Can Macbook Pros (and Macbooks) boot off of USB drives?

I know that you cannot boot off of USB drives in iMacs, but is that the case for Macbook Pros and Macbooks too? I have Ubuntu installed on a 16 GB usb drive and was wondering if it is possible to boot to that usb drive. I cannot simple Boot camp or just dual boot my own way because it is a school computer that they lend me for the year.

I know that you cannot boot off of USB drives in iMacs
That's only the case for some PowerPC Macs. It doesn't apply to any Intel Mac, including MacBooks and MacBook Pros.
(55569)

Similar Messages

  • Can you boot off a usb drive or external hard drive (usb 2.0) on an iMac?

    I have an intel iMac that will not boot off of a USB drive with Ubuntu installed (my PC netbook boots off the usb drive fine) or my external hard drive with Ubuntu installed. I heard somewhere that you cannot boot off of usb on iMacs even if they are Intel, but a Genius bar guy told me diffferent. Then why won't it work for me, and how can I make it? Thanks.

    I should have been more general in my post - I don't believe any Mac can boot off an external drive with Ubuntu. I could be wrong of course (and if I am, hopefully someone will correct me), but as Mac hardware is so specific that it demands a specific install disk for each build/model/generation, it would be unable to boot with just a "foreign" OS such as Ubuntu installed. As you may know, you can't boot an iMac with an install disk from a different model iMac, Macbook, or any other Mac (unless it is exactly the same build/model), so it doesn't surprise me that it won't boot with Ubuntu.
    Edit: and this question begs to be asked: why would you want to boot/use Ubuntu when you have a superb OS to work with already?
    Message was edited by: Barbara Daniels1

  • MacBook Pro won't boot off Tiger CD

    I installed a larger drive into my MacBook Pro. I inserted the Tiger OS X cd, and pressed the 'C' ket to boot off the cd. It doesn't recognize the start-up disk and goes to the "? Folder".
    I zapped the PRAM, etc. with no change.
    I can boot off an external drive with OS X installed by holding down the "option key" at power up, and selecting that external drive, BUT it doesn't recognize the OS X CD in this mode either.
    If I use the external drive to boot from and insert the Tiger CD, I can only go so far in the installation process before I get a window that says "You can not install OS X on this computer". I've only seen this window when trying to install a lower version of os x onto a drive that has a higher version installed. As my new drive is blank (OS extended), it seems I should be able to install Tiger on the empty drive. Right?
    Any suggestions?

    The MBP is an Intel based computer vs. the PPC based G4 or G5 or anything earlier. They started being produced in 2006 (which for me is new, with my 2000 model ). Texas Mac Man provides some history as to the OS versions, but all the early ones came with their own version of Tiger. You can't even use a retail installer version of Tiger since it wasn't considered necessary to provide a retail version of Tiger for a computer series that came with it anyway.
    If you are using a G4 installer it is definitely the wrong disc and you're getting exactly the message we'd expect. Sometimes it won't even get that far.
    If you can't find the discs it may be possible to clone your old drive to the new drive. This is assuming the old drive is still viable and you have an enclosure in which to put the new drive while attached to the computer with the old drive inside. If you use a tool such as Carbon Copy Cloner it will place a bootable complete duplicate of your one drive onto another.
    Message was edited by: Limnos
    Message was edited by: Limnos

  • Hi i have a macbook pro and when i changed the hard drive the screen wasn't as it was supposed to be which is it had a green colour on it's side.what can i do to fix it and what is the reason for it?

    hi i have a macbook pro and when i changed the hard drive the screen wasn't as it was supposed to be it was green on it's side and blurred.what can i do to fix it and what is the reason?

    either something got damaged when you installed the hard drive or you need to perform a pram reset (other possibilites could have occured, these are the ones I think)
    PRAM http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

  • I forget to charge my MacBook Pro and it turns off because of that. Now it wont automatically connect to saved networks. I have to put in manually to make it work. Even after restating still the same. Sometimes pulling the Battery out fixes it

    I forget to charge my MacBook Pro and it turned off because of that. Now it wont automatically connect to saved networks. I have to put in manually to make it work. Even after restating still the same. If I close the lid it looses conection. Sometimes pulling the Battery out will fixes it untill we forget to chage it.
    Mac OS X version 10.6.8

    I forget to charge my MacBook Pro and it turned off because of that. Now it wont automatically connect to saved networks. I have to put in manually to make it work. Even after restating still the same. If I close the lid it looses conection. Sometimes pulling the Battery out will fixes it untill we forget to chage it.
    Mac OS X version 10.6.8

  • I just ordered a macbook air today and need to know if the 128gb SSD is enough space. I presently have a macbook pro and am using only 30gb hard drive space so, the apple rep said 128 is enough as I do not load much pictures or gaming etc. Also is i5 ok.

    I just ordered a macbook air today and need to know if the 128gb SSD is enough space. I presently have a macbook pro and am using only 30gb hard drive space so, the apple rep said 128 is enough as I do not load much pictures or gaming etc. Also is i5 ok.

