Firewire as startup disk

I have a Lacie fire wire drive that has an image of older ibook(that has died) When I start my new intel based imac while holding down the option key it will not show the drive as a boot option, only the hd on the intel based iMac.

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My Firewire Clone is not showing up in the Startup Disk selection window

Going to the Startup Disk section Under System Preferences to locate my mounted Firewire/cloned HD - But it's not showing up there for start up selection.
The external firewire clone, running OS X 10.4.11 shows up in the finder right away. Also I have mounted and used it as the start up disk on several other computers just fine. The current computer I'm having issues mounting to is a: 2 ghz Intel MacBook with 1 gb ram running 10.4.11
The previous computers that I have had success mounting to were a G4 ibook and a G5 imac(OSX 10.4.11). - Don't know if the Intel part is why I can't mount?
Any ideas or fixes - Thanks!

What to do if your computer won't recognize a FireWire device
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88338
Dealing with FireWire problems (drives not mounting, devices unrecognized, etc.)
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20041221081432908
 Cheers, Tom

Anybody using a firewire volume as a startup disk?

I am
Anybody able to go straight to the Startup firewire volume without the Option key?
I can't
Is this the way it is supposed to work?
Did not work this way in the bad old days of Mac OS and skuzzy

The only way to permanently set any volume as a startup volume is to use the Startup Disk preferences. Open Startup Disk, select your external volume (it must have a valid system installed,) then click on the Restart button. The selected volume will now be your permanent startup volume until you specifically change it using Startup Disk. For a temporary one-time only change use OPTION booting.

Firewire Drive shows in Startup Disk -- But not with Option

I just added a new firewire backup drive. It's the only ext. drive attached. I ran SuperDuper to make a bootable clone of my startup drive. The drive shows up in Startup Disk, with the proper OS, 10.4.11, same as my int. drive.
But when I restart and hold down the option key, only my int. drive shows up.
What do you think is going on?
Thanks

From Western Digital's support web page [HERE|http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/stdadp.php?pfaqid=1715]:
====
Power PC based Macintosh computers are unable to boot to a My Book external hard drive.
Question
Why am I unable to boot to a WD My Book external hard drive using a Power PC (PPC) Based Macintosh computer?
Answer
Problem:
Power PC based Macintosh computer systems are unable to boot to the following My Book external hard drive:
* My Book Pro II Edition
* My Book Premium II Edition
* My Book Home Edition
* My Book Studio Edition
Intel Macintosh computers are not affected by this issue and are able to be booted from My Book external hard drives if the partition on the drive has been setup as a GUID partition scheme.
Cause:
This issue is a Macintosh bug cause by the Mac ROM code of the computer and how it attempts to boot from the first SCSI LUN it detects (LUN 0). In the case of the aforementioned hard drives, the LUN 0 device is dedicated to the button board and safe removal tools of the hard drive case and not the internal hard drive, thus causing booting to be impossible.
Resolution:
There is currently no resolution to this issue. If a resolution is found by Apple, this answer will be updated with this information.
=====
Unbelievably, they blame Apple for the problem.

Firewire Startup Disk?

Hi,
We have an eMac with a drive that's failing Disk Utility tests and cannot be repaired by DU. I know that replacing the internal drive of an eMac requires a surgical degree, so I decided to get a firewire drive to use as the new startup disk. I installed a fresh copy of 10.4 with a "real" Tiger install disk, and it is showing up as a selectable startup disk option in the "Startup Disk" preference pane. But the computer blows right past it and boots off the internal drive. Starting with the "Option" key down, the new drive doesn't show up as a bootable option. I tried it on my powerbook, which has the same G4 1Ghz processor, and got the same result.
Is there some reason I shouldn't be able to boot from a firewire drive?
Thanks!
Chris

What exact models of enclosure and drive? Some have problems...
[WD 250Gb external not recognized under Tiger|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8891598&#8891598]
[Western Digital My Book Studio Edition 500GB|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1899888&tstart=0] - is recognized but won't boot.
[WD My Passport 320GB not seen under Panther|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1900574&tstart=0]
[List of Western Digital bootable and non bootable models|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9022456#9022456]

