Boot from external USB HDD - Tecra M5

Hi!
Does anyone know is it possible to boot OS from external HDD connected to notebook via USB-port? There is "HDD priority" in BIOS setup with an ability to choose: USB - Built-in - Second HDD. But it doesn't work :(
I tried to boot Windows 98 from the same external USB-HDD on my home computer. Everything is OK...
The version of my Tecra M5 BIOS is 3.20.
TIA

Hi
You can boot from the second HDD if this HDD was placed in the SelectBay but not if the HDD was connected to the USB port.
Only this devices are bootable:
USB FDD, Primary HDD, SelectBay devices, Network(LAN), SD-CARD

Similar Messages

A40: Booting from external USB HDD

Hi guys.
Who could help me? The problem: I've recently bought USB 2.0 HDD case, the device is working properly and everything is OK, but I can't boot from it.
The model is A40 and USB FDD boot option is available, how could I go around it and make my laptop boot from USB HDD?
Thanks in advance.

Hello
There is no problem at all because this possibility is absolutely not possible. There is no way to do this.
Dont compare external FDD and HDD. They are two different external devices.
Bye

Failed booting from external usb hdd

Hey Community!
I struggle at backing up my arch linux operation system. I found this instruction but for newbies as me it seems to be a little bit hard to follow:
Full_System_Backup_with_rsync
The backup itself with rsync and the installation of GRUB bootloader seemed to be successful, but if I plug in the external hdd in another PC and boot from it, GRUB fails with ERROR 21.
I think, that my menu.lst is somehow incorrect. What I did:
full rsync to /mnt/usbHDD (mounted from /dev/sdb1)
my external hard disk is partitioned like that:
|| 160 gb ext4, sdb1 | UNUSED rest ||
blkid gives me that:
/dev/sda1: UUID="8f7f3e77-8acb-4724-862a-6c9678cadd29" TYPE="ext2"
/dev/sda2: UUID="c21b9563-ebf9-4b28-882d-fd8322693627" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sda3: UUID="78aad592-62d5-4752-8e04-50f17ff19705" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sda4: UUID="b5cba3a9-5009-485f-b53c-6be526b51f55" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sdc1: LABEL="storageHDD" UUID="49afd07d-1c11-448f-9b06-f7477cbe1b7c" TYPE="ext4"
The /etc/fstab of the original OS is:
# /etc/fstab: static file system information
# <file system> <dir> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
tmpfs /tmp tmpfs nodev,nosuid 0 0
UUID=78aad592-62d5-4752-8e04-50f17ff19705 / ext4 defaults 0 1
UUID=8f7f3e77-8acb-4724-862a-6c9678cadd29 /boot ext2 defaults 0 1
UUID=b5cba3a9-5009-485f-b53c-6be526b51f55 /home ext4 defaults 0 1
UUID=c21b9563-ebf9-4b28-882d-fd8322693627 swap swap defaults 0 0
The /boot/grub/menu.lst of the original OS is:
# general configuration:
timeout 5
default 0
color light-blue/black light-cyan/blue
# (0) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/78aad592-62d5-4752-8e04-50f17ff19705 ro
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
# (1) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux Fallback
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/78aad592-62d5-4752-8e04-50f17ff19705 ro
initrd /initramfs-linux-fallback.img
The /etc/fstab of the backed up (on hdd) OS is:
# /etc/fstab: static file system information
# <file system> <dir> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
tmpfs /tmp tmpfs nodev,nosuid 0 0
UUID=78aad592-62d5-4752-8e04-50f17ff19705 / ext4 defaults 0 1
UUID=8f7f3e77-8acb-4724-862a-6c9678cadd29 /boot ext2 defaults 0 1
UUID=b5cba3a9-5009-485f-b53c-6be526b51f55 /home ext4 defaults 0 1
UUID=c21b9563-ebf9-4b28-882d-fd8322693627 swap swap defaults 0 0
The /boot/grub/menu.lst of the backed up (on hdd) OS is:
# (0) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sdb1 ro
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
# (1) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux Fallback
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sdb1 ro
initrd /initramfs-linux-fallback.img
I don't have a clue what to change, since it is not clearly specified in the wiki...I followed exactly the instructions in the wiki, besides the include and excludes for rsync but that doesnt really matter
Appreciate your help
Last edited by athal (2012-06-25 21:09:16)

You should adapt the menu.lst of the backed up OS like this:
# (0) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sdb1 ro
initrd /boot/initramfs-linux.img
explanation:
- Your root should be (hd1,0) because the external disc is the second hard disc (assuming root=/dev/sdb1 is correct).
- The kernel and initrd line should have /boot, because you don't have a seperate boot partition.
Also, you didn't adapt your fstab of the backed up hard disk. In particular, you have to remove the entries for /boot, /home and swap. The entry of root file system is also wrong, because you still have the old UUID in it:
# /etc/fstab: static file system information
# <file system> <dir> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
tmpfs /tmp tmpfs nodev,nosuid 0 0
/dev/sdb1 / ext4 defaults 0 1
Finally, I think not following the excludes in the wiki will also cause problems.

