10.5.8 install issues on an external drive

I did a fresh install of Leopard onto an external drive I keep for emergencies (I never installed it there -- it's been on Tiger for a while) and ran the update after I booted with that as a startup drive. And now I don't have an external bootable drive. For whatever reason, it boots fine in 10.5, but after downloading the 10.5.8 update and restarting, it hung ad the white screen w/ the apple and spinning circle.
So I turned the computer off, did a fresh clean install (without saving network or user info) and rebooted. Again, no probs with 10.5. I installed all the updates (Quicktime, etc.) first and rebooted....no problem. In downloaded only that monster 10.5.8 update again and let it run through the install. Rebooted and went to bed. I came downstairs this morning to an alarmingly hot imac sitting on the white screen with an apple and spinning white circle. It stayed that way all night while I let the update install, and my imac was alarmingly hot to the touch when I checked it this morning.
For whatever reason, it doesn't seem to like being installed on this external hard drive.
Has anyone had success in installing 10.5.8 to an external drive? I'm trying to determine if it just doesn't like this drive or if this is an issue with the update. I'm leery of installing the 10.5.8 on the computers internal hard drive if I don't have a bootable drive I can use for diagnostics if needed.

I am seeing same problem in MBP. I upgraded to a 500GB HD in dec and kept the 250GB original HD as an external/lab/recover USB drive. All updates up to 10.5.7 work on both drives, and 10.5.8 works in the internal drive as well. But like Bryan's setup, the external USB drive won't finish upgrading to 10.5.8. Right after the second reboot it will hang onto spinning circle and after some messages about Mac OS X component in verbose mode. I'll get the messages later to this post.
To make sure I haven't an HD problem, I erased the partitions on it, recreated as GPT (as it was before) single HFS+ journalized partition, freash 10.5.6 install and comboed to 10.5.8 to the same fault. Original installation was from 10.5.7 to 10.5.8 via Software Update (which worked fine in my internal disk).
I also tried using another HD, a desktop 1TB (my Time Capsule archive mirror), erased all data and partitions, installed a fresh 10.5.6 again and ran combo ending up on same issue. Also, trying a small partition (50GB) won't fix this.
Still working on this problem but not more ideas up right now. I am expecting a firewire 400 case to be delivered this week and give a try.
regards

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Install Leopard on an External Drive on a Snow Leopard Mac Book Pro

Hi
I have a MBP 17/CTO 2.66GHz i7, which came installed with Snow Leopard.
I've used boot camp to install Windows 7.
I've attempted to install Leopard 10.5.4 on an external drive.
The steps I've taken:
1 - Connected my WD Passport on the Firewire Port
2 - Partitioned the drive. The first partition is 100GB, Mac OS/X Extended (journal) and I've selected the GUID Partition Scheme
3 - Inserted the Mac OS/X Leopard DVD, and followed the instructions to restart
4 - On restart I have three options. Mac OS, Windows and Install Mac OS\X
5 - I select Install Mac OS\X.
6 - The disc spins for a few moments and then the laptop freezes
Beware of the following issue:
1 - On restart more often than not, the DISC will spin and then the laptop will freeze.
2 - To overcome this, restarting pressing the ALT (option) Key.
3 - You should see your boot options. If you do not see "Install Mac OS\X", then eject and reinsert the disc.
The question maybe why would I want to have an Leopard Installation when I have Snow Leopard. The software I develop has thrown up a number of differences between Leopard and Snow Leopard, hence I need both OS's to support my software.
I mentioned this to the Apple Store before I purchased my machine. They put me through to a senior technician at Apple Care, who told me it would be possible to have the set up I am after; and to contact Apple Care if I ran into any difficulties.
After I received my laptop and ran into the problems I described above I contacted Apple Care, only to be told by a senior technician that it should be possible to install Leopard on an external drive, but Apple Care cannot provide any support or assistance.
I really do like the laptop and would much rather not return the laptop; but I really do need the setup described.
Anyway I have tried a number of different approaches:
1 - Having no partitions (so just the single partition)
2 - Trying all three Partition Schemes:
- GUILD Partition Table
- Apple Partition Map
- Master Boot Record
All resulting in the same problem.
I can confirm the external drive does appear as bootable in disc info.
My guess is one of the following is preventing the install:
1 - It is simply not possible to install an earlier version of Mac OS\X than 10.6 on the laptop I have, even if I tried to install on an external drive. This restriction is built into some hardware confirguration. So even if I wiped the internal hard drive or added a new partition to the internal hard drive, I would not be able to install 10.5.4. I say this may be a reason as the second technician told me the CPU has built into it a process which prevents installing older versions of Mac OS/X, but that it should NOT restrict installation on an external harddrive.
2 - When trying to install Mac OS/X, a search is carried out for an external drive which has the correct format. For some reason it may be that this search is not finding my external drive?
I'm a little stuck here and quite disapointed that the support promised by Apple Care for assistance in setting this up, is now not forth coming.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated, as ideally I would prefer to keep and not return the laptop, it's a beautiful piece of machinery.
Cheers
Parmy

