Upgrade DVD Cannot Be Used As A Start Up Disc To Repair Drive

I tried to use the Upgrade DVD disc to repair the hard drive but a warning came up when restarting indicating that I could not upgrade because it could not find Tiger on my system. (Tiger is missing because Leopard is installed) I went to the menu to find disc utility and launched it. My external drive and the upgrade disc were the only discs showing. I then thought that I had to use my Tiger disc to repair the drive so I went to the Start Up disc file to restart from my hard drive as opposed to the upgrade disc but my hard drive was no longer showing. I restarted the computer holding down the eject button to eject the disc. The disc ejected but a blue folder showing a question mark showed up. (Shades of OS9). I hit the power button and restarted and the computer restarted ok. My hard drive did not need repairing, I was just trying to see if I could repair permissions and repair the disc with the Upgrade disc. Apparently this is a problem. Is anyone else experiencing this and If I do need to ever repair the drive, can I use my Tiger disc?

Oxford is the manufacturer of one of the chips used in firewire to IDE bridge boards as are found in external FW cases; specifically, the Oxford 911 chip. It isn't the only one out there, but it is regarded as the best in terms of speed and compatibility with Macs. Some macs refuse to boot from FW drives with other chips in the bridge board; others apparently aren't as picky. My eMac will boot from a non-Oxford chipset drive.
Since the Oxford 911 is better than the others, it is a selling point and is usually specified by vendors as being present if it is. If you want to know what you have in your box, you can look at the bridge board and see the chip maker's name stenciled on the chip. If it doesn't say Oxford, it isn't an Oxford.

Similar Messages

  • HT2711 ry space available  and I am told my start up disc need repairing-I don't know how to do this-also the trash wont empty - HELP

    I have a OS X 10.6.8 Mini Mac - I cannot empty my trash so went to Disk Repair and had a message that my start up disc need repairing - do not know how to do this - also I have a message saying my Start Up disc has no more Memory Spave available for application memory. HELP - I am not very computer literate so please use simple language, thanks

    One stage at a time!
    1. Can't empty trash:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1526?viewlocale=en_US
    2. Repairing permissions is important, and should always be carried out both before and after any software installation or update.
    Go to Disk Utility (this is in your Utilities Folder in your Application folder) and click on the icon of your hard disk (not the one with all the numbers).
    In First Aid, click on Repair Permissions.
    Background information here:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1452?viewlocale=en_US
    and here:
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302672
    An article on troubleshooting Permissions can be found here:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2963
    By the way, you can ignore any messages about SUID or ACL file permissions, as explained here:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1448?
    If you were having any serious problems with your Mac you might as well complete the exercise by repairing your hard disk as well. You cannot do this from the same start-up disk. Reboot from your install disk (holding down the C key). Once it opens, select your language, and then go to Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Select your hard disk as before and click Repair.
    Once that is complete reboot again from your usual start-up disk.
    More useful reading here:
    Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417?viewlocale=en_US
    For a full description of how to resolve Disk, Permission and Cache Corruption, you should read this FAQ from the X Lab:
    http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/repairprocess.html
    Apple's advice on general maintenance:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1147?viewlocale=en_US
    3. Lack of free space on your hard drive: if this drops below about 15GB you can run into problems like data corruption and general slowness.
    How big is your hard drive, and how much free space do you actually have?

  • Upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mavericks: Volume cannot be used as a start volume

    Hi there!
    I'm having a triple boot Mac-Linux-Win on a 2010 iMac. Each is on a partition. From Snow Leopard, I'm trying to install OS X Mavericks via App Store. The install Mavericks button has been added to my dock after the download completed.
    However, when choosing a target volume, it says that my current Mac volume may not be used as a start volume. File system is Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and I'm having 168 GB free space on it. Partition table is GUID.
    What's wrong?
    Cheers,
    Kalsan

    You are never going to have the option to repair a disk if you are booted from the same disk.
    I think the place to start is boot off your Snow Leopard DVD install disk by holding down the C key on boot up.
    Under Utilities drop down menu  you will have access to Disk Utility.
    From  here you will have the option to repair Disk (ie not grayed out.)
    option: Either insert and wait for the Mac OS X Install DVD window and double-click the Install icon;  or power down, then start up while holding down the "C" key.  Either way, that takes a few minutes.

  • Cannot interactively use VNC when started from a signed jar

    I wrote a Java wrapper class to run a shell command to start a VNC client. Then signed it and started it using web start. In the jnlp file, I granted all permission. I could start the vnc viewer successfully but the issue is that the mouse and keyboard were disabled, so I couldn't intect with the applications. Anythought on it? Thanks in advance.

