My 2017 i7 iMac is running 10.14.6 - it has been since I got it.

I used the internal 2.1TB fusion drive for a short time before getting a fast 2TB eternal that I have been using for my boot drive since.

I NEVER use the internal fusion drive. If I install Monterey on the internal, will I still be able to reboot to the external without issue? Might there be some hardware change that may prohibit me from booting from the external?

Having a really hard time leaving 10.14, but it's not being updated anymore - time to move on.

(yes, I know some of you want to stay with 10.15, 10.14, 10.13, 10.12 and all the way back to OS 9 - that's nice for you, but not for me :-)

At least got to 10.15 =)

As long as you are booting externally now, then shouldn't be a prob.

my 2020 imac came with bug sur, and it wouldn't let external booting without hoop jumping. Took me several steps to downgrade to 10.15.

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

Her’s a guess - you may want to copy some important files from your external drive to a thumb drive. Then disconnect the external drive and update your internal drive to a newer OS. Work with the files until your convinced the newer OS will work (days, weeks?). If everything looks good, reconnect the external drive.

Big Sur and later add some annoyances, like system "snapshots" showing up as drives named Update when you are booted from earlier OS versions. Make sure you read the procedure for allowing external booting in those versions. You also will probably have to forget about having a reliable, bootable, backup clone.

I much prefer Mojave, High Sierra, and Sierra. I am still mostly using SIerra and High Sierra.

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My life goes smoothly and in regular intervals