Secondary Boot Disk

I am trying to set up a secondary backup bootable disk on my IBM Netvista.
I found an excellent article on this subject at
http://spiralbound.net/2005/05/10/how-to-copy-a-solaris-boot-drive-to-a-disk-with-a-different-partition-layout/
It outlines how to create a secondary boot drive on sun hardware but lacks the x86 part. It helped me a great deal however I am now getting the error "failed to mount boot see svcs -x" and "mount :/dev/dsk/c1d1p0:boot is not a DOS filesystem" BUT it does boot up on that disk in single user mode.
Does any one have any idea what is happening and how to get this to work properly? I want to be able to boot up to either disk by using options in the configuration assistant startup menu. I would really like to create a document like that cited above but for x86; that others could refer to also.
Ken

It really isn't as hard as it may seem. In fact, I skimmed the article quickly and I can't find much differences between Sparc & x86 here. The keyword being "installboot" to "bootstrap" the second disk.
As a rule of thumb you should try to turn of logging since that can get some weird results. At least on software raid, I'm not sure what'll happen if you just need a second disk to boot from but I guess it can't hurt. Just keep it in the back of your mind for starters.
How did you prepare that 2nd disk by the way ? I trust you didn't mess with the slices, because that differs heavily on Sparc & x86.

Similar Messages

Cannot get MacPro to allow me to boot to an alternative boot disk. Can choose in control panel but will not use the disk to boot. Also won't boot using disk selected using option key

My primary boot disk is encrypted as is a secondary boot disk (backup) but I cannot boot using any other disk. System 10.8.5, MacPro 4.1.
All disks mount using primary boot disk. All disks check out as OK and I have repaired permissions.
When I choose in the control panel the Mac boots but will always use my original boot disk.
When I select the disk using the option key at startup, the boot process stalls with a grey screen and a spinning cursor.
Thanks,
Dave

Still trying to figure this out. I erased the drive, did a format using disk util and then re-installed the system but I still cannot get the disk used as a startup drive. I also tried an external firewire drive and it won't allow me to boot from it either.
I can choose it starting up with the option key but it just gives me a blue screen and the spinning cursor.
If I select it in the startup pref pane it boots into my other startup drive only.
DaveLon

Malignant secondary boot device. When I plug in an external hard drive which has time machine in one partition and a secondary boot device in another, the secondary boot takes over and wipes existing files. How do I turn it off but keep the time machine

Please help new (senior) convert to Mac Pro (OS X). Am following the 'switching to a Mac' portable genius 2nd ed, and as it advised, I bought an external hard drive (a Mac My Word) and partitioned it with one partition for a secondary boot device and another for time machine. Book implied I needed both. Seemed to download OK but now when i plug in the external hard-drive it wants to reboot me fresh all over again. How do I keep the time machine partition going but have the secondary boot device only in case of emergencies? Do I 'eject' that partition- and if so how do I do it from outside the hard drive (I am not game to reattach it currently)

Launch the System Preferences application (under the Apple menu) and select the Startup Disk preference pane. Set your internal drive as the startup disk. Close the window.

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

No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key, over and over again...

I've seen a lot of discussions about "no bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key" but the answers in them don't seem to help me at all.
from the begining...
i was tryin to instal windows 7 on my 2014 iMac and after bootcamp prepared the iso on a flash drive, the computer restarted in the windows instalation screen and i chose the "BOOTCAMP" partition.
After thi i got an error with a mesage that the partition wans not in ntfs, and a question if i wanted to format it. As i am recent to OSX but i was a windows user for quite a while i thought, ok there should be no problem about letting windows format this BOOTCAMP partition so i went ahead and did it. after this i stopped the process because at the moment i seem to recal that in the mac osx bootcamp help there was something about making sure to installing windows to the BOOTCAMP partition. So i canceled the process and restarted the iMac.
Now i get the "no bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key" message over and over.
I've tryed restarting with alt, alt+cmd+p+r, alt+r, etc and allways get the same message.
Just before tryin to install windows on a secondary partition had the iMac backup to an external drive on my airport express via time machine.
Questions.
are there any other ways to boot into OSX again, or after letting windows format the BOOTCAMP partition all is lost?
If everything is lost, how do i boot to restore my time machine backup from the external drive?
all help is apreciated.
Thanks in advance

Sorry about that I just realized that Boot Camp may have decompressed your ISO, We can't really do much because Boot Camp may have told the mac to boot from the flash drive, but now your mac is most likely not being told to boot from it. (You where able to boot from the drive before so I would keep it all intact) Is your keyboard wireless (because it can cause your mac to not to register keys being pushed at the Macs start) which this may be preventing you from getting into recovery mode (Command-R) or the OS choosing screen (Option).

