MacBook Pro 8,1 beeps 3 times on boot from FireWire drive: why?

Hi, all,
about the brand spanking new 13" I bought, I immediately wanted to boot the FireWire drive so I could install Snow Leopard. Install disk image was copied to a dedicated partition on the FW drive to speed up install process.
Holding the [alt] key during startup leads to 3 beeps that are indefinitely repeated. I also tried to select the relevant partition in the Control Panel Startup Disk. Same result
Why doesn't it want to start from this image? How can I solve this issue?

In fact, it is a late 2011, not an early 2011 "New Old Stock", so you're correct it shipped with Lion. But, aside from its weird ergonomics (Dynamically-attributed spaces and different gestures from the previous OS X versions), what turned me off was the official complete impossibility to get a physical copy of Lion at a reasonable price, when it is installed. I also wanted the mounted drives to appear at the top left corner in Finder windows, as they did in pre-Lion OS X, instead of the bottom left. I wanted to put back the Firefox profiles in their place... Turns out the Library folder isn't visible in Lion.
Simply put, anything I wanted to do to start on the good foot wasn't possible on Lion.
I went to the Genius Bar, and indeed their own external rescue drive also made the Mac beep. I told them about the Snow Leopard tethered downgrade. They were aware of the method, but there was no Snow Leopard Mac remaining in-store. And with the install DVD causing kernel panics, there was no way to at least try a dual-boot installation (Snow Leopard for mission-critical apps, Lion for playing around with).
To another Apple-approved place I went. The young tech here was willing to perform the downgrade (since it would have cost me $75/hr), and had both Snow Leopard and Lion machines. But I argued that I wouldn't be willing to pay twice since I intend to switch to SSD in a short while. He then tested when booted from a clone, and Snow Leo half-installed on the internal drive (needs one reboot during installation), but it ended up in kernel panic. Same went when he tried the physical Snow Leopard disk after formatting the internal drive, hypothesizing something detected on it may prevent Snow Leopard installer to boot. It immediately went into a kernel panic.
Both techs were actually surprised that this signal came out, instead of a message stating (official) incompatibility, as well as kernel panics.
My hypothesis is there's something in the Snow Leopard installer that accesses the hardware at a lower level during installation, but not during normal execution or Target Mode, hence causing kernel panics in the former.
What else can be tried, or what else didn't go through my mind?

Similar Messages

Macbook Pro takes a long time (41 secs) from start to reach log-in - It used to be almost instantaneous, I'm running Lion OS

My Macbook Pro takes a long time (41 secs) from start to reach log-in - It used to be almost instantaneous, I'm running Lion OS. I thought this might be because I'd used a lot of disk space but I've now reduced that - I'm only using 40 of the 320 gb available. I have no games and I've unchecked the "re-open windows" option on shutdown. The rest of the preformance (once in) remains good.

41 seconds is actually a little faster then normal. Boot from completely off is normally around 45-50 seconds.
Your computer never ever came on almost instantaneously from completely off. You are confusing waking up from sleep mode and booting the computer from completely off.

My iMac (late 2006) no longer boots from FireWire drives, although they contain all the system files.

My iMac (late 2006) no longer starts (boots) from Firewire drives, although they all contain a current system (Mac OS X 10.6.7). If the drives are connected with USB 2, they boot normally. The FireWire drives appear in the Start Volume program, but they do not boot. If I press and hold the Alt key while booting, only the internal drives and the USB drives appear as options. What can I do in order to boot from FireWire drives as I always could in the past?

