Install Leopard on external Drive?

I'd like to do what I have always done before when upgrading OSes, which is install Leopard on an external HD whilst I keep my existing Tiger on the internal HD.
This way I get to try out the new system without throwing out the old until I am satisfied the change is actually an "upgrade".
However I have heard this doesn't work with Leopard, you can not run 2 different OSes on the one machine and switch between them at startup.
Is this true? Has anyone tried this for themselves?

Peter Breis1 wrote:
I'd like to do what I have always done before when upgrading OSes, which is install Leopard on an external HD whilst I keep my existing Tiger on the internal HD.
This way I get to try out the new system without throwing out the old until I am satisfied the change is actually an "upgrade".
However I have heard this doesn't work with Leopard, you can not run 2 different OSes on the one machine and switch between them at startup.
Is this true? Has anyone tried this for themselves?
You heard incorrectly. Many here have done exactly that which you propose. I have two dual-boot machines - Tiger and Leopard. It does not matter whether the drive is internal or external. The only caveat is that for Leopard to boot on an external drive on an Intel box, the drive must be GUID.
For PPC it must be APS. Other than that, there is no problem.

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Installing Leopard on external drive / then making it internal

Hi There-
Please tell me if you think this scenario will work. I'm running out of room on my mac mini's hard drive, so I bought a new drive along with Leopard. I want to install leopard on the new drive in an external firewire cage and set everything up. Then when I'm satisfied, I can crack the mini open, pull out the internal drive with a working tiger install, put the external drive in (with leopard) and just let it boot.
Is it that easy?

Yes that will work.

Can't install Leopard on external drive

After speaking with someone at the Genius Bar last week, we determined that the problem I'm having with my eMac is probably due to the 4-5 year old internal hard drive finally getting ready to give up the ghost. ;-(
I asked if it would make sense to buy an new external drive, load Leopard on that, and boot off that while I save for a new Mac. He suggested that would work. (While the speed might not be ideal over a USB connection, I'm not too concerned with that. As long as the kids can do their homework, and I have a place to store photos it's fine.)
I just got my new external HD, got it partitioned into 3, and am trying to load 10.5.3 on it from my CD so I can make it the boot drive. The problem is that - while all 3 partitions show up on the "list" of places to install, the internal HD is the only one that will let me install on it. The 3 partitions all say that I can't install on them.
Any idea why I can't install on the external, and more importantly, can I work around it somehow before my internal drive dies for good?
Thanks,
Tim

Hi JDB38;
There is no such thing as an Intel G5. It is either one or the other but never both. An Intel tower is a Mac Pro. A G5 is a tower with a PowerPC processor in it. So which do you have?
Allan

Installing Leopard on External Drive

Hi,
I have an external drive, ( western digital passport 120GB )
I was wondering if it was possible, to install Leopard on my external drive.. and boot from my external drive so I'll be running leopard from the external.
If so, can someone explain to me how I would do this?
and also, if I wanted to delete the Leopard system from my external drive, how would I go about doing that, so my macbook boots from its own hard drive again ( tiger )
thanks!

You first have to be sure the drive is bootable. Not all external HDs are bootable.
You will also have to partition it GUID or GPS since you are using an Intel box.
If it is bootable, Leopard will need its own partition, so you would have to temporarily put the other stuff on the drive somewhere else, partition the drive with enough room for Leopard and then put the other stuff in the second partiton. The Leopard partition should have a HFS+ filesystem that is journaled.
That's about it.

Installing leopard to external drive

I recently had problems with an update last week. After the update, the computer would not start. I took it into the Apple store, they tried to reinstall the update (to 10.4.11) and were not able to get it to work. They suggested I buy Leopard, take that home and try installing it. It appears that I can get Leopard to install, but only with a full erase. I still do not have a computer that will make it past the opening gray screen without the Leopard install disk in the DVD drive.
This is where I am smacking my own fingers. I do not have a backup of my important files (I will change that post haste). I purchased a backup drive last night also.
Here is my question...
Can I install Leopard on the new external drive first. Then boot from the external drive (I saw them do that at the store last night). Then copy the important files onto the external drive (I only care about documents and music - I am fine with reinstalling the programs). Then erase and install the OS back on the computer. I did not purchase the multiple license version. Or is there a better method I do not know of? Once I have the computer fixed, the external drive will be just for backups (so I would erase the Leopard install and copied files from that drive).
Thanks

thanks,
CCC looks interesting but since my internal drive is not booting, I assume I would need to:
1) install Leopard to the new external drive
2) boot the machine from the external drive (don't know how to do that yet)
3) download CCC to the external drive
4) make a copy of the original drive onto the external drive
5) unhook the external drive
6) install Leopard on the internal drive (with an erase)
7) download CCC to the internal drive
8) hookup the external drive
9) use CCC to move the files from the external drive back to the internal drive
(except for the OS files - how would I do that?)
10) erase the external drive and use it as a backup for the internal drive!!!!!
(no more excuses for not backing up regularly)
Questions:
1) Is there a difference between CCC and "Time Warp"?
2) Is there a problem with cloning the non-working hard drive?
(It appears to physically be working, just not booting)
2a) If it is not advisable to clone the entire non-booting drive,
(due to problems with the copying back to the internal drive after
the clean install), is CCC any better/more useful than just using
file manager if I am only moving data files and no programs?
3) Is there anything funky about copying the downloaded iTunes files?
4) Did I leave anything out of my plan above?
I think I am close and can't wait to get home to try this.
Thanks,
David

