Make external drive bootable?

I just got a 1TB Mini Stack External Hard Drive for my Aperture Library and another for my vault. I have not done a back-up of my system yet and would like to know if I should partition both and make each have a bootable section for emergencies.
I don't store anything on my internal hard drive other than the software I install and those serial numbers we have to keep track of.
If I do use a back up to either restore my current system or place my system on a new mac will I have to de-authorize Aperture like I do iTunes?
Thanks,
Kathleen

I frankly wouldn't worry about partitioning it at all. I would just format it and install the OS on it.
Then totally ignore the fact that there's an OS on there at all unless I needed it.
My workflow in this case, with Aperture, is to use a managed library on my MacBook Pro. Before I go on a trip, I create (or update) vaults that I have created at the root level of each of the two portable drives.
Then, after a shoot I import images, edit, cull bad images, and then update both vaults before I consider formatting the CF card (in any case, I don't format any CF cards until I'm out of space, but with a 1Ds Mark III and only 48 GB of cards, it happens ).
In this case, if the HD in the machine blows up, I can boot off one of the external drives (which has Aperture installed), restore the vault, and continue adding photos to the restored library and working. I'd then update the vault on the second drive after every change (I'm not sure if, in this case, I'd actually have to create a new vault from scratch).
At the end of the trip, assuming no HD failure, I export my projects from Aperture on my laptop to a portable Firewire drive, then plug it into my desktop, and import those projects. I get all my pictures, edits, metadata, keywords, etc. It's quite slick.

Similar Messages

How can I make a drive bootable without losing data on it?

Is there a way to make a second internal drive bootable without losing the data that is already on it?
The second drive was created under Panther 10.3.9. My main internal drive has had a clean install of Tiger 10.4.3. The second drive used to appear in the start up disk list when I was running 10.3.9 on the main drive. That is, it used to be bootable under 10.3.9. No kidding. After the main drive was given a clean install of Tiger, the second drive disappeared from the start up disk list. Please note: the second drive remains completely accessible when I am running off the main drive in 10.4.3. I can even use the few applications I had placed on the drive. It appears as separate drive under disk utility.
I assume the second drive was installed as slave. (Both it and the main drive were independently bootable under 10.3.9.) It is not locked. "Ignore ownership" is not checked. The system has read-write privileges. Admin has read-write all others are read only. I am the only person who has access to this machine. It is not networked.
I tried to ask this question a few days ago, but I think the way I phrased it confused the issue. My real question is NOT how did this get like this? It is can I make a drive bootable when it already has data on it?
Thanks
G4 Panther & Tiger Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Hi,
Thanks for your reply.
You replied:
the drive that you cannot
boot from is a separate physical hard drive from the
internal drive with 10.4.3. Is that correct?
Yes.
Have you used System Preferences > Startup Disk and
looked to see if the 10.3.9 system shows up there?
Yes, I have looked and it's not there.
I got the impression that you have backed up the 10.3.9
disk and that you do not really need the data there.
Yes, I backed up a drive that was bootable, but then it lost its "bootabilty" and what I got was two non-bootable drives--the original second internal drive that I'm asking about and the back-up of it. I want the data on the drive and I wan the drive to be bootable.
One thing that you might try when you are booted off
your 10.4.3 system is to use Disk Utility, select the
other disk and do a Repair Disk.
Done that and it says there is no problem. Nada. Zero. It just won't boot, no more, no how, no way. BUT it remains fully accessible--I can access all my info. It's just become a storage drive that cannot be booted. Go figure.
reformatting means
destroying the data on the disk.
Yup, which is why I asked my original question. Does anyone know if there is any way to make a drive bootable without destroying the data on it?
I suspect the answer is no (given these particulars), but I thought some wise super-techie out there might have a trick up their sleeve.

Make External Drive Sleep?

New Macbook Pro with Mountain Lion, which spends most nights plugged in, with an external drive attached for Time Machine backup.
My former backup drive, a Seagate Freeagent Go, would go to sleep whenever my laptop was asleep, or when ejected. When the computer woke up, the drive did too and all was well (unlike the problems a few users seem to have had with drives not waking).
I recently installed a 512GB Crucial SSD (MS PowerPoint opens in about 1 second!), and moved the TOSHIBA MK7559 750 GB drive that came inside the Macbook Pro to an external USB3 case, so that I would have a bigger backup capacity. It works very well for backup, but the drive keeps spinning even if the computer is asleep, and even after being ejected. The check box in Energy Saver Prefs is checked to allow drives to sleep when possible.
It is almost certain that problem is with the drive case's firmware, not with my Mac or the OS. What I am looking for is a workaround. Is anyone aware of any utilities that might let me force it to spin down? I am concerned about the long term reliability of the drive if it keeps running 24 hours a day.

