Making Mavericks 9.1 USB bootable using Disk Utility - Source error

I'm following these instructins here to try and make a bootable USB so I can upgrade from Snow Leopard with a clean install (and have for future needs so I don't have to download all them gigs again!). When i try to drag the BaseSystem.dmg over to the source field it doesn't do anything. I can drag the mounted version "OS X Base System" but I dont' know if this will work. What have I done wrong?!
Thanks!

Well there is an easier way using the built in for USB or SD card
createinstallmedia
option 1 http://www.macworld.com/article/2056561/how-to-make-a-bootable-mavericks-install -drive.html

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Getting an error when I try to put an ISO onto a USB stick using disk utility

I am getting "Restore Failure Could not validate source - Invalid argument" when I try to load an ISO as a source and put destination as a USB drive. It asks me if I want to erase it, I confirm, enter my root password and then I get this error. I could find no combination of an ISO or a USB drive that would work. Same error always. How do I do this? Do I need to use a different program?
Thanks.

Thanks Kishore.
I tried the rank function RANK(COUNT(RPTHEAD."BugDB ID"))<=5 and i'm getting the following syntax error:
[nQSError: 10058] A general error has occurred. [nQSError: 27002] Near <<=>: Syntax error [nQSError: 26012] . (HY000)
SQL Issued: SELECT COMPONENT.Component, LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3), PRODUCT."Product Name", RANK(COUNT(RPTHEAD."BugDB ID"))<=5, RELEASE_MASTER_LIST.Release, RIGHT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",2), RPTHEAD."Component ID", RPTHEAD."Component Version", RPTHEAD."Date Logged", RPTHEAD."Month RollUP", RPTHEAD.Customer, case WHEN LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3) = 'JAN' then '1' WHEN LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3) = 'FEB' then '2' WHEN LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3) = 'MAR' then '3' WHEN LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3) = 'APR' then '4' WHEN LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3) = 'MAY' then '5' WHEN LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3) = 'JUN' then '6' WHEN LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3) = 'JUL' then '7' WHEN LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3) = 'AUG' then '8' WHEN LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3) = 'SEP' then '9' WHEN LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3) = 'OCT' then '10' WHEN LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3) = 'NOV' then '11' WHEN LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3) = 'DEC' then '12' else LEFT(RPTHEAD."Month RollUP",3) end FROM BugDB
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I accidently used Disk Utility to fix a partition. I cant boot in with any USB drive. Help.

I accidentally used Disk Utility to fix a partition. It erased it. I desperately need to restore it.
I have an imac without a cdrom. How do I create a bootable usb with testdisk as for some bizarre reason it seems impossible to create a bootable usb drive for osx. I tried GParted and the ultimate boot disk that both have test disk.
I am stumped. Why can't I boot into my imac with a usb? I have a mac air that I just cant seem to create a usb drive with testdrive thats bootable. I even tried rEFit but no luck.
Anyone have an idea? How do I fix my system ?

I have an imac OSX 10.8.
I tried creating a usb drive of testdisk on my mac air so that I could use it to boot into the iMAC and restore the partition table.
I created it using:
hdiutil convert -format UDRW -o target.img ~/Desktop/ubcd530.iso
dd if=./target.img.dmg of=/dev/rdisk1 bs=1m
It did not work. It would not boot. I also tried Gnome Partition tool and that did not boot either. I need my old system as it has important data
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How do you use disk utility to burn a bootable .iso dvd?

Anybody have a clue on how you use disk utility to burn a .iso bootable dvd disk?
I'm trying to install windows 7 rc into virtual box in OS X 10.5.7 and cannot figure out how to do this. I've already installed the windows 7 beta in virtual box and was able to make a bootable dvd disk with the .iso file on it but have no clue how I did this.
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It's so easy, You can just burn an .iso file using DVD Creator Std instead of Disk Utility, only 3 steps to finish bur ning your .iso files:
http://www.imediacreator.com/mac-dvd-creator-standard.html#131

When I check my boot SSD drive using Disk Utility under Mavericks, I often get "Incorrect number of extended attributes" errors. But if I boot off an external drive and check the same SSD, no errors are reported. Is this a bug in Mavericks?

