Issues with cloned SSD drive
I duplicated a High Sierra system from my 2011 iMac onto a new Samsung 860 EVO SSD using SuperDuper. My plan was to then install it into my 2011 MacBook Pro.
At this point it wouldn’t function as a startup drive - either internally or from an external dock, switching the two,
Again, only if the original drive were present would it boot and mount the SSD as an external volume. In summary, the new SSD would mount, but not boot (startup the MacBook Pro).
Dave Nanian of Shirt Pocket, the author of SuperDuper, advised that I perform a Install High Sierra because only then would the computer’s BIOS be updated to have the necessary code to execute a boot. After doing the install the SSD started up and is working like a champ.