Booting Ventura from external NVMe on M2 Mac Mini Triggers CPU Panic

Question

Level 1

10 points

Booting Ventura from external NVMe on M2 Mac Mini Triggers CPU Panic

I'm using a hub with my M2 Mac Mini which has a slot for NVMe M.2 SSD. I was doing an experiment on running MacOS Ventura from the NVMe drive, I formatted it to GUIDE APFS, installed Ventura on it from the recovery mode and changed the startup disk to it.

First boot was snapy and there was no issues. After installing some of the programs that I use on daily basis it still worked fine as expected. Until I shutdown my machine, on the next boot, the boot time took around 10 minutes to load up the OS into the login screen. Once I login, I get a crash report that mentions CPU Panic mode.

This scenario repeats itself whenever I reboot or boot up my M2 with NVMe desk as a start up.

I have attached the crash logs, would appreciate anyone's input on this issue as I'm keen on finding the reason behind the crash.

Something worth mentioning, the hub comes with 2 cables, USB-A to USB-C for power and USB-C to USB-C for Data.

Hub: Hagibis MC25 Pro

SSD: Crucial P2 CT2000P2SSD8 2 TB Internal SSD

M2 Mac Mini 2023

RAM 24 GB

Storage 256 GB

CPU Panic Crash Logs

Posted on Apr 14, 2023 11:14 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

woodmeister50

Level 7

21,015 points

Apr 15, 2023 5:15 AM in response to G3Nl3

It is not advised to use any sort of hub for an external Ventura installation whether it is an external drive is plugged into a hub or a hub that has the drive internal. It is unreliable at best and at worse simply won't boot.

If you want an externally booted system, you really need to use a drive that is directly connected to the Mini and not one in a hub. This is from personal experience and experience of others. A drive inside a hub is not directly connected but is connected to an internal hub connection.

Reply

Answer 2

G3Nl3 Author

Level 1

10 points

Apr 16, 2023 9:00 AM in response to woodmeister50

Thanks for the heads up! so I decided to go with UGREEN enclosure with same drive. I did get significant improvement over the hub. now the boot time takes almost 2 minutes with no crashes. I know 2 minutes is still long time considering its an SSD i'm using but i'm still happy with it over the previous 10 minutes with CPU Panic crash.

So to conclude on this topic, here are the outcomes for anyone wishing to use and install MacOS Ventura an external M.2 NVMe SSD:

Best use case would be using a branded external SSD that supports MacOS.
If you are going with M.2 NVMe internal drive with enclosure, make sure to verify that the enclosure + NVMe drive are the best combination, as well as they are supported by your target system (In my case it was M2 Mac mini).
When using the final combination of Enclosure, NVMe on your system as a boot drive, you will be sacrificing some of the SSD speed at boot time. It will not perform as good as the internal drive within your Mac machine but it should be usable.
After booting and logging in, the SSD speed in most cases will work at its optimal speed considering the enclosure used is best fit which enables it to use its actual read/write speeds.

Reply

Answer 3

tbirdvet

Level 6

17,090 points

Apr 16, 2023 9:21 AM in response to G3Nl3

I agree what the others have stated about not using a hub. I have an NVME drive in a TB enclosure and works fine and is very fast to boot (almost as fast as the internal for everyday use.)

Reply

Answer 4

den.thed

Level 10

90,970 points

Apr 15, 2023 8:39 AM in response to G3Nl3

Another thing to consider, is that booting from that drive in the docking station, is like 3 times slower than booting from the M2's internal storage drive.

Personally I would boot from the M2's internal 256GB storage drive and then access my larger Music, Photo, Video Libraries from the M2 NVMe or a 2.5" SATA SSD in the docking station.

Reply

Answer 5

Apr 16, 2023 5:40 AM in response to G3Nl3

Be aware that DIY enclosure and drive can have some pitfalls. It has been widely stated and tested that the the combo performance is highly dependent on the mix and match of the drive and to the computer. Some NVMe blades will work well with one enclosure on one machine but will be a real dog others.

If going this route, be sure that the drive manufacturer specifically states that a desired NVMe is compatible with their enclosure in combination with your Mac in terms of performance.

Reply

Answer 6

tbirdvet

Level 6

17,090 points

Apr 16, 2023 4:29 PM in response to G3Nl3

I use WD NVME SN550 blue (I also have a WD SN750 black) and a Trebleet enclosure and also I have one that uses an Acasis enclosure.

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-SN550-1TB-NVMe-Internal/dp/B07YFFX5MD/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1WWXQPOLFU8SZ&keywords=WD%2BNVME%2Bsn550&qid=1681687612&sprefix=wd%2Bnvme%2Bsn550%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BB74BQVN/?coliid=I1X6LHWOPQ7ORG&colid=16WHQQ1HVMSYP&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BCVT6GBN/?coliid=I1KJTGN04HGVZ&colid=16WHQQ1HVMSYP&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Reply

Answer 7

G3Nl3 Author

Level 1

10 points

Apr 15, 2023 12:24 PM in response to woodmeister50

Thank you for your insights, that's really helpful and makes sense.

So would something like an NVMe enclosure perform much better since it has a direct connection ?

I'm looking toward getting something like this with a thunderbolt 3 cable. I know I won't get the exact pure performance of the SSD but I'm happy if it would prevent the crash and maybe boot within around 2 minutes or less.

Once again, appreciate your input on this matter.

Reply

Answer 8

G3Nl3 Author

Level 1

10 points

Apr 15, 2023 12:36 PM in response to den.thed

Yep I acknowledge that, but i'm willing to sacrifice some boot time for a larger desk. I prefer working with one large desk rather than having 2 separate drive. This is due to the fact that some programs I won't have the choice to change their installation directory during the setup.

Most my work stuff is related to software development (Web, Desktop, Mobile), penetration testing, and as working with cloud deployments such as docker and Kubernetes.

As long as the program i'm trying to install uses a .dmg image, I can have it installed anywhere but the issue comes to the package installer which I've already faced with anaconda. Sometimes I cannot blame the vendor as installation would probably be required on the main drive for dependancies and local libraries.

Thanks for your input though, my main use case with the Mini is to test the new apple silicon hardware optimization with my needs. I'm planning to get an M2 or M3 Max 14" MacBook Pro for portability in the future once I get comfortable with getting everything set.

Reply

Answer 9

G3Nl3 Author

Level 1

10 points

Apr 16, 2023 9:23 AM in response to tbirdvet

Could you share the enclosure and NVMe drive you are using please?

Reply

Booting Ventura from external NVMe on M2 Mac Mini Triggers CPU Panic

Similar questions