When I check my boot SSD drive using Disk Utility under Mavericks, I often get "Incorrect number of extended attributes" errors. But if I boot off an external drive and check the same SSD, no errors are reported.
This happens not just with the SSD in my Mac Mini, but with another SSD in my MacBook (both now running Mavericks). So far as I know, all of the kit I am using is in good order (despite the file corruption reports). So I am beginning to wonder if it could be due to a bug in Mavericks? Both SSD drives have been formatted to MacOS Extended (journaled) format. Should I have used a different format, I wonder?
Has anyone else encountered this issue?
Does anyone have a solution?
Or an explanation that might help my investigation of the issue?
Thanks guys,

I understand that the Corsair Force 3 is not one of the SSD drives that are supported on Apple Macs.
I did try downloading and using Trim Enabler, but the error message came up both when it was off and when it was on.
I understand that not everyone thinks Trim Enabler is a good program, though there is a new version out now, so I may give it another try.

I am now using 10.6.8. Downloaded Maverick but cannot update OS on HD because get message the disk is not formatted as Mac OS extended(journaled). Tried to use Disk Utility as per instruction but cannot complete operation.

I am now using 10.6.8. Downloaded Maverick but cannot update OS on HD because get message the disk is not formatted as Mac OS extended(journaled). Tried to use Disk Utility as per instruction but cannot complete operation.

Barney-15E:
The partition method worked after some trepidation. I got the spinning beach ball after partitioning and couldn't go further till I named the second partition. That may have done it. Right now, things seem to be working o.k. I'm updating a current iPhoto and will have to get a MS Word program that will function on the current OS and a current Quicken.
If necessary, can start up from the 10.6.8 system which I downloaded to an external HD before updating. I can always fall back on that. Also, I hope I don't get too many disconnects. Thank you for your help.

I got 3.95GB available on my flash drive and need 4GB to reinstall lion osx how can i create space on usb using Disk Utility ??!

I got 3.95GB available on my flash drive and need 4GB to reinstall lion osx how can i create space on usb using Disk Utility ??!

What is the capacity of the flash drive?
You might also be able to reinstall Lion without a flash drive, by booting up the computer holding the Command + R keys, and choosing Reinstall OS X.

Cloning drive to external & partitioning using Disk Utility.....!

Hi,
I wonder if someone is able to answer my questions and offer some advice and help.....?
I am purchasing a new external drive and would like to know how to clone the internal drive of my Power Mac G4 using disk Utility to the external drive, so that it is also bootable. I have seen that there seems to be more then one way of doing this within disk utility, but would like to know which is the best way?
1. Please could you take me thorough the steps as I have never done this before?
2. Would it be wise to partition the external drive to keep the cloned bootable system seperate from the rest of the content that will be placed on the external drive or not? If so again please could you take me through the steps on how to do this (partition external drive)?
3. Prior to partitioning the drive is it necessary to delete the new external drive even though there is nothing on it? As I read someone that this need to be done, but didn't quite get that!
Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance

Hello,
Hopefully it'll be an External Firewire drive, as USB cannit be booted from on PPC Macs.
I wouldn't use Disk Utility, there are easier ones for free.
I strongly recommend that you get a good Firewire drive to Clone your Internal drive to...
http://eshop.macsales.com/search/firewire+drives
Many of those come with Backup SW, or...
Get carbon copy cloner to make an exact copy of your old HD to the New one...
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
Or SuperDuper...
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/
2. It depends how big the new drive is & how much space is used on the current drive.
OSX loves lots of free space on it's boot drive for VM & other temp files, I don't feel 50% is too much free space to leave.
3. Normally isn't needed to Zero the Drive, but you may have to foprmat it...
How to format your disks...
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/partitioning_tiger.html
Thanks to Pondini, Formatting, Partitioning, Verifying, and Repairing Disks...
http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/DU.html

Bootable backups - disk utility and which external drives

hi all
(maybe) a simple question
i have been using time machine for my back ups but i am now planning to have a second backup program. i'm looking at using a bootable clone in this regard.
i started looking at super duper and ccc however a few stumbling blokes have just popped up (well at least warning signs that may be of no issue at all - hence this question)
* can ALL external drives be used for bootable backup purposes?
I have a couple of western digital ones - my book essential and my passport.
On the western digital website, it does not have my model numbers listed - does it matter?
Is it a case of any usb connected external drive can be used for intel macs? - i am getting conflicting views on various postings i have seen re this question
second part/question is:
i also understand disk utility can be used for cloning (no updates, just full clones) and as a bootable back up.
if, just for the purposes for having a back up bootable drive, can i set up a clone without too much regard for recloning it (say every 2 months) and if i need to use it, then boot the mac back up with it and then do a full restore using my up to date time machine backups? am i missing something with that method? is that too simple?
feedback much appreciated on these 2 areas
cheers
peter t