Most of the time this feature is built into the Drive Enclosure and has nothing to do with the operating system running the computer.
So it would seem the enclosure you have does not support such a feature.

Can't make external HD bootable

I bought a 300 GB Seagate ATA hard drive with a cheap Ultra brand Firewire/USB enclosure (with Prolific chipset, which may be where I went wrong).
I've partitioned it into three partitions and installed OS X 10.3.x on the first partition. The installations have seemed to have gone well. But the Firewire drive won't boot.
I've tried this both in Disk Utility (making it a Mac OS Extended-Journaled) and with SuperDuper, with no success. All I get is a grey screen with no icons of any type.
I've been unable to boot either from my cloned hard drive on the Firewire or from a clean install from my original disks.
Interestingly (to me), the System on the Firewire shows up on the Startup Disk system preference, and I've selected the Firewire drive as the startup disk, but it won't boot. Grey screen.
Research at Apple support site and other sites haven't turned up definitive info.
Thanks.
20-inch iMac Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Hi Jay and welcome to the discussions!
You say that everything seems to be installed correctly, but when you try to boot off the FireWire drive by holding down the option key on startup, you get nothing and that the drive is not recognized as a bootable drive?
I doubt that it is software related. I use SuperDuper and it has never failed me. You could try Carbon Copy Cloner or SilverKeeper and see if they do anything, but I dooubt it.
I advise people to avoid the Prolific chipset since it seems to be so hit or miss. It will work for one user at first, then stop, then not at all for a different user and flawlessly for a third. I have yet to hear of anyone having problems booting a Mac off of a drive with the Oxford 911 chipset, so that it was I bought and what I recommend.
If you have the option to return that Ultra enclosure and get a different one, I would look into it. I have a Mercury Elite Pro from OWC.

Mac mini set to make external drive default for storing media

Running multiple computers in the home how do I set an external NAS device as the default for all iTunes content so it can work with my Mac Mini and AppleTV? Mac Mini does not have enough storage space for all the media and rather than keep music on one computer and movies and TV Shows on another would rather have it all in once place...

Update: I wound up going with a DroboPro, and I wound up filling it with 8 x 1.5TB Seagate drives (purchased for $100 each using this deal from techbargains.com ~
http://www.techbargains.com/tellafriend2.cfm/168063
For under $2,000, I have a 9.36TB single volume of backed-up awesomeness!
I realize alternate versions of this sort of rig could have been made cheaper, but the warm cozy feeling I get in my gut when I look at this beast was worth the extra penny

How do I install base system on external drive to boot MacBook Pro?

I have a MacBook Pro 2.2 core 2 duo. I use an external HD for storage. Want to make external drive bootable (i.e. to run apps like DiskWarrior on MacBookPro).
How do I install the base system?
Thank you.

First, be sure the external drive is partitioned using the GUID partition scheme. If it isn't then you will have to re-partition the drive which will erase anything you have on the drive.
Second, the external drive must be formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
Last, boot from the OS X Installer Disc One that came with the computer and install OS X onto the external drive. Do not do an Erase and Install if you don't want to erase the external drive. You can customize the installation to omit any additional components you don't need such as language localizations, Asian Fonts, unneeded printer drivers, etc.

Do I need to partition external drive?

I'm about to format my first external hard drive and am unsure whether I need to partition it as I'm new to this (my experience of backing up is limited to emailing files to my webmail provider's server). I bought the drive primarily for backup in case something catastrophic happens to my Mac but I understand an external drive has other useful functions; question is, are they useful to me?
One friend said I should make the external drive bootable.
Another said I could put my iTunes on it to free up space on my Mac. I have just over 50GB of music (but this is constantly expanding) and 147GB free on the Mac's drive.
Ideally I'd like to back up automatically every night.
All comments welcome, thanks.

