So…bought another Samsung T7 for my 2014 mini since while it is slow on the spinning drive it’s only a server but the throughput to the external spinning drive is really slow…this server is essentially a destination for my roll your own TM replacement with CCC for laptops. Backup performance is a lot better so I figured I would boot from the SSD as well…but that’s been problematic.
Tried a full CCC clone including macOS to the SSD, selected as boot drive, doesn’t work. Downloaded the Monterey installer, nuked the SSD completely, formatted as APFS, and installed Monterey on the SSD…still doesn’t boot from it, looks like the mini thinks awhile and then gives up and boots from the internal spinner. System Prefs sees it and lets it be selected as startup disk…it just doesn’t actually boot from it.
It should boot from external USB according to google search but it isn’t working. Is there a trick here to make it work that I missed? The only thing I haven’t tried is a recovery boot and reinstall on the SSD…but I figure if the full installer doesn’t work tht won’t either.
It doesn’t really seem worth it to buy a new mini for 5is purpose, but I would like better performance when booting it and for the occasional login via Screens 4.