Mac Mail on External Drive??
I'd really like to move my mac mail, at least all of the mailboxes, to a dedicated external drive. Not to archive, but to be fully functional. Is this possible?
iMac 27″, macOS 15.3
Looks like it takes some work but:
AI Overview
Yes, you can move your Mac Mail data to an external drive, but it requires creating symbolic links to the Mail folder on the external drive.
Here's a breakdown of how to do it:
1. Prepare Your External Drive:
- Format:
- Ensure your external drive is formatted as a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system.
- Create a Folder:
- Create a folder on the external drive where you want to store your Mail data (e.g., "Mail" or "Mail Library").
2. Locate and Copy the Mail Folder:
- Find the Mail Folder:
- In Finder, go to the "Go" menu, then "Go to Folder" and type ~/Library/Mail (or ~/Library/Mail/V10) and press Enter.
- Copy the Folder:
- Copy the "Mail" folder (or "Mail/V10") to the folder you created on your external drive.
3. Create Symbolic Links:
- Close Mail: Make sure the Mail application is completely closed.
- Delete the Original Mail Folder: Delete the "Mail" folder (or "Mail/V10") from your ~/Library folder.
- Create Symbolic Links:
- Right-click on the "Mail" folder (or "Mail/V10") on your external drive.
- Select "Services" and then "Make Alias" (or "Make Symbolic Link").
- Move the newly created alias (or symbolic link) to your ~/Library folder.
- Rename the alias (or symbolic link) to "Mail" (or "Mail/V10").
4. Test and Verify:
- Launch Mail:
- Open the Mail application and verify that it can access your emails from the external drive.
- Troubleshooting:
- If you encounter issues, make sure the external drive is always connected and that the symbolic links are correctly set up.
Important Considerations:
- Performance:
- Accessing data on an external drive can be slower than accessing data on your internal drive, especially if the external drive is not USB 3.0 or faster.
- Backup:
- This method does not create a backup of your emails. You should still have a separate backup solution in place.
- Symbolic Link Issues:
- If the external drive is not available, the Mail application may not be able to launch or access your emails.
- MacOS Updates:
- Future macOS updates might invalidate the symbolic links, requiring you to repeat the process.