10.9 Startup Disk preference panel will not work on Firewire disk

On my 2008 Mac Pro I have a OWC FireWire attached cloned copy of Macintosh HD. I select the drive in Startup Disk preference panel. Then click on Restart. I get error “Preferences Error There was an error in Startup Disk preference pan.” Using a USB cable it works fine.
Process:         com.apple.preference.startupdisk.remoteservice [494]
Path:            /System/Library/PreferencePanes/StartupDisk.prefPane/Contents/XPCServices/com.a pple.preference.startupdisk.remoteservice.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.preferenc e.startupdisk.remoteservice
Identifier:      com.apple.preference.startupdisk.remoteservice
Version:         6 (322)
Build Info:      StartupDisk-322000000000000~3
Code Type:       X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process: ??? [1]
Responsible:     System Preferences [488]
User ID:         501
Date/Time:       2013-10-26 04:49:45.475 -0400
OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.9 (13A603)
Report Version: 11
Anonymous UUID: F4E841D5-BF33-96B4-7E59-07F8D9741CBE

It turns out that the error has nothing to do with Firewire. It is Mavericks.
In the Systems Preferances, open the Startup Disk Panel. While pressing the Option key, click on Restart. The restart fails every time. (The Option key should bypass the "Are you sure you want to Restart.)

Starting up using another computer as a startup disk.

Hello oh knowledgeable ones. My hard drive is MIA (flashing question mark folder) and I would like to use my old iMac as a startup disk (via firewire) (I have tried starting up off of CD and I am never able to get the machine started up so I can run a disk utility.) When we had a similar problem 2 weeks ago we took the beast to the genius bar and they got it started up off a firewire start-up - but I cannot startup off of my old mac.

Hi CGov-
This may help: How to use FireWire target disk mode
Luck-
-DP

HELP! CD player suddenly won't boot any startup disk.