    If I start it using from command line, javaws or as a web link, the keyboard/mouse didn't work. It might be security permission related.
    Edited by: gao4321 on Jul 10, 2008 12:26 PM

  • HT204291 Since ios 7 upgrade I cannot now use netflix. I keep geting a "disable airplay mirroring" there is no airplay icon and I cant find a helpful answer  anywhere.

    Since updating ipad to ios 7 cannot play netflix. Keep getting message to disable airplay morroring but dont have the icon. Help angry!

    Hello Suzanil3726,
    It sounds like you would like to open another tab in Safari without closing the ones you already have open. The + symbol you are looking for to open another tab is in the upper right hand corner in Safari on the iPad using iOS 7.
    From: iPad User Guide
              http://help.apple.com/ipad/7/#/iPad999d68f9
    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
    All the best,
    Sterling

  • New to Mac - do I need to create a start-up disc?

    Hi
    I've recently switched over to an iMac from PC - I've worked with macs but I didn't have to deal with back-ups myself (they were all networked)
    I have an external HDD which uses Time Machine to back-up - I did hope to use that as back-up and keep a stash of stock photos (large file!) on there too but I've heard that it's not a good idea to do that (even if I partitioned the drive)
    My main issue is that I've heard that the back-ups cannot be used as a 'start-up' disc in case something happens to the iMac - so can someone let me know how I should go about doing this? (I didn't get any discs with the iMac so what do I do if something does happen?)
    and while I'm asking questions... do you think I should get another external HDD? one to use for photo storage etc (I work professionally with Photography so they are large files) and then use the other for time-machine?
    can you use a smaller sized HDD for time-machine? (the external drive I have now is 500GB -
    Model Name: iMac
    Model Identifier: iMac8,1
    Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
    Processor Speed: 2.8 GHz
    Memory: 4 GB
    Hard Drive 320GB

    I've moved over from a PC to a MBP since May, and have dealt with similar backup issues concerning backups of software projects (also large files) daily. So I can share my thoughts and experience here.
    1) I would keep the photo file originals on a separate external USB HDD (not the Time Machine backup) with Read-Only attribute. When I copy files from my Mac to an external disk drive, I think it automatically takes on an archive attribute (read-only). With Leapord 10.5, I think that drive can even be in NTFS format (as used by Windows XP & Vista).
    Since HDD eventually fails, I would, over time, back up these high resolution photos on Dual density (8GB) DVDs.
    Because it'll probably take too many DVDs to back up al the photos, an easier option is to purchase an external backup drive systems that automatically back up a copy of your data on its own separate physical HDD package inside the same box. At the minimum, the box would actually contain two identical size HDD, but you get to use only one. The second drive is for the automatic backup. These boxes are called RAIDs, and a decent one will notify you when it detects a disk error on any one of the two drives so you can preventively replace the faulty drive to give your data full protection. The best I've seen cost $800 list for a TeraByte of protected disk storage. This box actually uses multiple data redundancy schemes to give you flexibility in buying HDDs as your need grows, but you do need to start with at least two drives for data protection. See...
    http://www.drobo.com/WheretoBuy/Index.html
    A review of its abilities and limitations was published on ZDNet..
    http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/?p=508
    The author of the review called himself his first review harsh, and I agree since the limitations was due to physics and user selection of disk drives that were installed, no design.
    2) For any photo files that I am manipulating daily, I would keep them on my Mac so that Time Machine so that every revision I make is backed up.
    As far as whether you need to create a start-up disk, I believe the answer is no. From Apples own online documentation, you can recovering your Mac installation from Time Machine. I understand that if you allow Time Machines to back up up everything (default setting), the procedure to full system recovery is:
    1) Reformat the boot disk and restore MacOS X from the CDs that came with the computer.
    2) Connect the external Time Machine backup drive, bring up Time Machine and restore. You can find the details by searching the Time Machine discussions. I saw some users even tried the procedure out for real.
    I've consider using one of the many backup software to back up a full disk image of my Mac, so I re-install my Mac with that disk image. The problem with this is it's a duplicating backup scheme: twice the amount of work and cost. And when the mac crashes, which one backup do I use?

