PROGRESS REPORT

I switched the Envoy Pro from a USB 3.0 port to a USB 3.1 Gen 2 port (have you any idea how hard it is to find a USB 3.1 gen 2 hub?) and unsurprisingly it is nearly twice as fast as it was on the USB 3.0 port. It boots reliably and works well. It is not a true clone of course and whether it will survive the data volume being cloned from the internal volume is yet to be determined. (One step at a time.)

FINDINGS TO DATE

  • It is possible to create a bootable external drive for an M1 Mac but it may take some experimentation to find a combination of installer, target drive, and port connection that works for you. 🤷‍♂️
  • After the initial install completes there are several tasks that must be performed to have a fully functioning system and multiple reboots are required.
  • Best case this is NOT a replacement for a real ASR clone (I hope Apple is diligently working on that)
  • Running the installer from a Thumb Drive would be my suggestion. You can find instructions for that in this osXDaily article. Your Flash drive should have a bare minimum of 16GB, have a reasonably fast read rate, and preferably both Type A and C USB connectors.


TO BE DETERMINED

  • Will a bootable external drive survive cloning the data volume from the internal drive?
  • Were the previous failures related to the installer, the connection port, or the target device, all of the above, none of the above, karma?
  • Is there a reliable combination for creating external boot drive for an M1 Mac?


MORE TO FOLLOW

If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein