Can an iMac Boot from a FireWire DVD Drive?

My superdrive just died and I'd like to know if its functionality can be completely restored with an external FireWire drive, in particular can it be used to boot the Mac?
Thanks!

Hello Tyler,
Yes you can boot from an External Firewire drive.
You may not be able to restore the broken drive though.
Disk Warrior may help some...
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
Hope that helps
Regards
Ian

Similar Messages

Can a MacBook boot from a Firewire hard drive?

I've been trying to install OSX from the restore disk onto a freshly formatted external firewire drive, and the installer says that the drive is not bootable. What am I doing wrong?

I figured it out. You need to partition the drive,
and in the partition options there is an option for a
GUID partition which enables booting from an Intel
Mac. After partitioning in this manner, the install
is moving forward. It coulda been easier, but at
least it works.
I think you can specify GUID from the erase section as well by clicking the Options button.

Can a Lombard boot from a USB DVD Drive?

Hi,
As the title states really, is there a way I can do it?
Cheers
Craig

Craig,
You are correct that you cannot boot an OSX USB drive to a PPC (PowerPC) computer but this will not be necessary to install the software on the HD.
However, let me ask a few more questions:
-Which model eMac do you have? For example, in your System Profiler, it should report 'Model Identifier: PowerMac4,4' if you have the 800MHz or 1.0GH eMac released in 2003. Depending on your model, only certain versions of OSX will boot your eMac.
-Are the 10.3 and 10.4 OSX DVDs you have retail, full-install versions, or are they machine-specific, meaning they came bundled with a particular computer?
-Do you wish to install MacOS 9 on the Lombard?
OWC does ship International and I believe they are very fast. Please email them for specifics.
You might consider spending a few more dollars for this combo FireWire/USB2.0 HD enclosure. I have a few and they are excellent; it has the FireWire Oxford 911 chipset plus USB 2.0. Using the FireWire connection, you could install OSX, then reboot your eMac to the Lombard's HD to make sure everything works. If using USB, you can install the software but cannot boot the eMac from the USB HD.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MOTGFWU2OB/
It would be nice if your Lombard had a DVD-ROM drive; then if you ever had to reinstall OSX on the Lombard, you would not have to go through all these hoops. Take a look at this guide and see if you would like to replace your old optical drive. It really is just three or four small screws to remove. The new optical drive will have a generic bezel/faceplate already attached so it won't quite match the old drive.
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/PBG3/oem_combo_drives/build_guide/build_combodrive.html
Message was edited by: jpl

Booting from an external DVD drive

I have a 2006 Intel iMac with a Samsung model SE-208 USB DVD drive attached to it. How can I boot from this drive instead of using the internal DVD drive.

Everytime I try to load a DVD-RW disk, it gets stuck in the drive. That's why I am trying to boot from the external DVD drive. When I try to boot from the external DVD drive, it doesn't even show up when I press the option key on startup.
I spoke to a friend of mine who just bought a new iMac with the external Superdrive. It works fine. She can boot from it no problem and it only runs from the USB port.
All of my DVD-RW's mount on the desktop no problem from the external USB burner.

Can only boot into Windows 7. Can't even boot from Snow Leopard DVD.

I have no idea what prompted this. I don't recall installing any OS updates recently, other than some Windows Live apps in Windows 7.
I have an early 2009 Mac Mini with Snow Leopard, and have Windows 7 64-bit installed in a Boot Camp partition. When I installed Windows 7, I couldn't get the Boot Camp utility to install within Windows (I guess because it's 64-bit) so to switch back and forth between OSes, I just shut down the Mac and restart it with the Option key pressed, and select Mac OS X when I want to return to Mac. This has worked for about a month and a half now (ever since I got Windows 7). Suddenly I have problems.
I first had problems booting into Windows or Mac. I got to the grey screen with the Apple logo, with that spinning "progress" thing going for a while, then it would freeze up and get stuck on the grey screen with the Apple logo. I zapped the PRAM. No help. Then, after disconnecting all external drives (I have several) and extra USB devices, I was able to boot from the DVD install disk and reinstall Snow Leopard on my internal drive. Joy, or so I thought. Then I booted into Windows 7, and after some weirdness getting it to start, it did successfully start and ran just peachy.
Then I turned off the Mac and held down the option key (as usual) to return to Mac OS. But now all that happens is that I get a grey screen for a few seconds, then the Mac boots back into Windows 7, which seems to work fine. (I'm in Windows 7 right now.) I turned on one my external drives (Snow Leopard installed, connected via Firewire 800) in hopes that the Mac would boot into that, but same thing. Ignored and back to Windows 7.
Then I thought I'd boot from the install DVD again by putting it in the drive and holding down the C key as I restart, but the same thing--a grey screen for a few seconds, and then booting right into Windows 7. I can't seem to escape Windows 7! It's a bit disturbing when it won't even recognize the install DVD.
I tried to call Apple Care since I'm within my 90 day support window, but of course they are closed. I'm figuring that I'm going to have to take this into an Apple Store, but thought I'd see if anyone has any ideas. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

