Internal Hard Drive Boot Failure leaves external drives locked

My three week old Mac Pro decided not to restart this morning. It's a long story, but after consulting with Apple Support I had to do a clean install. After restoring my system I discovered that two of my external My Book drives are now locked. These came from my old PPC setup. They mount on the desktop, but I can't open the drives. Permissions are set to custom and a little lock appears on the drive icon. Two other drives, a Maxtor and Acomdata are not affected. It's the same with either FireWire or USB. The support specialist said it's because those drives use Apple Partition Map (APM) instead of GUID. I can read the drives if I log on as Root Administrator, but I can't write to them nor change permissions. This was not an issue up until today's failure. The support spec. basically said that I would have to reformat. These are my media backup drives and I'll have to purchase an additional 1 TB to temporarily move the data. Does anyone know about this issue of APM vs GUID? Thanks.

Search is indeed my friend. I found this thread which solved my problem
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7453782&#7453782

Similar Messages

Why does dying internal hard drive stop you booting from external hd

Why do I need an internal hard drive if I am booting from an external drive? Doesnt make sense,
Disk Utility warned me that the internal hard drive is failing. I have managed to change start up disks. I have an external bootable drive and even have an empty partition on it, "just in case" I need to install a brand new OS, but here I am waiting for local disks, and I cant access my back-up OS.
Why doesnt OSX just move past the dying faulty hard drive and get to work on the bootable disk? Basically here I am supposedly doing all the right things to cover for an emergency - I may as well have no backup strategy.
Am I missing a step, or is this how OSX works. Perhaps if you read the steps and outcomes below, you can see if there is more I need to do?
If I press "option" at start up, it only shows the internal drive, not recognising the external bootable drive.
fsck -f produced a looping "missing thread" message that went on for an hour or more so I stopped that.
I tried the dvd and command-c at start up, got through to the installer window and when I selected disk utility it hung, but no spinning ball, just nothing was happening.
The next attempt with th DVD i changed start up disk, this time it saw the external bootable drive and I thought I was in business again.
And here I am full circle, waiting for local disks.
Any thoughts most welcome.
btw, does the SMART issue a warning of a failing drive because a drive is definitely unsalvagable due to a mechanical fault? or is there a chance my drive is physiclly healthy but shows as Failing because it has unbelievable directory issues that Apple tools cannot solve - but DW could?
PB Ti 867MHz 768MB RAM Mac OS X (10.3.9)
PB Ti 867MHz 768MB RAM Mac OS X (10.3.9)

The Bombich forums have helped me troubleshoot the integrity of the bootable volumes on my external hard drive which I made using Carbon Copy Cloner. The clones are fine ie after I reset nvram after booting up via command-alt-o-f, the clones are now recognised when I boot up-alt. So it seems that there was nothing wrong with the bootable volumes on the external drive per se.
However, the Powerbook will still not boot up past "Waiting for local disks".
As it stands now, nobody seems to be able to give a reason why I cannot bypass the failed internal hard drive. I found a Knowledge base article from Apple saying Cmd-Alt-shift-delete at start-up should skip you to the next working volume hitched up to your computer, but that didn't work either.
I have a new internal HDD coming, so prior to installing it, the final part of the troubleshoot will be to reboot the PB without an internal HDD. I will see what happens and see what conclusions can be drawn from that. Unless anyone has a clue now from what I have posted?
PB Ti 867MHz 768MB RAM Mac OS X (10.3.9)

My internal hard drive no longer boots. Boots just fine in external usb enclosure.

My internal hard drive no longer boots when inside my laptop. The drive boots just fine in external usb enclosure. It is also fully recognized when internal (as seen in single user mode, recovery mode or while booting from another drive).
I have tried:
with disk utilities
•fixing permissions
•repairing disk
in single user mode
•fsck -fy
zapping the pram
removing ram and zapping the pram
Any suggestions or diagnostics would be appreciated.

Can't believe I spent days reformating my hard drive, restoring it, getting another hard drive... and it was all a cable that failed. I wonder what can make an internal cable like that fail (seems like the least likely part of all to fail).
Thanks PlotinusVeritas
Thanks to ifixit:
bit.ly/1q0EnOx
If you can't fix it, you don't own it!