How do I change the Win7 boot disk under BootCamp?

I have been getting warnings that my Window7Pro64 hard disk may crash. I bought a new disk. Installed it in my Mac Pro. Set up the partitions and cloned my boot disk to the new disk. At the end of the process of creating the clone, the software will shut the computer down. I am instructed to enter the Bios in order to assign the Clone disk as the new 'boot' disk.
Since I am running under Boot Camp I am wondering if I need to follow another procedure? I am inquiring before the cloning process has completed, so I haven't tried rebooting into Bios...
Thanks for any insight...!
Jim

So, Mr. Hatter...
You have raised some additional questions:
1. Will Boot Camp now support Windows 8?
2. On the Windows side of Boot Camp I have installed Acronis software to clone my old boot disk (500GB) to a new clone disk (1TB). That cloning process worked. I rebooted to the Mac side. I chose Boot Camp and chose to reboot into Windows 7 using the new clone disk. Windows booted up. It appears to me that I now have two Windows bootable disks. Is this correct? Does this create any potential problems?
3. On the Mac side of Boot Camp, I have installed Carbon Copy to clone my old boot disk (500GB) to a new Clone disk (1TB). That cloning also appears to have worked. It appears I now have two bootable disks on the Mac side, too. Any problems with that?
4. Inside my MacPro my 4 drive bays are currently assigned disks in the following order (reading from the left side of the compartment): Drive Bay 1: MacBoot (500GB); Drive Bay 2: WinClone (1TB); Drive Bay 3: MacClone (1TB); Drive Bay 4: WinBoot (500GB). The reason I ask is because when I go into Acronis / Carbon Copy they report the disks as Primary Master / Primary Slave; and Secondary Master / Secondary Slave without regard to their physical locations. This is suggesting the master / slave relationship may need to be maintained physically - in which case my allocation of disks to bays would be incorrect. Any insight on this topic may reduce my anxiety that I could be causing a disk failure (I had a new 1TB disk indicate a mechanical failure and replaced it with the current, new MacClone (1TB) disk. It is in the same bay relationship. This got me thinking... is it possible to have a Mac disk as Primary Master and a Win disk as its Primary Slave? If so, what damage might result).
In any case, at the moment, everything seems to be functional on both sides (Mac & Win). However, I rarely come out of these exercises with a complete sense of security that I have done everthing correctly...
5. Should I still run CHKDSK? How do I invoke it?
6. What is NVRAM and how do I invoke it? Does it apply to both Win & Mac?
7. Still boot from Win7 DVD and run system repairs?
Sorry to burn your ears, but its on my mind and since you guys have sooo... many 'help' points I figured I tapped into serious capabilities I should not pass up!
Thanks, again
Jim

System configuration & services data on boot disk or external volume?

Assuming a RAID 1 boot disk using 2 large capacity hard disks on a Xserve, which system configuration and services data shall one store on the boot disk and an external volume?
I am thinking of keeping DNS records and Open Directory data on the boot disk while mail store, web documents and user data in an external volume. What about database file such as MySQL?
What is the normal and/or best practice in this matter?

nope. doesn't matter a damm if you put the content on a secondary drive (as long as its plugged in when you want to use it!) ... the benefit of having it on a secondary drive would be to free up space on your system disc, if necessary (useful on a laptop, but means carrying around an extra portable drive for ths content) ... don't use your media drive though, better to save that for your projects captured/imported media only.
cheers
Andy

Raptor as boot disk or storage/scratch?

