Problem changing startup disk one time

My main OS is 10.8.5 but have second hard drive with OS 10.6.8 on it for use with older applications. I've never had trouble rebooting in 10.6.8 when necessary by holding down the option key. Suddenly it doesn't work; the computer just hangs with a gray screen. Nothing has really changed in my setup in the few weeks since I've last rebooted in 10.6.8. I've verified both startup disks and repaired permissions on both.
Alfred
Mac Pro 2 x 2.4 GHz 6-core Intel Xeon
12GB RAM

Yes to both questions. Since posting my question, I tried resetting the PRAM (in 10.8.5) and the result was that the computer wouldn't start in either OS; it would just get to the gray screen and hang. I found an Apple document that suggested remedies. Starting while holding down command-R or shift didn't work. Then I unplugged all my peripherals and the computer started normally. I followed the procedure of reconnecting one peripheral at a time (rebooting each time) and didn't find the culprit. I then went to the next procedure: adding them one at a time (again rebooting each time) and this didn't find the problem either. Now I can reboot normally in either my preferred 10.8.5 or the alternative 10.6.8, but I'm a little uneasy since I don't know what the problem was and never really fixed or changed anything.

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Yosemite will not install and won't let me change startup disk, it's saying there is a file system problem but disk utilities can't fix it.

I Downloaded the Yosemite upgrade and went to install it on my iMac. The install failed saying file System needed repair. Ran disk utility could do the verify but the repair button was grayed out. When I tried to change startup disk back it wouldn't let me , saying it couldn't gather enough file info. So I'm stuck and can't boot my Mac. How do I get out of this?

Do a backup. Boot to the Recovery Volume (command - R on a restart or hold down the option/alt key during a restart and select Recovery Volume). Run Disk Utility Verify/Repair and Repair Permissions until you get no errors. Try to reboot normally.
OS X Recovery
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Changing startup disk.. help

I was attempting to gain access to an old external harddrive, so I downloaded a live CD. I changed the startup disk in the system preferences and restarted my computer. To my knowledge this was a one time change, meaning it would only target my DVD drive for one boot. So I used the live CD and I can't seem to eject it from my computer. Also, I can't force it to boot from my harddrive. I know keystrokes can initiate a different boot but nothing seems to work.
Somethings I have tried:
- While turning on the computer....
- option key
- C
- eject button
- Allowing the mac to boot into the live disk and attempting to eject the disk that way
Any help would be great. Let me know if I need to provide any more details. Thanks!

randomacct wrote:
I was attempting to gain access to an old external harddrive, so I downloaded a live CD. I changed the startup disk in the system preferences and restarted my computer. To my knowledge this was a one time change, meaning it would only target my DVD drive for one boot.
that's incorrect. changing startup disk in system preferences is a permanent change, not a one time change.
So I used the live CD and I can't seem to eject it from my computer. Also, I can't force it to boot from my harddrive. I know keystrokes can initiate a different boot but nothing seems to work.
Somethings I have tried:
- While turning on the computer....
- option key
holding option should have worked. what exactly happens when you reboot holding option? it should boot you into startup disk manager.
if this does not happen, try resetting PRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
then try option boot again. also, what kind of keyboard are you using? you may want to try a different keyboard, preferably a wired apple keyboard.
- C
- eject button
- Allowing the mac to boot into the live disk and attempting to eject the disk that way
Any help would be great. Let me know if I need to provide any more details. Thanks!

IMac G3 freezing after changing startup disk?

Hello.
I bought a iMac G3 I few months ago just for a hobby and have been playing around on it.
This morning I noticed two other previous system folders in the system folder.
I then opened "startup disk" (I think that is the name) and chose to restart with "Previous system folder".
When it re-booted it opened up differently, had a new background and made sound effects when clicking and scrolling.
I decided to change the startup disc to "Previous system folder1" (which is the other previous system folder)
This time when restarting it booted normally until the desktop icons loaded. The mouse and keyboard froze and then a message popped up saying "To use your internal modem you need to select the country from where you will be using your computer". I try to use the mouse and keyboard to select, "Australia" and then "OK" but as previously started the mouse and keyboard are frozen.
When booting up I can use the mouse and keyboard on the loading screen until it freezes when the desktop appears.
(The computer was working amazingly before I stupidly changed the system folder)
Why is this happening. How do I return to a previous system folder when it keeps freezing.
Here is a youtube video showing you what happens:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYURgG2W5x4
Please note, I do have all the software CD that came with computer, however for some reason discs won't work on the computer they are unrecognizable.
All keyboard commands do nothing for example holding down shift into safe mode still freezes.
Thanks in advance!
Stewart