    Id choose the I5 yes, depends on what your usage is going to be,
    ....your question about "128 gig being enough" begs the question for IDEALIZED USE of your macbook AIr
    In the case of a Macbook Air with ‘limited’ storage on the SSD, this distinction becomes more important in that in an ever rapidly increasing file-size world, you keep vital large media files, pics, video, PDF collections, music off your SSD and archived on external storage, for sake of the necessary room for your system to have free space to operate, store future applications and general workspace.  You should never be put in the position of considering “deleting things” on your macbook SSD in order to ‘make space’.
    *Generally, unless you NEED the data at least once every few weeks or once a month,...it really does'nt NEED to be on the SSD of your Macbook Air.
    Professionals who create and import very large amounts of data have almost no change in the available space on their computers internal HD because they are constantly archiving data to arrays of external or networked HD.
    Or in the case of the consumer this means you keep folders for large imported or created data and you ritually offload and archive this data for safekeeping, not only to safeguard the data in case your macbook has a HD crash, or gets stolen, but importantly in keeping the ‘breathing room’ open for your computer to operate, expand, create files, add applications, for your APPS to create temp files, and for general operation.
    Ive got more APPS than any human should have on my 128gig AIR,..(50 or so),....and 10gig of working data, important files etc etc.
    Still have 82gig available....... the entire point is that someone shouldnt consider the Air a "storage device" for tons of pics, music, vids, etc.
    *Never consider any computer a data storage device at any time under any circumstance, rather a data creation, sending, and manipulation device. Anyone who thinks data is safe on any computer, even copied upon multiple partitions is making a mistake that will, without fail, strike.
    For needs of packing around a LOT of "big data" with your Air in its case..., get a nice 1TB HD for $70, or even a 2TB drive not much bigger.
    Perfect 2TB HD, very slim, the "little giant"   made by Toshiba (have several of these) $119
    http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Connect-Portable-HDTC720XK3C1/dp/B00CGUMS48 /ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379182740&sr=1-4&keywords=2tb+toshiba
    *This one is the BEST  external HD available that money can buy:
    $75
    HGST Touro Mobile 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive
    http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Touro-Mobile-External-HTOLMX3NA10001ABB/dp/B0062FZ2WS /ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379185002&sr=1-1&keywords=hitachi+extern a l+hard+drive

  • I have a Macbook Pro and want to take the Hard drive back to as it was the day I purchased it.

    Hi, I have a Macbook Pro and want to take the Hard drive back to as it was the day I purchased it, It came preloaded with Lion so no disk, how can I do this so I can sell it without any of my personal data on it.
    Thanks
    Paul

    What operating system are you using?
    OS 10.7.2
    What model/vintage/year is it?
    Macbook Pro 17" 2011
    Do you have the original OS X install DVD disc that came with the computer?
    It came preloaded so no disk

  • When I check my boot SSD drive using Disk Utility under Mavericks, I often get "Incorrect number of extended attributes" errors.  But if I boot off an external drive and check the same SSD, no errors are reported.  Is this a bug in Mavericks?

    When I check my boot SSD drive using Disk Utility under Mavericks, I often get "Incorrect number of extended attributes" errors.  But if I boot off an external drive and check the same SSD, no errors are reported. 
    This happens not just with the SSD in my Mac Mini, but with another SSD in my MacBook (both now running Mavericks).  So far as I know, all of the kit I am using is in good order (despite the file corruption reports).  So I am beginning to wonder if it could be due to a bug in Mavericks?  Both SSD drives have been formatted to MacOS Extended (journaled) format.  Should I have used a different format, I wonder?
    Has anyone else encountered this issue?
    Does anyone have a solution?
    Or an explanation that might help my investigation of the issue?
    Thanks guys,

    I understand that the Corsair Force 3 is not one of the SSD drives that are supported on Apple Macs. 
    I did try downloading and using Trim Enabler, but the error message came up both when it was off and when it was on.
    I understand that not everyone thinks Trim Enabler is a good program, though there is a new version out now, so I may give it another try.

  • I have an iMac running Lion and W7 with boot camp . It has been operating flawlessly until I went to reboot into Mac tonight. Screen went black, and system is unresponsive. I've tried force quitting and turning power off. Hard drive starts but that's it..

    I have a 5 month old  iMac running Lion and W7 with the latest version of boot camp . It has been operating flawlessly until I went to reboot into Mac tonight. Screen went black, and system is unresponsive. I've tried force quitting and turning power off. Hard drive starts, there's a small amount of drive activity and that's it. 

    Hi Jane, your info may still be there, look in the Users folder at root of the drive, how many users are there there?
    It sounds like this may have happened...
    Return to default desktop, apparent "loss" of home directory, (it can happen spontaneously too)...
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107854

  • Boot off ext USB HDD?