I'd first recommend doing a SMC reset and if that doesn't work refer to:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10333969-263.html
and
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/firewiretroubleshooting.html
SMC RESET
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord and all peripherals.
Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
Release the power button.
Attach the computers power cable.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
PRAM RESET
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.
Roger

Booting from FireWire Drive

I have a LaCie 160MB (F A Porsche style) external firewire drive.
I have been able to create a bootable clone of my iBook HD using Disk Utility and the Restore function.
I have been able to create a bootable partition by installing the System Software onto it.
But I have not had success using SilverKeeper or SuperDuper! Does anybody know why? I would really like to use the features of one (or another if available) of these applications.
Thanks.
-Ted

Below is LaCie's Tech Support Reply. What is interesting is that they suggest Carbon Copy Cloner (instead of Silverkeeper). Also interesting is that it worked. I hope this helps some of you.
Ted
Hi Ted--
Thanks for contacting LaCie Technical Support. All of our firewire
drives can be used as boot volumes. Due to differences in operating
systems and Macs, we are unable to provide support for booting from
firewire drives other than the following information:
1. Make sure the Mac is bootable via firewire. All Macs with built-in
firewire can be booted from an external drive except:
-Blue and White G3s
-PCI-Graphics G4s. This can be determined by looking in the Apple
System Profiler. The PCI Graphics G4s use the same motherboard as the
B&W, except with a G4 processor shoehorned in.
2. The drive must be connected to a native port. It will not work if
the drive is connected to an add-on card.
3. The Mac must have the latest firmware installed. The proper updater
can be found and downloaded from here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86117
Download and read the instructions carefully. It is possible to kill a
Mac if the update is interrupted. Then, perform the update. If the
firmware is already current, the updater will report this.
4. Format the drive fresh using either Apple's Disk Utility in OS X or
Silverlining in OS 9. Use the Mac OS Extended (HFS+) format only.
(Journaling may be enabled on OS 10.3.)
5. If making an OS 9 boot drive, you can just copy the System Folder
over to the root of the boot volume. To be bootable, the System Folder
must be blessed, i.e. has a happy Mac face on it. If it does not, you
can try to force it to bless by removing the Finder from the folder and
moving it to the root. Then, move the Finder back. The folder should
now be blessed. If not, then there is probably an issue with the System
Folder.
6. In making an OS X boot drive, the ONLY two recommended solutions
are:
--install from the OS X install disk, preferably the one which came with
the Mac. You will not be able to make a successful boot drive using an
older disk set. A newer disk set should also be fine.
--use a utility, such as Carbon Copy Cloner, to perform a copy of an
existing OS X install. It is not possible to do this manually. There
are issues with permissions, hidden files, and files in use that cannot
be manually overridden. If you are using a disk image, you will still
need to use a utility, such as Carbon Copy Cloner, to copy the files out
from the image to the root of the new boot volume. A simple drag and
drop will not include the necessary hidden files, such as the boot
loader and the kernel.
If the volume does not appear as a Start Up Disk, try booting with the
Option key held down and see if the drive shows in the boot drive
selection screen.
If the volume does not show, or the kernel panics on boot, chances are
the OS install was not performed properly.
In general, CD/DVD drives are not bootable via firewire, but will work
under certain circumstances, usually booting from OS X to OS X. They
should not be relied upon as such. To boot from one, hold down the
Option key while booting. If the boot CD shows on the screen, you may
select it and continue the boot.

Mid-2010 MacBook Pro taking a long time to boot up with Yosemite (Etrecheck results)