I want to install Yosemite onto an external hard drive, and keep Snow Leopard installed on the internal hard drive. I want to be able to boot from either system, depending upon circumstance (at least until Yosemite is stable). Is this possible?

iMac, Model Identifier iMac12,1 with 121.5" screen, 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 memory, 1 TB internal hard drive, running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 from internal drive.
I want to install Yosemite onto a 1 TB external hard drive (OWC) , and keep Snow Leopard installed on the internal hard drive. I want to be able to boot from either system, depending upon circumstance (at least until Yosemite is stable). Is this possible?

It is possible. I'll let you read some articles that cover the setup:
Starting from an external USB storage device (Intel-based Macs) - Apple Support
or
http://osxdaily.com/2013/06/22/boot-mac-external-drive/

Can I still take files off my current (corrupt) internal hard drive if I boot off an external?

Ok, here's what happened...
My MacBook Pro (2009 I think) suddenly started freezing recently. It would freeze for 10-15mins then work for 2 then freeze again. I opened the disc utility and attempted to verify disc- it failed and told me to restart and hold cmd+R which I did. From here I tried to scan the disc again, it told me to repair the disc. The repair failed.
Now, I have a TM backup from a month ago, but I've done a lot of writing in the last month that I'm desperate to keep. I tried restarting it again with the hope that even if it keeps freezing, I'll be able to get my work off before doing a system restore, but now it turns itself off before loading up.
I have the crazy idea that if I go onto the boot disc utility and download mavericks to a flash pen, then I could boot up off that and hopefully access my internal hard drive from within. Then I could find the work, email it to another location and TM restore the whole shebang. Is this even possible?!
It's currently downloading / installing mavericks on the flash pen.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
Desperate writer,
Jon

No. It is not an archival backup. It essentially is a mirror of what is on your hard drive. However, it will not delete those backups until it needs the space.
If you wish to archive them to other storage, you need to use something else (copying in Finder to an external would suffice).

Can I boot mac from an external hard drive (internal hard drive hard drive closure)

Model: Macbook Pro 2010 mid
OS: OSX 10.9 Hard Drive: WD5000BPKT 500GB
For some reason I need to change my perfectly working internal bootable drive to external bootable drive.
I took out my internal hard drive, put it into closure, and then connected it to mbp with USB. But my mac cannot even recognize my external hard drive. It displays a folder with a question mark with grey background, which means it cannot find executable boot drive. I tried pressing option key during start up and nothing showed. Also, I tried resetting parameter RAM but still no luck. Any help will be appreciated.

The reason is somehow complicated and most likely be related to the question itself, so I did not write it down. But here is the situation.
I bought a new SSD to update my HDD. I found a software called carbon copy cloner, which could do a bootable clone. I tried to clone my original hard drive to SSD and turned out the SSD only worked when it was connected externally. After I seeking a while, I found a solution from CCC website: do the clone again with putting my original drive externally and the SSD internally (I think it is a bug of CCC.)
You may say, "why not use time machine" instead of using a third party software. My answer is time machine is too slow, and I have to reinstall the OS. My focus is why my internal hard drive does not work externally since it should work.

Boot from FireWire External Drive WITHOUT mounting internal Hard Drive

Is it possible too boot a PowerBook G4 over FireWire (this part works) WITHOUT mounting the internal hard drive at boot time - i.e. never mount the internal hard drive when booting from FireWire?
There is an Oreilly article at http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/h/341 which discusses using "niutil" but it is not clear how to indicate the internal hard drive should not be mounted.
The boot from FireWire works fine but how do you tell Mac OS X to ignore and never mount the internal hard drive? There used to be an /etc/fstab file where you could specify drives to mount. The /etc/fstab.hd file comments now say "IGNORE THIS FILE.
This file does nothing, contains no useful data, and might go away in
future releases. Do not depend on this file or its contents."
Thanks,

