External Hard drive... How do I make it a bootable?

I have an older ibook G4 running 10.4.11 and I have never used an external hard drive to make back ups. I know that has been foolish, but up until now I did not consider the data I had on my hard drive to be irreplaceable. I want to purchase an external hard drive but being a novice I really am unsure what to buy or even how to use it properly. I would like to be able to boot from it so I can do diagnostics and repairs to the ibook. My main question is how do I make an external hard drive a "bootable" drive? Should I purchase a firewire drive, or can a USB drive also be bootable.
Any suggestions on which drives might be best would also be appreciated.
thanks in advance
rjj

[USB Info and Benefits of Dual-Channel USB|http://support.apple.com/kb/TA25908]:
"Beginning with the Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics) and the iMac (Slot-Loading), two new features to USB are most apparent: support for USB audio devices and booting from USB drives.
Bootable USB drives: A storage device such as a SuperDisk, Zip disk, or other USB storage drive can be used to hold a valid system folder and used at startup."
That said, it is usually recommended you buy a Firewire connection external drive (may also have USB) for booting. www.mac-sales.com is a good place to start browsing, though there are many other vendors too. Don't worry if a drive says needs Windows. That refers to using their backup software which you don't need, though there are a few enclosures which use chip sets that have problems with Macs for booting, that's why it is best to get one with an Oxford chip set.
For the external drive to be bootable you need to clone your internal drive to the external. Carbon Copy Cloner (donation ware from bombitch.com) and SuperDuper (shareware) are two popular cloning utilities. Cloning insures that invisible system files critical to booting also get copied.
Make sure the external is as large as, or slightly larger than your internal. Some people buy very large external drives so they have extra space for storage. There's nothing wrong with that except they forget that should the external fail they do not have a backup for all the extra files they put on the external! If you do buy a larger external it is handy to partition the drive so one partition matches the size of your internal drive. It's just easier to have a one to one copy rather than mixing up the files.
[Formatting & Partitioning a Hard Drive in OS X|http://www.kenstone.net/fcphomepage/partitioningtiger.html]
[Journaling, Zeroing, Partitioning & OS 9 driver|http://forums.bombich.com/viewtopic.php?t=4084]
[Kappy's extensive hard drive formatting post|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8340551&#8340551]

Similar Messages

When I plug in my ipad it automatically tries to back up and download all the contents to the C drive - the PC is too full and I have iTunes on an external hard drive, how do I tell the system to do the backup to the hard drive please?

When I plug in my ipad it automatically tires to back up and download all the contents to the C drive - the PC is too full and I have iTunes on an external hard drive, how do I tell the system to do the backup to the hard drive please?

You can open a command prompt by hitting the start button and typing CMD<Enter> in the search box that opens up.
To move the current backup folder from C: to D: type in this command and press <Enter>
Move "C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Local\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup" "D:\Backup"
Where <User> is your Windows user name.
To make iTunes look for the data in the new location type in this command and press <Enter>
MkLink /J "C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Local\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup" "D:\Backup"
If your external drive has a different letter or you already have a folder called "Backup" then edit "D:\Backup" accordingly in both commands.
tt2

My start up disk is full and I need to move my files to an external hard drive, how do i do so?

My start up disk is full and i need to move my files to an external hard drive, how do i do so?

Ensure that the external is correctly formatted
Drag and dropped the files
Test to be sure that the moved files work
Once the moved files work delete the originals
Allan

I want to keep my music on my macbook and my movies on my external hard drive how do i get itunes to recogonise my external hard drive.?

I want to keep my music on my macbook pro and my movies on my external hard drive how do i get itunes to recogonise my external hard drive.? so i can drag more movies across later. i am able to plug my external into my Apple Express to stream to my apple Tv arent i..???