According to Apple, Win 7 64bit is supported with Bootcamp 3.0. If bootcamp 3.0 is available; I could not find it anywhere on Apple's website. It appears the most recent version is 2.2. The only place I could find 3.0 is not on Apples website and it's a questionable source so I won't post it here.
It may just be a matter of time before Apple makes it available. I'm not suggesting you wait, however if the install disk can't be used, I'm not too sure where u could go from there. Calling Applecare might work.
If you do a simple google search using the terms 'download bootcamp drivers windows 7' u will see what I was referring too.
Here's what I found from Apple (It doesn't specifically mention 64bit however just win7): http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3920
This is not from Apple, but specifically addresses whether they support win7 64bit: http://www.macnn.com/articles/09/08/31/boot.camp.win.7.64.support/
Here is more info about bootcamp 3.0 and win7: http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/

Booting from internal cd/dvd drive

hallo there, i have a hp d035-dx that cannot boot from cd/dvd drive. please advice. From boot option, there is no boot option of cd/dvd drive
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi,
You may need to disable Secure Boot - see the guide on the following link. While in the Boot Options, you may also need to Enable Legacy Devices.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03736054&tmp_task=solveCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc...
Regards,
DP-K
****Click the White thumb to say thanks****
****Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem****
****I don't work for HP****
Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience

Can my iMac boot from an external drive?

Once upon a time, I used Disk Utility, running from the DVD to make a copy of my iMac's internal drive. I also tried using Carbon Copy Cloner to do the same thing. But, I have never been able to get the iMac to recognize the external drive as a boot drive. I just wanted to have a backup that would launch when the internal drive tanks... as it will, one day.

Yes. If you did it right then to boot from the clone:
Boot Using OPTION key:
1. Restart the computer.
2. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the
      "OPTION" key.
3. Release the key when the boot manager appears.
4. Select the clone's disk icon.
5. Click the arrow button on the far right.
To make the clone:
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility in the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag
       it to the Destination entry field.
5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
      the Source entry field.
6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.

Can't boot from my firewire external drive

I have a 80 Gb LaCie firewire drive where I have installed (since Phanter) an operating system. All things were OK until I updated the system to OS X 10.4.10 in my G3 iMac (slot-loading). Since then I was unable to boot from the external drive. I had updated the drive's firmware, installed OS X 10.4.10 in it, but nothing has solved my issue. Can anyone help me with this?
Helder Monteiro
iMac G3 slot-loading Mac OS X (10.4.10) iBook G4 - 10.4.10

Helder,
I apologize if I sounded like I was finding fault with your use of English, which I think you use very well. My own abilities with any foreign language are embarrassingly poor ... & I'm not that great with my native English one either!
My concern was that we were not communicating well enough for me to understand your situation well enough to suggest anything that would not make things worse. I'm still not entirely sure of that but let me review what I believe it to be before proceeding:
You have a LaCie external hard drive that both your iMac & PowerBook recognize when either is started up from its internal copy of 10.4.10. With either one, the drive mounts & you can read & write files on the external without problems. The only problem is neither Mac will start up from the external drive, which has a copy of 10.4.10 installed on it in the same way as with your Mac's internal drives, that being booting from the Tiger installer disk, installing the base version of the OS on it & then updating it to 10.4.10 with some succession of Apple updates downloaded from Apple. You have also tried the PPC version of the 10.4.10 combo update. None of this has resolved the problem.
If this is all true & accurate, then I suggest you start by attaching the drive to one or the other Mac while booted normally & seeing if the external drive appears as a choice in System Preferences > Startup Disk. You do not have to select it if appears; the test is just to see if the Mac recognizes it as having a valid OS version. If it does appear in the list, hover the mouse pointer over it until a popup box appears, which will tell you the version of the OS installed.
If it does not appear in the list, it means there is no valid version of the OS installed. If it does, you could try selecting it & restarting, but I suspect from what you have said, it won't work -- the Mac will display a question mark for a while on startup, eventually give up on the drive & start from the internal one. (If so, don't forget to reset the startup disk to the normal one to speed up future restarts.)
Either way, launch Disk Utility & run the "Repair Disk" function on the external drive. If it finds anything wrong, continue to repeat the repair until it passes. If it reports failure, stop & report that here before continuing.
If the drive was recognized in the system preference, also run the "Repair Permissions" step. (if not, it is unlikely this will be an option.) If the drive passes both tests now, try booting from it again by whatever method you prefer.
If it does not work now, I think you will have to reinstall the OS. If you have room on the drive, an Archive & Install will probably work. If not, you will need to consider "cleaner" install methods, which we can discuss if you wish.
Good luck!

