MP 7,1 Multiple (macOS) boot on built-in SSD

[mattspace]

Just wondering, do any 7,1 owners here have their machines set up with more than one boot partition on the built in storage?

Thinking in terms of a vanilla macOS install, then a customised install that has third party stuff added, a test install where you can experiment without altering your production OS etc.

 

[CanPhantom]

Because that's a lot of work for no real benefit. What you described is what VMs are for.

 

[mattspace]

Because that's a lot of work for no real benefit. What you described is what VMs are for.

VMs can replicate the aspects of my working environment that are most important - namely the multiscreen-edness. Hence Im wondering if you can just duplicate a known working boot partition, boot to it, run your tests, then burn it down, or move to it and make the old partition a fallback. Sortof like what some immutable Linux varieties are doing, where you run 2 copies of the OS, and alternate between them on upgrades, so you have bootable rollback.

 

[avro707]

Because that's a lot of work for no real benefit. What you described is what VMs are for.

VM costs extra money per year to greedy software companies who want to hit you on a subscription model.

Easier to use a separate SSD and run Windows that way. It’s easy and what I do.

 

[CanPhantom]

VM costs extra money per year to greedy software companies who want to hit you on a subscription model.

Easier to use a separate SSD and run Windows that way. It’s easy and what I do.

Sure, but the OP is not asking about running Windows, or about running multiple bootable SSDs.

 

[CanPhantom]

VMs can replicate the aspects of my working environment that are most important - namely the multiscreen-edness. Hence Im wondering if you can just duplicate a known working boot partition, boot to it, run your tests, then burn it down, or move to it and make the old partition a fallback. Sortof like what some immutable Linux varieties are doing, where you run 2 copies of the OS, and alternate between them on upgrades, so you have bootable rollback.

I can't say definitively that this isn't possible with macos, but it sounds very, very unlikely. Separate SSDs might be doable, but not all on the same drive.

 

[mattspace]

Sure, but the OP is not asking about running Windows, or about running multiple bootable SSDs.

…or asking about running VMs.

 

[mattspace]

I can't say definitively that this isn't possible with macos, but it sounds very, very unlikely. Separate SSDs might be doable, but not all on the same drive.

it works with APFS (and HFS+) SATA SSDs under older macOS versions. What would be different with contemporary OS versions / Apple SSDs?

 

[Matty_TypeR]

I cant see any reason why you cant use the internal Mac pro 7.1 drive partitioned for different boot version's. I use mine with Ventura on Mac SSD and 2 X M2 drives via switch M2 PCIe card with Monterey on 1 M2 and Windows 11 on the other M2

Only reason i do this is if partition Mac drive has failure you could lose all your bootable option's as on separate drives you can always boot if needed.

 

[mattspace]

I cant see any reason why you cant use the internal Mac pro 7.1 drive partitioned for different boot version's. I use mine with Ventura on Mac SSD and 2 X M2 drives via switch M2 PCIe card with Monterey on 1 M2 and Windows 11 on the other M2

Only reason i do this is if partition Mac drive has failure you could lose all your bootable option's as on separate drives you can always boot if needed.

My reasoning is either to experiment with the immutable paradigm, where you alternate between boot drives with each update, or to have the base system on one, base with my system extending apps on another, and then a duplicate of that with my actual working environment, and all my non iCloud / IMAP stuff kept on a Synology, so if the working system goes bad, i can just burn it, and replace from the last working version, then Synology / iCloud / IMAP stuff will just update to match.

I’d still have all these backed up etc in case of a catastrophic ssd failure.

 

[ToniCH]

Just wondering, do any 7,1 owners here have their machines set up with more than one boot partition on the built in storage?

Don't have 7,1 but I have had many bootable partitions at the same time in many macs. No problems ever.

I tried if this USB blade SSD (the ssd was originally in MBP) of mine with several different bootable partitions work with my 5,1 and yes it does (also works with my iMacs, MPBs etc). Cannot figure any reason why it would not work the same way installed internally. And don't know any reason why 7,1 would be different. So, I suggest you try. Partition your drive and clone the existing OS to the new partition or even do a clean install to it. Then boot with alt pressed to get the boot selector.

 

[mattspace]

And don't know any reason why 7,1 would be different. So, I suggest you try. Partition your drive and clone the existing OS to the new partition or even do a clean install to it. Then boot with alt pressed to get the boot selector.

I haven’t owned a T(x) managed boot drive system before, so I just wasn‘t sure if it would behave like a SATA SSD with regards to that sort of thing. And, google has basically become worthless for search results that aren’t content (theft) farms.

 

[ToniCH]

I haven’t owned a T(x) managed boot drive system before

I have no experience on T2 chips but I think it would be a weird reduction of usability if they would have prevented installing more than one OS on single (or more) drive. Even Windows and Linux machines have such chips and it doesn't prevent you to do multiboot systems.