Can't update MacOS on M2 Mini booting from an external SSD

Running Sonoma 14.5 from a bootable external SSD on an M2 Mac Mini. When I attempt to update to 14.6.1, the dialog below appears. There is plenty of disk space. Guessing it has to do with the external drive. Do you have any guidance?

Mac mini, macOS 14.5

Posted on Aug 15, 2024 7:43 PM

Similar questions

Unable to update Operating System on External SSD Startup disk. I set up a new Mac with an external Samsung T7 2tb SSD being used as the Startup Drive. I have been unable to update the Operating System since I got it. I have tried Updating from App Store. Updating in Safe Mode Updating using Terminal command sudo softwareupdate -i -a -R The update always progresses normally and appears successful but is still stuck on Ventura 13.2.1 The SSD has GUID Partition Map and is formatted with APFS
1291 6
Update OS on Macbook Air 2018 using external SSD. Memory full. The storage on my 13 inch Macbook Air 2018 is full. I need to upgrade the OS which is running Big Sur. 58.23 GB is "other" and system is 15.53 Gb. I have bought a portable, external SSD. Can anyone point me to a simple step by step guide as to how to use this?
372 1
Problem updating from Sierra to High Sierra Hi all — I have a 27inch Late 2013 iMac which has a dead internal SSD drive. I've resurrected it using an external SSD connected to USB 3 and everything is working fine. I've been through the OS upgrades and am now at Sierra. Unfortunately I can't update to High Sierra as I get an error message in the installer which says "you may not install to this volume because the computer is missing a firmware update". Can anyone help with this? I'm using 2 external SSDs at the moment, one as the main startup disk with Sierra and the other to install High Sierra on. I can then use that as the main startup disk. The problem is every time I format an external to make it ready for HS I get a message about he firmware update. I've tried formatting for Extended Journaled and also APFS but each time I get error messages. Thanks
783 10

2 replies

SmarteePantz Author

Level 1

10 points

Aug 15, 2024 8:27 PM in response to SmarteePantz

NVM. It's installed now. Used "sudo softwareupdate -i -a -R --verbose" from terminal. Rebooted and it worked.

BDAqua

Level 10

251,399 points

Aug 15, 2024 10:46 PM in response to SmarteePantz

Good work!:)

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Can't update MacOS on M2 Mini booting from an external SSD

Welcome to Apple Support Community

A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.

Learn more Sign up