Why can I not boot from a disc or drive?

In order to repair my HD, I have tried to start from a DVD (a bootable DiscWarrior 4 disc), but when restarting holding down the c-key, the disc drive is not recognized and the iMac starts up as normal and my log-in icon is shown. I have the latest Lion update.
I have also tried to start up from a bootable memory stick which I made after installing Lion, but this does not work either.
I have also tried to start up from a DVD using the option key, but the drive is not given as an alternative. The same happens if I try to start up from the "Startup drive" preferences from the Apple menu - the disc drive is not shown as an alternative even if it contains a bootable disc.
I try to get booted from another bootdrive in order to repair the Harddisc.

Hi, StenErik. If I were you, I would forget about FireWire Target Disk Mode. I'd start the Powerbook from a retail OS X 10.4 installer DVD, open Disk Utility from the Utilities menu, select the hard drive, reformat it as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)", check the box for installing OS 9 drivers, and then install Tiger. I can't explain why this should make the resulting installation any different from what you have installed now. But it seems to me there must be some detail you've failed to mention and we've failed to think of, and that detail, whatever it is, is much more significant than it seems: significant enough to prevent your Tibook from booting. Therefore, reverting to the most basic installation procedure possible, with as few external variables as possible, seems a useful thing to try. To minimize variables even further, disconnect all peripherals from the PB while reformatting and installing.
As Hardy has suggested, the size of your drive is not the issue. A 120GB drive should be fine.

Internal DVD drive is shot. Can I install SL from an external DVD drive?

Hi folks, a quick (well actually a few) questions.
I've had my imac since early '06. It's currently running Tiger, and I'd like to install Snow Leopard. The problem is that the internal DVD drive is shot. It's been occasionally refusing to accept DVDs for a while now, and now it has a DVD stuck in it (not mounted), which I can't get out via terminal, rebooting, or jiggling it (technical term I know).
Now, I'm going to assume that getting apple to replace the DVD drive will be more expensive than just grabbing an external drive, especially as I'll most probably only use it once. The question is, if I grab a cheap external DVD drive, will I be able to install Snow Leopard with it? Or will Tiger not recognise it as a boot drive?
Many thanks,
Chris
p.s. Also, I'm using a cheapo windows style keyboard (will be replacing asap), and I'm wondering if this is why I can't see bootable drives when holing option on startup?

Yes, you can install from an external drive, although I wouldn’t go for a cheap one. There are good, relatively inexpensive, drives out there. And you are going to need that option key to select the install disk as your startup. I believe there is a corresponding key on a PC keyboard, but I don’t know what it is (maybe Alt?). I’m sure someone can jump in here and tell us.

Bootcamp woes, unable to boot from USB and DVD drive reads all DVDs blank

My partner and I are completely unable to install Windows using Bootcamp. We have tried dozens of solutions on the internet.
2011 iMac (purchased in by me and my partner 2012) reads all DVDs as blank. We have (hilariously) another Mac, an MBP, that has the same exact problem. You'd almost think "Superdrives" eventually just stop working or something. So obviously we can't install Bootcamp on the iMac using a DVD.
But what about a USB stick? Well after modifying the plist file and writing a bootable Windows USB and trying to boot from that, we were greeted with the mysterious and apparently yet-unsolved "no bootable device" error.
So our iMac can't boot from USB drives or read DVDs. We've only owned it for two years. And this is the second Mac we've owned where the Superdrive has died. And we don't even use DVDs more than like once a year.
But anyway, can someone tell me what we're supposed to do if we want to install Windows aside from throwing money away to buy another Superdrive that is probably going to die again in a year? Maybe a way to make our mac boot from our USB stick? Something?
Thanks.

Should you have another drive with a MBR, use it to rule that issue out. Alternatively create a GPT on the flash drive and try to boot from it.
What options are there for the usb controller/boot priorities/order/options? Does the laptop recognize the usb flash when already in bios setup? Should there be any form of choosing the device to boot, use that with the flash drive in the socket, then switch it with the external drive.

