Multiple Boot Disk Help

Hey Gang...
I'm setting up my new Mac Pro. Primary work for this will be running ProTools LE and it will also do some Photoshop duty.
Here's what I'd like to do. Can anyone walk me thru this? Is it all possible?
1. Let the 250GB Internal Drive serve as main/utility drive. Let it upgrade to 10.4.9. Keep documents and such here and backup only the important folders.
2. I have a LaCie D2 500GB external drive that has several ProTools sessions on it as well as a bunch of audio stuff that isn't backed up (don't ask...I have a partner who left the company). I'd like to install 10.4.8 on this drive as well as ProTools program and use it as a Utility drive for my ProTools work, but not as my primary storage for Sessions. Since Digidesign doesn't support 10.4.9 yet it is really important that I stick with 10.4.8 for now.
3. I have a 1TB Western MyBook External drive that I'd like to use as a RAID-0 setup and use to record to. Probably wouldn't hurt to have the OS on this drive, but not necessary. Just need the space and the speed. Currently there is nothing on this drive. Would probably install photoshop here.
So can I do this? If so, how do I get the OS installed on the other two volumes. How do I keep #2 above from not updating?
Sorry if this seems elementary. I've been a Powerbook guy up until the last few days! Thanks!

Install Mac OS X on the three disks as you would a single normal disk individually, and then install the updates from the Software Update pane of System Preferences on 1 and 3. For 2, ignore the Mac OS X 10.49 updater and run this updater instead.
(21040)

Similar Messages

Kernel Panics on multiple boot disks

Dear All,
In the last 2 weeks I have suddenly started to get repeated panics (grey multilingual box) at less (often much less) than 30min intervals on this machine - booted off the internal HD (even after a disk erase and re-install), an external Firewire disk (which runs fine booting another processor) and even the Tiger install DVD! Everything passes Apple hardware test and in desperation I replaced the machine. Now the dealer who has the machine cannot get another panic! He also says he can get nothing from the crash log from the Tiger DVD crash (most other logs were lost when the disk was erased), but I feel this should mean something - an extract from the critical section in quite a long log is:-
Apr 21 17:47:06 localhost : 11295 files looked up in 0.79 seconds. 11295 files written in 26.00 seconds.
Apr 21 17:47:07 localhost : 70832 kilobytes installed.
Apr 21 17:47:07 localhost : Performing post-extraction actions
Apr 21 17:47:07 localhost : Assembling receipt
Apr 21 17:47:07 localhost : pkgReceiptMaker[233]: pkgReceiptMaker(233) malloc: * vm_allocate(size=3378614272) failed (error code=3)
Apr 21 17:47:07 localhost : pkgReceiptMaker[233]: pkgReceiptMaker(233) malloc: * error: can't allocate region
Apr 21 17:47:07 localhost : pkgReceiptMaker[233]: pkgReceiptMaker(233) malloc: * set a breakpoint in szone_error to debug
Apr 21 17:47:07 localhost : pkgReceiptMaker[233]:
Apr 21 17:47:08 localhost : 2006-04-21 17:47:08.949 runner[97] * -[NSPortMessage receivePort]: selector not recognized [self = 0x3153a0]
Apr 21 17:47:08 localhost : 2006-04-21 17:47:08.950 runner[97] Exception raised during posting of notification. Ignored. exception: * -[NSPortMessage receivePort]: selector not recognized [self = 0x3153a0]
Apr 21 17:47:09 localhost : Installer(94,0x1895200) malloc: * Deallocation of a pointer not malloced: 0x100; This could be a double free(), or free() called with the middle of an allocated block; Try setting environment variable MallocHelp to see tools to help debug
This machine has given a good deal of trouble in the past but has had a new logic board only last year. Any suggestions?
Powerbook G4 17 Mac OS X (10.4.6) 1G RAM

