Start-up disk is not the first one to load or appear on the desktop

I just switched to 10.5 and have the following challenge.
My MBP HD is partitioned in to 3 sections.
Partition 1 = OS10.4 with programmes.
Partition 2 = OS10.4 with other programmes.
Partition 3 = files.
Under 10.4 the MBP would load the start-up partition first (partition 1 or 2) and the other partitions next. This would result in the disks appearing in order of loading. For example if I start up from Partition 1 the order would be from the top:
Partition 1
Partition 2
Partition 3
Followed by any files that might be on the desktop.
In other words the computer would load the start-up volume first and display this at the top of all disk displayed on the desktop.
I have now switched to 10.5 and this no longer happens. It seems now that the MBP displays the partition wherever it was last put. Is there a way of changing this? Or has something changed in the OS?
I would like it to load/show the partition with the active OS as top one so I can see from what OS we are presently working by seeing the active partition up top.
Any suggestions? or any other way one cold automatically see what partition is presently active?

Barry Hemphill wrote:
Hi again "oldtimer" (chuckle).
I take that as a compliment Barry!
How about putting your partitioned stuff on an external firewire drive?
I travel a lot so that is not really an option for my MBP
I have both time machine and a bootable clone in separate partitions on an external drive.
I have a FW backup (well 2 the old-timers have learned ). Interesting about your Time machine. do you back up to it over the FW cable? I thought this only works over a Wireless connection?

Similar Messages

Start-up disk not the first one to load or appear

I just switched to 10.5 and have the following challenge.
My MBP HD is partitioned in to 3 sections.
Partition 1 = OS10.4 with programmes.
Partition 2 = OS10.4 with other programmes.
Partition 3 = files.
Under 10.4 the MBP would load the start-up partition first (partition 1 or 2) and the other partitions next. This would result in the disks appearing in order of loading. For example if I start up from Partition 1 the order would be from the top:
Partition 1
Partition 2
Partition 3
Followed by any files that might be on the desktop.
In other words the computer would load the start-up volume first and display this at the top.
I have now switched to 10.5 and this no longer happens. It seems now that the MBP displays the Partition wherever it was last put. Is there a way of changing this? Or has something changed in the OS?
I would like it to load/show the Partition with the active OS as top one so I can see from what OS we are presently working by seeing the active partition up top.
Any suggestions?

I posted also in an other forum as no person responded, so here is the answer:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1589383&tstart=0

"Start-up disk does not have enough space to be partitioned"??

Hi there, I hope someone can help.
I've been using bootcamp for a couple of years but recently it has started to play up so I decided to reinstall a fresh. I went into OSX and ran "boot camp assistant" and deleted the partition and start again. For some reason when I try to go though "bootcamp assistant" to set up windows xp again I get an error saying "Start-up disk does not have enough space to be partitioned - You must have 10g of space available" But I check my space available I have 23.5gb free. It's driving me nuts! :/
Cheers, Mark

It's possible that your drive is sufficiently fragmented that Boot Camp Assistant cannot allocate enough contiguous space to set up the partition. It's also possible that it's simple a directory issue. I would start with repairing the hard drive:
Repair the Hard Drive
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. 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. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro 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.
After restarting per the above try using Boot Camp Assistant to allocate a partition. If it still complains then you will need to defragment the drive. You can do that as follows:
A. Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4.Check the box labeled Erase destination.
5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive.
Source means the internal startup drive.
B. Boot from the clone.
Restart the computer. After the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the icon for the external drive and click on the large downward pointing arrow button.
C. Use Disk Utility to erase the internal hard drive.
D. Restore the clone to the internal hard drive.
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4.Check the box labeled Erase destination.
5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the internal drive.
Source means the external drive.
*Note that the Destination and Source drives are reversed when you restore the clone from when you made the clone.*

I have a 2008 macbook and i lost the start up disk and forgot the password. how can i put it back to factory mode and change the password

i have a 2008 macbook and i lost the start up disk and forgot the password. how can i put it back to factory mode and change the password

Check out this article http://gigaom.com/apple/reset-os-x-password-without-an-os-x-cd/

Without touching the screen, only 2 of my apps started shaking randomly. Not the kind of shaking when you want to delete/move. It was odd. Any idea as to what that could be?