Keep it simple. If you have the space just clone the entire internal drive to the external on a regular basis. Most all backup utilities have a scheduler option. You don't need to partition it. If you have a logical volume disc error the other partitions may still work fine. If you have a hard drive failure you can lose all the partitions.
Some uses for multiple partitions: different OS versions, if you want to boot in 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, or boot camp into WinXP or Vista, each of these can reside in it's own separate partition. Software developers (who can't afford multiple machines?) sometimes test software on different OS versions using a multiple boot system.
Some say that disc access times are slightly improved when searching over a smaller partition as opposed to the whole large drive, not sure if this is really true or not, or if the difference is really significant. So you might boot faster from a smaller partition with just the OS on it, and with User files on another partition, or apps might launch faster when read from a smaller partition, again that's just speculation.
(And, not applicable to your situation, but some older computers/OSs require it, for example the old out-of-production Beige Power Macintosh G3 Desktop computers can only boot OS X from the first partition <8GB in size on the built-in ATA bus. Also, OS 9 can not boot from a partition larger than 200GB.)

External drive re formatting....different issue!

i want to reformat an external hard drive recently bought to use with a mac....its an iomega prestige 320gb...the instructions are clear enough, i could do with advice though....
i have used it once with a pc to put some some music files on it...how can i erase the music files as they are no longer needed....i don't really want any partitions......just for macs...
i have connected the hd to my imac...it shows in Disk Utility as an orange hd with a usb on...
its in the left hand column twice as:
the orange icon plus 298.1 GB ST932032 5AS M....
below it is an indent then the orange icon plus disk1s1
i have been told to click in the left hand column on the orange drive icon, not the volume icon....since the next step is select the partition tab and the partition tab only shows in the longer (and former) of the 2 entries i click on that....is that right?
select the partition tab..yes...
select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the Format drop down menu..
i can't select from this menu...but the above option i want is already there...what does this mean?
click on the options button..can't do this....
if i select a volume scheme other than "current" eg 1 partition then options and format become available.....but i dont want a partition...
...there's a bit more ...but that's a start!
thanks
ps the drive ships as NTFS formatted and the instructions for mac are to reformat the drive..
Message was edited by: David Barker7
Message was edited by: David Barker7

You should use +Mac OS Extended (Journaled)+ as the format type, no matter what you select as the +partition map scheme+. Format and +partition map scheme+ are two separate settings.
I can see how that wording may be confusing. What it is really saying is that
GUID Partition Table - This option is preferred if your Mac is Intel. However, you can use the disk on a PowerPC Mac, as long as it runs Mac OS X 10.4 or later AND that PowerPC Mac does not need to boot from the disk. To be bootable on a PowerPC Mac, the disk must use Apple Partition Map.
Apple Partition Map - This option is preferred if your Mac is PowerPC. However, you can use this disk on an Intel Mac. An Intel Mac can can even boot from the disk (but the Installer will only install Mac OS X on a disk that uses GUID Partition Table).
Master Boot Record - Use this option only if you need to use the disk on both Mac OS X and Windows computers.
Not sure if that is actually more clear or not. I'm sure Apple spent more time on the wording that I just did. The bottom line is, either GUID Partition Table or Apple Partition Map will be fine if the drive is just used for storage. Apple Partition Map may be the better choice, because you may want to make the external drive bootable later on (and there is no downside to using Apple Partition Map on a PowerPC Mac). In either case, the format type needs to be +Mac OS Extended (Journaled)+.

Cant boot from external drive

Using OS 10.10 on my iMac 27. I always keep a bootable clone external LaCie1T HD for doing maintenance on my iMac internal drive and as another backup. I use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone my internal drive and to make my external drive bootable. This system has worked for years. Upgrading to Yosemite I can no longer boot from this external drive even though it is listed as bootable when holding down the option key at startup or when choosing a startup disk in system preferences. I have exhausted all efforts to resolve this anomaly to no avail including: directory repair, permission repair, cloning to a different drive, What am I missing? Thanks in advance for any help on this matter.

Your post does not mention whether you have updated to the 4.0 version of Carbon Copy Cloner for Yosemite on your iMac.......but on the possibility that you have not yet done this, now might be a good time.

HT1449 When moving your iTunes Media folder to an external drive should the itl file be moved during the organise library process too?

I have moved all of the iTunes data to the drive, but can't seem to find the .itl folder when trying to make external drive the location for my music for a new computer.
Can anyone please assist on letting me know where the .itl file would have been copied to or whether, if I copy the .itl folder separately, would it keep play counts and ratings?
Thanks

Many people confuse moving their media folder with moving their library. A library is everything inside the iTunes folder. Unless you have a specific reason for not wanting to move the entire library it is best to do that rather than just media.
What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management
What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
iTunes 9 [and later]: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3847 - plus supplemental information about organizing to new structure https://discussions.apple.com/message/26404702#26404702
Image of folder structure and explanation of different iTunes versions (turingtest2 post) - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-7392 and making an iTunes library portable.
If you move only media then the main library files remain on the computer. If you want to move the whole library:
Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Open iTunes and immediately hold down the option (alt) key (shift on Windows) so you get a prompt to choose a library, then select the copied iTunes folder.
If this is to a new computer and you put the copied iTunes folder in the default location of Macintosh HD > Users > *User Name* > Music then you don't even need to start with the option key held down, iTunes will automatically look for it there. (Make sure there isn't anything already in the iTunes folder there that you want to keep since you will be replacing it with the one you are moving.)

