Enter the administrator password if prompted, and hit the return key. Press enter, and start the upgrade process.Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/startosinstall –converttoapfs NO Download the macOS High Sierra installer app from the App Store.This utility will help you skip the APFS conversion faster than the first method, since the command line you'll enter into Terminal will instruct the installer to skip that specific step, eliminating the need to create a clone and move it to another drive.
Unpacking the macOS High Sierra installer will unveil many ‘secrets’ that Apple is hiding away from the average user, and the startosinstall is just one of them. Even Disk Utility's Restore feature can be of great help here. After finishing the upgrade use cloning software such as Carbon Copy Cloner to create an exact copy of the external drive on the internal drive. Apple's new file system currently supports internal SSDs for automatic APFS conversion, so even if the drive is an SSD the external volume won't be converted, as such the existing formatting of the drive is retained during the installation process. Use an external drive as the target for the macOS High Sierra install.
#Mac os high sierra review how to#
How to Prevent Automatic Conversion to APFS Use an External Volume There are two methods to avoid the process, and we don't recommend doing so at all, especially not if you’re a novice Mac user, but if you are determined to stop the HFS+ to APFS conversion, then use one of the options described below. If your Mac startup drive meets the criteria, the conversion to APFS is – theoretically – unstoppable, but there are still ways of skipping the conversion process, ensuring the SSD remains in the older HFS+ format. APFS brings improvements to speed and also comes with strong support for encryption since it was built with encryption at its core, but you may have your own reasons for preserving the old file system – maybe you don't use Time Machine and want the data intact on the internal volume. Why Skip APFS?įusion Drives and traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) aren't converted during the installation process for macOS High Sierra, just like any non-Mac volumes, but SSDs are. And so if you don't want the SSD to be converted into APFS, there is a way to stop the process. But there is one thing that the tech giant forgot about: the developer community, which always quickly reacts to this sort of news with a workaround. Apple doesn't require your consent: want it or not, the HFS+ volume is converted to APFS, a transition that you cannot stop – at least according to Apple.
#Mac os high sierra review install#
When you install macOS High Sierra with flash storage, that volume is automatically converted to the all-new APFS (Apple File System).