Could anyone please advise me? The 250 GB Western Digital Caviar hard drive I installed in my first generationn dual 2GB G5 recently and partitioned for static storage and scratch disk for Photoshop definitely runs slowly. I'm thinking of moving it into an enclosure and replacing it with another. Many people recommend the 74MB 10,000rmp Western Digital Raptor. Anyone here got any experience of it please?
Should i make it my boot disk and move the applications and OSX onto it, or should I keep my Seagate Barracuda 160MB original drive as the OS/boot/application disk and use the Raptor for a scratch disk for Photoshop, or use the seagate as the secondary disk? What's the best
way of doing all this?
Also what's the best solution for an enclosure for converting the WD Caviar into an external drive?
Thanks in advance

I didn't know that about CS2 (which is the version I'm running). Thanks for that. I have 3.5 GB RAM, so it runs quite fast anyway, but a few tasks still take a little while.
Thanks for info re the hitachi too. I'll look at that. This has been really helpful. i wanted to flag it as helpful, but the option has gone and I have only a solved button.
Veda - the scratch disk arrangement has far more
utility with Photoshop releases PRIOR to CS2. CS2
utilizes memory far more than the hard drive - thus a
scratch disk does not provide much, if any
improvement, with CS2.
That said, I have used the same 74 GB Raptor in my
Dual 1.8 and now my Quad with no problems - really
like it. I now have about 55GB of applications - so I
may upgrade to the newer model soon. The new Hitachi
500 GB/16MB cache is getting excellent reviews for
performance and massive storage - you may want to
look into that as well.
Cheers

How to back up a ZFS boot disk ?

Hello all,
I have just installed Solaris 10 update 6 (10/08) on a Sparc machine (an Ultra 45 workstation) using ZFS for the boot disk.
Now I want to port a custom UFS boot disk backup script to ZFS.
Basically, this script copies the boot disk to a secondary disk and makes the secondary disk bootable.
With UFS, I had to play with the vfstab a bit to allow booting off the secondary disk, but this is not necessary with ZFS.
How can I perform such a backup of my ZFS boot disk ?
I tried the following (source disk: c1t0d0, target disk: c1t1d0):
# zfs list
NAME USED AVAIL REFER MOUNTPOINT
rpool 110G 118G 94K /rpool
rpool/ROOT 4.58G 118G 18K legacy
rpool/ROOT/root 4.58G 25.4G 4.50G /
rpool/ROOT/root/var 79.2M 4.92G 79.2M /var
rpool/dump 16.0G 118G 16.0G -
rpool/export 73.3G 63.7G 73.3G /export
rpool/homelocal 21.9M 20.0G 21.9M /homelocal
rpool/swap 16G 134G 16K -
# zfs snapshot -r rpool@today
# zpool create -f -R /mnt rbackup c1t1d0
# zfs send -R rpool@today | zfs receive -F -d rbackup               <- This one fails (see below)
# installboot /usr/platform/`uname -i`/lib/fs/zfs/bootblk /dev/rdsk/c1t1d0s0
The send/receive command fails after transfering the "/" filesystem (4.5 GB) with the following error message:
cannot mount '/mnt': directory is not empty
There may be some kind of unwanted recursion here (trying to back up the backup or something) but I cannot figure it out.
I tried a workaround: creating the mount point outside the snapshot:
zfs snapshot -r rpool@today
mkdir /var/tmp/mnt
zpool create -f -R /var/tmp/mnt rbackup c1t1d0
zfs send -R rpool@today | zfs receive -F -d rbackup
But it still fails, this time with mounting "/var/tmp/mnt".
So how does one back up the ZFS boot disk to a secondary disk in a live environment ?