    My HDD failed on me just the other day, I have a new one coming in the post and I wanted to use my old 256GB one as a backup, right now is a storage silo. So I though if this ever happened again I could use my owl one as a spare so the computer can still be used.
    I would like to install OS X on the new HDD I am getting then use Copy Cloner (or something) to copy that to my old HDD, of which has an external case. So then I need to know if I can boot off that external drive via USB or if I have to put it in my MacBook?

    Hold the Option key immediately after pressing the power key, or while pressing the power key until ALL drives show up. It may take a few extra seconds for some external USB drives to present themselves. Then use the arrow keys or tab key to select the drive you want and press Enter.
    After you have booted you can go to System Preferences/Startup Disk and select the external drive as the normal boot drive. It will then boot from that drive normally without any key holding, as long as that drive is plugged into the computer. If that drive is not plugged into the computer, don't worry, it will select the next choice of bootable drive that is present, based on a prescribed order.

  • MBP upgraded to Mavericks won't boot off of external drive

    Now that I have upgraded my MBP to Mavericks I can not longer boot off of extrenal drives like I has in the past. I hold down the option key at boot up and it display the external drive as a bootable option but once clicked....it just hangs.
    Has anyone else experienced this?
    Thanks,
    D

    Well, want to rule out drive case,, as those do come up with EVERY new OS, just hit Lion 10.7 forum when it came out, or when 10.6.0 came out 3 yrs ago.
    Maybe the power adapter is the weak link.
    As I said, and goes back yrs, not a fan of FW/USB/eSATA case from major vendors (LaCie, WD, Seagate etc).
    And you could try another case. Be sure to buy a case that lets you swap in your own hard drives though.
    http://www.macsales.com/firewire - look for bare drive case "0" capacity hard drive

  • How can I boot Cisco1841 with USB Drive instead of CF?

    Hello
    I need to boot Cisco1841 with USB Drive instead of Compact Flash but I don't know what should I do.
    I heard I need to format USB Drive with FAT and need to save IOS on the USB Drive.
    Before boot, Need to set config register ? I am not sure which parameter should I set config register in detail.
    Please let me know if there is URL describing thease steps from the beginning.

    http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/modules/ps6247/prod_qas0900aecd80232483.html
         Q. What sizes of USB Flash sticks are supported?
         A. USB Flash sticks are supported in 64, 128, and 256 MB sizes. No other sizes are supported.
         Q. Can I use any USB memory stick for this application?
         A. No. Only Cisco USB memory sticks are supported.
    Q. Can I boot an image directly from the USB Flash module?
    A. Yes. USB drivers have been added to rommon, starting with version 12.4(13r)
         Q. Can I format the USB Flash module on the router?
    A. Yes. You can format the module on either a router or a PC. You must  specify "FAT16 file system" as the file system for the PC format process  to use.
    If your setup satisfies above conditions you can get the router to boot up with the IOS on the USB flash
    If you are in ROMMON mode, use 'dev' to find out the name of the USB Flash (should be usbflash0).
    set BOOT=usbflash0:
    If you are in the router,
    boot system flash usbflash0:

  • Booting off external firewire drive

    Hi Ive cloned my internal imac drive using superduper.
    Inside the startup application i can now see my external drive as bootable.
    I am trying to boot off the external drive TARGET disk mode. Is this correct to get the os to boot off the external FW drive?

    Hello Joe.
    You don't use Target disk mode to do so. When connected, you can select the external firewire drive to boot from via System Preferences > Startup Disk or use the Startup Manager during startup or restart.
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106178

  • How can I save and share movies to a flash drive in Premier Elements 9

    How can I save and share movies to a flash drive in Premier Elements 9
    mobile phones and other devices - only give for ipods and iphones
    export files for viewing on computer -  windows media etc
    I am experienced at burning dvds on the Adobe Premier Elements but new to sharing movies to a flash drive.
    Please help!

    Moti
    Premiere Elements 9.0/9.0.1 on what computer operating system?
    1. USB Flash Drive.
    Go to Share/Computer/ make your export choice.
    In the Save In field for the preset selected, browse to and select the USB Flash Drive
    2. Windows Media
    Share/Computer/Windows Media and select appropriate preset to get you .wmv file
    3. See Share/Mobile Phones and Players
    Remember you can customize the settings under the Advanced Button/Video Tab, Audio Tab, Multiplexer Tab of
    the preset selected.
    Please review the Premiere Element 9 Help PDF, Chapter 15, Saving and Sharing Movies.
    http://help.adobe.com/archive/en_US/premiereelements/9/premiereelements_9_help.pdf
    The above is an overview. We can go into more details after you review the above.
    Thank you.
    ATR

  • What are the pros and cons of a solid state drive for imac?

    What are the pros and cons of a solid state drive for imac?
    I wonder if the SSD is good for replacing a failing hard drive?

    However they are dramatically faster than magnetic disk drives, useful for startup and shutdown and frequently accessed apps and fi.e

Maybe you are looking for