Reformatting an External Drive to make it Bootable in OSX

I want to buy a 1TB Desk External Hard Drive to store all of my images and video etc. I could buy a LaCie formatted for the mac but they are 1/3 more in price so I 'd prefer to buy any drive and reformat it.
So I phoned the store an they said all drives they sell are PC and they need to be "Reformated" for the mac to make them bootable.
He said I can buy "Any" External HD and reformat it so it can be "Bootable" from the Mac.
So my Questions are:
1) Is this true? Can buy any 1 TB External Drive and reformat it so it can be "Bootable" by the mac OS?
2) How would I reformat the drive for OSX? Is this something Super Duper can do?
I appreciate any help you may be able to give me.
pg

1. Yes.
2. See the following:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
You cannot do this with SuperDuper! which is just a backup utility. Of course after prepping the drive you need to put a bootable copy of OS X on it either by installing it from an OS X installer DVD or cloning an existing system. See the following:
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4. Check the box to Erase destination.
5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive.
Source means the internal startup drive.

External Hard drive... How do I make it a bootable?

I have an older ibook G4 running 10.4.11 and I have never used an external hard drive to make back ups. I know that has been foolish, but up until now I did not consider the data I had on my hard drive to be irreplaceable. I want to purchase an external hard drive but being a novice I really am unsure what to buy or even how to use it properly. I would like to be able to boot from it so I can do diagnostics and repairs to the ibook. My main question is how do I make an external hard drive a "bootable" drive? Should I purchase a firewire drive, or can a USB drive also be bootable.
Any suggestions on which drives might be best would also be appreciated.
thanks in advance
rjj

[USB Info and Benefits of Dual-Channel USB|http://support.apple.com/kb/TA25908]:
"Beginning with the Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics) and the iMac (Slot-Loading), two new features to USB are most apparent: support for USB audio devices and booting from USB drives.
Bootable USB drives: A storage device such as a SuperDisk, Zip disk, or other USB storage drive can be used to hold a valid system folder and used at startup."
That said, it is usually recommended you buy a Firewire connection external drive (may also have USB) for booting. www.mac-sales.com is a good place to start browsing, though there are many other vendors too. Don't worry if a drive says needs Windows. That refers to using their backup software which you don't need, though there are a few enclosures which use chip sets that have problems with Macs for booting, that's why it is best to get one with an Oxford chip set.
For the external drive to be bootable you need to clone your internal drive to the external. Carbon Copy Cloner (donation ware from bombitch.com) and SuperDuper (shareware) are two popular cloning utilities. Cloning insures that invisible system files critical to booting also get copied.
Make sure the external is as large as, or slightly larger than your internal. Some people buy very large external drives so they have extra space for storage. There's nothing wrong with that except they forget that should the external fail they do not have a backup for all the extra files they put on the external! If you do buy a larger external it is handy to partition the drive so one partition matches the size of your internal drive. It's just easier to have a one to one copy rather than mixing up the files.
[Formatting & Partitioning a Hard Drive in OS X|http://www.kenstone.net/fcphomepage/partitioningtiger.html]
[Journaling, Zeroing, Partitioning & OS 9 driver|http://forums.bombich.com/viewtopic.php?t=4084]
[Kappy's extensive hard drive formatting post|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8340551&#8340551]

Creating a bootable G5 backup on external drive

Can anyone help point me to instructions for creating a bootable backup for a G5 quad v.Tiger_10.4.11 using a LaCie d2 Quadra 500GB external with Firewire 800. I'll also be using this external drive to backup my files/apps daily.
Thanks for your help!

Along with BDAqua's excellent suggestions, there's also SuperDuper!. Like Carbon Copy Cloner, the free version of SuperDuper! will make a fully functioning clone of your source disk.
I use FireWire 800 enclosures purchased from OWC (Other World Computing) and they are bootable. This is the enclosure I bought. It's a bit cheaper to buy the enclosure alone and then pretty much any ATA drive you want to put in it elsewhere. Saved me about $40 a drive to assemble it myself. But they do sell the same enclosure with various size drives already installed if you want to one stop shop.