Crows2012 wrote:
1) there is no way to make a BOOTABLE clone using disk utility or time machine whatsoever, right? DU will only allow me to make clones and Recovery HD essentially allows me to restore the system (ie software) AFTER booting up?
Correct with respect to TM; all you get is a copy of the Recovery HD.
Disk Utility will make a bootable clone, but there are downsides. First, it can only do a whole copy; unlike a specialized cloning app, it won't copy just what's new or changed, so takes a long time. Second, as I understand it, it won't copy to a smaller volume, even if there's plenty of free space on the internal. For example, if you have a 1 TB internal with only 400 GB on it, DU won't copy it to a 500 GB drive. I may be wrong, but I've seen that posted here by folks who seem to know.
does file b here mean aliases of file b in each backup?
It acts sorta like that, but no.
There's one copy of the actual file, but two hard links to it, one in each folder. The file actually "belongs" to both folders at the same time! The good part of that is, if you delete either backup folder, the other one remains intact. The downside is, how the heck do you count the size of each folder accurately?
that was a great read to understand TM workings and attain some level of piece of mind re my question of incremental v differential backups
It is a bit hard to get your head around! I've been revising and editing that for several years trying to make it clear.
And remember, this only applies to TM as far as I know, at least for consumer-level backup apps.
While it may be possible to boot your computer to an external hard drive, Western Digital does not provide technical support for booting your computer using an external hard drive. If you intend to make a copy of your boot drive, or install your operating system, please use a second internal drive (EIDE or Serial ATA), rather than an external drive.
Yup. WD doesn't exactly have a good reputation for support.
i guess i'll trial CCC or SD and see what happens with the drives that i have re BOOTABILITY
I use CCC myself -- it's a great product with great support.
I downloaded SD a couple of times, but never got around to experimenting with it. Lots of folks swear by it, and say it also has excellent support. To a large degree, it just seems to be a matter of which approach and GUI you prefer, but CCC does allow "archiving" of changed and deleted stuff (differently from TM), and can copy Recovery HDs. I don't think SD does either, but it may have other advantages.
4) and, i think one final question, and a simple/naive one at that.....if my internal hard drive physically collapses then what are the benefits of that bootable clone v not having one?
You can start up from the clone and run normally (but likely a bit more slowly), although you probably won't be as up-to-date as you would after restoring to a new or repaired internal, or an external, from TM. The reason is, running a clone backup, even an incremental one, takes much longer and far more CPU than one of TM's quick incrementals, which it will do hourly if you let it. Few folks using a clone for an OSX drive do it more than once per day, many only once a week.
The downside is, if you run from the clone, you no longer have a backup -- the clone has the only copy of your stuff. That's one reason many folks who use only a cloning app have two (or more) externals with them.
Apart from (obviously) being able to start up immediately to do whatever i wanted to do at the time, after i replace the hard drive (if that was to be the case) are there further expenses or much inconvenience suffered due to not having a bootable drive in getting things all sorted internally on the mac? what is the process in that regard, generally speaking
Just clone the external to the new internal, and you're back in business.
thanks heaps for your time to answer these and previous questions and to build up my understanding of these topics
You're quite welcome.

How do I make a data disk using Disk Utility (Panther 10.3.9)

I am trying to back up some of my data to disks, so I can upgrade my OS to Leopard. I have done this in the past but either forgot how or it isn't working right (some things are not working right on my computer at present..?? my Final Cut Pro won't open, that's why I decided to upgrade) Could you please tell me how it is supposed to work. I think I have made a disk image okay but when I highlight it in disk utility and hit burn it says invalid argument?? If I install Leopard will I loose all my files?