Thanks! A lot of interesting stuff. The Tiger DVD was the same one used to install Tiger originally on this and other machines so not that I think.
RAM is a thought - the only thing done to the machine before passing it to the dealer was to remove & re-insert the extra 512M RAM resident in the machine since it was bought (why? - in the mistaken belief that I could transfer it to the newer PB - in fact it is not compatible, presumably not fast enough).
Of course it will presumably still be using the internal HD for virtual memory when booted off the DVD (so a HD problem might still cause a crash) - but it would not if booted off an external firewire disk would it?
No peripherals were connected when using the DVD, though some other disks/partitions are also present when using the firewire drive.
Thanks for all the advice! What I really need is either assurance that the problem has for some reason gone, or that the machine has a definable hardware fault, in which case Apple have said they will fix it under Applecare even though it is 3 weeks out-of-cover (in view of the history).
FWIW last year's acknowledged hardware issue was a strange one in which the machine had run fine under OS 10.3, or under 10.4 when booted from an external disk, but consistently froze after a few minutes when booted from the 10.4 install DVD (regardless of whether an install was actually attempted). I am not clear that this was ever really diagnosed but it was fixed by various replacements (a second DVD behaved in exactly the same way).
Will S

Mid2007 macbook trying to install retail copy of 10.6.3 after install fails say bless tool unable to set boot disk help!

Mid2007 macbook when trying to install retail 10.6.3 screen comes up installation failed because cant set start up disk try startup utility. when try startup utility it says bless tool cant set boot drive when called apple support guy said my harddrive was going out even though the computer had no ill signs before inserting install disk. I bought new harddrive and installer does same thing . Then apple sent me a new disk - same thing . I have ran disk utilities numerous times tried to reinstall numerous times even hooked external harddrive and ran tech tools from it one side note the startup key commands do not seem to work as in apple op pr,apple op of etc but will go to option start. I realize it is getting old but something is keeping software from loading i also read where i could take ram out for awhile i did this. No change. Taking to apple store is not option any and all suggestions welcome

Sounds like the machine has a firmware password as you cannot change the startup disk (stored in NVRAM) and only the option key at boot works.
You will need to option boot from the 10.6 disk and use the Firmware Password Reset utility and enter the password to disable it.
If you forget the password, take the machine to a Apple Authorized Repair and they can bypass it in hardware.

Rsync fills up boot disk, help!

I couldn't find a discussion on rsync filling up the hard drive that Tiger is installed on; if there is one, please point the way!
I tried rsync'ing a Firewire-attached drive across my network, using -avzE switches. It halted on the error, "no space left on device" and Finder shows that I now have zero KB left on the boot volume.
How can I get rid of whatever log files or other files rsync has filled up the drive with? I've looked and deleted logs in /var/log but to no avail.
Thanks!
PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Try using WhatSize to determine where the space on your hard disk has gone; if the large files aren't in the /private/var/log/ folder, they may be in /Volumes/. You can safely delete items in the /Volumes/ folder which the Finder reports as being something other than an alias in the Get Info window.
(18162)

Help creating a boot disk for ailing powerbook (and journalist!)

Hello, I'm a journalist with a desperate need to recover my Mac.
My Powerbook G4 (operating 10.4.8 I believe) was working fine until I did the latest suggested Mac software upgrade of Safari. Immediately Safari stopped responding hanging up or quitting. So I tried the next recommended update, thinking perhaps the two went together: Security 2008-009 I believe. It required a restart, which I did. (Note: I didn't do the recommended Java or Quicktime update at the same time because I'm currently working in Sierra Leone with terribly slow internet and figured I'd get to it later).
Now, however, the computer won't boot up. I hear the tone, I get the gray screen with the apple, I get the blue screen, I get the opening OS X screen and the blue progress bar, which then quits early on. Then I get a blue screen of alternating hues, which continues infinitely.
I tried all the Apple and web-suggested fixes. I cannot enter safe mode and can only perform functions with the single user mode. I've tried fsck and it said my HD is fine. The problem, I suspect, would be easy enough to fix if I could just reinstall OS X with my CD. However I am currently 7000 miles from home and CD, and in desperate need of my laptop in order to continue my volunteer work.
I do have access to a friend's MacBook Pro 10.4.9 and the internet. I have downloaded Carbon Copy Cloner... however I don't know which files I need to copy in order to create a boot disk. Nor do I know how to create a boot disk to actually put into my computer. I have also been scared by the CCC literature that says I need to erase the target volume... which in this case is my external hard drive containing all of our video footage from the last 8 months!
I use my computer every day, however I am a newbie at using things like Terminal and higher order functions that these occasions seem to require. CCC's Help manual, for me, might as well have been written in hieroglyphs (which, come to think of it, would have been easier as I seem to understand pictures well enough).
I would be eternally grateful for any simple or step-by-step advice which might help me get back to work. I'm training African journalists, and without my computer to edit, we cannot do a thing!
Thanks,
Kim

