Won't remember startup disk

Every now and then my iMac forgets which is my startup disk.
I have two external drives attached.
I HAVE made the selection in system preferences many times, but occasionally, when I start up, instead of the apple, I get a blank screen. If I unplug the attached drives, the computer starts up properly. Then I plug the drives back in.
One of the external drives is bootable, but even when I leave that one turned off, the other drive which is NOT bootable but which is used as time machine backup (and doesn't have an on-off switch, so must be unplugged), seems to cause the same problem.
And yes, I've repaired permissions regularly...

Hmmm,might try this...
Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, when done trash this file, then reboot & try it...
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist
Reboot

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G5 Slot Load XServe 10.4.11 won't save startup disk preference

I have a G5 XServe (Slot Load). If the server is 'Shut Down' or it loses power (UPS goes down) it won't boot from the selected Startup Disk.
I have to use the System Identifier buttons to select 'Startup from internal drive'.
But if I instead only Restart the machine, it always boots from the selected Startup Disk.
How can I get this G5 XServe running Tiger 10.4.11 to retain its Startup Disk settings?
Thanks

I ran 'sudo systemsetup -liststartupdisks'
and got '/System/Library/CoreServices'
Should this be working as is or should it be '/System/Library/CoreServices/System' or something else?
What should the file path be? Can you please post an example?
I am planning on using 'sudo systemsetup -setstartupdisk <path to disk root>' to try to reset it. I found that in the Snow Leopard literature, should that work for Tiger as well?
Thanks for your help.

IMac won't locate startup disk

Hi everyone, I hope you're having a great weekend!
My iMac is less than 2 years old and all of a sudden it won't start. It fails at log in and makes me do an online repair, then takes me to a screen with 4 options, restore from Time Machine, Reinstall iOSX, seach online & Disk Utility. And a few times I've received the folder with a question mark error also.
I've read through a few help articles and they all seem to want to direct me to choose my startup disk and that's where my problem is.
The Apple Menu is almost empty and I can't access any other apps.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks so much!!!

Your startup disk is no longer working properly. You need to reinstall OS X. On your next restart you will be presented with the Recovery HD's Utilities Menu. Do the following:
Reinstalling OS X Without Erasing the Drive
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions:
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility and press the Continue button. After Disk Utility loads select the Macintosh HD entry from the the left side list. Click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If Disk Utility reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit Disk Utility and return to the main menu.
Reinstall OS X: Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.
Alternatively, see:
Reinstall OS X Without Erasing the Drive
Choose the version you have installed now:
OS X Yosemite- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Reinstall Mac OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

Mac OS X 10.4.4 Install CD Won't Read Startup Disk

Hi, when i was installing Windows XP, i accidentally erased my Mac startup disc, and when i try to reinstall Mac OS X, this message comes up "Alert This software cannot be installed on this computer" and it gives me two options to restart or to change the start-up disk. When i try to change the start-up disk it doesn't read the disk. So i fire the iMac up into Target Firewire Disk mode and connect it to my iBook (Which runs Mac OS X 10.4) and i format it and make sure it is a GUID partition table so that my Intel iMac can read it, but when i restart and go back to the setup it shows the same message and when i go to the startup disk option the setup still does NOT see the drive. !!!!!!!! someone plz help!!!
Thanks

You seem to know that an Intel Mac requires a drive formatted with a GUID partition table to boot from it, so that much of your scheme should work, even if you are formatting the drive from 10.4.4 via Target Disk Mode with a PPC Mac, as long as you are using a version of Disk Utility that offers the GUID partition table formatting option (in the Partition tab, in the "Options..." drop down sheet.)
However, it isn't clear if you are then trying to install the OS onto the Intel iMac while still in Target Disk Mode, or which installer you are using. As already explained, you can't install an Intel version of the OS from a PPC Mac while in TDM -- as far as the installer knows, the target is just a drive attached to the PPC Mac, so it will inform you that the Intel OS version can't be used with that Mac.
So, the solution is to make sure the drive is formatted with the GUID table & then install the OS onto the Intel iMac while booting it from the iMac's own installer disk. If necessary, you can access the installer's version of Disk Utility before you begin the installation by selecting it from the "Utilities" menu & checking or reformatting the drive before the install.
This should work fine, unless for some reason you cannot boot the iMac from its original installer disk. If that is the case, please let us know.

Power Mac won't recognize startup disk.