Post your question in the iTunes area:
https://discussions.apple.com/community/itunes/itunes_for_mac

Ok here goes. I have so much music I don't want to store it all on my computer and would like to store on an external hard drive. So if all my music is on the external hard drive, how will iTunes see it in order to play the music. Thanks

ok here goes. I have so much music I don't want to store it all on my computer and would like to store on an external hard drive. So if all my music is on the external hard drive, how will iTunes see it in order to play the music. Thanks

This article might help you moving/relocating your library :
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
Cheers AF

I did backup from my Imac to external hard drive, how can I unzip that backup to my mac

I did backup from my Imac to external hard drive, how can I unzip that backup to my mac again

It may be Time Machine, but Time Machine doesn't store backups in .zip folders. Open Finder and select your backup external disk in the Finder sidebar, under "Devices". If you are using Time Machine, you should see a folder called "Backups.backupdb".
If you are using Time Machine and you want to restore a full Time Machine backup, there are different methods depending on the Mac OS X version you are using. Open  > About this Mac, see Version and tell me what version you are using

My iTunes library is on an external hard drive; how do I set it so other users (accounts) on my imac, will also have the same library, with the same playlists

my iTunes library is on an external hard drive; how do I set it so other users (accounts) on my imac, will also have the same library, with the same playlists

Quit iTunes.
Sign into another user account.
Hold Option, launch iTunes.
Select Choose library... and select the iTunes folder on the external.
Do this for all users.
NOTE: You must quit iTunes when switching users as the library can only be opened by one user at a time.

I have a external hard drive connected, Finder will not let me search for files in the external hard drive how do i search in a hard drive

i have a external hard drive connected, Finder will not let me search for files in the external hard drive how do i search in a hard drive

What are you using to search? You should be able to search any drive in from the Finder. If you're having trouble, try "EasyFind" from the App Store (free). You can search any volumes with it.
Clinton

I have Mountain Lion OS Install CD downloaded onto my external hard drive, how do I use this to upgrade from Leopard

Current computer that I just bought used is operating on Leopard 10.5.8
I have Mountain Lion OS X CD installation files downloaded on my external hard drive from another Mac that I have owned.
How do I use my external HD to download and Install Mountain OS X wizard.
Is the only way to do this to buy a copy of snow leopard and then once upgrading to that, plug in my external HD and then access the Mtn install file as I would if I had the installation CD?
When I try to access the install file from my external HD, i get to the installation window and then when I am to select a hard drive to install it on I receuve a red exclamation mark error that says it can not be written to the HD. Why is this? Because I'm not on snow leopard but rather leopard?

As you have the installer on a DVD, you can do a trick that consists in formatting the hard drive, and then, install Mountain Lion.
First, make a backup of your files with Time Machine > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427 I recommend Time Machine because it will be easier to restore your files later.
Then, insert the DVD with Mountain Lion and hold the C key while your Mac is starting, so you will see a window with different options. Open Disk Utility, choose Macintosh HD in the sidebar, go to Erase tab and erase the drive.
After erasing the drive, you can install Mountain Lion. Close Disk Utility and install it. During the initial setup, it will ask you to restore your files, so plug the external drive with the backup and follow its steps. Note that PowerPC apps aren't compatible

I'm currently backing up using Time Machine and a Seagate external hard drive, how to do I restore on a new computer?

I hate to say it.. But I have never backed up!! I have thousands of pics of my son on this mac book, it got wet and NOW I'm backing up (as i type) to a Seagate external hard drive- I plugged it in, and then Time MAchine launched automatically. It looks like it's backing up my whole computer, is it backing up everything? photos, address book, documents etc? If my computer crashes tomorrow, how would I restore all of this information on a new computer?
Help, I'm computer iliterate- hence the reason I got a Mac (so easy to use). I need reasurance that it will back up! How do I continue to back up? Leave the external hard drive plugged in? I'm telling you I'm below the knowledge of "Backing Up a Mac for Dummies"

Time Machine makes a backup of the whole OS.X volume automatically, so you will have an exact copy of your hard disk in your Time Machine external disk. Also, Time Machine will make backups every hour, always that your Time Machine disk is connected. If you want more information, visit this site > http://pondini.org
To restore this in a new Mac, you have to use Migration Assistant. Just connect the Time Machine drive into the new computer, open Migration Assistant (it's in /Applications/Utilities) and follow the steps. You will be able to select what you want to transfer.
Also, if you have a brand-new Mac, you can do this during the initial setup. Setup Assistant will ask you to restore a backup, so connect the Time Machine disk and follow the steps

External Hard Drives - how to stop LR3.3 wanting to import.