I'd be so grateful if anyone can help me get to the bottom of this. The MacBook's otherwise working just fine just takes quite a lot longer (2-3 mins) to boot up since installing Yosemite. Just tried upgrading the memory which has made the system run faster but doesn't seem to have remedied the boot up problem.
Thanks in advance.
Ed
EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)
Report generated 4 February 2015 14:16:33 GMT
Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck
Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.
Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.
Hardware Information: ℹ️
    MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010) (Technical Specifications)
    MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro6,2
    1 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 2-core
    8 GB RAM Upgradeable
        BANK 0/DIMM0
            4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok
        BANK 1/DIMM0
            4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok
    Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
    Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
    Battery Health: Normal - Cycle count 1646
Video Information: ℹ️
    Intel HD Graphics - VRAM: 288 MB
        Color LCD 1440 x 900
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M - VRAM: 512 MB
System Software: ℹ️
    OS X 10.10.2 (14C109) - Time since boot: 0:52:28
Disk Information: ℹ️
    Hitachi HTS545050B9SA02 disk0 : (500.11 GB)
        EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
        Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 499.25 GB (62.00 GB free)
        Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
    MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-898
USB Information: ℹ️
    Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
    Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
    Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub
        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
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    Anywhere
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
        /System/Library/Extensions
    [loaded]    com.delantis.kext.tcpblocknke (2.2.6 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]
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Launch Agents: ℹ️
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    [loaded]    org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist [Click for support]
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
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    [loaded]    com.divx.agent.postinstall.plist [Click for support]
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User Login Items: ℹ️
    System Events    Application (/System/Library/CoreServices/System Events.app)
    Google Drive    Application (/Applications/Google Drive.app)
    Dropbox    UNKNOWN (missing value)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
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User internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
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3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
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Time Machine: ℹ️
    Skip System Files: NO
    Mobile backups: ON
    Auto backup: YES
    Volumes being backed up:
        Macintosh HD: Disk size: 499.25 GB Disk used: 437.25 GB
    Destinations:
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        Total size: 2.00 TB
        Total number of backups: 3
        Oldest backup: 2015-02-02 03:51:54 +0000
        Last backup: 2015-02-03 16:31:57 +0000
        Size of backup disk: Excellent
            Backup size 2.00 TB > (Disk size 499.25 GB X 3)
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
        20%    backupd
         9%    mds
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Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
    576 MB    mds_stores
    215 MB    Safari
    103 MB    Finder
    103 MB    Google Drive
    77 MB    WindowServer
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
    3.64 GB    Free RAM
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Diagnostics Information: ℹ️
    Feb 4, 2015, 01:21:57 PM    Self test - passed
    Feb 4, 2015, 11:27:59 AM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Google Drive_2015-02-04-112759_[redacted].crash
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    Feb 3, 2015, 04:28:38 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/mdworker_2015-02-03-162838_[re dacted].crash
    Feb 3, 2015, 04:28:28 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/mdworker_2015-02-03-162828_[re dacted].crash
    Feb 3, 2015, 04:28:27 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/mdworker_2015-02-03-162827_[re dacted].crash
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    Feb 2, 2015, 06:07:43 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Adobe InDesign CC_2015-02-02-180743_[redacted].hang
    Feb 2, 2015, 06:03:10 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2015-02-02-180310_[redacted].hang
    Feb 2, 2015, 06:03:10 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent_2015-02-02-180310_[ redacted].hang
    Feb 2, 2015, 12:11:23 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2015-02-02-121123_[reda cted].crash
    Feb 2, 2015, 09:48:41 AM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent_2015-02-02-094841_[ redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]
    Feb 2, 2015, 04:04:01 AM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent_2015-02-02-040401_[ redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]
    Feb 1, 2015, 07:44:51 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/mdworker_2015-02-01-194451_[re dacted].crash
    Feb 1, 2015, 07:44:49 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/mdworker_2015-02-01-194449_[re dacted].crash
    Feb 1, 2015, 07:40:37 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/mdworker_2015-02-01-194037_[re dacted].crash
    Feb 1, 2015, 07:40:35 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/mdworker_2015-02-01-194035_[re dacted].crash
    Feb 1, 2015, 07:39:13 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/mdworker_2015-02-01-193913_[re dacted].crash
    Feb 1, 2015, 07:39:11 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/mdworker_2015-02-01-193911_[re dacted].crash
    Feb 1, 2015, 06:28:39 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent_2015-02-01-182839_[ redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]
    Feb 1, 2015, 04:39:26 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Google Drive_2015-02-01-163926_[redacted].crash
    Feb 1, 2015, 05:19:20 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent_2015-02-01-171920_[ redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]

Try to do a factory reset. You can backup your disk and transfer tthe things later.
If lion hold down command-r during bootup
if mountain lion hold option during bootup and choose a network, it will restore

Bootcamp: Macbook Pro 13' late 2011 won't boot from USB, no superdrive.