That is not the problem - I have been using the startup manager by holding down the option key during boot-up. I am having no problem getting the PowerBook to boot from the FireWire Drive.
*The Problem* is that after the PowerBook has booted from the exernal FireWire drive, I still see the internal hard drive of the PowerBook on the desktop. I do not want this. Some key points to note:
[1] I can unmount the interal hard drive and remove from the desktop only by using the Disk Utility in the Applications/Utilities folder. There is a button there to "unmount selected volume"
[2] The finder does not have an icon next to the internal hard drive icon to allow the internal hard drive to be unmounted when booted from a FireWire drive
[3] I want the MacOS X kernel to be configured to not automount any hard drive volumes at bootup - this used to be possible by editing the /etc/fstab.hd file but that file does not appear to be used any more per the commennts in the file.
**Remaining Question** How do you configure the MacOS X kernel to prevent it from mounting any other hard drive at boot time? I do not want to use methods [1] or [2]
Thanks

Can I clone and transfer from the internal hard drive to an external hard drive ?

I got an intel duo iMac, the machine is very good even if it is almost 3 years old. But with the internal hard drive having 320 Gb I am running out of hard drive space. I have looked into changing the internal hard drive but that involves having to send the machine away to have that done. So I was wondering if I could just transfer all the Mac OS X and all the applications and settings within three user accounts to say a 2 TB external hard drive, and boot from that, using cloning software.
Alternatively, is there a way to transfer the iPhoto and iMovie libraries to an external hard drive. That would free up space. I do not know how, if that is possible, although I have managed that with iTunes. My iMac is running Snow Leopard.
Regards from John5801

John,
USB should be fine for general computer use, but media may add a little too much for the sustained rate that USB2 provides. In a previous career I did a lot of video editing. Firewire was much preferred in that task because of its stability at higher rates. I can see why the SuperDuper! people might suggest it.
When I cloned the wife's iMac, I had replaced the HDD on the MacBook Pro with a USB pocket drive that I've kept the original MacBook's installation mounted on. I've booted directly to that external drive, so you should be okay if you can make the clone across the USB. When I cloned the wife's machine I booted the MacBook Pro with a fresh HDD in Firewire target mode and connected it as an external Firewire 800 drive. Firewire 800 is much faster, but you'll need the cable and everything to be right.
Firewire has a better reputation among people running a lot of media from their drive. I would suggest that you try and get an external drive kit that can support both. I think your iMac supports both firewire 400 AND firewire 800 along with the 3 USB2 ports. I'm guessing based on my wife's 24" imac. The fastest would be the Firewire 800, but that standard is about to be pushed aside in both cases.
Hope that helped.

Slow Mavericks - internal hard drive failure?