Help! I am being swamped with problems stemming from my attempt to upgrade to OS X. Can anyone help me plug the holes in my boat? I am including as much info as I can because I notice that requests like mine often generate a lot of questions about basic things. So, here it goes ... and thanks for your thoughts, Ed T. in Newburyport, MA. OK to send ideas to me [email protected]
Goal: install OX 10.3.5 (Panther) on my Mac G4 Ethernet Gigabit machine by booting from the CD install disk. I am using a full retail version (black with silver “X” v 10.3.5).
Problem: neither internal CD-Rom not external Fire Wire CD-ROM player/recorder will boot from 9.1 or 9.2 startup disks. These disks (DiskWarrior and Apple OS X insdatll disk #1) booted OK until I made upgrade preparations to get G4 and OS 9.2.2.
About two weeks ago I installed ViaVoice v2.01 Enhanced Edition and did a practice reading. I just mention this in case it might be relevant.
After installing the second HD I moved all of the document files off the original HD to the new one. I left all the applications on the original HD. I ran DiskWarrior and rebuilt the desktop for each drive. I check for fragmentation and optimized the disks which ran smoothly.
Hardware: G4 Ethernet Gigabit CPU (purchased new 2001 with RAM upgraded to 256 Mb and with an internal CD-ROM player) which uses the original processor, Que Fire external CD recorder/player connected via Firewire, Airport card upgrade and white domed Airport Hub, older HP 55M laser printer connected with an Assante Bridge unit, a cable internet box (Motorola) connected to the Airport unit. Monitor (an older SONY Multiscan 100ES purchased at SeaMUG swap meet). USB 4 jack hub (Netgear Dual Speed DS104). New external hard drive (an OWC Mercury Ultra AL 250 Gb USB/Fire Wire) connected via Fire Wire cable.
Upgrade preparations - I added some new items:
1.) I increased the original 256 RAM by installing (adding) two 512 cards from Other World Computing (OWC at MacSales.com), and ...
2.) a new ATA internal 80 Gb Hitachi hard drive (also from OWC) fitted onto the “sled” atop the original 40 Gb HD. NOTE: both drives are format extended (HFS+).
Next, I backed up original 40 Gb hard drive to my new OWC Mercury 250 Gb external HD using Retrospect.
Software: I did the following activities according upgrade decision lists from MacFixit and Apple Support Discussion Group. I did the following:
1.) Updated OS 9.2.2 firmware to v4.2.8 which I downloaded from Apple,
NOTE: this procedure involved holding in the programmer’s button (the little recessed one below the big startup button and to the right of the little reboot button) and then pressing the startup button until I heard a long tone. I released the programmer’s button and the firmware update completed successfully.
2.) I did not check for external Hard Drive firmware updates because drive is one month old, but I did disconnect the Firewire cable during the following activities,
3.) I have no “haxies” to update,
4.) There was no Stuffit Deluxe software to de-activate,
5.) Removed extra start up items (ViaVoice).
6.) Disconnected all non-Apple USB hub hardware.
6.) Booted from OS X install disk ( in the internal player) and ...
7.) used Disk Utility to check/repair both hard drives.
Here is where the PROBLEMS STARTED.
8.) I intended to boot from the DiskWarrior CD in order to run its tests on both HD’s. The DISK WOULD NOT BOOT. Instead, the screen went gray and I had to eject the disk and use the restart button.
9.) Next I tried to boot from the OS X Install CD as I did before. The screen went gray, a large gray Apple logo appeared followed by a white print on BLACK KERNEL PANIC screen.
10.) Each of the CD’s seems to mount OK and I can access and use the utilities BUT I CANNOT USE THEM AS A START UP DISK ANYMORE. I have tried the “press the C key” method and the Start up Disk control panel designation method without success.
What is the best way to get back the use of the “C” key in order to boot from the CD. And, since I have two drives, could I use one as the assigned start up in system 9.2.2, and used the OS X Install disk to get the OS X onto the other disk.
My efforts to solve this problem have only made matters worse. My new HD won’t mount and can’t be repaired by Tech Tool Pro 2.5. I may have to use the file recovery feature to retrieve what files I can and then re-initialize it. The original HD is also reporting damage but so far it will start up. All the applications are on it, it is the startup disk so I cannot effectively use my tools to work on it.
Please help me to get back to dry land and install OS 10.3.5. Many thanks in advance.

Hello! First, you know now that you should never do multiple upgrades at the same time. That said I'd first look at the most likely which is an error in the hard drives. Often cable select won't work. Make sure the drive jumpered master is on the end of the ribbon away from the motherboard and the one jumpered slave is on the middle connector. New drives are usually jumpered either master or cable select and if you installed it as a slave without proper jumpering then that's the most likely place to start. Post back when you're sure the drives are physically connected properly. Tom

Startup Disk Full Error but disk shows only 20Gb on it!

I have a 150 Gb startup drive. I keep getting the error that the stratup drive is full and Get Info shows only 300Mb left on drive! Do get info on the 5 directories on the drive, Applications, Developer, Library, System, and Users and it all adds up to just over 20Gb. Am I missing something here? Ran Disk Utilities and the disk verifies ok and verified permissions and ok. I am running Time Machine but it backs up to an external firewire drive, not the startup disk.
I know that I can add another drive cheaply but I really want to know why this disk appears to be full. Any help? Thanks in advance!

There are lots of hidden directories. There could be actual data instead of alias mount points under "/Volumes" which is often one reason.
There are a couple programs to show where space is going, as well as sort output from terminal, but I prefer OmniGroup OmniDiskSweeper - look on MacUpdate - to show and access files. Program works fine even though shareware.
And yes, you might want to use the Raptor? for something else and get even WD 640GB for $75, or the 3rd gen VelociRaptor 300GB $289.
There are threads in "Using Leopard" regularly about "where did my space go."