Some months ago I replaced the superdrive in my Mac with a SSD. This resulted in my Boot Camp not working, therefore I deleted it. The thing is that I have been wanting to install Windows again but it just seems impossible. I find myself pretty confident at a computer, so it frustrates me really.
The thing is that no matter what I do, everytime I boot up from windows installation USB, Windows 7 and 8, or something like it, it gives me "No bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key". I searched everywhere to solve this problem and nothing helped. I tried different images, even 32bit of both Windows 7 and 8. Even tried with my original Windows 7 64bit dvd. There is no more solutions out there on the internet I can find, so therefore I'm shouting out for you guys!
Here is what I already tried.
- Altered Bootcamp so it would create a bootable USB from a windows image. Worked like a charm, except that it would boot up to "No bootable device...". And the USB didn't show up in the boot menu pressing alt when booting. Tried four different usbs and the same story with all of them.
- Tried with a SATA-USB connector to a 250gb harddrive, "No bootable device...".
- Tried to make my own bootable USB on a Windows-computer with bootsect.exe/nt60 and everything, also Microsoft own program for the purpose, "No bootable device...".
- Tried with making a partition on both my HDD and SDD in the Macbook to boot from, "No bootable device...".
- Tried transfering all the files of the image to the created boot camp-partition, "No bootable device...".
- Reset PRAM with cmd+alt+p+r, "No bootable device...".
- Installed rEFlt, because the standard boot menu would not recognize anything else than my Macintosh SD. It did work so I could see my windows devices but still didn't boot, "no bootable device......".
- Tried to boot with rEFlt with all the before mentioned methods.
- I even desperially installed Windows from a pc on the HDD and tried to boot it on mac.... same **** story, "No bootable device...".
I really hope that someone can figure this out, because I'm ripping my hair out. I simply can't get this **************** to boot anything Windows .

Can I rebuild the USB flash drive using the discs that came with the new Macbook and if so, would they be the resulting USB flash drive be backwards compatible with my older Macbook Pro?
Yes. The version of Mac OS X that shipped with the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros is newer (even though it's still numbered 10.5.5) than the version of 10.5.5 that's available from software update. You will have to startup the MacBook from the original install disk that came with it and choose to install Mac OS X onto the USB drive. NOTE: If you want to keep any software or files that were already saved on the drive, choose only "Archive and Install" or "Update" options. (Not the "Erase and Install" option.) In my experience, though, the only option was to "Archive and Install".
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Macbook Pro (2011 Model) suddenly does not boot from SSD in main bay

I have been using Macbook pro 2011 and Samsung SSD (256GB) for about a year.
All of sudden, the computer will not from SSD from the main bay, but it will boot from the optical bay.
I have tried an Intel SSD 120gb which came with the computer, but it does not work either.
However, it will boot from the regualr hard drive from the main bay.
I have read somewhere that it could be due to the hard drive flex cable.
Has anyone experienced a similar problem?

It may very well be a problem with the SATA cable... for some reason (and I don't know why, but...) SSDs seem more prone in 'detecting' a faulty SATA cable than a standard hard drive. Where a hard drive will boot, an SSD will not.
I would advise purchasing a new SATA cable - from ifixit.com or powerbookmedic.com - and replacing the cable. That (normally) clears up the problem.
Clinton

MacBook Pro Retina - 3 beeps on start straight from box

While on a trip to the USA I bought a new MacBook Pro Retina. It was shipped to me in New York and I brought it back to Israel with me without turning it on.
I have just opened it up, pressed power and I get three beeps over and over. Machine is completely dead on arrival. DOA.
Not a happy camper. Will have to wait till later to phone the retailer (who I have bought a ton of stuff from). Now I'm going to discover just how nasty the local importer and Apple service provider can be on goods not bought from his store. I even declared this computer at the airport and paid VAT on it.
Moral: always check for DOA before flying around the world. I'm starting to have very bad feelings toward Apple quality. The reason for buying this machine is because my MBP 2011 failed on me but I managed to get it fixed (at my own expense of course) with a change of graphic card and re-flow of the motherboard.
Apple quality is deteriorating.
Open to any other suggestions.

Click on the Contact Us link at the bottom of this website. Ask politely & firmly that you want to be transferred to Customer Relations Department. Tell them exactly what you stated in your post. See what they can do for you. This department jumps through hoops to keep Apple customers happy.
GOOD LUCK!