I am trying to use a Norton SystemWorks 3.0 original boot CD as my startup disk so I can run Norton recover file app.. I tried booting with the CD in the internal Superdrive by holding down the option key. The pick your startup volume window appeared but only the internal HD startup volume appeared. I also tried booting from the same Norton CD by using the Preference Startup Disk options. When I tried this, the Norton CD appeared, I selected it and confirmed that I wanted to change to the Norton CD as my startup disk. However, when the system rebooted it booted from the internal HD startup volume and not the Norton CD as selected. I finally tried to boot with the Norton CD in the Superdrive and holding down the "c" key. The system never booted. I got the mac folder and ? mark instead. This is my first Power Mac...can you tell me what I'm doing wrong? If I try the same Norton CD as a startup disk in an iMac using 10.4.3, it works ok. THANKS!

Hi:
Back again. I tried the OSX install disk and its startup disk menu option. However, since I had the install disk in the Superdrive I could swap it out to see if the Norton CD would be recognized. I was glad to find out that the Superdrive will recognize a startup or boot disk, i.e., OSX install disk. So, it's not the Superdrive. There's nothing wrong with my system...I just wanted to try to use Norton file recovery to retrieve some Mail messages I deleted by accident. I know there is a problem with Norton and 10.4.x. I'm looking at replacing it with either Tech Tools Pro, Drive Genius or just using Apple Disk Utility, Onyx and iPartition and iDefrag. If you think of anything esle, please let me know. Thanks for your time. I love my Dual...your're going to love the Quad! Cheers!

IMac won't boot, startup disk gone?

Hello, my name is Jesse. English isn't my main language so I'm sorry for grammar mistakes!
I didn't use my iMac much last week. A few days ago I checked my email or something and left it on for about 30 minutes.
When I tried to start up the computer in the evening it went to a grey screen and there were 4 option I could do:
- use a backup
- reinstall mac os x lion
- use safari for help
- something else I forgot
Every time I try to boot the computer it goes to this window so I cant use the computer anymore.
I think the StartUp Disk is broken.
I am pretty sure I didn't do anything bad with the computer to cause this.
Maybe because of the high temperatures lately it broke??
There are files for work etc on the computer that I NEED. So I don't want to reinstall the computer and lose all the files.
My questions are:
- What might of caused this?
- Do I lose all the files on my iMac?
- Can this be fixed easily or is it very expensive?
I tried starting up holding Shift/Option key but both times I ended up at the grey screen with the 4 options.....
Thank you so much if you can help me!
- Jesse.

Have you tried booting into Recovery Mode (see OS X: About OS X Recovery - Support - Apple) ?
What version of the OS did the system have on it when you bought it?
As for what caused this, there are a lot of things that can cause a disk drive to fail, age, temperature, shock can all make a disk fail. How old is the iMac?

IMac won't read startup disk

Longstanding problem. Older iMac won't read the Leopard disk. I got around this by using my daughter's iBook in slave mode and then installing 10.5. Everything works but I can't start up with the disk to use disk utilities. It was suggested that I get a new ext dvd drive which I did. (Kanguru qs2)
I started it up and installed Office for Mac without a problem. Then I tried to use the 10.5 disk and it would not read it. I had a hard time getting the disk to eject. After it did eject I tried using some other disks including Office and none of them work now. Any ideas?

rafterdog wrote:
I started it up and installed Office for Mac without a problem. Then I tried to use the 10.5 disk and it would not read it. I had a hard time getting the disk to eject. After it did eject I tried using some other disks including Office and none of them work now. Any ideas?
Sounds like your new drive broke.

Tried to open my old MacBook. Couldn't remember password. Followed suggestion to reinstall hardware. Now startup disk is stuck in computer and it won't turn on. I keep getting a message saying I need to restart the computer. Any ideas?

Tried to open my old MacBook. Couldn't remember password. Followed suggestion to reinstall hardware. Now startup disk is stuck in computer and it won't turn on. I keep getting a message saying I need to restart the computer. When I hold down power button, I get the same message over and over. Any ideas?

Hello m.goo, and a warm welcome to the forums!
To eject the Disc, hold the Mouse button down, (or what passes for it on a Laptop), while powering up, if you also hold the Option key down at the same time it should eject & give you a chance to insert your install disc & wait for it to shw as a Boot option.
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Tiger Mac OS X Install disc , then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, *you must select your language first.)*
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
Then Safe Boot , (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it finishes.
If it appears to be time for An Archive & Install, which gives you a new OS, but can preserve all your files, APPs, pics, music, settings, etc., as long as you have plenty of free disk space...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
Be sure to use Preserve Users & Settings.
To check if AppleCare applies, AppleCare Products Overview...
http://www.apple.com/support/applecare/overview/

HELP! CD player suddenly won't boot any startup disk.