Startup disk full error - boots normally but won't start finder

I'm having a problem in which my iMac when it boots gives me an error that the startup disk is full, but other than that it can boot normally and allow me to log in, but after that the startup stalls. I never get past the default "outer space" desktop image and finder never starts, so there's no icons, no dock, and nothing on the menu bar. What's weird is that Safari and Mail start and I can see them because I believe I have them starting automatically at boot. Safari works (I'm using it now to enter this discussion). Mail on the other hand starts but is hung checking for the servers for incoming mail.
I've tried to boot in safe mode (holding down Shift key at startup), but it doesn't work.
I've tried to boot in single user mode (holding down cmd-S at startup), but it doesn't work either.
I've tried to boot from Snow Leopard installation media (holding down C at startup), but it doesn't work as well.
Each time I try one of these alternate boot methods, it just takes me to the normal login screen with the startup disk full message. I click OK, login, and get stuck.
I'm just trying to get the finder started so that I can delete some files, but I just can't get that far. It's strange that the browser works perfectly and internet connection is fine, but nothing else works.
Thoughts? Thanks. - Mike

Hi Lina, and welcome to Apple Discussions.
Safe Mode might allow you to boot and free up some space.
If you have access to another Mac and a FireWire cable, another option would be to use FireWire Target Disk Mode to transfer data to the other Mac and delete it on your MBA.
If either way works, you want to open up somewhere around 15% free space. Once you do that, run Repair Disk: Boot from install disc (insert disc>restart>immediately hold down c key and keep holding it until you see “Preparing Installation”)>at first screen select the language and click Continue> click on the Utilities Menu in the menu bar>open Disk Utility>select your HD in the panel on the left side>click Repair Disk at bottom of main window. Run this at least twice, and keep running it until it says “appears ok” twice in a row. If that doesn’t happen, you may need a stronger utility such as DiskWarrior or if the directory is damaged beyond repair, you may need to reinstall the OS, or you may have a damaged HD (repair utilities can only repair the directory structure, not the HD itself).
Ultimately, though, it sounds like you need a larger HD . . . .

Startup disk question/problem

Should the startup disk always be at the top of the list of disks upon startup? Or is it now the case, with 10.5 on a MacBook, that the internal disk is at the top of the list whether or not it is the startup disk?
Situation: New MacBook Mac OS 10.5.8, new Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD3200BEVT 320GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive in an external MacAlly SATA FW/USB case. I erased (formated) the external drive, and, using Restore in Disk Utility, made what I expected to be a clone of the MacBook's internal drive.
Problem: After repairing permissions, using Start Up Disk preferences I selected the new drive as the start up drive. Upon restart I get mixed signals as to which is the startup drive. The original (internal) drive is at the top of the list on the right of desktop but, in the Start Up Disk Preferences list, the new drive is highlighted. (Further: I am able, after right clicking on the internal disk, to select it, to eject it.)
Questions: Have I bought a drive that won't work as a start up drive or doesn't Disk Utility Restore in 10.5.8 create a bootable drive as in 10.4 or does the internal disk always show up at the top of the list on the desktop in 10.5.8? When I swap the drives, putting the new drive in the MacBook, will it boot?
This procedure for swapping new drives has always worked with my Macs thru Mac OS 10.4.11.

Check with Western Digital (the FAQs on their website) whether that hard drive is bootable on your Mac. Not all of them are.
Quote from a Western Digital FAQ:
While it may be possible to boot your computer to an external hard drive, Western Digital does not provide technical support for booting your computer using an external hard drive. If you intend to make a copy of your boot drive, or install your operating system, please use a second internal drive (EIDE or Serial ATA), rather than an external drive.
And their list of bootable drives:
The following external hard drives are bootable on Intel-based Macintosh computers systems through USB:
• My Book Essential Edition
• My Book Essential Edition 2.0
• My Book Home Edition
• My Book Mirror Edition
• My Book Office Edition
• My Book Premium Edition
• My Book Premium Edition II
• My Book Premium ES Edition
• My Book Pro Edition
• My Book Pro Edition II
• My Book Studio Edition
• My Book Studio Edition II
• My Passport Studio
The following external hard drives are bootable on Intel-based Macintosh computers systems through FireWire (1394a/b):
• My Book Home Edition
• My Book Mirror Edition
• My Book Office Edition
• My Book Premium Edition
• My Book Premium Edition II
• My Book Pro Edition
• My Book Pro Edition II
• My Book Studio Edition
• My Book Studio Edition II
• My Passport Studio
The following external hard drives are bootable on Power PC based Macintosh computers systems through FireWire (1394a/b):
• WD My Book Premium Edition
• WD My Book Pro Edition
The following external hard drives are not bootable on Power PC based Macintosh computers systems through USB/FireWire 1394(a/b):
• My Book Essential Edition
• My Book Essential Edition 2.0
• My Book Home Edition
• My Book Mirror Edition
• My Book Office Edition
• My Book Premium Edition II
• My Book Pro Edition II
• My Book Studio Edition
• My Book Studio Edition II
• My Passport Studio
• My Passport Elite
• My Passport Essential
• WD Passport
• WD Passport (Silver)
You will find a more up to date list on their website.