Without touching the screen, 2 of my apps started shaking randomly. Not the kind of shaking when you want to delete/move the apps. It was odd. Any idea as to what that could be?

An "other" that large usually indicates that the "other" includes corrupted files. Usually restoring from backup eliminated the corrupted files. However, sometimes restoring to factory settings/new iPod is required.
To restore from backup see:
iOS: How to back up
To restore to factory settings/new iPod see:
iTunes: Backing up, updating, and restoring iOS software

When I try to download an iTunes software update I get an error message that my start up disk does not have enough room. What do I do?

When I try to download an iTunes software update i get an error message that my start up disk does not have enough room. What do I do?

You probably have run out of space, I would delete (or move to an external drive) things that aren't being used as much.

Startup disk disappear from the desktop

Well, without any reason, The startup disk is disappear from the desktop.
(Just only the startup disk)
I found this 2 times before, once on my 8 cores Mac Pro, once on my iMac G5.
I couldn't do anything to fix them, so I formatted and re-install OS.
with my iMac, it ran Tiger before, there's no problem until I changed to Leopard,
After about 2 weeks under the new Leopard,then the startup disk disappear from the desktop,
it shown the hidden status in disk utility and could not mount it,
So I formatted and back to install old Tiger.
Everything's fine. that's really good Operating system.
Bad luck, about 2 months ago, My iMac G5 had some problem with motherboard and the harddisk also damaged, I send it to Apple Thailand, They fixed it and send back with installed Leopard inside my new hard disk.(well... again)
Now after a few weeks. it happen again.
Startup disk disappear from the desktop.
This problem never exist on my Mac Pro, just with the iMac G5.
(Please don't tell me to check the finder preference about the sidebar setting.
it's already set to show every items there even the iDisk)
I wondered why I don't see anyone have problem with this.
I'm really want to find the answer about this.
I asked this question to Apple Thailand's support team but they didn't have any idea.
Who's gonna answer this

I found a solution to the problem and posted it here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1858340&stqc=true
I pasted the solution below:
from a Terminal window, type:
ls -lOd /
(That's lowercase ell, lowercase ess, space, minus, lowercase ell, capital oh, lowercase dee, space, forward slash)
You should get something like this:
hostname:~ username$ ls -lOd /
drwxrwxr-t 32 root admin - 1156 Feb 8 20:35 /
Sounds like you might see something like this instead:
hostname:~ username$ ls -lOd /
drwxrwxr-t@ 32 root admin hidden 1156 Feb 8 20:35 /
(note it says "hidden" instead of "-")
To fix this, type:
sudo chflags nohidden /
and provide your admin password. You won't get any output back from the command but the icon should now appear on your desktop, and the hidden flag should go away if you repeat the 'ls -lOd /' command.
And just in case you missed it above, you've got to be sure Hard disks are turned on in Finder General Preferences under "Show these items on the Desktop"

My iMac all of the sudden started going in and out of the dashboard, then started changing all files on the desktop to 2's. It also did this when having another window open. Do I have a virus?

My iMac all of the sudden started going in and out of the dashboard, then started changing all files on the desktop to 2's. It also did this when having another window open. Do I have a virus?