The mystery continues...
I have an older MBP (2.33 GHz Intel Core Duo) which came installed with Tiger. I can confirm I purchased a genuine copy of Leopard (10.5.4) from the Apple Store and it’s not an OEM version. I installed 10.5.4 without a hitch on my old MBP internal drive. It is the only OS installed on my old MBP.
Using my older MBP (which through software updates is now running 10.5.7), I managed to install 10.5.4 onto my external HD (WD My Passport Studio – 640GB FireWire 800).
However; on the final restart, the screen remained grey and 10.5.4 did not boot from the external drive.
I restarted the machine holding down the ALT (option) key, and only two options appeared, Macintosh HD and the Install DVD. I selected the Macintosh HD and opened System Preferences.
In System Preferences --> Startup Disk, I discovered the partition on my external HD which contains 10.5.4. I selected this partition and selected restart.
On restart my MBP displayed a grey screen, and the blue light on my hard drive flashed slowly. I left this for an hour, however; the OS did not start and the screen remained grey.
I then plugged my external HD into my new MBP which I started holding down the ALT key.
To my surprise I found 3 boot options (Macintosh HD, Windows and Leopard). Leopard being the partition on my external drive, which now has 10.5.4 installed.
I selected Leopard, but sadly after 30 minutes, the OS failed to boot.
Although this deviates slightly from this post, I fail to understand the problem here:
1 – Why can’t I boot 10.5.4 on an external drive, from my old MBP? Surely this is not because my old MBP is now running 10.5.7?
2 – Why can I see 10.5.4 as a boot option on my new MBP but not on my old MBP when I start the MBP holding down the ALT key?
I doubt there is a problem with my external drive, as it seems to read, write, etc... in all normal cases.
Whilst it definitely appears that I won’t be able to boot 10.5.4 on an external drive from my new MBP, I should be able to at least boot it from my old MBP, which would give me the option of installing Snow Leopard and Windows on the internal drive of my old MBP.
Apologies for keeping this post going, but I hope by getting to the bottom of this, it will help other Mac users as well.
I’ve run out of ideas of things to try, so I will give Apple Care another call in the morning, and will report back.
Any suggestions of other things I can try?
Cheers

I think the DVD player reader on my Mac is going bad. Is there a way to copy the files off of an Apple Install DVD onto an external drive and then do theinstall from the external drive?

I think the DVD player reader on my Mac is going bad. Until I get it fixed Is there a way to copy the files off of an Apple Install DVD onto an external drive and then do theinstall from the external drive? It's ILife 11 if that makes a difference. Finder won't let me see the files to copy. I know - dumb question.
Thanks.
Bob

