Key command for finding external startup drive??

Hello -- I have an iBook G$ , running OS X 10.3.9. I fear the internal drive is dying. I have an external Firewire drive connected which has a OS X partition on it. I need to know what the KEY COMMAND is to force the iBook to find the OS X on the external drive. Does anyone know what this key command is?
Thank you very much,
Nick

Hi Nick
It is the Option Key you are after.
Startup Manager: How to select a startup volume.

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