A Firewire External Drive to use as Bootable drive?

Hello fellow Apple enthusiasts,
1.1 I was hoping one of you might care to suggest how would I go about using my Firewire (FW) drive as a bootable drive?(I believe during restart I press the "T" key to initialize this process)
It is a 120 GB drive that I have partitioned into 2 parts a 30 GB which has my apps, etc, and an 80 GB section with work files.
1.2 Should I just use an app like Super Duper to clone my G3 and iBook HD's? (hmmm maybe just one of them) But that would limit my ability to use the FW for all and any HD's
1.3 I do have a bona-fide edition of Tech Tool 4, should I make an "eDrive" on the FW to reboot from? or install Tech tool on the FW as an app itself?
1.4 Or possibly one of you may know of a better suggestion to make a part of the Firewire drive a drive that can rescue other Macs, namely my own

1.1 I don't think 'T' is what you're after - that will boot your computer as an external FW drive.
Given a bootable FW drive, you can either (1) choose it as your Startup Disk in System Preferences, or (2) hold down the Option key while restarting/booting and choose the drive from the options displayed. I believe that (1) is recommended but there might be situations where (2) is the only option.
1.2 I'm not sure what you mean by "limit my ability to use the FW for all and any HD's". Do you want to use the drive to backup all your computers?
It is perfectly possible to clone a HD to a partition of an external FW drive. To do this, you can partition the FW drive in Disk Utility making sure that the partitions you plan to clone to are big enough, of course. Doing this will erase any data on the FW drive, however, so be sure to back it up. Some people also recommend writing zeros over the disk before proceeding. Again, Disk Utility has options to do this. When you partition, make sure that you choose the same type of file system as you're using on your macs.
I've never used Super Duper, but Carbon Copy Cloner will certainly let you create a bootable clone a HD on a partition of the FW drive. I use it for this purpose and have happily booted from the clones when necessary. If you consider CCC, be sure to read the documentation - especially "B4 U Clone" - so that you prepare the external drive correctly and take the steps you need to to ensure a successful cloning operation. For details see http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html. Note that the latest version is only for 10.4/10.5, but the earlier version is suitable for 10.2/10.3. I believe the latest version does a very good cloning job. The earlier version does not copy all the extended attributes etc. that you may care about. On the other hand, I have certainly restored successfully from clones made using the earlier version.
Super Duper has an excellent reputation and is supposed to copy extended attributes etc. nearly flawlessly. I can't speak from experience in this case, though, and I don't know how flexible it is in terms of allowing clones to partitions etc. as I've never used it.
1.3 Sorry, can't answer this - I don't know what you're referring to.
1.4 Only that if Super Duper can't do what you want, CCC probably can. Whichever you use, be sure to read and follow the instructions and to test the clone by booting and working from it to assure yourself that it really is satisfactory.
Good luck.
- cfr

External hard drive bootable with Mac OS x 10.9

Hello!
i have these: Install-OS-Mavericks DMG file.
but i don't know how to Install the file.
i can to install this at the external hard drive (USB).
please help me!
How to creat the external Hard drive bootable in the Mac Intel or Pro? please give me simple methode!
How to install the OS with the external Hard drive? or any solution.
Thank you very much for your help.
Justin R.

To install the file, if you did not download the Install Mac OS X from the Mac App Store, you must make sure your Mac Pro is compatible, it must be at least a Mac Pro3,1 to install Mavericks. If you are compatible, and want to install on a USB drive, first you must open Disk Utilities (in Finder, Applications, Utitlities) and then select the exernal drive from the devices listed in the left panel of the Disk Utilities window. Then decide if you want one or more partitions on the drive and the size of the partitions. Select each partition one at a time and name the partition and then choose the format as Mac OS X Extended (Journaled), and the Partition Table as GUID, and then Apply to format the drive.
Once that is done you place the Mavericks Installer DMG file on the desktop, double click to open and then choose the drive for installation to be the external drive you have formatted and named.
The installer will install and then delete itself when finished. If you want to keep a copy, make a copy and store it in a safe place, such as your Documents folder.
To boot to the external hard drive, restart the Mac Pro and hold the Option key. That will result in a grey screen with images for each of the bootable drives. Highlight the arrow under the drive you want to boot and then click that arrow again.

Make external drive bootable?

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