Adding an SSD is not a simple endeavour like adding additional memory or adding another hard drive to a Mac Pro. That's probably why the option is only offered as an option at the time of purchase. Even if your Apple store was willing to install the necessary parts you will probably be paying for 1-2 hours of labor plus the cost of purchasing the necessary service parts (SSD, bracket, cables, etc) which I suspect will make the upgrade cost much higher than what it costs to add the SSD option when purchasing a new system.
I use my system for business and need it to work reliably. Even though I'm fairly handy with tools I would not be willing to risk damaging my system and voiding my warranty by opening my system and removing the logic board and several other parts in order to squeeze in an SSD option and attach the appropriate cables and brackets. I'm also not prepared to deal with the hassles of explaining why my system has unauthorized parts installed in the event I experience issues and need to make use of my Apple warranty. My time is valuable, so I would probably investigate external storage options, or if I needed the speed of an SSD, I would consider selling my existing system and then purchase a new system configured with an SSD.
If you haven't already done so I suggest doing a search on 'iMac SSD installation' to see what's involved. It might help you understand why the SSD option is not offered post purchase.

Can I install Leopard on an external drive to run my computer?

Since it seems my hard drive has totally bit the dust, can I install Leopard on the external drive I use for Time Machine, and run my desktop from that drive? Could I run it from an external drive totally dedicated to Leopard? I am buying a new desktop soon, but I need info off of this machine. Can I plug in my Time Machine drive to my laptop and be able to use it without losing data?

Elizabeth Salcido wrote:
Thanks so much.
Youa re welcome!
I figured I would have to use a second drive. At least when I get my new desktop I will have a drive for Time Machine for both desktop and laptop.
If you really plan to keep the laptop around after you get your desktop, I would recommend replacing its internal hard drive. While running your laptop off an external is possible, it should be considered a stopgap measure. i wouldn't do it on a permanent basis. For one, as you'll find out, it's quite a bit slower than when using the internal drive.

Can I install Linux on an external drive?

I'm kinda curious about something. If I boot up off an external firewire drive at boot time and I have previously partitioned it into 2 partitions (techtool or iPartition) is it possible to install a Intel Linux distro on the 2nd partitition?
When I go to boot from that external drive will the Linux installed boot loader allow me to select OSX or Linux to actually boot from?
Even better can I just install Linux on this external drive in the only partition?
I'm only looking to experiment with a Linux distro and I don't want to use Parallels anymore so I'm wondering if I can use an external drive to do so.
TIA,
Peter

I'm kinda curious about something. If I boot up off
an external firewire drive at boot time and I have
previously partitioned it into 2 partitions (techtool
or iPartition) is it possible to install a Intel
Linux distro on the 2nd partitition?
When I go to boot from that external drive will the
Linux installed boot loader allow me to select OSX or
Linux to actually boot from?
Even better can I just install Linux on this external
drive in the only partition?
I'm only looking to experiment with a Linux distro
and I don't want to use Parallels anymore so I'm
wondering if I can use an external drive to do so.
TIA,
Peter
Here is an indirect answer. I know you can using Paralles, not sure about the other way though.
http://www.parallels.com/

Can I install os9 on an external drive from mavericks

Can I install OS9 on an external drive from Mavericks? I'm running Mavericks 10.9.4 on both my MBP and 27" iMac. I have my original OS9 install disc. I'd like to install OS9 on an external drive so I can use some classic apps that I'd like to use.
I tried to install directly to an external drive, but when I click on the Mac OS Install icon, I get the message "You can't open the application "%@" because it may be damaged or incomplete." The icon for Mac OS Install is the generic page with an A. Figuring that Mavericks doesn't recognize the app. Then I restarted and held down the C key - no luck.

I understand, but was hoping I boot off an external drive in 9. Thanks for your response and I apologize for my late response.

HT4904 Help. I have an older 20 inch iMac and had Lion running on it but the internal hard drive died. I'm trying to install Lion on an external drive but it doesn't look like Lion Recovery is supported. I have Leopard installed but am stuck.

Hello,
My 20inch iMac's internal drive died and I'm trying to re-install Lion on an external drive. If I could get the Lion DMG file I think I'd be all set but am not sure how to do this. It doesn't look like the Lion Recovery feature is supported in my older iMac. And I have Leopard installed on the external drive but there's no AppStore to download the Lion DMG file.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
-Lee

Without a bootable backup/clone or a Time Machine backup of your previous Snow Leopard installation or a saved copy of Lion's install app, you'll have to upgrade your Leopard volume to Snow Leopard (10.6.6+) so you can waste another hour or more DLing the Lion thing again.

