SSD Boot Drive for Mac Pro

If you are now booting from the ssd you can do anything you want to your hdd, so, yes, you can delete the system off it. But you might also consider keeping it as a backup boot disk. You don't want to "cut the cord" just yet anyhow until you confident you ssd is working properly, say, for a few days.

Of course you always want to have backups anyhow.😉

Is it ok for me to now delete the system file that is still on my old HDD?

Ditto what X423424X said. 🙂

I've been using a 512gB Crucial SSD as a boot drive along with a 2TB HD for some time now on my 2010 Mac Pro and while the boot time is significantly faster and there is some speed improvement with some applications, there is a significant increase in the latency as the computer attempts to link files from the HD. First time I link, the ball spins for several seconds. Overall, since I rarely boot the MacPro, I think my workflow has stayed about the same, or perhaps slowed down a bit. I wonder if others have noticed this? I'm considering going back to a single HD and using the SSD in my Macbook Pro.

what do you mean by "every time I link files?"

A. Do you have your user account on the ssd or the hdd?

B. drives are set to never spin down

C. Have you been using TRIM in some way, and repairing the SSD in DU from another drive from time to time.

I have always for decade plus used a dedicated boot drive (15K SCSI, later 10K Raptor etc) and media and data on other drive(s) and often on stripe array.

yes it will help MBP

I would leave the small ~/Library on the SSD

I think 500GB SSD is overkill for setup of a system only boot drive.

Might do fine for CS6 scratch; or Lightroom or Aperture Library/Catalogue though

And once in awhile you might even need to erase the SSD and restore system image.

Boot time: 10 seconds

Time for 10 apps to launch and be ready simultaneously: 10-15 seconds (once I put iPhoto on its own SSD on Sonnet Tempo, which is where scratch and L4/5 or Aperture should go)

I went back to 10K VelociRaptor from 2009 and could not wait to get Samsung 840 back in operation.

With Crucial m4 firmware shipped was rarely or never current and was critical.

Thanks for responding, Hatter.

When I start an APP, the first time it looks for a "native" file, it seems to have to look for several seconds.

A. The User account is on the HD, all the system files, apps etc are on the SSD.

B. Drives are set never to spin down.

C. I don't think the Crucial SSd uses TRIM. I do repair the SSD occasionally. No apparent difference

Turns out the 500GB SSD is actually a 256 GB M4 CT256M4SSD2 with about 97 GB available and it verifies OK.

It contains the System and APP files. I've never erased and restored the system image.

The Large Library is on the SSD and the Small LIB is on the User Home on the HD. Maybe this is the reason for the issue.

I have never updated the firmware. Can this be done without trashing the SSD?

This puppy boots very quickly, but since I only boot the MacPro about once/wk, that's not a serious issue. Waiting till the APPs find the appropriate file location, or waiting till files locate their default APP is taking several seconds. That's the annoying part.

I've considering constructing a bootable HD to go back and see if it works better. I presume you simply reverse the instructions to boot and mount the User account on the HD.

Use TRIM Enabler. All SSDs - it is becoming part of SATA 3.1+ specification.

Yes you should look for the new firmware

Of course you should image the SSD for restore purpose and to have another emergency image and boot drive

Use TE on another drive and then run DU Repair

I like to leave just the small ~/Library on SSD and it is only 3GB

Two wheel drive is always better and any "looking" is just the 2TB HDD drive's problem, not from using an SSD.

you just clone or restore the SSD to say a 10K 250GB WD VR or whatever to boot from it

Using Cloning as a Backup Strategy

Ya know, I feel a bit stupid but I don't know how to recognize the SMALL Library location. The one I access under GO ~/Library is almost 90GB and is on the HD under the Home Folder. The one I get by holding down the Option key is 75GB, on the SSD.

PS: Why "re-open a TWO YR OLD thread?

Slow learner, I guess. Thanks anyway.