I'm not sure what OS you are running here.
There is a way to set what os boots from the firmware. Not sure how.   Look tomorrow. let me know via another post.
For classic, you could try hold the
space bar
then booting. or is it the shift key?
If this is a slot loader, try:
The startup manager will list all of your bootable partitions then give you a choice of which to boot. Hold down the option key then power on. Continue holding down the option key until you see the startup manager. This brings up the startup manager. Click on your hd or disc. Click on right arrow key.
Restore Tiger 10.4 & Leopard 10.5 DVDs are available from Apple by calling 1(800) 275-2273. Have your serial number ready. Have your credit card ready too. There may be a small fee.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4720126?tstart=0 -- January 20,2013
https://discussions.apple.com/message/24588313#24588313 -- January 22,2014
gical Macintosh Key Sequences
http://davespicks.com/writing/programming/mackeys.html
http://davespicks.com/writing/programming/mackeys.pdf
Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343
Startup keys
http://macs.about.com/od/macoperatingsystems/qt/osxstartupkeys.htm
I have a list of magical boot key sequences:
    Key Combinations-- Effect
    * mouse down -- Eject removable media ( I think Boot ROMs prior to 2.4f1 excluded the CD drive )
    * opt -- Bring up OF system picker on New World machines.
             iMac g3 400 or newer machine
    * cmd-opt -- Hold down until 2nd chime, will boot into Mac OS 9 ?
    * cmd-x (or just x?) -- Will boot into Mac OS X if 9 and X are on the same partition and that's the partition you're booting from.
    * cmd-opt-shift-delete -- Bypass startup drive and boot from external (or CD). This actually forces the system to NOT load the driver for the default volume, which has the side effect mentioned above. For SCSI devices it searches from highest ID to lowest for a partition with a bootable system. Not sure about IDE drives.
    * cmd-opt-shift-delete-# -- Boot from a specific SCSI ID # (# = SCSI ID number)
    * cmd-opt-p-r -- Zap PRAM. Hold down until second chime.
    * cmd-opt-n-v -- Clear NV RAM. Similar to reset-all in Open Firmware.
    * cmd-opt-o-f -- Boot into open firmware
    * cmd-opt-t-v -- Force Quadra AV machines to use TV as a monitor
    * cmd-opt-x-o -- Boot from ROM (Mac Classic only)
    * cmd-opt-a-v -- Force an AV monitor to be recognized as one
    * c -- Boot from CD. If set to boot to X and no CD is present, may boot to 9.
    * d -- Force the internal hard disk to be the startup device
    * n -- Hold down until Mac logo, will attempt to boot from network server (using BOOTP or TFTP)
    * r -- Force PowerBooks to reset the screen
    * t -- Put FireWire machine into FireWire Target Disk mode
    * z -- Attempt to boot using the devalias zip from first bootable partition found
    * shift -- (Classic only) Disable Extensions
    * shift -- (OS X, 10.1.3 and later) Disables login items. Also disables non-essential kernel extensions (safe boot mode)
    * cmd -- (Classic only) Boot with Virtual Memory off
    * space -- (Classic only) Trigger extension manager at boot-up
    * cmd-v -- (OS X only) show console messages during boot
    * cmd-s -- (OS X only) boot into single user mode
Did not work simply 'z'?
You could buy an external DVD drive. It needs to be firewire and bootable by Mac OS. If you have another PPC with firewire, you could try target Disk mode and installed tiger that way.
You need to figure out the level of your firmware before installing 10.2 or greater. ( The PC name for firmware is BIOS. ) Installing 10.2 with a down level firmware will most likely make your iMac unusable and difficult to fix.
What is Open Firmware?
The firmware on a PPC is called Open Firmware. Open Firmware software receives control when you poweron your machine. It does some hardware testing and some hardware configuration then passes control to your version of Mac OS.   It reside on a PROM ( program read only memory ) chip on the logic board.
Figuring out what level of Open Firmware you have?
1) Mac OS 9.x or 8.x, you need to use the Apple System Profiler.
Apple -> Apple System Profiler
2) Mac OS X, use the System Profiler.
Apple -> About This Mac
click on the More Info... tab
click on Hardware
read the Boot ROM Version
3) Open Firmware, boot into Open Firmware.
Power on your iMac while holding down command+option+o+f
The first output line contains the firmware level. Mine reads:
Apple PowerMac4,1 4.1.9f1 BootRom built on 09/14/01 at 13.18.04
Copyright 1994-2001 Apple Computer Inc.
On my machine, I have 4.1.9f1.
What firmware do you need?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1395
You can download the firmware from this page:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1283
filename: N-iMac_FWUpdate_4.1.9.smi.bin
                avoid   expanding the file on the download computer.
For a slot loading iMac, this article indicates that you need to be running 9.1 or later version of Mac OS Classic.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1283
"The iMac Firmware Update 4.1.9 will only run on iMac computers with slot-loading CD or DVD drives running Mac OS 9.1 or later from a local drive. If you are using Mac OS X you must boot from a local Mac OS 9.1 or later writeable partition (not a CD, or network disk) prior to following the update instructions."
You can download the Mac OS 9 updates from the Apple site.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1387?viewlocale=en_US
For tiger, you need 256meg of memory. A slot loader will take 1gig of memory.
You may need to get more memory.
get the 512meg card(s)
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/iMac/G3_450MHz_500MHz_600MHz_700MHz
Mac OS X 10.4: System requirements
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1514
PPC 10.4.11 combo update.
http://support.apple.com/kb/dl170