Installing Leopard on external drive then using as Internal

I have a family member that found a nice deal on a Macbook, but it has no HDD nor install CDs/DVDs. I want to buy her a HDD and then install Leopard on it and send it to her. I know that if you have 2 Macbooks, I can switch the HDDs from one to the other and the Macbooks will boot up on the HDDs. My question is, if I have a PowerMac G5 and I install Leopard (Universal Disc) onto a 2.5in HDD using an external case, will she be able to just pop it into her Macbook or do I have to install using a Macbook too? Thanks!

Can't be done. The machine she has must get the original discs from the owner.
If the original owner lost the discs, they must call AppleCare to get replacements for them.
Macs should never be separated from their discs. I warn against this on my FAQ*:
http://www.macmaps.com/usedrefurbished.html
You can't copy the operating system, as it is only licensed for your use on your machine.
As long as they are not in the same household that license only belongs to you alone.
And then if they are in the same household, you still need to buy them a family license so you can install it on multiple Macs.
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.
Message was edited by: a brody

Can i install leopard on external drive to recover files from internal hard drive

Ok i am havinga problem with laptop ... wont restart. Power on and mormal grey screen appears ... then a bar appears below the spining dashes and after a few increments the laptop automatically shuts down. Now is it possible to install OS on extrenal to allow me to access the laptops internal drive to save files?

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Yes you can do that, though I'm not too sure that Iomega's firmware is up to date to do it. Be sure that any data you have on the Iomega is backed up elsewhere before attempting it. Some Firewire drives without up to date firmware from the manufacturer may become invisible and unusable after a software update on Mac OS X 10.3 or later. Also an AGP PowerMac needs its firmware updated while booted from Mac OS 9 before installing Mac OS X 10.2 or later:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86117
That said, if after testing you find it does work, you can switch booting between both drives using the Option key booting as described in the Startup Manager article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106178
Leave OS 9.2.2 on your internal, and 10.4 on your external. That will be a lot easier than partitioning. Some information I wrote for others which can help you on your migration to Mac OS X is provided in this link below:
http://www.macmaps.com/macosxnative.html
If you really want to partition, be aware that only third party software is available to partition without erasing the entire drive, and you'll want to make sure additional partitions that will boot Mac OS 9 have Mac OS 9 drivers installed as my link above states. Whatever you do, be sure you have at least two copies of your data at all times:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
Disclaimer: Reference to links I make to my Macmaps.com website are a for your information only type reference. I do not get any profit from this page, and it is open to the public.

Install Leopard via External DVD Drive?

This is a question for a friend, as I don't have an external DVD drive I can't test it out for myself, but basically can OSX 10.5 Leopard be installed using an external drive?
His internal Superdrive doesn't work properly, very similar to the issues discussed in the "Apple.com > Support > Discussions > iMac G5 > Using DVDs and CDs with your iMac G5" section. I'm not sure of the brand of external drive, but I believe it's connected via USB2.0.
That's pretty much it, any help is, as always, very much appreciated!
Scoobs.

An external DVD drive will work, but it must use FireWire for a G4 or G5. USB or FireWire will work with Intel Macs.

Possible to Install Leopard on External HD and Boot on Another Mac?

Is it possible to install the Leopard upgrade DVD onto an External HD, AND THEN use the external HD to boot Leopard onto another Mac? Also, since the upgrade disc is an "upgrade," would I have to first install Tiger onto the External HD?
If possible...
Am I able to create an External Boot Drive that can boot both onto a PPC Mac and also onto an Intel Mac? Or will I have to create separate partitions?
Lastly, can Intel Macs boot from an External USB Drive? Or are FireWire Drives required? Thanks!

Yes, you can install on an external drive and boot the Mac. I do it all the time.
I'm not 100% sure whether the same drive can boot PPC and Intel Macs -- I don't think so because PPC macs require Mac formatting and Intel Macs require GPT formatting to boot.
Intel Macs can boot off both USB and Firewire external drives. PPC Macs can only boot off Firewire external drives. In any case, Firewire is better as it's quite a bit faster.

Installed Lion on external drive per apple support, now won't install on Mac HD, because can't create recovery disc, does not give option besides restart to old OS

On the noecovery page I followed instructions to install Lion of external drive, which I did. Then tried to install on HD, but got same message as no recovery disc could be made and only option was to restart to back Leopard. Don't want to take to geniuses since there must be a simple answer.