OK, this post requires some clarification.
First, thanks to robert.cohen and rogerfujii for giving some elements.
The objective is to make a backup of the boot disk on another disk of the same machine. The backup must be bootable just like the original disk.
The reason for doing this instead of (or, even better, in addition to) mirroring the boot disk is to be able to quickly recover a stable operating system in case anything gets corrupted on the boot disk. Corruption includes hardware failures, but also any software corruption which could be caused by a virus, an attacker or an operator mistake (rm -rf ...).
After doing lots of experiments, I found two potential solutions to this need.
Solution 1 looks like what rogerfujii suggested, albeit with a few practical additions.
It consists in using ZFS mirroring and breaking up the mirror after resilvering:
     - Configure the backup disk as a mirror of the boot disk :
     zpool attach -f rpool <boot disk>s0 <backup disk>s0
     - Copy the boot block to the backup disk:
     installboot -F zfs /usr/platform/`uname -i`/lib/fs/zfs/bootblk /dev/rdsk/<backup disk>s0
     - Monitor the mirror resilvering:
     zpool status rpool
     - Wait until the "action" field disappears (this can be scripted).
     - Prevent any further resilvering:
     zpool offline rpool <backup disk>s0
     Note: this step is mandatory because detaching the disk without offlining it first results in a non bootable backup disk.
     - Detach the backup disk from the mirror:
     zpool detach rpool <backup disk>s0
     POST-OPERATIONS:
     After booting on the backup disk, assuming the main boot disk is unreachable:
     - Log in as super-user.
     - Detach the main boot disk from the mirror
     zpool detach rpool <boot disk>s0
This solution has many advantages, including simplicity and using no dirty tricks. However, it has two major drawbacks:
- When booting on the backup disk, if the main boot disk is online, it will be resilvered with the old data.
- There is no easy way to access the backup disk data without rebooting.
So if you accidentally lose one file on the boot disk, you cannot easily recover it from the backup.
This is because the pool name is the same on both disks, therefore effectively preventing any pool import.
Here is now solution 2, which I favor.
It is more complex and dependent on the disk layout and ZFS implementation changes, but overall offers more flexibility.
It may need some additions if there are other disks than the boot disk with ZFS pools (I have not tested that case yet).
***** HOW TO BACKUP A ZFS BOOT DISK TO ANOTHER DISK *****
1. Backup disk partitioning
- Clean up ZFS information from the backup disk:
The first and last megabyte of the backup disk, which hold ZFS information (plus other stuff) are erased:
dd if=/dev/zero seek=<backup disk #blocks minus 2048> count=2048 of=/dev/rdsk/<backup disk>s2
dd if=/dev/zero count=2048 of=/dev/rdsk/<backup disk>s2
- Label and partition the backup disk in SMI :
format -e <backup disk>
     label
     0          -> SMI label
     y
     (If more questions asked: press Enter 3 times.)
     partition
     (Create a single parition, number 0, filling the whole disk)
     label
     0
     y
     quit
     quit
2. Data copy
- Create the target ZFS pool:
zpool create -f -o failmode=continue -R /mnt -m legacy rbackup <backup disk>s0
Note: the chosen pool name is here "rbackup".
- Create a snapshot of the source pool :
zfs snapshot -r rpool@today
- Copy the data :
zfs send -R rpool@today | zfs receive -F -d rbackup
- Remove the snapshot, plus its copy on the backup disk :
zfs destroy -r rbackup@today
zfs destroy -r rpool@today
3. Backup pool reconfiguration
- Edit the following files:
/mnt/etc/vfstab
/mnt/etc/power.conf
/mnt/etc/dumpadm.conf
In these files, replace the source pool name "rpool" with the backup pool name "rbackup".
- Remove the ZFS mount list:
rm /mnt/etc/zfs/zpool.cache
4. Making the backup disk bootable
- Note the name of the current boot filesystem:
df -k /
E.g.:
# df -k /
Filesystem kbytes used avail capacity Mounted on
rpool/ROOT/root 31457280 4726390 26646966 16% /
- Configure the boot filesystem on the backup pool:
zpool set bootfs=rbackup/ROOT/root rbackup
Note: "rbackup/ROOT/root" is derived from the main boot filesystem name "rpool/ROOT/root".
- Copy the ZFS boot block to the backup disk:
installboot -F zfs /usr/platform/`uname -i`/lib/fs/zfs/bootblk /dev/rdsk/<backup disk>s0
5. Cleaning up
- Detach the target pool:
zpool export rbackup
I hope this howto will be useful to those like me who need to change all their habits while migrating to ZFS.
Regards.
HL

Making a boot disk w/ partition

So, I've made a boot disk. (Basically, a mirror of my SSD HD) But, over time, I've realized it's a waste of space. I'm only using a fraction of the 1TB drive.
My question is: Can someone give me a step-by-step on how to create a bootable disk, but with a sizeable partition on the side?