Hi
I recently updated my iMac 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 4GB RAM to Mavericks. Before I was working on OS X Lion 10.7.5. Until the day I updated I never had any problems with my computer being slow, unless when I was using heavier applications or heavy files like in Adobe PS for example.
Since I've updated however, it often happens that the icons in my launchpad load slowly, my computer shows the spinning circle more often, and especially Microsoft applications (Word and Excel) take much longer before they are launched. I don't think I have to explain how this is bugging me, since we all like a fast computer. So I kind of regret updating.
I wanted to downgrade to 10.7.5 again, but this doesn't seem that easy even though I know my way around reformatting Apple computers…
So this is kind of a last option. Now I went to the Apple store in Belgium, and they told me that it could be a bug and that I should wait for the next version (yeah right…) or that it could be my internal hard drive was failing. Now I tried to find some information on how to recognize a failing hard drive, but I mostly bumped in to extreme errors. So I was wondering how to know your internal drive is failing? Second of all could it be failing all of a sudden? Since I hadn't had those problems before I updated. Thirdly is it possible that the next update would solve these problems, as they mentioned? Could a clean install help?
Anyway, I find it pretty weird, and there's a lot of different opinions and options, so I would like a more expert view on the problem, so get to a solution and an answer whether or not my disk could be failing, cause then I would like to get it replaced.
Thanks in advance for your advice!
Grts
Matthias
In a previous topic, I was asked to deliver some information in order to get a diagnosis, but there has been no more answer. This is why Now I would like to ask if anyone can interpret this info below… Cause I have no idea what it means…
When I entered the following query in Terminal this is what happened:
syslog -k Sender kernel -k Message CReq 'GPU |hfs: Ru|I/O e|find tok|n Cause: -|NVDA\(|pagin|timed? ?o' | tail | awk '/:/{$4=""; print}' | open -ef
It produced a text editor window without any content. It didn't take long either, just one or two seconds. (Is this normal?) Does this mean my hard drive is intact?
Disconnect all non-essential wired peripherals and remove aftermarket expansion cards, if any. - there are none
Reset the System Management Controller. - does this simply imply that I have to hold the power button for 10 seconds?
Run Software Update. If there's a firmware update, install it. - done
If you're booting from an aftermarket SSD, see whether there's a firmware update for it. - not the case
If you have a portable computer, check the cycle count of the battery. It may be due for replacement.
- not the case
If you have many image or video files on the Desktop with preview icons, move them to another folder.
- not the case
If applicable, uncheck all boxes in the iCloud preference pane. See whether there's any change. - not an icloud user
Check your keychains in Keychain Access for excessively duplicated items.
- not the case either
Boot into Recovery mode, launch Disk Utility, and run Repair Disk. - is this necesary if the former step didn't bring up any text in the text editor window?
If you have a MacBook Pro with dual graphics, disable automatic graphics switching in the Energy Saverpreference pane for better performance at the cost of shorter battery life.
- not the case
Since I am doing jack right now and am solely typing this topic, the highest %CPU is about 2-3 percent and is "Safari web material". In the second place there is Safari with about 1-1.5%.
System is about 0.76, user 0.89 and inactive is the leftover. 98,"something".
In the memory tab:
In the disk tab… It varies a lot:
After launching the Console application, I copied the 50 or so most recent entries in the log All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. This is the result:
27/01/14 18:13:56,000 kernel[0]: IOThunderboltSwitch<0xffffff80356b5200>(0x0)::listenerCallback - Thunderbolt HPD packet for route = 0x0 port = 1 unplug = 0
27/01/14 18:13:59,000 kernel[0]: [ PCI configuration begin ]
27/01/14 18:13:59,000 kernel[0]: [ PCI configuration end, bridges 14, devices 18 ]
27/01/14 18:14:10,094 fseventsd[49]: could not open <</Volumes/"name"/.fseventsd/fseventsd-uuid>> (No such file or directory)
27/01/14 18:14:10,095 fseventsd[49]: log dir: /Volumes/"name"/.fseventsd getting new uuid: "…"
27/01/14 18:14:10,000 kernel[0]: hfs: mounted "name" on device disk1s3
27/01/14 18:14:19,385 mds[39]: (Warning) DiskStore: Server returned -1 setting attributes
27/01/14 18:14:37,139 sandboxd[330]: ([1116]) mdworker(1116) deny file-read-xattr /Volumes/"name" 3TB/Backup Januari 17:01:2014/Mailboxes (pre-plugin fstype:hfs fsflag:"…" diag:0 isXCode:0 uti:com.apple.mail.mbox plugin:internalPlainTextImporter - find suspect file using: sudo mdutil -t 71392)
27/01/14 18:14:37,164 sandboxd[330]: ([1122]) mdworker(1122) deny file-read-xattr /Volumes/"name"/Backup Januari 17:01:2014/Mailboxes (pre-plugin fstype:hfs fsflag:4A09018 flags:250000005E diag:0 isXCode:0 uti:com.apple.mail.mbox plugin:internalPlainTextImporter - find suspect file using: sudo mdutil -t 71387)
27/01/14 18:15:29,970 WindowServer[87]: disable_update_timeout: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Safari" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.
27/01/14 18:15:32,310 WindowServer[87]: common_reenable_update: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Safari" after 3.34 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.00 seconds)
27/01/14 18:17:35,918 ntpd[113]: ntpd: time set -0.367612 s
27/01/14 18:17:35,943 com.apple.time[150]: Interval maximum value is 946100000 seconds (specified value: 9223372036854775807).