Help! I am being swamped with problems stemming from my attempt to upgrade to OS X. Can anyone help me plug the holes in my boat? I am including as much info as I can because I notice that requests like mine often generate a lot of questions about basic things. So, here it goes ... and thanks for your thoughts, Ed T. in Newburyport, MA. OK to send ideas to me [email protected]
Goal: install OX 10.3.5 (Panther) on my Mac G4 Ethernet Gigabit machine by booting from the CD install disk. I am using a full retail version (black with silver “X” v 10.3.5).
Problem: neither internal CD-Rom not external Fire Wire CD-ROM player/recorder will boot from 9.1 or 9.2 startup disks. These disks (DiskWarrior and Apple OS X insdatll disk #1) booted OK until I made upgrade preparations to get G4 and OS 9.2.2.
About two weeks ago I installed ViaVoice v2.01 Enhanced Edition and did a practice reading. I just mention this in case it might be relevant.
After installing the second HD I moved all of the document files off the original HD to the new one. I left all the applications on the original HD. I ran DiskWarrior and rebuilt the desktop for each drive. I check for fragmentation and optimized the disks which ran smoothly.
Hardware: G4 Ethernet Gigabit CPU (purchased new 2001 with RAM upgraded to 256 Mb and with an internal CD-ROM player) which uses the original processor, Que Fire external CD recorder/player connected via Firewire, Airport card upgrade and white domed Airport Hub, older HP 55M laser printer connected with an Assante Bridge unit, a cable internet box (Motorola) connected to the Airport unit. Monitor (an older SONY Multiscan 100ES purchased at SeaMUG swap meet). USB 4 jack hub (Netgear Dual Speed DS104). New external hard drive (an OWC Mercury Ultra AL 250 Gb USB/Fire Wire) connected via Fire Wire cable.
Upgrade preparations - I added some new items:
1.) I increased the original 256 RAM by installing (adding) two 512 cards from Other World Computing (OWC at MacSales.com), and ...
2.) a new ATA internal 80 Gb Hitachi hard drive (also from OWC) fitted onto the “sled” atop the original 40 Gb HD. NOTE: both drives are format extended (HFS+).
Next, I backed up original 40 Gb hard drive to my new OWC Mercury 250 Gb external HD using Retrospect.
Software: I did the following activities according upgrade decision lists from MacFixit and Apple Support Discussion Group. I did the following:
1.) Updated OS 9.2.2 firmware to v4.2.8 which I downloaded from Apple,
NOTE: this procedure involved holding in the programmer’s button (the little recessed one below the big startup button and to the right of the little reboot button) and then pressing the startup button until I heard a long tone. I released the programmer’s button and the firmware update completed successfully.
2.) I did not check for external Hard Drive firmware updates because drive is one month old, but I did disconnect the Firewire cable during the following activities,
3.) I have no “haxies” to update,
4.) There was no Stuffit Deluxe software to de-activate,
5.) Removed extra start up items (ViaVoice).
6.) Disconnected all non-Apple USB hub hardware.
6.) Booted from OS X install disk ( in the internal player) and ...
7.) used Disk Utility to check/repair both hard drives.
Here is where the PROBLEMS STARTED.
8.) I intended to boot from the DiskWarrior CD in order to run its tests on both HD’s. The DISK WOULD NOT BOOT. Instead, the screen went gray and I had to eject the disk and use the restart button.
9.) Next I tried to boot from the OS X Install CD as I did before. The screen went gray, a large gray Apple logo appeared followed by a white print on BLACK KERNEL PANIC screen.
10.) Each of the CD’s seems to mount OK and I can access and use the utilities BUT I CANNOT USE THEM AS A START UP DISK ANYMORE. I have tried the “press the C key” method and the Start up Disk control panel designation method without success.
What is the best way to get back the use of the “C” key in order to boot from the CD. And, since I have two drives, could I use one as the assigned start up in system 9.2.2, and used the OS X Install disk to get the OS X onto the other disk.
My efforts to solve this problem have only made matters worse. My new HD won’t mount and can’t be repaired by Tech Tool Pro 2.5. I may have to use the file recovery feature to retrieve what files I can and then re-initialize it. The original HD is also reporting damage but so far it will start up. All the applications are on it, it is the startup disk so I cannot effectively use my tools to work on it.
Please help me to get back to dry land and install OS 10.3.5. Many thanks in advance.

