Imac will fire up perfectly until i attach an external hard drive

imac will fire up perfectly until i attach an external hard drive including an ipod then it freezes at plain white screen. I have attempted to hook and unhook different externals (I have four) I have also attempted with ipod (80 gig classic). I have cleared PRAM (while unhooked from externals)
iMac9,1
Processor Name:    Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:    3.06 GHz
Number Of Processors:    1
Total Number Of Cores:    2
L2 Cache:    6 MB
Memory:    4 GB
Bus Speed:    1.07 GHz
Mac OS X 10.5.8

I have to go to work so I can't really test every drive to be sure but yesterday it would not fire up with any of the externals. It appears that this may have solved the issue. I'm mystified at how that could get changed (boot set up preference) I did as you said and it seems to work. Thank you very much!

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My new iMac will not allow me to daisy chain my external hard drives - what can I do?!

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Rysz wrote:
To retain your playlists, artwork, play counts, etc, you need to move the entire iTunes folder, not just the music files..
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Hello,
Problem is likely the Format of the External drive, for TM it needs to be Mac OSX extended Journaled & GUID Partition scheme for Intel based Macs...
How to format your disks...
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/partitioning_tiger.html
(To Install OSX on an IntelMac the Drive it needs the GUID Partitioning scheme mentioned at the bottom.)
Thanks to Pondini, Formatting, Partitioning, Verifying, and Repairing Disks...
http://Pondini.org/OSX/DU.html
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http://support.apple.com/kb/ph5845
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Back up all data before making any changes.
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Select the hard drive in the Finder and choose Get Info from the File menu; if the disk's format is listed as MS-DOS or FAT32, you will need to use the Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder to reformat it in the Mac OS Extended format if you don't need to use it with a PC and want to store files 4GB or larger on it. If you need to use part of it with a PC, follow the instructions in this article.
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Hilary-
Here's a doc to explain target mode:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583
Should you not be able to restore DVR or ext. drive access, Target mode is a great option to have.
It sounds like you better get a copy of DiskWarrior FedEx'ed ASAP.
Like I mentioned previously, I think you have directory problems (and possibly worse). That would explain the question mark folder at start up, and the different ID for your internal drive. The internal drive, if the origional, is old, tired and wants a break.
I'm glad to hear you have a possible backup solution with the ext drive.
Don't delay.
Along with back up, I have some things I think you should try.
Because you have possible directory problems, I think it would be good to try a "safe boot". This explains how:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107393
This explains what safe boot is:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107392
Basically, you force the system to look at itself (directory check), and it simplifies the start up items. Note that some things don't work in safe mode, but you can check other items such as drives and FW.
Also, with the various devices not mounting, you might try a PRAM and NVRAM reset
This link explains doing so via the keyboard at start up
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
If that doesn't help, reset the PMU. It's inside the computer, on the motherboard, back by the little battery (that should be replaced every year or so)
This link explains how to reset the PMU manually
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=95037
Doing the above may help to restore the DVD drive and the Firewire.
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Most of all, don't panic. Be methodical, and you'll get through this.
Good Luck-
Chris
G4 AGP(450)Sawtooth Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2ghzPPC,1.62gbSDRAM, ATI9800, DVR-110D,(IntHD)120&160,LaCie160,23"Cinema Display

Imac will fire up perfectly until i attach an external hard drive

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