How to change startup disk for a 2012 Mac mini with dual HDD and clean installed with Windows 8.1?

Hi,
I have a Mac-mini (late 2012 model), originally with Mac OS X Maverick Server installed (with two HDD). Recently, I had clean installed Windows 8.1 on one of the HDD (worked perfectly, just slow) and swapped the other HDD (with Mac OSX) with a SSD. I then cloned the Windows OS HDD in to the new SSD. Now I am trying to boot this Mac mini from this SSD, however, since this Mac mini do not have BIOS for me to change the boot sequence at the startup, is there any one can help?
Thank you,
Liusc

If you boot with the Option key depressed what boot options are shown?
Also:
Restart your computer
After Windows is installed, you can switch between OS X and Windows. Use the Startup Disk preference pane in OS X, or the Boot Camp system tray item in Windows to select your startup disk, then restart your computer
How to install Windows using Boot Camp - Apple Support

New HD not recognized as startup disk after Time Machine restore

I installed a 320 GB seagate HD (original drive from my Mac Pro) into my wife's iMac G5 1.8Ghz replacing the stock 80 GB drive. Once I completed the installation, I used the "Restore from a Time Machine Backup" option on the OS X 10.5 installer disk to restore the old data onto the new drive. All went we but now the drive isn't recognized as a startup disk. It shows up in disk utility but not as a bootable device.
Any suggestions?

Good catch! That's exactly what the problem is. The G5's drive needs to be reformatted as Mac OS Extended (journaled), but before that is done, the data should be transferred to an external, so it can be reloaded onto the G5 afterwards.

Changing startup disk

Hello all,
I need to initialize my hard disk, but I can't initialize my startup disk. I bought a cdr disk with mac os 9.1, and I planned to boot up from the disk, and then initialize my hard disk. It is not working. I can't seem to boot up from the cd. Is this because it is a cdr and not a retail system cd? I also tried to change my startup disk through the apple menu but every time I restart the hard disk is still the startup disk. I am now at a loss. I would appreciate any help.

You really need a retail System CD available here - apple rescue - link. The CDR you have could be anything from an incomplete drag and drop of the system from another computer, to a defective CD, and it's not totally legal.
To be safe, buy the 9.2.1 disk. You didn't give your processor speed, but some of the 500s and 600s won't boot from any system disk under 9.2.1.
Make sure the firmware is at 4.1.9 before you do anything with OSx 10.2 or above. Don't even put the OSX disk in the machine until that firmware is updated.
David

Shortcut to changing Startup Disk?

I have several installations of OS X and Windows on my system, that I frequently switch between. Is there anyway to make this quicker than opening System Preferences, clicking on Startup Disk, choosing the Disk and clicking Restart? An icon in the main menu bar would be perfect or a shortcut to the Startup Disk window.

Thanks for the tip, but that takes even longer as I have to sit and wait for the computer to find and display all the available operating systems. I like to change it in Startup Disk and then go and get a cup of coffee during the reboot. I'm just after a one-click solution to change the Startup Disk.