Here's some trouble shooting methods that I've copied from Apple KB articles:
Resetting PRAM and NVRAM
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.
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.
If zapping the PRAM doesn't work, try resetting the PMU.
Warning: Resetting the power manager also resets date and time settings. Performing a PMU reset returns the iBook and PowerBook hardware, including NVRAM, to default settings and forces the computer to shut down.
PowerBook G4 (DVI) and PowerBook G4 (1 GHz/867 MHz)
If the computer is on, turn it off.
Disengage the two keyboard latches located between the Esc and F1 keys, and the F11 and
F12 keys. (You may also need to disengage the keyboard locking screw located between the
F5 and F6 keys.)
Lift the keyboard. To ensure no harmful static electricity is transferred to the computer,
properly ground yourself before performing this procedure.
Press and release the reset button located on the upper right side of the logic board near the power button, shown here. Wait 5 seconds.
Press the power button to restart the computer.
PowerBook G4 and PowerBook G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)
If the computer is on, turn it off.
Press and release the reset button located on the rear panel of the computer between the
external video and modem ports. Wait 5 seconds.
Press the Power button to restart the computer.
HTH!

I just restarted my mac then suddenly when it boots,disk utility came and says different option like repair disk, get help, reinstall OSX and I tried to click disk repair but it says that I am um able to repair the disk

i just restarted my mac then suddenly when it boots,disk utility came and says different option like repair disk, get help, reinstall OSX and I tried to click disk repair but it says that I am um able to repair the disk

It sounds like your hard drive either has a software problem that Disk Utility cannot fix or that the HD has failed (mechanically).
Your Mac may have booted either to your recovery partition or to internet recovery in an attempt to repair the drive- I can't tell from your post.
I'll assume that it was the recovery partition.
Try to boot into internet recovery (hold down option command R at restart), and see if you can repair your HD with Disk Utility. You should also repair permissions while you're there.
If that doesn't work, try to boot into single user mode (restart, hold down ⌘S until you see a black screen with white text) and repair your hard drive. Here's a reference with directions: Repair Your Hard Disk in Single User Mode | Everything Macintosh
If that doesn't work you have a few options:
If your mac originally came with installation disks, you can try to boot from the installation disk and then see if you can repair the HD.
There is a small chance that Techtool Pro 7 will be able to repair your HD if Disk Utility can't.
If none of that works then your HD has probably failed and will need to be replaced, which is not too difficult to do yourself if you can use a screwdriver.

Help with "No bootable Device -- Insert boot disk and press any key" problem

Alright, I am on an Early 2011 17inch macbook pro. I have removed the superdrive to install a secondary disk drive for mass storage, then replaced the original one with an SSD blah blah blah. I do everything from the books, run bootcamp, make my USB windows 7 bootable in Bootcamp, go through everything and allocate 65gb towards windows. I have tried 4 different USB sticks and 3 different ISOs. Every time I try it, I get the same "No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key". I then have to hold down the power button, then restart, hold down option/alt key, and boot regularly into mac. I also read that holding option/alt whilst starting the macbook pro will show the windows USB stick, well it never appears. I dont know what I need to do, what I am doing wrong, but nothing is working. I guess the last thing I have to try is buying a superdrive and burning ISO to disc then try that. But I dont want to go out and spend more money. Other people have gotten it to work just fine from USB, I dont know what I must do or what I am doing wrong...
Open to suggestions and in desperate need of help. Anything is appreciated.
Thanks!

Don't bump
get a new usb2 only flash drive and try the solution posted by kunu here and report back
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5105056?tstart=0
How to install Bootcamp on a 2009 Macbook Pro that does not have a disc drive

Bootcamp - No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key help plz

Hello there!
I recently upgraded my imac mid 2010 system with a SSD hard-drive. The old "main" drive went to the place of super-drive and after reinstalling OS X into the new drive and wiping the old drive a very interesting problem happened. I started trying to install windows 7 via bootcamp. I did everything what the bootcamp assistant says and after the imac restarts itself it just says No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key. Firstly I thought that maybe something is wrong with the installation disk (i have an external super-drive connected to the imac). After restarting the imac once again i held down the option button and arrived to the screen, where it shows the avlaible boot options (different disks). Now, what I saw, was funny. The bootcamp assistant had'nt created the bootcamp drive at all. Atleast it did not show it. After doing this two-three times the result was the same. My next idea was that maybe, there is an issue with the concrete SSD model I am using. So I went back to OS X and opened the bootcamp assistant and restored the state of the OS X SSD drive. Next I did an bootcamp partition onto the old drive I have installed. But the result is still the same. Now my head is empty of ideas.
Has anybody had a similar problem and can you please give me tutorial what I did wrong or what to try next?
Thanks.
Indrek.