HT3986 can bootcamp be used with Windows install disk on an external drive (internal is broken) ?

can bootcamp be used with Windows install disk on an external drive (internal is broken) ?

With Boot Camp, you must install Windows onto in internal HDD (or SSD). If you are referring that your internal Optical drive is broken, you might be able to install Windows from an external drive, but you might not. I have heard varying levels of success with that. I'm not sure what the official stance is, but I do know that if youe machine shipped with an internal optical drive, then you must use that to install Windows using Boot Camp and not swap it out for a "data doubler" and try to install from an external optical drive.

Cannot install Snow Leopard onto external drive

I'm attempting to install Snow Leopard on a second drive, an external bare drive in an Icy Dock enclosure connected to a MacPro (running 10.6.6) via serial port. Apple Disc Utility confirms that the external drive (a Seagate 325gb) has a partition map scheme GUID Partition Table. SMART Status is not supported. Connection Bus reads as SCSI but it's connected with a serial cable.
I'm able to perform the first part of the install by selecting the external drive but when I have to restart and complete the install from the original Snow Leopard disc (10.6), the external drive no longer shows up. I've tried several times and have restarted the Icy Dock external drive enclosure.
Any ideas? Thank you.

Not necessarily. Use a backup utility so that you can deselect all the data from within your Home folder as well as third-party applications in order to create a bootable disk but without some of the excess. Any of the following should be suitable:
Backup Software Recommendations
Carbon Copy Cloner
Data Backup
Deja Vu
Silver Keeper
MimMac
Retrospect
Super Flexible File Synchronizer
SuperDuper!
Synchronize Pro! X
Synk Pro
Synk Standard
Tri-Backup
Others may be found at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
Message was edited by: Kappy

Install second version on external drive

UPDATE: Found a download for portable 9.0, and installed it with Portable Apps. Working great, and I'm sure they'll be compatible with 10 soon, and I can upgrade. Leaving this here in case anyone else needs it.
I am working for an online company that requires FF 6, 7, 8 or 9. It doesn't accept 10 right now, so I can't use portable apps, as it wil only install 10. I have 3.6, and don't want to lose it, as it is set up the exact way I want it and is very stable. I'm trying to install V. 9 on my external drive, but it won't let me, says I don't have the proper permissions.
I'm not very geeky, so the instructions for setting up a second profile are sort of over my head. Can anyone give me some simple instructions for installing 9 on my external drive, or on a virtual drive, so I can use both? Thanks in advance for your help.

See this article about how to install multiple versions on Mac OS X:
* http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-run-firefox-4-and-3-simultaneously-in-mac-os-x-with-multiple-firefox-profiles-2011-3

Install iPhoto 9 on external drive

I am transitioning from a MacBook Pro with OSX 10.75 and iPhoto '11 to a new MacBook Pro with Yosemite, and no iPhoto installed.
I want to install iPhoto on an external drive, because I have thousands of photos that are taking up too much space to even fit on my new Mac.
When I go to the App store and choose Install on the iPhoto page, it does not give me the option to choose the location to install it onto.
I have the external drive formatted Mac OS Extended (Case Sensitive, Journaled).
How can I install iPhoto 9 on this external drive?

The iPhoto Application MUST be in the applications folder - it can not be anywhere else
The iphoto library (where you photos are stored) can be on any drive that is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) and is directly connected to your Mac with a fast hard wired connection (Firewire, USB 2 or 3, Thunderbolt)
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
LN

Leopard Issues When Installing, Doesn't recognize external drives

Here we go again,
I have another user who upgrade to Leopard doing an Archive Clean Install probably with the external hard drives plugged into the Mac. Now his external drives aren't recognized at all. Does anyone know what is causing this issue and is there away to fix this problem without doing a complete archive reinstall all over again?

