Trouble installing apps on external drive

Most apps really, really want or need to be installed into the Applications folder.

The best guidance is simply allow the app to install into its default location on your Mac.

Simply formatting a drive with Mac OS Extended is not the same as installing macOS on that drive.

Logic and its libraries are amenable to being installed - or relocated - an external drive. Not all apps are.

Some developers require software to be installed on the same drive as macOS. I suggest you contact the developer of the software regarding this requirement.

RubberbandDrive wrote:

When I attempt to install MeldaProduction or the Arturia software centers on an attached thunderbolt M2 drive, I see the message that it can't install there because MacOS isn't installed there. I tried formatting as MacOS extended to no avail. I am new the Apple ecosystem, and am likely not using the correct language in my searches. My system is the entry M4 mini, with an Acasis M002Pro dock with a pair of 4tb 990 pro as individual volumes. I was able to put Logic and all its sound banks on one of the drives from the App Store.

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/fb712a1e-c64e-477a-a050-d081447793e5

I can't find reference to this message. Please help.

[Edited by Moderator]

If that software is using an installer, like the built-in package installer, then it most likely needs to install system modifications which would require an operating system to modify, so it must be installed on the startup drive.

Just to clarify a bit. There is no modern Mac software that needs to be installed on the startup volume. Apps can reside on any visible volume, although I strongly recommend that they are HFS+ or APFS volumes.

That being said, very few apps have been updated to run on modern (2022) versions of macOS. This is why so many people struggle with macOS updates. They have to install every macOS update within minutes of it being announced by Apple. They expect all of their 3rd party apps to run flawlessly on this new update. But those same 3rd party apps typically take decades to ship updates for operating system changes.

if I may add my two cents. it would be better to install apps on your local drive, and use the external drive(s) as extra storage space.