Hi Michael!
Yep, I did get this running. Not in a normal way (meaning the easy way). What I did, is that I just created the BOOTCAMP partition in OS X. Just let it format and create the partition where you would install BOOTCAMP.
After that I discovered that via a ISO program (WinClone) you can directly restore a previously created OS X boot image to your current computer. So, I installed a blank Windows 7 to my macbook pro, didint install any drivers and just let it work up then. Then I went back to os X (in macbook pro) and made a bootimage for the BOOTCAMP partition. After that I saved it to my external harddrive and wired it to my iMac. In iMac I just downloaded the same boot-image program and restored the bootimage that I made in Macbook Pro to iMac. After that I made an restart and the bootcamp section with windows worked well with my iMac. Install the bootcamp soft and you can do everything and everything works. FYI, you get the windows working via those steps, BUT if you either delete or do anything to make your bootcamp partition unworkable then you will have to repeat those steps again. But it´s fast non-the-less, so it shouldn´t be a problem for you.
If you didin´t understand anything or something doesen´t add up, send me a letter or a notification.
Hope this helps.
Indrek.

Im stuck with this message "no bootable device, insert boot disk and press any key". Now i want to go back to mac os but everytime i turn on my laptop that message appear..kindly help... Please

Im stuck with this message "no bootable device, insert boot disk and press any key". Now i want to go back to mac os but everytime i turn on my laptop that message appear..kindly help... Please .... Im using my usb as bootable device but it cant be detected..

Reboot, hold the option key down, select OSX when the startup manager appears.

My computer says "no bootable device-insert boot disk and press any key" when i try to start it-help

Compaq PresarioCQ60 with Windows Vista-
my computer will not load. I get gthe same error message no matter what I try- "No bootable device- insert boot disk and press any key". My computer is 5 years old and I no longer have the original disc used for the first time set-up. Should I buy a new disc or is my computer fried?

I believe it is you hard drive that has a problem. Have a computer person check the hard drive out and see if they can get it going again. It could just be file corruption and by attaching it to a desktop machine as a 2nd drive and running a check disk on it, they may be able to get it going. The key questions are if the drive still spins, weather the bios can recognize the drive and if the drive is operating within normal parameters. If the drive is OK, you have a good chance that they can fix the software.
Reminder: Please select the "Accept as Solution" button on the post that best answers your question. Also, you may click on the white star in the "Kudos" button for any helpful post to give that person a quick thanks. These feedback tools help keep our community active, so you receive better answers faster.

Help me make a boot disk

hi, i have tried all sorts of ways to make a boot disk with a working Disk warrior, i have tried bootcd( but doesnot work on 10.4) i have tried CLoneX, but it wont load Disk warrior, i have even created a disk image of my mac os X up grade disk and then put diskm warrior on it, (just drag and drop form the orginal disk image) , but itg wont load, at the moment, i am tring to use my mac os X install disk.....any tips would be great
i am trying to repair my catalog file , whihc apparently has an illegal name..... alos ii need to fix my 250gb hard drive that crashed, and now my computer wont even reconize,,,,,,,now, i have at my disposale aa 10gb hard drive and a 20 gib drive, i have installeed mac os x on the 10 gb, but it wont boot form it ( it is in a fire wire enclousre)...... my other 20 gb is crashed, and i cant mount it, in order to format it....... HElp plz
all3 haard drives are western digital,, and the enclousre is a A-Power.....here is a link to some info on the enclouure..... http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=AP35-C&cat=CAS
Help me plz
also any tools besides disk warrior would be a great help, because when the device is connected and i try to run diskwarrior, it just freezzes......