Tecra M2: Can I Boot from External USB/Firewire-HDD ???

Hi All,
how can I boot from an external USB Drive ?
The Bios 1.20, 03/15/2004 doesn't seem to support this on my Tecra M2.
I have an Maxtor 300Gig external HDD which can be connected via Firewire or USB. Usually I am using an Firewire PCMCIA-Card to connect this HDD, which has 3 partitions on it.
Would it also be possible, to Boot via PCMCIA-Firewire ?
Many thanks in advance.
Lembong

Hi
As far as I know its not possible to boot from a USB HDD. I know that in some cases its possible to boot from compatible USB FDD and CD/DVD drives but note from HDD.
This theme was disused a lot of time here in the forum.
Please check this other posting:
http://forums.computers.toshiba-europe.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=4534&messageID=14824#14824
http://forums.computers.toshiba-europe.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=8963&messageID=31325#31325
Regards

Satellite L20-100 can be booted from external USB hard drive?

I recently bought Toshiba Satellite L20-100 and I wonder if:
1. is there any possibility to boot this machine from external usb hard drive?
2. it is possible to attach another internal hard drive?
Supposing that the both answers above are 'no', how can I solve the following problem: I need hdd space, I need to boot 3 separate Wxp Operating Systems onto the same machine (Toshiba Satellite L20-100).

Booting from external USB HD - "No" would be the official, mcrsoft sponsored, answer. However, it is possible. Not easy but it can be done. I've seen it done with my own eyes and there are guides how to do this. Just look for it with search engine. But if you have enough disk space you better do what was suggested here - create 3 partitions and use boot manager.

Unkown error copying from external USB HDD

I copied all my files from Windows Pc to external USB HDD (FAT32). Now I can see the disc and the files on my new iMac, but I can not copy them.
Error -8062 unknown error comes up. What can I do? Same problem exists when copying from TimeCapsule drive.

Hi,
The main reason for the appearance of this error message is incorrect permission settings of files and folders, or locked files, occasionally it can be caused by too full of Hard Drive.
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu at the top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then try a Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.
(Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive.)
Also try repairing the external drive.

Booting from external USB drive

I was wondering if there is any way to boot from a USB drive that I have? I partitioned the drive, erased it, and its basically ready to go. But I can't install Mac OS X on it because it says that I cannot reboot from the drive.
I know that iBook G4s generally can't boot from a USB devise but is there any way to get around this?

If you're computer is having kernel panics there's a conflict; either software or hardware. 2GB of free space isn't enough but I haven't seen anything that suggests KPs are caused by too little free space. Your computer should start fine with 2GB free. It may have problems after a period of use but it would startup and run.
Try starting in Safe Mode. If successful move some of your files to the external drive and then restart normally. If it KPs again, restart in safe mode and disable all startup items in System Preferences>Accounts>youraccount and restart. If it KPs again go through the linked troubleshooting steps by Dr. Smoke step by step. That's the only way to resole your problem.

Boot from external USB disk

Is there any way to boot from an external USB disk formatted in NTFS or UFS (CD/DVD format)? Basically my idea was to be able to boot the Win7 install image from an USB device. I tried many different ways, I even have my old internal HDD with the boot camp partition in a USB case (I just upgraded to 500GB!! ;)) but I can't in any way boot from USB. Only OSX backup and its installation disk boot fine from an external USB source. Any idea?

It isn't well supported by Microsoft. The problem on Apple hardware is you can't even make changes to the BIOS boot manager.
I have 4 internal hard drives so it is rather easy to boot from one hard drive and run the installer.
You ran into the lack of support for UEFI though which adds another layer and meant most likely having to alter and reburn the ISO to disc with Imgburn or something (and can be done from Windows only so you need a VM).
I got tired of the trouble and work arounds needed though and in the end I just built my own custom PCs - one of which has native eSATA that are bootable (an Intel DX58SO board).
Oh, and it is easy to install Windows 7 on PC, then just move the drive into Mac Pro and boot from there!