Not necessarily, but you should never do a major upgrade without having a bootable backup of your system. In fact you should never be without backups:
Basic Backup
Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Retrospect Desktop (Commercial - not yet universal binary)
2. Synchronize! Pro X (Commercial)
3. Synk (Backup, Standard, or Pro)
4. Deja Vu (Shareware)
5. PsynchX 2.1.1 and RsyncX 2.1 (Freeware)
6. Carbon Copy Cloner (Freeware - 3.0 is a Universal Binary)
7. SuperDuper! (Commercial)
8. Intego Personal Backup (Commercial)
9. Data Backup (Commercial)
The following utilities can also be used for backup, but cannot create bootable clones:
1. Backup (requires a .Mac account with Apple both to get the software and to use it.)
2. Toast
3. Impression
4. arRSync
Apple's Backup is a full backup tool capable of also backing up across multiple media such as CD/DVD. However, it cannot create bootable backups. It is primarily an "archiving" utility as are the other two.
Impression and Toast are disk image based backups, only. Particularly useful if you need to backup to CD/DVD across multiple media.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance, optimization, virus protection, and backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
Although you can buy a complete FireWire drive system, you can also put one together if you are so inclined. It's relatively easy and only requires a Phillips head screwdriver (typically.) You can purchase hard drives separately. This gives you an opportunity to shop for the best prices on a hard drive of your choice. Reliable brands include Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Fujitsu. You can find reviews and benchmarks on many drives at Storage Review.
Enclosures for FireWire and USB are readily available. You can find only FireWire enclosures, only USB enclosures, and enclosures that feature multiple ports. I would stress getting enclosures that use the Oxford chipsets (911, 921, 922, for example.) You can find enclosures at places such as;
Cool Drives
OWC
WiebeTech
Firewire Direct
California Drives
NewEgg
All you need do is remove a case cover, mount the hard drive in the enclosure and connect the cables, then re-attach the case cover. Usually the only tool required is a small or medium Phillips screwdriver.
Upgrading does not have to be difficult unless you choose to make it so. You have three installation options. I would recommend an Archive and Install option when feasible:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
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 Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

Backup / Restore using Disk Utility

Hello,
I have a G4 Quicksilver 2002 with two internal hard rives: one cofigured for Mac OS X 10.4 and the other (my main) configured for Mac OS X 10.5.
I've created a backup image of the 10.4 HD using Disk Utility which is stored on an external USB drive.
My question is this - if I need to restore the 10.4 HD from the backup image, will it be bootable? The directory for the 10.4 HD appears to be corrupted, and I'll likely need to reformat the drive and attempt a restore from the archived image.
I would like to avoid the hassle of rebuilding the 10.4.11 system from scratch.
--Bill

Hi Bill,
In theory that should work.

Upgrading HD and cloning using Disk Utility

I'm going to upgrade my MacBook Aluminum Unibody with a larger and faster hard drive (500 Go Seagate Momentus 7200.4 SATA 2,5" 7200T 16 Mo).
As you'd probably expect, I will need to clone my current system to the new HD.
To achieve my needs, my strategy is the following:
1) booting up using Snow Leopard install DVD
2) connecting my new drive through a USB enclosure
3) using Disk Utility's "Restore" feature with Macintosh HD as source, and the new drive as destination
4) switching the drives
I came across tons of people in the same scenario as mine during my research for the best solution, but it always ended up with Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper. Almost nothing about Disk Utility.
If they seem to work fine for most of us, I find Disk Utility more trustful (1), and I prefer block-to-block to file-to-file copy (2), as the last method will necessarily skip some "uncopyable" files.
I have none of the above software, and according to its documentation, I believed to understand that CCC can't achieve a block-to-block copy running on the source system (which does make sense).
So, considering I only need to clone & switch (no backup purpose or whatever) my hard drives, why would I use CCC/Super Duper over Disk Utility?
Yeah, a file-to-file copy will kind of defragment my system, but is there something wrong with my method? I really don't understand why DU is so underrated.
Any feedback much appreciated!
Thanks,
Mickael

Mickael
I see nothing wrong with using disk utility to do what you want. If I'm correct, you can only create a disk image with disk utility, so it will not be bootable. It will accomplish the same goal as other software to restore as you described. The advantage to cloning you drive with the other applications is that you will be able to boot from the external drive if problems arise. Both applications are free to download.
I used super duper to clone to an external drive as a backup and keep it updated. I always have it to boot from if my main drive fails. The process is up to you.
Note: I though you needed a disk image to restore from, but I was wrong. You can do a restore from the drive itself.
As i said, I see no problem. It's your choice.
Message was edited by: Glenn Leblanc
Message was edited by: Glenn Leblanc

Cannot repair disk errors for OSX boot volume using Disk Utility while booted from different disk

I have tried three times to repair my boot volume (OSX 10.6.8 Snow Leopard) permissions using Disk Utility while booted up on a different volume (running Snow Leopard 10.6.4). After hours of Disk Utility reporting that it HAD fixed the problems, an immediate click of "Verify permissions" immediately results in the apparently same continuous stream of permission errors.