Open the Disk Utility program in the Applications > Utilities folder, and then select your external hard drive device (it will be called something like "1TB Lacie..."). When you do this, a "Partition" tab will appear, so click this and then click the graphical schematic of the partitions that appear (it will have the name "Boot BACKUP" in the middle of it).
Next click the plus button to add a new partition. You can drag the separator between these partitions to resize them according to your needs, and then click Apply to save the changes. You should now have a secondary usable partition on the external drive, along with the current bootable one.

Choise the boot disk

hi,
This week I try to install on blade 1500, debian on the first disk and the second disk OSOL
and the osol primary disk with debian secondary disk.
I keep the solution first disk OSOL second disk debian
I'm not on that silo installed on the second boot disk!
I made a ssh from a OSOL X86 on the blade 1500 OSOL svn_131.
here are the results:
admin@usrv-starbuck:~$ ls -la /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 41 2010-03-15 18:07 /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s0 -> ../../devices/pci@8,700000/ide@6/sd@0,0:a
admin@usrv-starbuck:~$ ls -la /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 41 2010-03-15 18:07 /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s1 -> ../../devices/pci@8,700000/ide@6/sd@0,0:b
admin@usrv-starbuck:~$
admin@usrv-starbuck:~# format
Searching for disks...done
AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
0. c2t0d0 <DEFAULT cyl 38307 alt 2 hd 16 sec 255>
/pci@1e,600000/ide@d/dad@0,0
1. c2t1d0 <GNU Parted Custom cyl 9729 alt 0 hd 255 sec 63>
/pci@1e,600000/ide@d/dad@1,0
Specify disk (enter its number): ^D
admin@usrv-starbuck:~#
I can not implement a command prtvtoc
but i'm later to my projet : can y to choise os startup on my blade 1500
i have create nvalias disk and disk1
how to choise disk boot, primary secondary disk.
Best regards
philo
Edited by: philo_neo on Mar 25, 2010 6:23 AM

Hi,
I have successfully used the older accelleraid 150 with
solaris X86 .
A PC SCSI controller that have a boot disk must have
an active BIOS .
Have you enabled the Bios on the Card ?
//Lars

Security when Using an External Boot Disk

Hi All.
I'm about to purchase a new external hard drive for using as a boot disk and was wondering what securities you can now enforce on a partition with OSX 10.6
The main purpose for the external boot disk is for creating a shared usage resource for running applications. As I will be allowing others to use this drive, I am concerned about the security implications of using it with one of my macs, mainly because of viruses and data corruption.
I know that partitions/external drives used for booting Windows are secure because the windows partition is set to read only for other partitions/drives, preventing "infections".
The question is: Can I set the permissions/security for an external boot disk (OSX 10.6) partition so that if I use it with one of my machines, my internal hard drive will be secure from any viruses, corruptions, etc.
If you can, or if there's anything else I can do to the same ends, please can you tell me how (or post a link to instructions/advice)
Thanks in advance for your help.

Thomas A Reed wrote:
I'm glad you enjoyed reading my [Mac Virus guide|http://www.reedcorner.net/thomas/guides/macvirus>, but it sounds like it has not adequately impressed on you the extreme rarity of Mac malware at this time, or the low threat level. Also, it sounds like you're still operating under a couple misconceptions. Firstly:
The external boot drive idea seemed like the perfect solution. As it's the boot drive, when it's used, it's permissions will be enforced on the user. Theoretically this should provide solid protection from trojans, obviously not for that actual boot drive, but for my internal HD.
Keep in mind that trojans are not viruses... they are not going to spread themselves by attaching to other files. (Though, if they did, I'm not sure why you think they wouldn't be able to affect drives other than the boot drive.) Also, malware today is not a juvenile prank aimed at erasing your files. (Though, again, if it was, I'm not sure why you think it wouldn't be able to affect drives other than the boot drive.) Malware these days is big business, aimed at stealing your personal information or turning your machine into a slave to help send spam or crack other machines.
You also say:
The main threat will be from freeware
For this reason, AV software can actually cause more risk. No AV software catches all malware, so by becoming over-reliant on it, you don't use the filter between your ears. That filter is all that is needed to avoid Mac malware. And keep in mind that Mac malware is extremely rare.
@Thomas. I know how rare mac malware is, after a decade and a half of using macs I've yet to knowingly come across any.
The reason for my assumption that a secondary boot drive would afford me more protection is: As with any partition you can set the read/write permissions. Without write permissions, surely a virus cannot copy itself onto another drive.
The important thing is that this secondary boot drive would not contain any personal details, and would not be used for online purchases/transactions. Thus if malware was downloaded onto the drive, it couldn't access sensitive data.
Furthermore when I've finished working with someone, I can scrub the drive and restore from a cloned backup, thus eliminating any maleware that might be on it.
The most common freeware that will be downloaded will be codecs for video. There often is no way to get around this. If the person I'm working with has video in an unsupported format they need this code to use their footage. As you pointed out this is the kind of area that people use to hide trojans (not just for ****!).
Not at all. Again, trojans are not viruses... they do not show up on your machine attached to other software.
This has confused me a little. I thought that Trojans are written as a pice of code that can be hidden within another program. eg. A video encoder program can contain malware but still also behave like a normal encoder when you run it?
Thanks again for your help.