  • Cannot upgrade from Mac OS X (10.4.11) with  Mac OS X leopard upgrade DVD

    I tried to install the Leopard today and I was unsuccessful. I was kept from proceeding to the initial install with a box that said Mac OS X cannot be upgraded to V 10.5 on your computer- Mac OS X v 10.4 or later cannot be found on your computer. At this point I can proceed and I had to quit. I brought my Macbook Pro last October just as the Leopard was being released. I purchased for a very small sum the Mac OS X Leopard Upgrade DVD but i used it today and no success. If anyone can assist me in this matter I would appreciate it. I am up to date with firmware and all other soft ware updates etc. I have also have v 10.5.1,2,3 in a folder ready to be added once I can install the my Leopard DVD

    I posted a few weeks ago stating that I was unable to upgrade.
    I ran Utilities and tried again to no avail.
    I called Apple and they told me to backup everything and do a fresh install. Before doing that, I decided to see if the Leopard Upgrade DVD could see my backup because I created it so that it would be a bootable hard disk.
    It did recognize my external disk, so I clicked on the Utilities application to see if it could see my hard disk and it couldn't. When I got back to the window that allowed me to select a hard disk, suddenly my internal hard disk appeared.
    It worked, and now I'm using Leopard. I don't know if it's a workaround, but it was a lot better than deleting everything off of my computer, installing the new system, and copying it all back onto my internal hard disk.
    I hope someone else will find out that this works for them...

  • Cloned hard drive cannot be used for start up

    Here is exactly what is happening: I cloned 10.4.9 on a new hard drive because I suspect the one that came with my G-5 is dying.
    I used SuperDuper to do this and put their sandbox on the new drive. Sandbox is a clone minus user info and applications. File sharing is set up between the drives so you are supposed to start up from sandbox then the system will work normally. The Superduper soft ware would not complete a straight clone to the new HD so that's why I used sandbox instead.
    In system preferences under start up disc this new drive is recognized and can be highlighted but nothing happens when I click restart to choose the new drive as the star up disc.
    I though I had found the solution at;
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25506
    This URL addresses the problem exactly and I attempted to use the commands given in Terminal to fix it but was not sucessfull. It seems like Terminal would not execute the commands that are given by Mac in this help page.
    Any one got any ideas? Thanks
    power mac g5   Mac OS X (10.4.9)  

    If you have a corrupted system and then clone it you end up with a corrupted system. That is most likely why you are having a problem. The preferable approach to what you did is to simply install a fresh copy of OS X on the other hard drive and create the new admin account using the same shortname and password as on your current drive. This will make transferring files from your old user account easier. Or an even simpler approach is to do an Archive and Install:
    How to Perform an Archive and Install
    1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
    Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
    Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then quit DU and return to the installer.
    If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
    2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
    3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
    4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
    5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
    6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.
    BTW, you may find it easier and more reliable to do basic clones using the Restore option of Disk Utility:
    How to Clone Using Restore Option of Disk Utility
    1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
    2. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list.
    3. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (journaled, if available) and click on the Erase button. This step can be skipped if the destination has already been freshly erased.
    4. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
    5. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
    6. Select the startup or 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.
    8. Select the destination drive on the Desktop and press COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window. At the bottom in the Ownership and Permissions section be sure the box labeled "Ignore Permissions on this Volume" is unchecked. Verify the settings for Ownership and Permissions as follows: Owner=system with read/write; Group=admin with read/write; Other with read-only. If they are not correct then reset them.
    For added precaution you can boot into safe mode before doing the clone.
    Why reward points?(Quoted from Discussions Terms of Use.)
    The reward system helps to increase community participation. When a community member gives you (or another member) a reward for providing helpful advice or a solution to their question, your accumulated points will increase your status level within the community.
    Members may reward you with 5 points if they deem that your reply is helpful and 10 points if you post a solution to their issue. Likewise, when you mark a reply as Helpful or Solved in your own created topic, you will be awarding the respondent with the same point values.

  • What type of blank DVD should I use to record photo images that are on my drive E

    I own a HP Pavilion dv5000 with an RW DVD + R DL multi recorder.  My question, which type of blank DVD should I use to record images that are on my drive E?  I can record without problems on a CR-R but when I try a blank DVD-R it won't work.  Please advise.

    Hi,
    Back to the good old days, HP supported only DVD +R discs, some vendors supported DVD -R discs. Now all vendors support both. You may want to try blank DVD +R. Hope this works. Please post back the result.
    Regards.
    BH
    **Click the KUDOS thumb up on the left to say 'Thanks'**
    Make it easier for other people to find solutions by marking a Reply 'Accept as Solution' if it solves your problem.

  • My start up disc is almost full. How can I get my data stored on my 2nd disc

    I have an i Mac working with OS X 10.9.5 Processor: 2.93 GHz Intel Core i7. I have a solid state hard disc of 250 GB which is the start up disc. There is a conventional second hard disc of 2 TB. The way it is set up the 2nd disc is not being used. My start up disc is almost full. How to I change it so that my data is stored on my 2nd disc.