Satellite U400-15E - Can't boot from new USB HDD

Hello.
Recently a bought an external WD My Book with 3TeraByte to use with my Satellite U400-15E. I can use it inside Windows 7 Ultimate with no problem. But if I try to boot from it (by pressing F12 key), the BIOS doesn't even see the drive.
Is this because Toshiba doesn't use Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)? UEFI BIOS can overcome the 2.19TB limitation in todays computers easily, like the following Western Digital document explains:
[http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/Flyer/ENG/2579-771501.pdf]
This would allow me to use my new external drive to store a Ghost image of my Toshiba's internal HDD for instance. I mean 3TB and even greater capacities are a reality today. When will Toshiba update their BIOSes to support UEFI?
Equipment used:
Toshiba Satellite U400-15E (BIOS v5.00 26-10-2010)
Western Digital My Book Essential 3TeraByte - Firmware v1.014 (USB 3.0 interface)
MS Windows 7 Ultimate - 32bit version
Thank you

Hello
Well... with this same computer, I already tried booting (successfully) from the following pendrive capacities:
8GB
16GB
32GB
All without problem.
And besides, before having the 3TeraByte WD, I had a 1TeraByte Iomega USB HDD from which I could store Ghost images, because the BIOS would show the 1TB Iomega drive after pressing F12 and Symantec Ghost could also detect the drive without problems.
But with this new 3TeraByte WD... the BIOS doesn't even show the drive after pressing F12.
So when you say +{color:#0000ff}So USB HDDs are not supported{color}+ are you refering booting from USB HDD?
Hum... I'm not sure about that.
I never tried booting an OS from the Iomega.
But that was never my purpose either.
My purpose is for the BIOS (and hopefully Symantec Ghost) to detect the WD USB drive, like it happened before with the 1TeraByte Iomega.
I was using a 1TeraByte Iomega "Select Series" drive.
With the Iomega I could create Ghost images of my Toshiba without a problem.
+{color:#0000ff}But you’re absolutely right: 3TB and greater capacities are reality today but Satellite U400 is older notebook model and not newest one.{color}+
A Laptop computer that has Two 64bit CPU cores and 8GB RAM capacity is not that old!
I think it could be a BIOS limitation, since it's not using UEFI.
Any more ideas?
Thank you.
Message was edited by: Binary-Synapse
Message was edited by: Binary-Synapse

Slow boot from external usb drive

I just upgraded my daughter's macbook to the latest fixes on her internal drive. I reformatted her external LaCie drive to Mac OS Extended(Journaled) and did a restore. I did notice that there are less files on the internal than the external drive when comparing immediately after the restore. When I try to boot from that drive, it takes 10 minutes to boot the system. It takes about 7 minutes before I even hear any drive activity. In the past this system used to take about 2 minutes to boot at most vs 30 seconds from the internal drive. I have repaired permissions without seeing any effect. I did attach another USB drive that had a copy of her old OSC 10.5.8 image and that booted in less than 2 minutes. Any thoughts on what could be causing the long boot time on the external drive? I have seen comments on GUID formatting. Doesn't that come automatically with Mac OS Extended(Journaled) on an Intel machine? Should I have selected an option when doing the format to specify GUID? I did run a verify Disk as well and the extrnal checked out without any problems.

+" ... and did a restore ..."+
How, of what, from where, to where?
+" ... I have seen comments on GUID formatting. Doesn't that come automatically with Mac OS Extended(Journaled) on an Intel machine? ..."+
No, it does not happen automatically when you format the drive. GUID is a partition type, not a format. You specify GUID partition scheme at the time you partition the drive. Formatting is a separate operation, occurring after partitioning. Drives that will be used to boot an Intel Mac must be GUID partition scheme and formatted as Mac OS Extended Journaled.

Qosmio G30: Booting from external ESATA HDD

Dear All,
I'm trying to boot from an external HDD connected with a express/34 card that has an BOOT feature. It works like a charm on a other manufacturers notebook because the express/34 card is recognized without problems. I can choose the external sata HDD as bootdevice.
My Qosmio G30 BIOS (V3.5) seems not having this option. Any suggestions? Thank you for feedback!
express/34 esata card: http://www.cooldrives.com/2saexcadues.html (ROM BIOS supports Boot Features)
Regards,
Nboss

Hi
Such boot options depending from the BIOS.
The BIOS which is installed on the G30 does not provide such option. So unfortunately, but there is nothing to do!
Best regards

X121e can't boot from external usb cd rom

Hi all,
This has kept me busy all day. Read many threads and tried lots of things...but to no avail. I hooked up an external cd-rom drive tot my X121e and changed the boot order to start with the USB drive. Somehow it just doesn't want to boot from cd-rom....Played with the UEFI settings, tried different cd-roms and dvd-roms, but nothing works. It sounds like the X121e is rebooting itself when it reaches the cd-rom drive (the screen stays black so I can't tell for sure).
When I boot from a different laptop the drive works straight away.....
Did anyone succeed in booting the x121e from an external cd-rom drive?
Thanks in advance!!!
usb4life

Did you try an DVD drive instead? Do you have the most recent BIOS firmware?
I was able to boot my X121e from an external DVD writer but I havent't tried a CD-ROM.
What does happen if you try to boot? Can you be more verbose?
Are you able to bring up the boot device selection menu? Is the drive being listed?