27/01/14 18:17:35,946 com.apple.time[150]: Interval maximum value is 946100000 seconds (specified value: 9223372036854775807).
27/01/14 18:17:48,846 com.apple.SecurityServer[14]: Killing auth hosts
27/01/14 18:17:48,846 com.apple.SecurityServer[14]: Session 100029 destroyed
27/01/14 18:18:45,357 mdworker32[1162]: CGSConnectionByID: 0 is not a valid connection ID.
27/01/14 18:18:45,357 mdworker32[1162]: CGSGetSpaceManagementMode: No connection with id 0x 0
27/01/14 18:23:57,000 kernel[0]: CODE SIGNING: cs_invalid_page(0x1000): p=1219[GoogleSoftwareUp] final status 0x0, allow (remove VALID)ing page
27/01/14 18:24:32,979 VDCAssistant[1221]: AVF encoder error: fail to create accelerator instance
27/01/14 18:25:15,338 com.apple.SecurityServer[14]: Killing auth hosts
27/01/14 18:25:15,338 com.apple.SecurityServer[14]: Session 100038 destroyed
27/01/14 18:25:15,342 com.apple.SecurityServer[14]: Session 100040 created
27/01/14 18:25:15,345 com.apple.security.XPCKeychainSandboxCheck[1229]: Can't get sandbox fs extension for /Users/Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR/ELS/com.adobe.amp.4875E02D9FB21EE389F73B8D1702B320485DF8CE.1/ PrivateEncryptedDatak, status=-1 errno=No such file or directory ext=(null)
27/01/14 18:25:15,346 com.apple.security.XPCKeychainSandboxCheck[1229]: Can't get sandbox fs extension for /Users/Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR/ELS/com.adobe.amp.4875E02D9FB21EE389F73B8D1702B320485DF8CE.1/ lck~PrivateEncryptedDatak, status=-1 errno=No such file or directory ext=(null)
27/01/14 18:25:15,346 com.apple.security.XPCKeychainSandboxCheck[1229]: Can't get sandbox fs extension for /Users/Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR/ELS/com.adobe.WidgetBrowser.E7BED6E5DDA59983786DD72EBFA46B159 8278E07.1/PrivateEncryptedDatak, status=-1 errno=No such file or directory ext=(null)
27/01/14 18:25:15,346 com.apple.security.XPCKeychainSandboxCheck[1229]: Can't get sandbox fs extension for /Users/Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR/ELS/com.adobe.amp.4875E02D9FB21EE389F73B8D1702B320485DF8CE.1/ .fl89CB8354, status=-1 errno=No such file or directory ext=(null)
27/01/14 18:25:15,346 com.apple.security.XPCKeychainSandboxCheck[1229]: Can't get sandbox fs extension for /Users/Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR/ELS/com.adobe.WidgetBrowser.E7BED6E5DDA59983786DD72EBFA46B159 8278E07.1/lck~PrivateEncryptedDatak, status=-1 errno=No such file or directory ext=(null)
27/01/14 18:25:15,346 com.apple.security.XPCKeychainSandboxCheck[1229]: Can't get sandbox fs extension for /Users/Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR/ELS/com.adobe.WidgetBrowser.E7BED6E5DDA59983786DD72EBFA46B159 8278E07.1/.fl89CB8354, status=-1 errno=No such file or directory ext=(null)
27/01/14 18:25:16,750 Mail[1227]: Could not create query for expression ((null)) && (kMDItemContentType == 'com.apple.mail.emlx')
27/01/14 18:25:17,116 WindowServer[87]: disable_update_timeout: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Mail" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.
27/01/14 18:25:18,209 WindowServer[87]: common_reenable_update: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Mail" after 2.09 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.00 seconds)
27/01/14 18:26:58,258 WindowServer[87]: CoreAnimation: context hosting changed while locked!
27/01/14 18:29:03,058 com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.WebKit.WebContent.4A179DCB-D12E-433B-B053-89B6CA18DF91[1233]) Exited with code: 1
27/01/14 18:30:53,000 kernel[0]: hfs: unmount initiated on "name" on device disk1s3
27/01/14 18:31:01,000 kernel[0]: IOThunderboltSwitch<0xffffff80356b5200>(0x0)::listenerCallback - Thunderbolt HPD packet for route = 0x0 port = 1 unplug = 1
27/01/14 18:31:01,000 kernel[0]: [ PCI configuration begin ]
27/01/14 18:31:01,000 kernel[0]: [ PCI configuration end, bridges 12, devices 18 ]
27/01/14 18:31:01,000 kernel[0]: Fixing incorrect zfree from zone kalloc.16 to zone kalloc.32
27/01/14 18:31:40,520 login[1261]: USER_PROCESS: 1261 ttys000
27/01/14 18:34:18,863 mDNSResponder[40]: 48: Could not write data to clientPID[1131](com.apple.WebKi) because of error - aborting connection
27/01/14 18:34:18,863 mDNSResponder[40]: 48: DNSServiceGetAddrInfo v4v6 e4233.b.akamaiedge.net. PID[1131](com.apple.WebKi)
27/01/14 18:46:49,368 com.apple.IconServicesAgent[225]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/ShareKit.framework/Versions/A/XPCServi ces/com.apple.ShareKitHelper.xpc/
27/01/14 18:46:49,450 com.apple.IconServicesAgent[225]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/WebKit2.framework/Versions/A/XPCServic es/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent.xpc/
27/01/14 18:46:49,701 com.apple.IconServicesAgent[225]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MailService.framework/Versions/A/XPCSe rvices/com.apple.MailServiceAgent.xpc/
27/01/14 18:46:49,834 com.apple.IconServicesAgent[225]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app/Contents/XPCServices/com.apple.doc k.extra.xpc/
27/01/14 18:46:49,988 com.apple.IconServicesAgent[225]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/WebKit2.framework/Versions/A/XPCServic es/com.apple.WebKit.Networking.xpc/
27/01/14 18:50:27,143 com.apple.IconServicesAgent[225]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/InternetAccounts.framework/Versions/A/ XPCServices/com.apple.internetaccounts.xpc/
27/01/14 18:53:26,913 WindowServer[87]: _CGXSetWindowBackgroundBlurRadius: Invalid window 0xffffffff
27/01/14 18:53:26,942 WindowServer[87]: _CGXSetWindowBackgroundBlurRadius: Invalid window 0xffffffff
27/01/14 18:55:40,974 login[1261]: DEAD_PROCESS: 1261 ttys000
27/01/14 18:55:55,199 Console[1343]: setPresentationOptions called with NSApplicationPresentationFullScreen when there is no visible fullscreen window; this call will be ignored.