Changed startup disk and now iMac won't boot, even to CD, can't zap PRAM

So maybe I did something really bad, but I can't imagine that I've fried my logic board, right? I changed the startup disk to an external CD/DVD drive with a linux boot CD inserted. I rebooted the computer and got just a grey screen. I decided that this computer was not capable of booting from the linux CD. Forced the power off by holding down the power button. I turned the computer back on and removed the linux CD. Now my computer will not boot at all. I get a grey screen, then after a long period, the folder with a flashing question mark.
I tried booting to my system restore CD in order to switch the startup disk back to my internal HDD, but it will not boot to CD, even when holding the 'C' button. I disconnected the external drive after trying to boot from CD using the external or internal CD drive. I tried resetting the PRAM, but the computer will not do this. I noticed that perhaps the keyboard is not being powered because I can't turn CAPS LOCK on and get a green light.
What else could I possibly try before taking a trip to the genius store? I look forward to your ideas.

So get this. I replaced the original keyboard on this computer and was just informed that only the original kybd will work for system startup commands. Since I no longer have the original kybd, the only was to switch the boot drive is use the IR remote that came with the computer, by holding the 'menu' button and using FF and RED buttons to make selection.

Problems with "Startup Disk Memory"

I'm having issues with hard drive storage.
My spotify account is telling me it can't play music because my hard drive is full. Applications won't run because my "startup disk space is full." I can't download ANYTHING because there is no space.
Before anyone tells me to delete some files, I have already backed up all my files and deleted ALL OF THEM. The only thing on my computer at the moment is my software. Does anyone have a solution to this problem? I'm at the end of my rope. My computer is basically good for nothing right now. I'm also having extreme problems booting it up, and connecting to Wi-Fi. I'm running Lion OS X, fyi.

I'm having issues with hard drive storage.
My spotify account is telling me it can't play music because my hard drive is full. Applications won't run because my "startup disk space is full." I can't download ANYTHING because there is no space.
Before anyone tells me to delete some files, I have already backed up all my files and deleted ALL OF THEM. The only thing on my computer at the moment is my software. Does anyone have a solution to this problem? I'm at the end of my rope. My computer is basically good for nothing right now. I'm also having extreme problems booting it up, and connecting to Wi-Fi. I'm running Lion OS X, fyi.

Having problems with Startup Disk Installing Panther

I'm having problems installing Panther, I currently have a 9.2 OS. I get a message that the startup disk could not select the new os as the start up disk. Has anyone had this problem before? I've done all my updates, firmware included. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Julie

I bought the disc on ebay, its for an emac.
That disk isn't compatible with your computer; it will only work on a specific eMac model. You need a retail Mac OS X installation package, which is available here.
(20838)

Can't change startup disk

Disk Utility reported, in bright red letters, an impending fatal hardware error on the internal hard drive in my iMac G5. I got an external firewire drive, and cloned the internal drive to the external drive.
Then, in System Preference -> Startup Disk, I select the external drive as the startup disk and restart. It then restarts -- with the internal drive.
What do I need to do to change the startup disk?

Try starting from your install disc with the clone plugged in, then select it as the startup disk.

Trying to change startup disk HELP!

Using alsoft diskwarrior. Changed the startup disk in the preferences to the CD. Now, can't change it back! The computer automatically reverts to the diskwarrior software to boot from...ideas?

Restart the computer and hold the mouse button down to force ejection of the CD. The computer will then start normally. Then open the Startup Drive preference and set the startup drive to the internal drive and click on the Restart button.
In the future you don't need to change the startup disk to boot from a CD/DVD. Simply insert the disc in the optical drive, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the "C" key until the gray startup screen appears. Release the key when the spinning gear appears.
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Where did the startup disk for Time Machine go?????

The icon is not under devices or on desktop. When I clicked the circle with exclamation mark in the center on menu bar it indicated TM is turned on. I get the message that startup disk cannot be found. If you can help, please explain in a way that someone (me) who is not a "techie" can understand.
Thanks,
Sharon

I appreciate your help. After doing that still nothing happened so I changed the power source and now it is working again. I added a big surge protector power strip, before I must have had too many things plugged to the in-wall adapter.
Thanks,
Sharon

I want to change the disk sleep time

I want to change the disk sleep time

The OSX controls the HDD. In System Preferences>Energy Saver you do have this option:
Ciao.

Problem changing startup disk one time

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