On the noecovery page I followed instructions to install Lion of external drive, which I did. Then tried to install on HD, but got same message as no recovery disc could be made and only option was to restart to back Leopard. Don't want to take to geniuses since there must be a simple answer.

Why can't brand new MacBookPro9,1 (OEM Mountain-Lion) boot from Snow Leopard on external drive, or internal partition?

Why can't brand new MacBookPro9,1 (OEM Mountain-Lion) boot from Snow Leopard on external drive, or internal partition?
Is this because of hardware changes? Or firmware changes? Or is it just and Apple Inc. administrative fiat?

@Steve Holton: Sorry Steve, but you're wrong about that one . I'm using 10.8 (purchased and downloaded) on the internal HD of this MBP8,3 (2.2 GHz, 17"), and I am also able to boot into 10.7.4 and 10.6.8 from external FW800 partitions.
However, I DO have problems with my MBP9,1. It came with 10.7.4 installed and ran fine. Then I purchased and installed 10.8. It ran fine but could no longer boot from 10.7.4 on an external partition. I then reinstalled 10.7.4 on the internal HD and discovered that it is still unable to boot (even 10.7.4) from an external FW800 partition.
One of Apple's Senior Support Advisors has done some remote troubleshooting but the case is still open and unresolved. An earlier Apple Support case suggested that when, I installed the downloaded copy of 10.8, there had been a "firmware update" (behind the scenes) that is now causing the problems with booting from my external partition(s). This apparently is "a bug": it is not what is supposed to happen.
So - I believe - "the problem" really has nothing to do with hardware capability. It is strictly about Apple's strategy for "managing its future customer base". If you don't like it - use something else - I am seriously considering Ubuntu as an alternative.
If there's a hidden caveat in all this it's probably "Read Appple's Licence Agreement VERY Carefully".

How can I force Time Machine to make a complete backup of my Hard Drive. I just installed a new external drive for Backup since my previous one failed. Now when I back up, Time Machine only backs up my data folder and the Users folder.

How can I force Time Machine to make a complete backup of my Hard Drive. I just installed a new external drive for Backup since my previous one failed. Now when I back up, Time Machine only backs up my data folder and the Users folder.
When I start a backup. Time Machine says "Oldest Backup: None; Latest Backup: None", so it seems like it should do a complete backup, but it only does a partial.

Hi I'd like to jump in here. Your app showed me this:
Time Machine:
          Skip System Files: NO
          Mobile backups: OFF
          Auto backup: YES
          Volumes being backed up:
                    Macintosh HD: Disk size: 749.3 GB Disk used: 453.81 GB
          Destinations:
                    Plastic Wrapper [Local] (Last used)
                    Total size: 999.86 GB
                    Total number of backups: 64
                    Oldest backup: 2013-07-24 23:25:11 +0000
                    Last backup: 2013-11-17 01:40:47 +0000
                    Size of backup disk: Too small
                              Backup size 999.86 GB < (Disk used 453.81 GB X 3)
          Time Machine details may not be accurate.
          All volumes being backed up may not be listed.
          /sbin excluded from backup!
          /usr excluded from backup!
          /System excluded from backup!
          /bin excluded from backup!
          /private excluded from backup!
          /Library excluded from backup!
          /Applications excluded from backup!
Aside from the size of my backup drive, which I will increase at some point, I'd really like to have time machine backing up all system folders, especially Applications. How to I reset this hidden exclusions?
Thanks,
Darcy

I lost all personal data while installing maverick in external drive. How can I recover lost data?

I lost all personal data while installing maverick in external drive. How can I recover lost data?

If all your files are missing
You may have logged in as a different user, such as Guest. Open the Users & Groups pane in System Preferences. Your name should be at the top of the user list, under Current User. See also this support article.
If files are missing from one folder
Change the Finder view mode; for example, from icon view to list view, or vice versa.

HT1364 I just bought a new PC and now have ample space on my C drive to house my music Library which is currenlty installed on a external drive. What is the best way to install and move the itunes library to my C Drive?

I just bought a new PC and now have ample space on my C drive to house my music Library which is currenlty installed on a external drive. What is the best way to install and move the itunes library to my C Drive?

If the entire library is on the external drive then simply copy the iTunes folder into <User's Music> on the new computer, then install iTunes. If you've already installed iTunes you will want to remove the empty iTunes folder in <User's Music> first.
If it turns out you only have the media folder on the external drive then take a look at this post...
tt2

HT1338 If I have OS 7.5 installed on an external drive, can I start up from the external drive in that OS when my macbook pro is 10.7?

If I have OS 10.6 installed on an external drive, can I start up from the external drive if I have 10.7 installed on my macbook pro?

Provided that the MBP supports booting from that version of 10.6, and the install was from a retail disk (not a different Mac model), then yes. If it's a newer Pro that came with Lion, it may not boot to 10.6.
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Install Leopard on external Drive?

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