I was copying files to my external drive a few minutes ago, and my computer was reaaaally slow at that time. So I figured opening the Activity monitor and I took some screen shots:
The only thing I tried to interpret is the CPU tab. It shows 94.67% was inactive, and still my computer was being terribly slow… Is this normal and is this the right interpretation?

Installing Windows 7 with boot camp as whole partition on 2nd internal hard drive

Hi all,
I am unsure what is the recent changes with Apple boot camp. But when I used boot camp utilitiy on my Mac Pro (Mid 2010) to install windows 7 64 bits. It would not install and created a whole lot of problems.
After I initialise the process to install windows 7 using boot camp utilities, I chose the option to create a single partition to installl windows 7 on my secondary internal hard drive (1TB). After I restarted my Mac Pro and started the Windows 7 installation process, I was unable to install Windows 7 on the BOOTCAMP partition created by the boot camp utilitiy. I got an error something about Windows cannot be installed on the selected forum because the driver contained GPT details.
I tried to format the BOOTCAMP partition, but it ended up with errors. I tried to delete and recreate the BOOTCAMP partition in Windows setup, but failed with errors again. As I could not go any further with the Windows 7 installation, I had to hard reset my Mac Pro and tried to reboot back into Mac OS X Lion and that's when the nightmare begin.
Not only I could not boot into OS X, I could not use any of the startup key combinations (i.e. Hold option key to select start up disk, option + R to boot the lion recovery drive, not boot from any external firewire drive installed with OS X Lion). Basically none of the key combinations worked except for the holdingi F12 and mouse key to eject CD.
The only thing I could boot the Mac Pro with is the windows installation CD and Linux Ubuntu Raring Distro. I can install the ubuntu distro without any issue. However, I could not boot my mac pro back into OS X as Linux does not support bootcamp. The only way I could use Mac OS X Lion again is to delete the partition OS X Lion was installed on, and then I was be able to install Windows 7 without any issue.
After installing windows 7 I would have to download boot camp and then use the boot camp control panel to restart in the Mac Pro installation DVD and I will have to reinstall OS X again. After installing OS X, I went to System Preference and tried to select Windows 7 as startup disc. But I failed to as it says "Windows 7" Was installed via another utility. I would have to erase the partition and reinstall Windows 7 again using bootcamp utility. If I try to install windows 7 again, the horror I described above repeats again.
From my understanding, the Boot camp utility creates a new EFI bootrom with Master Boot Record (MBR) in FAT32 format. Therefore I could not boot back into Mac OS X without using boot camp in windows 7 as none of the boot combinations key worked.
I want to ask if anyone is experiencing the same issue as i do, and if there are any solutions to the problem I am experiencing. I never had such issue before. I was able to install Windows 7 on my 2ndary internal hard drive without issue using boot camp. I don't what has changed. I have googled for solution, I only found something related to XOM but nothing else.
If anyone can provide me with any help in regards to installing Windows 7 as a whole partition on a secondary internal hard drive. It'd be grealy appreciated. Thank you in advance.

