 32GB RAM) with great difficulty, & want to KEEP Yosemite (for compatibility with several programs) & dual boot to Sierra (for upgrades of several programs). But I have questions!

NOTE: I'm on a fixed, limited income, & this old iMac running Yosemite has served me very well. There's only a couple things (like Apple Mail & Chrome) that have gotten quirky this past year. Unless I get a miraculous windfall, I won't be buying new hardware or software.

I've read that each OS must be in it's own VOLUME, but everything I can find (in Disk Utility or online search) only refers to PARTITIONS. Volumes are within partitions, as I understand, so not sure how I can achieve this.

(I can "startup" from HDD, format the SSD & install both OS on that. The HDD will ultimately hold all my personal data files.)

Dumb question, perhaps, but can I toggle between the two OS, or must I reboot & force the iMac to choose the OS I want?

And will each OS only recognize & run apps installed in its own partition? Could I/should I format the SSD with 3 volumes, & put the apps in that 3rd volume, or is that pointless?

Finally, will TimeMachine backup everything on the SSD & HDD, regardless of volumes (or partitions)?

Thank you in advance!

iMac 21.5″, OS X 10.10

Posted on Apr 8, 2023 5:28 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Ric Lobosco Author

Level 1

125 points

Apr 10, 2023 9:37 AM in response to Niel

Thanks for the response, Niel! A bit more clarification, please...

I had understood that volumes was a subdivision of a partition. Neither OS or the hardware will treat any of the files/apps/etc any different, if I simply divide up the SSD into 2 or 3 partitions?
BUMMER. I'd hoped to copy & paste or other quick & easy toggling between things running in both OS on the fly! (Check Apple Mail or view a webpage with Chrome, then copy over something to Word/Office 2011 or vice versa, for example. P.I.T.A. to copy to a temp file, like TextEdit, to access with the different OS!) Is there a shortcut to choosing the startup OS on boot?
COOL! So I don't necessarily need a 3rd volume for apps/software, I just need to be very clear which apps work with which OS. (To avoid unintended copies of data files & the confusion/chaos that would cause, I suspect I should delete different versions of apps, like TextEdit, for instance.) ...But perhaps a 3rd volume/partition for software might be a great way to keep this under control, too...
Great tip! Will Time Machine organize directories according to HDD & partition/volume, in a "single backup"? I suspect it will: that will help me keep my "housekeeping" (how I organize my files) consistent, easy to locate, etc.

Maybe I'll have a BIG windfall one of these days, & can afford new hardware & software....

Thanks again for your assistance!

Reply