Phil Erskine wrote:
Here we go again,
I have another user who upgrade to Leopard doing an Archive Clean Install probably with the external hard drives plugged into the Mac. Now his external drives aren't recognized at all. Does anyone know what is causing this issue and is there away to fix this problem without doing a complete archive reinstall all over again?
Is the partition scheme and format consistent with that machine and Leopard?
Were the drives password protected?
Can you mount the drives using the terminal?
Do the drives show up on any another computer running Tiger? If they don't then going back to Tiger won't help.
There was a problem early on that it sometimes took a very long time (1/2 hour) for Leopard to recognize a drive because of Spotlight. How long did you wait for the drives to be recognized?

Can't Install Snow Leopard on external drive

Hey Mac Addicts,
I'm trying to install Snow Leopard on an external drive (Lacie Triple Rugged, FW800 USB3.0) but keep on getting "Installation failed, can't copy the support files.
My drive is partioned in to 5x100GB partitions, GUID partition scheme. I boot from my installation disk, choose my partition and hit install. The DVD spins and spins and eventually give me a failure. I've tried not installing the custom options (Quicktime 7, Rosetta and have even unchecked X11) but still get the same.
The MacBook Pro I'm trying this from is running 10.6.8 and previous successful attempts at doing this were from 10.6.4, I'm thinking this is the issue, but would rather not have to clean install my machine and try again.
If anybody has any idea's that'll be marvellous, as I am a little confused and lost, especially as I've done this before.
All the best and thanks in advance.
BigMik

Two things,
1: Use FIrewire
2: Use Disk Utility to first Erase with Security Option Zero All Data, the entire drive, then setup the partitions
3: If it doesn't work, then increase the size of the 10.6 parittion or reducing the partitions until it works.
4: Also do all this from the Disk Utility on the internal drive, then try again from the 10.6 install disk. Apple might have pulled something.
Also you can clone your present OS X 10.6 partition using the donationware Carbon Copy Cloner, however the external partition needs to be large enough for all the contents (recommended)
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

Possible to install CS5 on an external drive?

Hi all,
I'm new to adobe products so I apologize if this is a common question; I tried my best to search the forums for an answer. I recently bought CS5 to use on my 2007 Macbook (snow leopard) for personal use, just to keep my skills current. I wouldn't be using the software that often and I'm worried it'll slow up my computer too much if I keep it on here permanently. I only have about 28 gb free. Is it possible to install and store the software on an external drive?
I see in the tech specs it can't be installed on a flash drive, but is there a way to install it on the laptop and then move it to a drive? If so, how big does the drive need to be? (I'd want something relatively portable) Are there any other problems that could arise from this? Thanks so much.
Emma

Several points:
Computers don't get slow because of a lack of hard drive space, unless there is very very little left (let's say under 1GB). You may be thinking of RAM (memory), where the more programs that are running simultaneously, the more difficult it is for the running ones to allocate memory and they may page between RAM and disk (virtual memory), which is slow.
You can install Creative Suite 5 on your hard drive and move it. Most of the Adobe programs will happily detect that they have been moved and update their idea of where they live. I think you will find that this causes mild problems for Acrobat, but it just means you get more annoying prompts when you start it up. Still, I would leave it alone.
In CS5.5, the installer lets you choose the location of the install (which Acrobat then ignores...). I can't remember if CS5 lets you choose, but I've moved it after the fact without a problem.
Another issue is that there are a lot of common files that are not installed in the Applications folder. For instance, I have 2.4 GB in /Library/Application Support/Adobe. I would not recommend trying to move these files unless you are familiar and comfortable with symbolic links (ln -s).

How do I install leopard on an external drive

I have been unable to install snow leopard on my external drive, when I put the install disc in the drive on the iMAC, it shows up on the desktop, but i cannot get it to install on the external drive, the iMAC has Lion installed.

I'd like an answer to the original question, too. I have a brand new Intel iMac which came preloaded with Lion. I'd like to install Snow Leopard on an external hard drive for a variety of reasons. I would rather NOT erase the internal hard drive of the iMac, if possible. Of course, I get this same message that, "You cannot install Snow Leopard on this machine running Lion" more or less. Does anyone have a method of faking out the installer so it will install Snow Leopard onto an external hard drive even though the Mac is running Lion?

10.5.8 install issues on an external drive

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