There are no viruses that can affect Apple OS X.
What files do you keep on the Desktop? How many?
Performance tip: Keep the Desktop clutter-free (empty, if possible)
Mac OS X's Desktop is the de facto location for downloaded files, and for many users, in-progress works that will either be organized later or deleted altogether. The desktop can also be gluttonous, however, becoming a catch-all for files that linger indefinitely.
Unfortunately - aside from the effect of disarray it creates - keeping dozens or hundreds of files on the Desktop can significantly degrade performance. Not necessarily because the system is sluggish with regard to rendering the icons on the desktop and storing them in memory persistently (which may be true in some cases), but more likely because keeping an excessive number of items on the Desktop can cause the windowserver process to generate reams of logfiles, which obviously draws resources away from other system tasks. Each of your icons on your desktop is stored as a window in the window server, not as an alias. The more you have stored, the more strain it puts on the window server. Check your desktop for unnecessary icons and clear them out.
Keeping as few items as possible on the Desktop can prove a surprisingly effective performance boon. Even creating a single folder on your Desktop and placing all current and future clutter inside, then logging out and back in can provide an immediately noticeable speed boost, particularly for the Finder.
And it is why Apple invented 'Stacks' for Leopard.
Here is Apple's take on the subject:
http://www.apple.com/pro/tips/immaculate_desktop.html

IE 11 calls tablet version of site, not the desktop version. Works fine in safari, firefox, chrome. Help!!

IE 11 calls tablet version of site, not the desktop version. Works fine in safari, firefox, chrome. Help!!

IE 11 calls tablet version of site, not the desktop version. Works fine in safari, firefox, chrome. Help!!

Flashing Question Mark At Start Up/ Disk Utility Not Working

I am having the old flashing question mark in a file show up when I try to start my computer. I went through a lot of the forums and I have attempted the Disk Utility. When I put the 10.3 install disk in and restart it takes me to the opening screen. If go to disk utility and start it and I have three options: 734.6 MB Pioneer DVD, Session 1, and Mac OSX Install Disk all with a CD icon by them. Not sure which one to pick. Even when I select any though, it does not give me the option to push the repair disk button. It is never available. Anyone know what to do here?

Exactly this happened to me two weeks ago. Unfortunately in my case it was a result of hard disk failure - my heads had burnt out and I had total data loss (I was fortunately backed up recently).
I would suggest taking your mac to a reputable computer firm, preferably Apple who can diagnose hard disk failure immediately. If that is the case you will need a replacement HD, which might be a good opportunity to expand HD size on your system (prices are always coming down; I took the opportunity to go from 60 to 120GB, for £140).
If you are not backed up and ABSOLUTELY NEED YOUR DATA then do NOT give your machine to Apple there and then however; despite assurances, you may never see your HD again, and at any rate once it has been removed it should be handled extremely carefully to prevent platter damage and compromising future data retrieval. It may not be treated with proper respect whilst a replacement is being fitted. Therefore take it to a data retrieval specialist first, who may also replace the HD for you anyway, at similar or lower cost. The cost of data retrieval is very variable but is generally about £500 if an 'invasive procedure' (HD repair) is necessary.
I hope this isn't your situation, but as I say these were exactly the symptoms of my HD failure 2 weeks ago.
Fulvio

Start-up disk choice not 'sticking'

I have 2 HDs in my G5 Quad, one running Tiger, one Leopard. Everytime I restart the mac it always starts up from the Tiger disk, no matter what I choose in the Startup disk prefs. I can get it to start in Leopard by holding down the option key at start-up, but not in the normal way, i.e. it doesn't give me a choice of start-up disks, it just goes straight to Leopard. How can I make my start-up choice 'stick'?

Hi,
might be a wild guess, but do you change the pref in Tiger or Leopard ?
If I remeber correctly I changed them back to Tiger after installation of Leopard and did the change while in Leopard.
No problem with that up to now.
Regards
Stefan

I can't download anything as it keeps telling me my start up disk is full. I have deleted loads of files and it still keeps popping up with the same messge??

Please help - I am not too computer savvi and my computer keeps telling me my start up disk is full. I have purchased a passport and transferred loads of images and files onto that and then deleted them from my computer but the message is still the same and I can't download anything.