Hello,
I am following the video Alsoft recommends in order to create an emergency disk.
http://www.macworld.com/quicktime/webbungalow12-01.mov
It is very helpful. I only purchased Disk Warrior a few days ago.
I am trying to install from the download I received. My CD will arrive in the mail at some point
I can only get so far. As it is installing to the emergency disk it stops with an error message:
An error occurred while trying to complete the installation. Installation was canceled, leaving your dis untouched.
Any idea what am I doing wrong?????
Thank you

Finder hanging and corrupting boot disk on multiple machines

I encountered a problem on two different machines today with Finder creating aliases. I have done this before without problems and after repairing the damage, things worked. I'm wondering if anyone has seen this an/or know if there is a fix. Here is my OS setup for both machines:
System Version: Mac OS X 10.6.2 (10C540)
Kernel Version: Darwin 10.2.0
Boot Volume: Macintosh HD
Boot Mode: Normal
Secure Virtual Memory: Not Enabled
64-bit Kernel and Extensions: No
This is what I did to produce the hang:
1. Opened the Macintosh HD view and selected a NAS drive running Samba.
2. Entered that volume and selected 'Create Alias' for a file.
3. Finder hung until I force quit it.
4. Finder would not re-start for some reason and reboot hung.
5. Upon rebooting, the boot disk had to be repaired.
6. The last files used, which were moved to Lost+Found appeared to be lock files (.lck)
I have Finder dumps for both cases but I'm unable to attach or insert them into this post successfully. Any help would be appreciated:

i'll be surprised if anyone can give you 100% guarantee that this will work fine.
It will definitely work on the computer you install it from.
Plugging the SSD to other machine - although it may start up - in my opinion it has "Kernel Panic" written all over it.
Would be probably OK with identical Mac models but you are talking about a range of Macs with different hardware in.
It will be interesting if someone does it and posts on this subject.

Create Boot camp partition on multiple partitions disk without reformatting

Hi everybody,
I am trying to install Windows 7 on a multiple partitions 1TB disk.
Currently I have 2 partitons:
300GB - OS X Lion
700GB - Data
I have read some tips and advices on how to install windows on multiple partitons disks - most of them are invasive (backing up to a removable drive and then reformatting). However, I haven’t found conclusive answer (hence my posting here):
I’m wondering does anybody know in any way - is it possible to do this more painlelssly - to divide second partition (or maybe first) and use that one as a bootcamp target?
Or am I stuck with reformatting to a single partition and then installing from scratch?
Thank you.

No. To use Boot Camp Assistant your drive must start with a single volume encompassing the entire drive - one partition. BCA will then create a second partition for Windows and modify the bootloader so you can select which volume to use for startup - OS X or Windows. BCA can also remove the Windows volume and restore the drive to its original state - single OS X partition.
If you have more than one partition already then BCA cannot modify it. If you have a drive configured with BCA and subsequently add a third partition then BCA is no longer able to manage the drive, and you may no longer be able to boot Windows because of changes made to the bootloader.
So, yes, you are stuck with "reformatting to a single partition and then installing from scratch."
Your alternative is to create however many partitions you want. Install Windows on one of them. Download rEFIt to replace the standard bootloader so you can select between Windows and OS X (or any other OSes you install.)

According to the Genius Bar, my HD is dying. I need help with such things as making a boot disk, making sure back up is complete, etc. I have a White early 2008 MacBook running 10.7.3. It is backed up regularly with Time Machine to an external drive.

I am not a real tech type person. MAcBook white early 2008 running 10.7.3. I know I will need a boot disk to restart the computer after I have installed the new drive. I have purchased a Hitachi 500 G, 7200 RPM to install. The computer is backed up regularly using Time Machine to an external hard drive. I nned to know all the steps I need to do before physically changing the hardware.

Do you have your original drive backed up? Is it still working? If so I'd buy an external enclosure and boot from that. Then format your new drive and use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone your old drive to the new one.
If you don't have a backup, I'd buy an external drive, use carbon copy cloner to do a backup, then install the new drive and clone back to it.

Help needed - boot disk - SATA support?

I've been trying to flash my bios with the latest patch for the 865PE Neo2 FISR
However when i boot from the floppy into dos i don't have access to my hard drive to run the flash program. I'm assuming that this is due to the fact that i'm running 2 SATA HDD's in RAID 0 format. If this is correct are there specific boot disk images that have support for RAID?
Thanks in advance.
Dave

With NTFS file system, you need to make a Win98 boot disk. Go to
http://www.bootdisk.com/
and get a Win98 or WinME OEM boot disk.
Copy your flash program and bios image to a second disk.
Boot from the Win98 floppy. This will create a ram drive c:
Change to that drive by typing
C:
Then put in your bios floppy and copy all the files to the c drive:
copy a:*.*
Then flash

Multiple Boot Disk Help

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