I have 3 external hard drives which I use for backing up pictures and other folders. Whenever I plug one of them in, LR opens the Import dialog, even though I have auto import switched off. It's not serious, but it is annoying! Can anyone tell me how to stop it doing this?

Try the following:
In <My Computer> right-click the external drive, in the dialog box click on <Properties>, and on the <Autoplay> tab. Select <Pictures> and Make <Select an Action to perform> active by clicking on the radio button. Scroll down the list and make sure that <LR import photos> is NOT selected. Or select <Take no action>.
WW

After backing up through time machine on external hard drive, how do you access that data?

I backed up my MacBook to an external hard drive through Time Machine. After it was all done and I reconnected the external hard drive to make sure that I could access everything that was backed up, I couldn't get into the data on the external hard drive because it said that it was backed up through Time Machine.
What does this mean? How to I access the data that is on my external hard drive?

There are 2 options.
1) (The Suggested way) With the TM external drive connected Open The Time Machine App in Applications and you can browse what has been backed up.
2) Open Finder and select the drive name on the left then the Backups.backupsdb folder and in there is all your files from the backups you have made listed under your Machine Name and in that folder under the dates/times they were created

I recently had to back up itunes play lists to external hard drive, how do I restore the library from the external hard drive to the new computer

I recently had to back up itunes play lists to external hard drive whilst computer was fixed. reinstalled itunes but dont know how to reinstall my music from external hard drive. help?

The same way the library was copied/moved to the external drive.
Copy it from location A to location B.
Then point iTunes to the correct library.

If i previously had my iTunes library set up on an external hard drive, how do I get my iTunes on my new mac pro to operate off of the same hard drive?

I recently bought a mac pro. I previously had a macbook that I had set up for iTunes to run off of an external hard drive. How do I set up my mac pro to run off of this hard drive? I have been trying to figure it out for the last hour and have had no luck.
I have tried to move my itunes folder on my mac pro to my external hard drive but am having no luck. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

If you had the entire library running from the external drive it should be a matter of holding down option as you start iTunes and browsing to the library on the external drive.
If you'd followed the advice to move the media folder only then ideally you need to recover the library folder from your Macbook with a view to making the library portable on the external drive.
Otherwise you're going to have to simply import the content into a new library, losing rating, playlists, play counts. etc.
If you have any devices that sync to your library see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2

My Itunes is on an external hard drive, how do I access it on a new PC?

I have my iTunes library on an external hard drive. Very soon I will be getting a new computer, and I am wondering what steps are involved in accessing the library on the new computer.
After I download iTunes on the new computer, is it as easy as starting it and holding shift when I start it to specify the library on my external hard drive?
Or do I have to do something on my old computer first? Back it up or transfer it or something?
Thanks.

+is it as easy as starting it and holding shift when I start it to specify the library on my external hard drive?+
Yes, if your itunes database file is already on the exHD, that's all you have to do, is a shift-start of itunes and choose the ITL file on the exHD.
I'd make sure both PCs are running the same version of itunes, though....just to make sure everything goes smoothly. If it was my PC, I'd also assign the same drive letter for the exHD.

I have external hard drive and I cant make changes in it, such as deleting photos or adding photos to external hard drive from macbook pro. could anyone please help me. I don;t know what to do...

I have macbook pro. I can not make changes in external hard drive such as deleting photos also I can not add photos to external hard drive. could you please help me?

That's the way.
The drive is probably formatted NTFS which is Windows proprietary file system. Mac OS can read it, but not write to it.
You can do as suggested by TheDave if you have sufficient HD space for temporary storage. Depending on whether you need to continue using the drive with Windows machines there are a few options.
Best for Mac only use is to re-partition and format as GUID partition map and Mac OS Extended (journaled)
For dual use, Leave the partition as MBR and format as FAT32 (MS-DOS in Disk Utility). This has a file size limit of a little over 4GB, but can be read and written to by both Mac and Windows.
There is also exFAT (aka FAT64) if both OSs support it - no file limit there that you'll ever reach.
Alternatively there are software solutions which will allow the Mac to read and write to NTFS drives. I'm told they're not as good as the other solutions, but may be an option if you haven't space to store the contents while re-formatting.

External Hard drive... How do I make it a bootable?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for