How big is your hard drive, and how much space is used/free?
To find out, click once on the hard drive icon on your desktop to highlight it (it will be called Macintosh HD unless you renamed it). Click the command and I keys on your keyboard to open the information window. In "General", you will see Capacity and Available. What are those figures?
If you have a little bit of space left, I recommend that you install Omnidisksweeper (it's free) to tell you what folders are using up the most room.
Be careful when you transfer files - only move files that you know are yours. Don't move or delete any system files unless you're specifically recommended to do so (some files are safe to delete; some are not).
Matt

'No' symbol on start-up, disk utility not recognizing internal drive

Need a little assistance.
Two days ago I was using the Macbook and it froze. Restarted and I was hit with the international no symbol. I've also gotten the blinking file folder at times when I've tried the holding down of various buttons on start-up.
I put a Hitachi 750 gb harddrive in last fall, it has been working fine up until now.
I do not have the system disk for Snow Leopard on hand, so until I can get it from my Dad, I decided to check on the system disk I actually have from the laptop purchase in 2007.
This allowed me to get to the start-up disk and disk utility area. I could not find my external harddrive in the list for a start-up, and it is the back-up using Time Machine. I also could not get the internal harddrive to be found in the utility so I could do a repair. It did seem to recognize that there is a drive, but not the actual named portion of it that contains the info.
I removed the internal and put it in an external case: my netbook recognizes that there is hardware, but does not let me access it. I attribute this to the fact that the drive is formatted for Mac and the Windows machine can't recognize the data.
My next step was to see if my old iMac would recognize the internal as an external, but since I don't know where the keyboard is and it is running an early version of OS X, figured it won't do me much good.
What is my next step? Will the Snow Leopard disk make a difference? Or is the reaction with the older system disk going to carry on the same way with Snow Leopard?
I was going to buy a Macbook Pro, but not for over another month, so I'm hoping I can figure something out with this and make it last a little longer.

I hooked my internal as an external up to my Mom's Macbook Pro and it recognized my HD. I'm thinking it is something internal with the hook-up, which is awesome, because maybe I can actually fix it!!!! Any thoughts?

HELP! - Start up disks does not recognize hard drive!

I tried reinstalling Tiger and my start up disk cannot see a hard drive. Would a new hard drive be a good solution?

Hi Scoobie,
You might want to start a new thread about this, but basically I would say that:
- If you aren't sure what to buy, the easiest solution is probably to go to an Apple store or another Apple Authorized repair shop.
- If you're feeling more confident about replacing it yourself, you basically need to know:
1. What type of interface (e.g. SATA on new Mac desktops, I believe ATA on laptops and older Macs) your hard drive uses. You can find this, as you suggested, in System Profiler.
2. What size hard drive your computer uses. Basically this is just 3.5" for desktops and 2.5" for laptops, although I think Mac minis use 2.5" hard drives.
3. What speed you want. This might not really matter to you.
4. How much capacity you want.
I think that Pricewatch is an excellent place to compare prices of hard drives, but if you want to make sure you get a reliable drive and/or don't want to have to do quite so much hunting and comparing, Newegg might be the best place to go.
Good luck,
Greg

MBP 13" not starting, target disk mode not starting....

My gf's MBP 13" is not healthy, but before we can wipe it and start fresh, we need to get some files off it.
I've just tried the Target Disk Mode to my MBP 15"
Using firewire I hooked up to the powered 13",
Connected to my ON 15"
Turned on the 13" and held down T
The firewire logo and power logo appea and dance around the screen on the 13"
on the 15" nothing appears - not on the desktop or in finder.
I'm able to check the firewire port on the 15" is working, but I can't check the 13" as it's just not working right as a computer right now.
I've also attempted hooking the 13" inch up to a portable HD and then daisy chaining that to the 15" - HD showed up, but not the other computer.
HELP...
Thanks everyone
-TfromT

it looks to be a version of mountain lion or snow leopard from the logo that pops up under recovery mode.
FURTTHER - I was able to confirm that the firewire port on the 13" DOES work - in recovery I hooked up a portable harddrive, but there is no way to copy off the files in recovery it would appear.
ugh.

Start-up disk is not the first one to load or appear on the desktop

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for