    I am having the same problem Have devoted well over 10 hours to the destroyed WD Passport, memory and constant crashes of untold origin, and of course wasting time with the good ol' spinning wheel of death. Any fixes for memory, back up drives and crashes would be welcome. I am tired of these upgrades making my life worse. Once upon a time Apple cared and was not so awful in customer relations and quality of upgrades to the OS. Now, not so much. I am searching through the now more difficult to search through Discussions to find fixes for these problems but have not opened any that are satisfactory. Please will someone in the know, not so much an Apple shill cause they just blame the user, but actual Apple users and customers who have had these issues and can now share the knowledge. Please!

  • Need old keyboard to boot off start-up disc or enter safe mode

    I have one of the first Core Duo iMacs, purchased on July 2006. I have since replaced the original keyboard with the aluminum version that is now standard issue. Whenever I need to boot from the start-up disc to repair my hard disk, or enter safe mode, I always need to go back and plug in my original keyboard. Is there some known hardware compatibility issue with these older iMacs and the aluminum keyboards? I'm glad I still saved the old one.

    Are you referring to the new bluetooth (wireless) keyboard or are you using a wired version?
    Message was edited by: Barbara Daniels1

  • Error message:This IPHONE cannot be used because the Apple Mobile Device service is not started, after trying to upgrade to IOS5

    Error message:This IPHONE cannot be used because the Apple Mobile Device service is not started.  It is a 3GS version 4.3.5 (8L1).  I had upgraded my ITUNES and after two attempts to update to IOS 5 (it timed out each time), I am now getting the message above.  everything seems to be working.  I have rebooted both computer and IPHONE. I am have had for couple of years.  Anyone have other tips or ideas?

    There are instructions on this page for how to start it and how to set it to start automatically : http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1567

  • "Mac OS X cannot be installed on this computer" used upgrade DVD up-to-date

    I'm using an OS X 10.5 Leopard "Upgrade DVD" I bought with the up-to-date program when I bought a 2007 Macbook Pro (3,1) with Tiger bundled.
    I tried to use it on my PowerBook G4 500 MHz (PowerBook 3,2), but it gave me the message:
    "Mac OS X cannot be installed on this computer"
    My upgrade DVD looks like the retail version (aside from the "upgrade DVD" text), and it doesn't have any text explicitly suggesting that it's a restore DVD for any specific model. Can I still assume this is effectively a retail DVD?

    Came with 2007 Macbook Pro (3,1) implies that it can't be use with PowerBook G4 500 MHz (PowerBook 3,2). That violates the terms of use. Additionally, it's machine-specific, as described in http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2681 If you want to put Leopard on the PB, buy the retail version.

  • Why do I get the message "This disk cannot be used to start your computer" w/ upgrade to Mountain Lion from 10.6.8

    I have a MacBok pro later than 2007.  running 10.6.8 .  Downloaded Mountain Lion from app store.  When  I get to the install page I get the message "This disk cannot be used to start your computer."  What is the problem and what can be done?
    Thanks,

    I appreciate the prompt reply.  I saw that on the support community and it isn't giving me a solution.  
    The disk where the volume I need to upgrade is 250.06 GB Hitachi, the partition window (current) does not have a blue marker for the used data space, so there is no way to resize it.
    If it's helpful, System profiler reads:
    NVidia MCP89 AHCI:
      Vendor:          NVidia
      Product:          MCP89 AHCI
      Link Speed:          3 Gigabit
      Negotiated Link Speed:          1.5 Gigabit
      Description:          AHCI Version 1.30 Supported
    Hitachi HTS545025B9SA02:
      Capacity:          250.06 GB (250,059,350,016 bytes)
      Model:          Hitachi HTS545025B9SA02                
      Revision:          PB2AC60W
      Serial Number:          100814PBL200CSJA72PN
      Native Command Queuing:          Yes
      Queue Depth:          32
      Removable Media:          No
      Detachable Drive:          No
      BSD Name:          disk0
      Rotational Rate:          5400
      Medium Type:          Rotational
      Partition Map Type:          GPT (GUID Partition Table)
      S.M.A.R.T. status:          Verified
      Volumes:
      Capacity:          209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)
      Writable:          Yes
      BSD Name:          disk0s1
      Capacity:          249.72 GB (249,715,376,128 bytes)
      Writable:          Yes
      BSD Name:          disk0s2
    Macintosh HD:
      Capacity:          249.71 GB (249,714,352,128 bytes)
      Available:          100.41 GB (100,405,456,896 bytes)
      Writable:          Yes
      File System:          Journaled HFS+
      BSD Name:          disk0s2s1
      Mount Point:          /
    Boot OSX:
      Capacity:          134.2 MB (134,217,728 bytes)
      Writable:          Yes
      BSD Name:          disk0s3

