Can't boot OS X El Capitan from external USB 3.0 SSD

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Level 1

11 points

Can't boot OS X El Capitan from external USB 3.0 SSD

I have a new late 2014 Mac Mini i5 2.6 8GB 1TB with El Capitan, I purchased a Crucial 250 GB MX200 and a Startech

S2510BPU337 USB UASP case. Black Magic gives it reads and write speeds around 430.

I have created boot drives and clones with both SuperDuper and Carbon Copy, but can't make it boot from the external drive, I select the USB as the boot drive, but always ends up booting from the internal 1TB. I wanted to avoid opening the Mac Mini to install the SSD internally to avoid loosing the warranty.

Any idea what the problem could be?

thanks

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Jan 31, 2016 12:26 PM

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Answer 1

lllaass

Level 10

210,519 points

Feb 1, 2016 12:23 PM in response to AdamMalaga

What if y bot with the Option key depressed?

Is the USB drive listed? If so what happens when you select it?

Have you tried repairing the USB drive via Disk Utility? Were any errors fixed?

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Answer 2

AdamMalaga Author

Level 1

11 points

Jan 31, 2016 1:29 PM in response to lllaass

I haven,t tried booting with Options key depressed, i will try that tomorrow and reportó back.

The USB drive sis listed in the boot drive choice in System Preferences, but will check it is too from the option key start.

I didn't try repairing the disk, but was reformatting before each test and never showed any problem, but again will test that tomorrow and report back.

I was more wondering if there was any known incompatibility with the Startech case, which certainly runs very fast under USB 3.0 returning 400+ speeds.

thanks

adam

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Answer 3

AdamMalaga Author

Level 1

11 points

Feb 1, 2016 12:23 PM in response to lllaass

I Got it working this morning with the SSD in another USB enclosure, much slower, only gives about 180 but works, so reckon that must be incompatibility of the StarTech enclosure. It works for everything excepting booting. I did the option key start and the SSD drive didn't show. When I changed to the older enclosure, it worked with no problem.

i Think I may have top open the MacMini and plug it in and put the 1TB drive in an enclosure. Do you have any other ideas?

Thanks for the help

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Answer 4

lllaass

Level 10

210,519 points

Feb 1, 2016 12:28 PM in response to AdamMalaga

With the StarTech connected what does System Profiler, under USB, say about the enclosure? Does it list the chipset used?

OS X: About System Information and System Profiler - Apple Support

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