If you have driver issue, just pre-download the boot camp drivers and save them on an external drive or burn them onto a cd, you will be able to load drivers via the advanced installation option during windows setup, that is if your osx partition isn't actively preventing you from installing win7 on the BOOTCAMP Partition created by boot camp assistant, I find this rather ironic, took me 3 days to figure out this issue, I was stuck without being able to boot into anything beside the windows cd, which wasn't even helpful as I could not install windows as I did not want to delete my osx partition. I lost all my data becsuse of it, as I had no idea what was going on. I tried to recover the partition using testdisk, hfsprogs and gparted in ubuntu life cd but they dont support HFS+. As I could not access osx terminal (couldn't even boot into osx installation dvd with that dreaded MBR created by boot csmp). I could not use pdisk in terminal to restore the osx partition map. Though luck for me. Called applecare and they had no idea what the problem was, and as usual they orgsnised for hard drive replacement. But it was clearly a software issue.
They will have to fix bay2 for me as I can no longer detect any hard disk connected to that bay.

HT1553 How to backup an image of internal hard drive on external hard drive with disk utility

I've followed the instructions under the paragraphph 'Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility
in this article: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1553. My external hard drive is plugged in. I mount my install DVD of Leopard and restart. Press C to boot on the DVD, select the language and go to Utilities -> Disk utility.
However I'm blocked in step 9 when I have to choose the destination. I don't have the option to select my hard drive to back up the image. I only have 2 options: root or Applications to save the image. Nevertheless, I can see my external hard on the left.
- Could it be because the internal hard drive is encrypted?
- Could it be because the external hard drive is encrypted?
Note also that the button 'Verify disk' is greyed out.
Any clue?

I always advise Mac users to never:
encrypt a disk
set a firmware password
In my experience they cause more loss of data than they are worth.
On Leopard I always use the latest free Carbon Copy Cloner to backup and clone disks - it is so simple to clone to either a disk or disk image. The free version may not be compatible with later OSs.
As you appear to be on the wrong forum I will follow this with my standard message.
Whilst it may not be your fault I am afraid it appears that your post is on a forum which is not the best for your OS. It will save the time of the unpaid volunteers here, and may resolve your issue faster, if you could examine the list below and see if there is a more appropriate forum to which you could direct your question.
OS X 10.9 Mavericks
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
OS X 10.7 Lion
OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
OS X 10.5 Leopard
OS X 10.4 Tiger
OS X 10.3 and earlier
OS 9, OS 8 & System 7
OS X Technologies
OS X Server
iPad
iPhone
iPod
Other

How to backup an image of internal hard drive on external hard drive with disk utility

I've followed the instructions under the paragraphph 'Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility
in this article: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1553. My external hard drive is plugged in. I mount my install DVD of Leopard and restart. Press C to boot on the DVD, select the language and go to Utilities -> Disk utility.
However I'm blocked in step 9 when I have to choose the destination. I don't have the option to select my hard drive to back up the image. I only have 2 options: root or Applications to save the image. Nevertheless, I can see my external hard on the left.
- Could it be because the internal hard drive is encrypted?
- Could it be because the external hard drive is encrypted?
Note also that the button 'Verify disk' is greyed out.
Any clue?

forget about that and just use the free APP Superduper
HD cloning software options:
1. SuperDuper HD cloning software APP (free)
2. Carbon Copy Cloner APP (will copy the recovery partition as well)

HT4718 Follow the instructions in "Installing Lion on an external storage device" also if you are REPLACING an internal hard drive.

