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Sonoma is loaded on the SSD on my new imac2019 as it should be. The machine also has a HDD. I would like to find out how to create a user account in Sonoma on the HDD (and not on the SSD as seems to happen automatically. Has anyone run into the same problem? How can it be solved?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iMac, OS X 10.11
An iMac from 2019 can come configured with an Single SSD Drive
It can also come configured with a Fusion Drive
A Fusion configuration can have a 128 GB SSD Drive combined with a Traditional Rotational Drive which usually has a Larger Drive Capacity.
By the magic of Apple, the Fusion Drive is Fused together and presented to the Operating System ( and the user - you ) as a Single Drive
Usually, the Applications are located on the SSD portion of the Fusion Drive as the SSD Drive is much faster
Files like Music, Video, Photos, etc and application files created by the user are normally stored on the Rotational Drive
Which, normal has a much Greater Storage Capacity
Now, Managing Applications that get installed on this computer and occupies space on the SSD Drive.
That falls completely on the User ( you )
Managing a 128 GB SSD Drive will be a challenging at best
bardot666 wrote:
I should have clarified that both (SSD and HDD) are internal storage devices on my machine....
I should also clarify more universally that it is possible "move the user account to a non-boot volume ... but it is messy". See also:
Can I move an entire users folder to an e… - Apple Community
I should add that my main fear is that the SSD drive (only 128 GB) will fill up before the HDD. I would like to keep the SSD "clean", the programs on SSD separate from the work directories of users on HDD.
It is possible to move the user account to an external disk ... but it is messy and risky so do it only if you have the knowledge to troubleshoot it.
A better practice is to keep data files and large data libraries (Photos, Music, Final Cut Pro etc) on APFS (SSD) or MacOS Extended (HDD) external disks (those apps do not support non-Mac formats like exFAT etc).
Another option is the install macOS on an external large SSD (not HDD because they are slow with APFS) and use it as boot drive.
The only way to successfully accomplish what you want is to rebuild the Fusion Drive on that Mac. However, I don't think macOS Sonoma handles a Fusion Drive well.
Without the Fusion Drive magic, you could move user account home folders to the HDD as already noted, but that comes with lots of baggage. There have also been reports here of Sonoma not playing well with moved home folders. Restoring from a backup is also problematic.
Many of the large-data libraries can be set to exist on another drive, Photos, Music, TV.
Mail cannot be relocated.
Thank you so much for waking me up to the fact that I have bought a fusion drive setup. Now I can understand better some of the weird stuff I encountered setting up accounts and transferring files from my old computer.
Hi Barney, thank you for your answer. I think you are right. I better refrain from messing with the fusion drive setup and work with what is given.... Interesting new issues creep up when you copy files from your old computer to the new HDD and then want to use them in different accounts. Although you can see them across accounts, changing the permissions for different users looks like a nightmare if you have hundreds of relevant files.....
bardot666 wrote:
Hi Barney, thank you for your answer. I think you are right. I better refrain from messing with the fusion drive setup and work with what is given.... Interesting new issues creep up when you copy files from your old computer to the new HDD and then want to use them in different accounts. Although you can see them across accounts, changing the permissions for different users looks like a nightmare if you have hundreds of relevant files.....
The system is designed to isolate user data from other users. If you need to share data amongst users, you should store it in /Users/Shared. If you need to have multiple users edit the same files, you would need to set up Access Control Lists (ACL) on the shared folder.
Thank you Matti for your answer. I have woken up to the Fusion Drive magic (or not so magic). I am best off, I think by working with what is given. There seems to be an additional problem though, and that is that the Desktop is run from the SSD which I want to keep clean and use as little as possible. However, I cannot see how to create a new desktop from the HDD. This would mean that I cannot do all the wonderful moves I usually do on the desktop.
Any ideas around that?
There seems to be an additional problem though, and that is that the Desktop is run from the SSD which I want to keep clean and use as little as possible. However, I cannot see how to create a new desktop from the HDD. This would mean that I cannot do all the wonderful moves I usually do on the desktop.
Any ideas around that most welcome..
Thank you Barney. Again very helpful...
There seems to be an additional problem though, and that is that the Desktop is run from the SSD which I want to keep clean and use as little as possible. However, I cannot see how to create a new desktop from the HDD. This would mean that I cannot do all the wonderful moves I usually do on the desktop.
Any ideas around that?
bardot666 wrote:
Thank you Barney. Again very helpful...
There seems to be an additional problem though, and that is that the Desktop is run from the SSD which I want to keep clean and use as little as possible. However, I cannot see how to create a new desktop from the HDD. This would mean that I cannot do all the wonderful moves I usually do on the desktop.
Any ideas around that?
I don't understand what you mean. The Desktop is a folder in your Home folder and will always be where your home folder resides.
Thanks Barney. I just want to avoid constantly writing to the SSD (87% health left) and still use the convenience of shifting and rearranging files through the desktop. I guess I just have to learn new ways of doing the same somewhere else e.g. just using Finder ...
Thank you for your answer. I should have clarified that both (SSD and HDD) are internal storage devices on my machine....
I may stand corrected 😔
The SSD Drive, may be used to Load the Applications in Memory (RAM ) and not actually Installed on this drive
How can I create a user account in Sonoma on my HDD?