ALL hard drives-except boot disk-eject during sleep!!!!

Hello all,
I'm looking for a solution so a rather frustrating problem. I'm running Mountain lion (10.8.2) on an early 2009 Mac Pro.
Here is my storage setup:
Boot disk- 60 Gig OWC SSD Mercury Electra connected to the secondary optical slot (Sata II)
Internal Drive bays are all routed through this RAID card, which also necessitates the use of this attachment.
Drive bays are as follows:
Bay 1- Crucial M4 512 gb, 6 gb/s SSD
Bay 2- WD Caviar Black 1tb HDD
Bay 3- WD Caviar Black 1tb HDD **The WD drives are in a hardware Raid 0**
Bay 4- Seagate 1 tb HDD
Additionally, I have this 3tb external enclosure connected connected to the RAID card as well.
Additional notes for any questions about why this setup is how it is: This machine is used for music production (primarily film scores). This necessitates the need for the RAID card for streaming data (music samples) very quickly. The RAID card not only allows a fast hardware raid, but also allows my 6 gb/s SSD to read at full speed (500 mb/s) as opposed to my standard 3 gb/s which my is all my Logic board supports.
SO, the problem occurs when I put the computer to sleep. When it wakes from sleep—every time— all of my hard disks AND external enclosure are ejected from the computer, save the boot disk, of course. The common denominator here is of course the connection to the RAID card, but I'm also reading this happens to peoples exteranl drives very frequently on Mountain Lion as well. Is there any solution out there, or anything you can glean from my setup?
Thanks very much,
R

janne salovaara,
have you tried booting the new disk externally (either by putting it into an external enclosure, or by connecting it with a SATA-to-USB or SATA-to-FireWire adapter, and then using Startup Manager to choose it as the boot volume), to see if that works? If the new disk is bootable externally, but it isn’t bootable internally, that would point to a faulty internal SATA cable — even though it will boot with the old disk. (That slowness of the old disk could also be a symptom of a faulty internal SATA cable.)

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!

Unable to Log and Capture AND make FCP a boot disk

I am unable to go into Log and Capture mode in FCP 4. I can capture from firewire using I movie just fine so I know the sytem works. The minute I open Log and Capture from within FCP (with the JVC Mini-DV camera hooked up thru Firewire), it crashes. Help. I upgraded from FCP 3 to FCP 4 a couple years ago and it hasn't worked right since. Would re-installing the FCP 4 upgrade work? Also, my system works very sluggish. Please explain to me how I would make the veersion of FCP 4 my boot disk. I realize that I can't have the FCP 4 application and the media on the same drive but is there a way to partition one of my drives and make FCP one of the startup disks? Hope this isn't too confusing. Thanks.

First off, FCP 4 was darn unstable. FCP 4.5 is a free upgrade and is STILL the most stable version out there. FCP 5 is getting there.
Secondly, try:
Shane's Stock Tip Mantra: If the program was working fine, and now isn't, or just isn't working the way it should, the first things to do are:
1) Trash your FCP preferences. Download the appropriate version of FCP Rescue at http://fcprescue.andersholck.com/ and run it.
2) Open the Disk Utility and Repair Permissions.
As for partitioning the hard drive, that isn't necessary. Hasn't been since FCP 3.
Shane

Secondary Boot Disk

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for