  • Install error : disk cannot be used to start up your computer [or] MediaKit reports partition (Map) too small

    Greetings,
    I am aware that this problem has been discussed, but in long and vague discussions that I had to sift deeply to find an answer. Therefore I am posting a clear message, as this problem can be very troublesome for someone who just received a Mac OS installation disk and cannot install it.
    Situation : you cannot install/update your new system because the installer does not consider your volume.
    Error message : this disk cannot be used to start up your computer.
    Version française : Ce disque ne peut pas être configuré pour démarrer votre ordinateur.
    Also discussed below error: "MediaKit reports partition (Map) too small"
    Note : although this occurred with a Snow Leopard (10.6) install DVD, it can alo occur with Lion (10.7) according to discussions on Apple web site.
    IF YOUR CONDITIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS :
    - You are using an official Apple installation DVD of Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) [or 10.7 Lion] or an official download/upgrade of those systems.
    - Your main Mac partition scheme is in GUID as it should be (check with Disk Utility). That partition contains a Mac system that can start-up.
    - Your volume format is: Mac OS Extended (journaled) [the format should not be Case Sensitive.]
    - You have the hardware requirements to install Mac OS 10.6 (Intel processor; internal or external DVD drive or a linked DVD drive; 1 GB of RAM; a screen controlled by your computer graphics card; at least 5 GB space on the hard disk or 7 GB if you install all components).
    - Using Disk Utility, you of course tried the disk Repair Tool and the Repair Permissions tool.
    - Your hard disk does not have a file called Backups.backupdb (if it does, this means Time Machine has once used this hard disk for its back-ups). Anyhow, if it were the case, the installation would give a different error message (with the word TimeMachine). This file may block the installation: Apple Support suggest to place it in the garbage, *without* deleting it, and placing it back on the disk later. Mind you, if you do not use this hard disk as such to save your Time Machine back-ups, you can simply delete this file.
    HOW TO FIX :
    1. Boot with the 10.6 install DVD (Tip: you can either select Mac 10.6 as the boot DVD in your Start-up Preferences or simply press down c during the start-up).
    2. Above the install screen, you have a Utilities tab from where you can run Disk Utility. Select your hard disk and select the Partition tab. Resize the primary Mac partition (don't add a new one) by decreasing it by about 5 GB.
    It will look like this http://i.imgur.com/jHTbr.jpg
    ( That image shows only one partition, but the same principle applies even if you have two or more partitions on your disk.)
    Also see the official Apple how to: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3926
    Version française: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3926?viewlocale=fr_FR
    3. Commit the change by hitting "Apply"
    3.b. If you get the error "MediaKit reports partition (Map) too small", this is a rare error where the partition that follows (for example Bootcamp) is slightly overlapping your main Mac partition. You will need to reduce that other following partition. Once you have reduced the other partition, you will probably need to return to step 2 and 3 and try again.
    [ For example, in my case, I had resized my Bootcamp with CampTune software and it would seem that the file system ended-up somehow larger than the actual partition container. I simply asked CampTune to reduce the partition a bit (barely 2 GB) and that fixed it.]
    4. Reboot, again into the 10.6 install DVD.
    5. You can then install 10.6.
    6. Once 10.6 is installed, use the Disk Utility on the desktop (you can boot into the primary HD at this point) to resize the primary partition back to its original or maximum size.
    SOURCE (main fix): http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=774410 [and] http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3926
    SOURCE (explaination for MediaKit error): some Apple discussion post.
    nb: in my case, it was on a MacBook Pro (late 2008).

    GasMan4932 wrote:
    When I click on the icon for this drive, the warning message below states "Mac OS X cannot be installed on 'iMac HD', because this disk cannot be used to start up your computer." Obviously that's not true, since that's where the OS is installed.
    How did you partition this drive, if you did that? Does it contain start up or utility partitions for any other OS (for instance Linux)? There have been reports that the "cannot be used to start up your computer" message will appear if a third party utility was used to create a 'triple boot' system or such, apparently because SL is picky about the format GUID partition scheme table info & how partitions are allocated space on the drive by other formatting/partition methods.
    For some users with these partitions, the fix has been as simple as "tickling" (slightly changing) the partition size of some partition with Disk Utility, which apparently updates the GUID partition scheme table info so that the SL installer accepts it as safe to use with SL.( In this sense, the message may be trying to say the installer thinks the disk can't be used to reliably start up your computer with SL, not in general.)
    See the discussions topic Cannot install Snow Leopard over 10.5.8 for more about this.

Maybe you are looking for