How to Use SSD as Boot Drive and Hard Drive as Storage on Mac?

I have a 1TB 5400 RPM HDD. Does anyone know how to use SSD as a boot drive and have HDD in an optical bay as storage on a Mac? I mean both drives work as one. Please let me know if you have a solution.

Best Answered by

Melissa Lee· Answered on Oct 18, 2023

You can use SSD as a boot drive and have HDD as storage on a Mac. But it's not recommended to use them as one because they are basically two separate drives. Of course, you can change the location of a User folder to another drive. But it's dangerous and requires the command line to accomplish the task.

If you want to use SSD as a boot drive and have HDD as storage separately, you can follow the steps below:

Use SSD as Boot Drive:

1. Back up your Mac with Time Machine and iCloud. You can also do it using EaseUS Todo Backup.

2. Connect your external SSD to your Mac. Go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility, and select View > Show All Devices.

3. Select the external SSD entry at the top of the list and click Erase.

4. Click Erase after making sure the name, format, and scheme are as follows:

  • Name: Macintosh HD
  • Format: APFS
  • Scheme: GUID Partition Map

5. Now you can install macOS on your external SSD.

Use HDD as Storage:

  • Plug the hard drive into the Mac using the cable that came with it. And double-click it to open the drive to view its contents.
  • Select the hard drive from the left menu. Click the Erase button at the top of the Disk Utility window.
  • Select ExFAT from the Format menu. Click Erase to format the drive with the selected format.
  • Once the drive has been formatted properly, it will appear on your desktop. You can add files to it now.

Related article: Guide on How to Clone Mac Hard Drive to SSD

Download EaseUS Todo Backup to Protect Computer Data!

Find best solutions to computer backup, cloud storage, data security, and disk cloning with full guidance.

People Also Ask

How Long Does Samsung Data Migration Take?

Are you facing the issue of Samsung Migration taking a long time to clone a hard drive? Are you wondering how long it will take a clone a hard drive with Samsung Migration? Don't worry, and you'll find your answer here, and learn the Samsung Migration alternative to cloning HDD/SS with a quick speed. 

Larissa

Nov 15, 2023

How Do I Change a HDD to a SSD in My Laptop?

Replacing a laptop HDD with an SSD is a common thing nowadays. But how do I change a HDD to a SSD in my laptop? This article will describe how to replace a laptop HDD with an SSD with the help of EaseUS Disk Copy.

Jerry

Nov 15, 2023

How Do I Move Program Files from SSD to HDD?

How do I move program files from SSD to HDD? Many people may have the question. This short post will guide you to move your program files running in OS on SSD to HDD, and provides you with a useful tool as your great helper.

Rel

Nov 15, 2023

How to Copy Windows from HDD to SSD

Do you know how to copy Windows from HDD to SSD? If you have no idea, this article will be your answer. The short post will tell you how to move your Windows from the HDD to the SSD.

Jerry

Nov 15, 2023

Can I Move Windows 10 From External HDD To Internal SSD?

Looking for a way to move Windows 10 from External HDD to internal SSD? This post from EaseUS will show you how to do it successfully.

Larissa

Nov 17, 2023

How Do I Clone My Old Hard Drive to My New SSD?

Do you wonder how do I clone my old hard drive to my new SSD? If you do, you are in the right spot. This post will describe how to clone your old hard drive to your new SSD and offer a cloning tool, EaseUS Disk Copy, to help you.

Jerry

Nov 15, 2023