Can I clone to an external that has files on it, use it as a startup disk

I have an external firewire drive but I didn't partition it before I started Time Machine backups on it. I now need to clone my internal drive to the external and use it as a startup disk. I'm afraid it won't work if there are other files (LOTS) already there.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks

Oh it will work, but it will also wipe the contents of the external, unless they are also on the internal. Clones make their source and destination identical, using the source as a reference point. Get another external hard drive if you wish to manage a clone, and a semi-archival backup. See my backup FAQ* on why I say Time Machine isn't quite a true archival backup, but can be modified to work as one*:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html

Mac Mini Startup Disk

Hi,
I have just got a Mac Mini, Dual Core and am trying to startup from a firewire HDD just as I seem able to do on my Powerbook G4 1.5 GHz and Powermac G4 533 MHz. I have OS 10.4.8 installed on the Firewire HDD yet when I select 'Startup Disk' from System Preferences I do not see the OS on the firewire dirve as an option. Any help/suggestions would be very gratefully received. Thanks very much.
Mac Mini 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Hello! Your issue probably is related to the version of OSX you're trying to boot from. If the external is the exact same OS that's on the Mini it will work but if the OS is one for the PB or the G4 it's not likely to work. Take the Mini disk and do a new install on an external drive and you should have no problems or if you like you can "clone" the Mini drive to the external and it will work also. Tom

IMAC 27 wakes up but without Startup Disk?

Put iMAC to sleep and it wakes up with normal looking desktop, but nothing activates. Unable to launch apps etc. I shut down, unplug power, then startup with option key, Startup disk displays and I click enter, and all starts up fine.... I select MAC HD in Preferences but each time I put Mac to sleep this happens it never stays selected. The selected HD startup disk always go away? I would hate to have to re-install S/W to get past this issue. I also ran Disk Utility and it repaired & verified disk and permissions, but still iMAC will not wake from sleep with normal HD startup disk. Any help please?

Hi Nate,
The Apple guy called and we took care of this problem within 15 minutes. I will summarize for you quickly what cured it.
1. Open ACCOUNTS in Syst. Prefs. Clicked on LOG-IN Items, deleted 5 items and closed up.
2. Powered down Mac, unplugged all cables, USB, Firewire except Hi-Speed Modem cable.
3. Started back up with SHIFT key. However Magic Mouse didn't work.. So Powered OFF again.
4. Plugged all cables back in and did a normal Start Up. Booted up normal and issue is resolved
Apple Tech was great, no rushing and was easy to work with on the phone. iMAC is working great again!!
Thank you for your help, and I did ask Tech about resetting PRAM with your method, and he said it is a good idea to do this on occasion, but wouldn't have done much to cure my specific issue.
Thanks again Nate for your effort. Much appreciated! Jim

Thunderbolt and Firewire Logo Startup Screen?

A few secs ago I had a Thunderbolt and Firewire logo startup screen that had them bouncing around. Any idea of what this was?

It sounds like you started the computer in target disk mode. This is a special mode that allows mounting the computer as an external FireWire or Thunderbolt hard disk to another Mac. It is accessed by holding the "T" key at boot, and exited by shutting the computer down with the power button.

Firewire as startup disk

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