C30: Booting from external USB hard drive

I carry my OS on an external portable USB drive, and then make use of whatever hardware is available where I visit.
I recently attempted to boot a Lenovo C30 Thinkstation with this external drive, and was unable to do so. In looking at the BIOS settings, there is no option to boot from USB (other than floppy(?!?) or memory stick).
Is it possible to boot from an external USB hard drive, and if not, why?
jerry

The boot sequence section of our setup menus has been troublesome to say the least (at least through the development phase). There are various reasons why it is the way it is now....from spec requirements to customer requirements. So long story short it really needs to be this way, even though situations like the one you encoutered is inconvenient.
The USB issue is actually done for security reasons. For example, many large customers don't want users to have the ability to just walk up and plug in a USB device and allow the system to detect that and attempt to boot to it right away as it is a risk to their image/security. For this reason, USB devices don't automatically get added to the boot order, and must be added throught he setup menu if needed.

Wont Boot from External USB HD

Hi Guys,
So Im in the practice of having a 'repair drive'. Basically I format and install OSX on an external USB HD plus a few maintenance programs. I do this so I can run diagnostics/housekeeping/optimization without being booted into the drive.
Anyhow, I formatted and installed OSX using my old white MB. Everything worked fine, I even installed the combo update. I get to boot into it on my white MB but when I try to boot into it on my unibody 15" MBP it doesnt want to... so I dont know what gives!! TIA

Boot the "old white MB" from the external, and double-check the version of OSX on it. Make sure it's not earlier than the version that came with the MBP. Check the MBP's DVD, or plug it's serial number in here: http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
If it's newer, while it should boot the MBP, it's possible it won't in some cases. See: [Mac OS X v10.6: Issues after restoring a Mac from a Time Machine backup made with a different Mac|http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3243]. While that's talking specifically about a Time Machine restore, the issue is the same.
You might be better off putting a copy of the latest Retail Install disc you have (as long as it isn't earlier than what the MBP came with) on your "repair drive," instead of an installation of OSX. Just restore it from the DVD via Disk Utility.

Cannot boot from external USB device

Hi,
I have an iMac with a superdrive that is not working. This gives me a lot of trouble, because I want to install windows.
Some month ago, I bought an external USB DVD drive, and hoped that it would help. But I quickly experienced that it did not, since I could not get boot camp to use it.
Today, I was sure that I found a good solution. I ran into a site that explains how to use en external DVD to install windows on macbook air which have no internal DVD.
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/9136/macbook-air-install-windows-7-with-boot-camp -without-an-external-dvd-drive/
Unfortunately this do not work - for me and my iMac.
First I installed the rEFIt tool and this works fine. The external DVD shows up as a bootable device.
But when I try to start the windows installer from the external DVD, the system just hangs and shows a windows logo with no color. This operation I carry out by selecting the external DVD in the eEFIt menu.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.

I don't know about the link you gave, I can only pass on my experience.
I made my bootable Windows7 X64 install disk by this method:-
"This method is used to create a new install disk if you have your authentic Windows 7 disk. Don't sweat it; it's much easier than it looks.
Note: you will need to do this on a PC
In your C drive, create these two folders: c:\windows7exe c:\windows7dvd
Go to this link http://rapidshare.com/files/297067205/oscdimg.exe and download Oscdimg.exe. Place it into c:\window7exe folder
Insert your Windows 7 disk into your DVD drive For this example, we will refer to it as the D drive.
You need to open a DOS prompt window. Do this by going to start/programs/accessories/command prompt
Your default command prompt will look something like C:\Users>.
At the prompt type cd c:\windows7exe
Your command prompt should now look like c:\window7exe>
At the command prompt, type in exactly (or copy and paste):
oscdimg.exe -n -m -bd:\boot\etfsboot.com d:\ c:\windows7x64.iso
Note: the letter d in the above command refers to your DVD drive, change it if your DVD drive is labled with a different letter.
Press Enter. This will begin creating a new disk image. You should see a response in the DOS window that displays its progress.
When the process is complete, you will find a new disk image of your Windows 7 disk in the folder labeled c:\windows7X64
Now that you have a new disk image, you need to burn it onto a disk using ImgBurn. This is a free utility which you can download from here: http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download
Place a blank DVD into your DVD RW drive.
Launch ImgBurn and select "Write image file to disc". In the Source window, find your newly burned image in the c:\windows7X64 folder. Click on the disc icon at the bottom of the window to begin the burning process.
Voila! You have a new Windows 7 installation disk which will install with no problems. "
.....which is on this thread
May not be any use to you without an internal DVD RW which works.
In your shoes I would really want to get my internal superdrive working.
A quick look at iFixit suggests the iMac uses a standard laptop DVD RW which are readily available, but perhaps I am missing something.

Boot from external USB HDD - Tecra M5

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