I have heat issues into MacBook pro after installing windows 8. when boot from windows ha've overheating. how can I fix it??

Have heat issues into MacBook pro when boot from windows partition how can I fix it??

panarpan wrote:
Have heat issues into MacBook pro when boot from windows partition how can I fix it??
Are you saying you're running Windows in BootCamp or Windows as a Virtual Machine? You can increase the fan speed on the Mac using smcFanControl and use the software OGELTHORPE recommended to observe improvements.
smcFanControl is a Mac application and doesn't work in Windows, but if you set a higher minimum fan speed (which is how smcFanControl works) while running OS X, when you reboot into a BootCamp partition, that minimum speed tends to be carried over.

MacBook Pro goes to sleep when copying files from attached drives

I have noticed that since installing Yosemite my MacBook Pro goes to sleep when it is in the middle of copying a large number of files. When I wake it up the copying continues.
I have also noticed that when I am watching videos from my shared iTunes library on an Apple TV the video will stop after about 15 minutes and the connection to the library is lost because the MacBook Pro has gone to sleep. When woken up then access to the library is restored but I need to reselect the movie and then resume.
I have changed the power saving options to do not let drives sleep when idle and do not sleep laptop.
Anyone else have any experience of this or better still a fix.
Thanks in advance.

I have just found that if I turn off the display sleep in the power settings then the problem is resolved. It means though that the screen on my MacBook Pro is on all the time albeit with a screen saver.

External Drive with Time Machine, booting from external drive with utilitie

I'm using Time Machine now with
a LaCie 1TB external hard drive.
Everything works fine.
But, I've been wondering:
Can I place a program like TechTool
on the external drive (that Time Machine uses)
and boot from that external drive.
I would like to be able to do that,
because diagnostics and repair programs
only works properly and fully when they run from
external drives. Anything on the internal drive can be repaired
and examine. Impossible to do if Techtool is on the same
drive that's been examined.
Any thoughts as to what I should do?
Thanks
iMac, Leopard, Time Machine, Lacie Quadra 1TB drive.
P.S. Stupid question: If my computer crashes, and I reboot from Time Machine
(from the external drive) how does the computer know which backup to take ?!?
Isn't there many versions of the OS on the Time Machine backup taken at different times?

pitou wrote:
P.S. Stupid question: If my computer crashes, and I reboot from Time Machine
(from the external drive) how does the computer know which backup to take ?!?
Isn't there many versions of the OS on the Time Machine backup taken at different times?
As V.K. says, you can't boot from TM backups.
But you can restore your entire system from any one of them, per the procedure in #14 of the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
You can also selectively restore from them, while running normally. See #15 in the FAQ Tip.
You might want to review these:
Time Machine Tutorial
Time Machine 101
How to back up and restore your files
Time Machine Features
Apple - Support - Mac OSX v10.5 Leopard Time Machine
and perhaps browse the rest of the FAQ Tip.

Help! I Can't Boot from Firewire Drive (Previous MBP C2D Hard Drive)

Can a hardrive from a C2D Macbook Pro start an i7 Quad MBP?
I just sold my 2008 15" 2.4ghz C2D MBP, (that had 10.6.5 installed), and today bought the newest
17" 2.2ghz i7 Quad Core MBP, (that has 10.6.6 pre-installed.)
I installed a fresh HD on the 15" before selling it, and kept its HD, and put it into a FW800 enclosure.
+(note: The 15" Macbook Pro I just sold, booted fine from this HD in the FW800 enclosure.)+
Before migrating my data, from the FW800 drive, I figured I would upgrade the old OS to 10.6.6, so it would be a seamless migration.
While up and running on the brand new i7, I could see the FW800 drive with 10.6.5 as a Startup Disk option in System Preferences.
I rebooted holding down the option key, selected the FW drive, and pressed the arrow below to continue startup.
The grey screen with the apple came up immediately, but I was horrified that the spinning gear never did appear, and startup froze at that point. I left it like this for five minutes. Grey screen with apple. Frozen.
So, I held down the power key, shut it down, then restarted holding down Command-S to run Disk Utility in SIngle User Mode, (/sbin/fsck -fy). Disk was okay.
I rebooted into the new internal, installed Diskwarrior 4.3, and checked the FW800, and it had no errors.
I opened Startup Disk in System Preferences, and chose the FW800 drive as the Startup Disk, and rebooted. Same result. Grey screen with apple, and no further...
Can someone please help me troubleshoot this?
Should I be able to boot this new MBP i7 with the HD from my old MBP C2D?
Is there something incompatible between the old C2D and i7?
Thanks in advance!