Then better luck next time around. Here are some ideas for then:
How to Install Lion Successfully - You must have Snow Leopard 10.6.7 or 10.6.8 Installed
A. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions:
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. Then select Disk Utility from the Utilities. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.3.) if DW cannot fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall Snow Leopard.
B. Make a Bootable Backup Using Restore Option of Disk Utility:
Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
Select the destination volume from the left side list.
Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
Check the box labeled Erase destination.
Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the backup volume. Source means the internal startup volume.
C. Important: Please read before installing:
If you have a FireWire hard drive connected, disconnect it before installing the update unless you will boot from this drive and install the update on it. Reconnect it and turn it back on after installation is complete and you've restarted.
You may experience unexpected results if you have installed third-party system software modifications, or if you have modified the operating system through other means. (This does not apply to normal application software installation.)
The installation process should not be interrupted. If a power outage or other interruption occurs during installation, use the standalone installer (see below) from Apple Downloads to update. While the installation is in progress do not use the computer.
D. To upgrade to Lion:
Purchase the Lion Installer from the Mac App Store. The download will start quickly. Lion is nearly 4 GBs so a fast internet connection is essential. Download time could run upwards of 4 hours depending upon network conditions and server demands at the time.
Boot From The Lion Installer which is located in your Applications folder.
Follow instructions for installation.

How do I use Disk Utility to help install Mountain Lion after many failed attempts?

I tried to install Mountain Lion from an App onto my MacBook.
First it said that my disk was damaged to i tried to repair it.
Didn't work.
Then it said I didn't have enough room to install Mountain Lion.
Then I tried to restore Lion.
Didn't work.
Then someone suggested I reset my PRAM.
Tried that, and now I am stuck.
I can't restore any of my backups from timeline.
I can't reinstall OSX because my drive is now locked.
And I don't know how to use Disk Utility to solve this problem!
Any suggestions welcome... I'm in way deeper than I understand and feel like anything I do is making this worse!

I gather that your computer is in a less than satisfactory state, so the process below will basically start you from scratch, but you shouldn't lose anything.
Okay, can you inspect the Time Machine Backups with the Finder? About two or so folders down you should start seeing your system files. Assuming all your files are present.
Important^
You probably have an installation disk that came with your macBook. Boot from that CD and install from the CD.
Run the verify disk utilites and repair utilities if necessary.
You may want to erase your disk from the CD's disk utility. This will erase your Hard Drive (make sure you do not erase your backups, as that would be very bad).
Once the installation is complete, run all system updates. Either look through your backup and find the Mountain lion installation app, or download it from the app store again.
Run the ML installtion app.
Once everything is up and running, move all files and folders you want from your TM backups and you should be good to go.

HT3275 I continue to get the following error message: Unable to complete back up.an error occurred while creating backup folder. It's a brand new drive. When I attempt to repair it using disk utility I get:unable to repair disk cannot unmounted

I have been trying to use time machine on a new lacie 2tb usb 2 drive for back up. I continue to get: "unable to complete backup.An error occured while creating backup folder". When I use disk utility to repair I get another error message: unable to repair disk unmountable.
Help me Obie One Canobie you are my last hope

I have confused myself with the facts! Started out keeping track of every step and every variable but have sort of lost it as we progress here. First I quit all applications then swapped connections between mouse port and backup disk port to influence possible bad connections question. Changed power outlet receptacle for the backup disk. Disabled the put-the-HD-to-sleep option. Then powered down the computerator.
Next started up computerator. Turned Time Machine ON and experienced multiple successful backups! Then I started up a few applications, Mail and Text Edit (but not Safari so far). Had a few more successes. After each backup, I used Disk Utility to verify the backup disk is still OK. This because the error about unable to unmount the backup disk seems to go hand in hand with Disk Utility finding the backup disk to be bad.
Put computer to sleep for the night. Upon starting up in the morning, and before doing anything else, I did a backup disk verification... BAD! Did a restart and verified the backup disk... OK.
Did a few Sleep-bad, Restart -OK repetitions.
It seems consistent: Sleeping the computer apparently messes up the backup disk but doing a Restart "repairs" it.
=============================
Now then, I don't understand everything I know here. Methinks that maybe keeping the HD from sleeping during lulls in activity has allowed successful backups through the day but manually putting everything to sleep for the night causes a return to the problem of spinning-back-up-too-slowly (which was explained earlier). Is there any truth in this?
I may abandon this Seagate thing for something more compatible. What's out there that we know works reliably for us?

Making Mavericks 9.1 USB bootable using Disk Utility - Source error

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