Why can I not boot from my new hard drive?

After replacing my hard drive (40 Gb) with a larger (120 Gb) drive the computer will not boot. I can boot from the 10.4 system CD and have managed to install the system without problems, but after restarting the computer I only get to see a folder with a flashing question mark in it.
My computer is the first of the Titanium series (400 Mhz). The hard drive is a Seagate momentus 5400 rpm. Is there a compatibility issue here? Any input would be greatly appreciated!
PowerBook G4/400 Titanium Mac OS X (10.4)

Hi, StenErik. If I were you, I would forget about FireWire Target Disk Mode. I'd start the Powerbook from a retail OS X 10.4 installer DVD, open Disk Utility from the Utilities menu, select the hard drive, reformat it as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)", check the box for installing OS 9 drivers, and then install Tiger. I can't explain why this should make the resulting installation any different from what you have installed now. But it seems to me there must be some detail you've failed to mention and we've failed to think of, and that detail, whatever it is, is much more significant than it seems: significant enough to prevent your Tibook from booting. Therefore, reverting to the most basic installation procedure possible, with as few external variables as possible, seems a useful thing to try. To minimize variables even further, disconnect all peripherals from the PB while reformatting and installing.
As Hardy has suggested, the size of your drive is not the issue. A 120GB drive should be fine.

Boot from Lacie FireWire Combo Drive?

I am waiting for my newly purchased "Snow iMac" to arrive and have run into some problems. I have checked on the Apple website and to my knowing i'm getting the Summer 2001 model. On the specification sheet i looked at on the Apple website it says that my model will have a CD-RW Combo type drive (reads cd's and dvd's and burns cd's). However on the item description i got on eBay - i bought the iMac on eBay - it says it only has a CD-ROM drive! In the worst case scenario it would turn up and have a CD-ROM drive, and i only have Tiger on a DVD. I do have a Lacie FireWire drive that reads DVD's would i be able to boot from it with the Tiger dvd and install Tiger that way?
Thanks, Joe.

Joe,I'm glad you went with that other iMac Snow - saves on worrying about the RAM upgrade for a bit - and was cheaper in the end!
On the specification sheet i looked at on the Apple website it says that my model will have a CD-RW Combo type drive (reads cd's and dvd's and burns cd's). However on the item description i got on eBay - i bought the iMac on eBay - it says it only has a CD-ROM drive!
Here are the iMac specs: Low End Mac. No iMac G3 Slot Loader had a combo drive from new. The later ones had CD-RW drives which do not read DVDs. The Snow either has a DVD-ROM (500MHz) or a CD-RW (600MHz) so unless someone's been tinkering you're getting a CD-RW.
But you should be able to use the external FW drive just fine.
regards
mrtotes

Will Late 2013 iMac boot from Snow Leopard External Drive?

Hey gang-
Got a new late-2013 iMac for Christmas (yayyyy!!)
I plan on running Mavericks for day-to-day use, but there are a few old Power PC apps that I occasionally need to run. Does anyone know if the new iMacs will boot from an external drive running Snow Leopard? I have an external Firewire drive with Snow Leopard on it and I'm wondering if the new iMac will boot from it if needed.
Thanks!
Dave

Thanks gang. No worries- I keep an older Intel MacBook with Snow Leopard on it and I suppose it will do in a pinch.
Cheers!
Dave

Is there a key command for ejecting a dvd or cd from a firewire dvd drive?

I have looked in the chats with no luck. I have two optical drives connected to my G5 powermac one internal and one firewire, and can't remember
the key command to eject a disc from the external one without dragging it to the trash. I know I used to do that it. option / eject button/ or control/ eject but that does not work. I know you can click on the disc icon then do command/e. But I think there is a way to eject it with a key command and not have to click on the disc first. In other words when you hit the keyboards eject button you can eject the disc in the internal super drive with one push of the keyboards eject button. I want to be able to do that with my external dvd drive.
Any clue?
Thanks.

hmm, it might not be possible without some third party hack.
Try the following link:
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20050520155515566
You'll need to paste the provided script into Script Editor, save it as an application and bind a keyboard shortcut to it using one of many many application launchers like Quciksilver, Butler, Quickeys, ikeys or Spark (suggested by the above link).
sorry that script is outdated.
here is the correct one:
property drawerstatus : true
if drawerstatus is true then
do shell script "drutil -drive external tray eject"
else
do shell script "drutil -drive external tray close"
end if
set drawerstatus to not drawerstatus
Message was edited by: V.K.

Can an iMac Boot from a FireWire DVD Drive?

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