Ho Lee MACkeral wrote:
That CD2 OS will not boot into a new computer's OS.
Hi, thanks for replying.
I knew that the switch to Intel from ppc, meant a ppc drive, partitioned with APM could not boot an intel machine with a GUID partition table.
Do you know:
1. for certain that a C2D HD cannot boot an i7 machine?
2. and why?
Ho Lee MACkeral wrote:
Why not use Migration Assistant in the Utilities folder?
I am planning on doing this.
My old drive was 10.6.5.
The new machine has 10.6.6 pre-installed.
I figured that if I was able to upgrade the old drive to the same OSX first, it would provide a more seamless migration.
I was also concerned that my applications on 10.6.5 might become broken if they were migrated to 10.6.6. I really do not want to have to install everything.

Can't boot from firewire drive

Howzit,
I have partitioned an OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro 1.5 TB firewire drive into 2 partitions using Disk Utility and GUID mapping. I then used Carbon Copy Clone to clone the startup disk of my MacPro, which runs OS 10.4.11. The clone successfully boots when it is connected to the MacPro.
The problem is that I am unable to boot from the firewire drive when I hook it up to my iMac. When I restart and hold the OPTION key, the clone appears as a startup option, but the computer freezes when I click on it. The clone also shows up as an option in the Startup Disk preference, but when I try restarting after selecting the clone, it freezes the same way: gray screen, no apple, no rotating gear.
Can you help?

Make an OS partition then for each. Or, upgrade your Mac Pro to SL as well. Unless there is software holding you to Tiger.
Now, when SL came out, I know I saw a lot of threads regarding issues booting from external firewire drives, so you may not be 100% out of the woods, but you should.
I'd expect to get a panic screen from 10.4, lacks any support for newer hardware / graphics card and more.

Old G4 won't boot from firewire drive

I have an older 400 MHz G4 running 10.3.9 and 10.1.5 which will not boot from a firewire system volume. Two system volumes (10.4) on the external drive appear as start up disk choices in the system preferences, but when selected the system displays a folder w/? upon restart and then the system boots from an OS 9 partition on one of the machines internal drives. This happens when the system is restarted from either of the computers boot partitions (10.3.9, 10.1.5). Don't know if this is a software or a hardware problem. Holding down the option key upon restart, even without the external OS 10.4 drive, produces same behavior. System info identifies the machine as a G3 but processor type as G4. It is one of the graphite colored Power Macs.
Any insights appreciated.

The G4 PCI graphics PowerMac can not boot off a Firewire hard drive. Check which G4 model you have here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58418
The G4 AGP and the iMac DV were the first Macs to be able to boot off Firewire.
It is interesting your Mac identifies itself as a G3. Now it is true that the early G4s were basically a G3 with a slightly modified logicboard and front and side panels (as well as the omission of the ADB port). But there are G4s inserted in some old Blue and White G3s by adventurous upgraders. The Blue and White G3 pictured here can't boot off Firewire either:
That Mac also can't boot off Firewire.

Booting from firewire drive does not recognize existing users.

Hello,
I just bought a Lacie firewire drive to have a bootable backup of my Macbook internal drive.
I used SilverKeeper 1.1.4, that comes with the drive, to make a bootable copy.
The copy is bootable but when Tiger startus up fro the firewire drive I get the presentation video and am asked to setup the system including creating a new user.
It is as if the existing Users directory, that was copied, is not recognized by the clonned system.
Running Tiger 10.4.11
Any ideas?
Joaquim

I think this was driver issue

MacBook Pro 8,1 beeps 3 times on boot from FireWire drive: why?

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