Even though you are using Internet "Recovery", the program will not format your hard disk for you. In fact, once you get to the recovery screen, it will show no hard drive is even available, which at first caused me to believe I had been delivered a dead on arrival hard drive. Instead, exit the Recovery program and enter the Disk Utility program and partition your new, uprade hard drive as apple instructed for an "external" hard driver. After that just proceed with the Recovery program.

"...when the "genius" at the Apple Store said I could install an additional internal hard drive, I gave it a whirl... if I could get this all hooked up and power-supplied, where in the world would I put the new, additional hard drive?"
Your iMac has room for one hard drive and the optical drive (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, CD-RW, etc.). Any ribbon cable supplied with the hard drive or a Y-splitter power cable is of no use in the iMac. The new drive must replace the original, because the two can't coexist internally. Additionally, you need to configure the new Seagate as "master," since the optical drive is "slave." Refer to Seagate's accompanying documentation, for instructions on setting the small jumper(s) to designate the drive as "master." The drive may have been factory-configured for "cable select," which isn't supported in your iMac. After you get that straightened out, you'll need to boot the computer from the Tiger installer CD and use "Disk Utility" to format the new drive as a Mac OS Extended (HFS+) volume. You may also want to partition it as well.
Incidentally, you should post any future questions about your iMac in the Forum dedicated to the CRT-style iMacs. You'll receive informative answers to any questions that you might have, from those who are thoroughly familiar with your model iMac.

How do you move just your movies and tv shows to an external hard drive and have iTunes recognize that that is where that media is (keeping music on the internal hard drive itself and putting only movies and tv shows on an external hard drive)?

I'm not sure about how to get iTunes to recognize that my music is in one location (on my MacBook's internal hard drive) and my movies and tv shows are in another (on an external hard drive I purchased). I know how to make iTunes recognize that all of my iTunes files are on an external hard drive, but not only some of them. Please help me out. Thanks.

While you can do that, it is not a feature of iTunes. Put your movies on the external drive, then add them to iTunes by dragging the files to iTunes while holding the option (alt) key down so it leaves the files where they are located. There are other ways to move them if they are already added but they can be more involved and tricky. If it's just one or two try: http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=relocateselected

Hey, can i clone my Macbook Pro internal hard drive and then paste it all onto a formated external hard drive, then make the Mac use the external as the primary hard drive?

hey, can i clone my Macbook Pro internal hard drive and then paste it all onto a formated external hard drive, then make the Mac use the external as the primary hard drive? please help for i only have around 618mb left out of 189GB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If what doesn't work?
If cloning your internal drive to the external drive is not successful, I expect CCC will tell you so. Assuming that doesn't happen, you will have a bootable replica of the internal drive on the external drive once CCC has finished.
You can then do any of several things:
1. Replace your internal drive with a much larger one (320GB or 500GB, or even larger), and clone the external drive's contents onto the new drive so you'll have all your data in one place. Note that if you do this, you'll also need to buy an external drive that's large enough to back the new internal drive up on.
2. Boot from the external drive as a temporary measure while you clear at least 30-40GB of data off the internal drive, allowing you to keep using it and saving small amounts of data to it. The external drive will then contain the only copies of the files you've deleted from the internal drive, so you'll need a seond external drive large enough to back both the other drives up on.
If you can't comfortably clear a minimum of 30GB off the internal drive, you really need a larger internal drive right now, and you shouldn't bother fooling around with the inadequate one you have — you'll just quickly overfill it again.
3. Replace the optical drive in your MBP with a large conventional hard drive, giving you two hard drives inside the machine. You will then need one or more external drives large enough to back up both of the internal drives.
If you sense a theme here — back up, back up, back up — you are correct. It's flat-out foolhardy to own or use a computer without maintaining complete, up-to-date backups of everything at all times.

Internal Hard Drive Boot Failure leaves external drives locked

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