Hello! First, you know now that you should never do multiple upgrades at the same time. That said I'd first look at the most likely which is an error in the hard drives. Often cable select won't work. Make sure the drive jumpered master is on the end of the ribbon away from the motherboard and the one jumpered slave is on the middle connector. New drives are usually jumpered either master or cable select and if you installed it as a slave without proper jumpering then that's the most likely place to start. Post back when you're sure the drives are physically connected properly. Tom

Pro Tools won't install. Startup disk full-not true.

I'm trying to install Pro Tools 10.2 on a Mac Book Pro OS X 10.7.4. I'm doing a clean install, but the installation won't complete. It bogs down half way through. I finally have to force quit the installer because it says my startup disk is full. This is not true because I have 500 gig of memory left on my drive. My trash is empty. I don't know what to do.

You seem to know that an Intel Mac requires a drive formatted with a GUID partition table to boot from it, so that much of your scheme should work, even if you are formatting the drive from 10.4.4 via Target Disk Mode with a PPC Mac, as long as you are using a version of Disk Utility that offers the GUID partition table formatting option (in the Partition tab, in the "Options..." drop down sheet.)
However, it isn't clear if you are then trying to install the OS onto the Intel iMac while still in Target Disk Mode, or which installer you are using. As already explained, you can't install an Intel version of the OS from a PPC Mac while in TDM -- as far as the installer knows, the target is just a drive attached to the PPC Mac, so it will inform you that the Intel OS version can't be used with that Mac.
So, the solution is to make sure the drive is formatted with the GUID table & then install the OS onto the Intel iMac while booting it from the iMac's own installer disk. If necessary, you can access the installer's version of Disk Utility before you begin the installation by selecting it from the "Utilities" menu & checking or reformatting the drive before the install.
This should work fine, unless for some reason you cannot boot the iMac from its original installer disk. If that is the case, please let us know.

Macbook won't startup using DVD as Startup Disk

What gives?
Startup with 'C' key doesn't work.
Even using Startup Disk in System Preferences doesn't show slot drive as an option.
I'm trying to do a disc repair because of hourly computer freezes with Mail, Safari and others that have not been resolved within the applications. Disk Utility fails when run using the MacHD as the Startup Disc shows:
Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Volume Bit Map needs minor repair
Checking volume information.
Invalid volume free block count
Invalid volume free block count
uld be %@ instead of %@)",2)
1990255
1990254
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair
Waiting for my new Diskwarrior but won't be able to rn it either if the computer won't start up from the slot drive.
Cheers

Have you tried booting up in Safe Mode? It will do a similar check and repair on your HD.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107393

Hello to you all, my Macbook Air won's boot up and upon diagnosis, i realized my startup disk is full to 99% even with 2GB Hard Disk space. It wont also enable me boot into safe mode too. Please help as all my work documents and project files are on HD

Hello to you all,
My Macbook Air won's boot up and upon diagnosis, i realized my startup disk is full to 99% even with 2GB Hard Disk space. It wont also enable me boot into safe mode too.
when i power up, i get this prolong gray screen which wont change screen but remain so. Infact i am handicapped.
Please help as all my work documents and project files are on this machine and i can't afford to loose them all...
Please, should you have any solution please send me the details to [email protected]
Thanks you a millionh times.
Al.

The MBA seems to cause several problems to several users on boot ups
On start up my MBA would not boot up the apple logo came on but only a blank screen appeared no fan i followed several start up recommendations but to no avail so I took the MBA to the nearest Apple repair centre again the same symptoms on start up ......very sorry sir you need a new mother board that will be $500 not feeling confidant in the product declined and was going to put it on ebay for spares.
On return home I pressed the start up button and it started normally everything was working fine i decided to reinstall all the software what has caused the problem I have no idea but it is after several attempted reboots it finally started on its own so don't give up if you have this problem it may come to life

HT202152 I have tried updating my apps and software but it says my startup disk or hard disk is full. I deleted a lot of files and apps but they won't be erased from the trash. Please help

I have tried updating my apps and software but it says my startup disk or hard disk is full. I deleted a lot of files and apps but they won't be erased from the trash. Please help.

For information about the Other category in the Storage display, see this support article. If the display seems to be inaccurate, try rebuilding the Spotlight index.
Empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. If you use iPhoto, empty its internal Trash first:
iPhoto ▹ Empty Trash
In Photos:
File ▹ Show Recently Deleted ▹ Delete All
Do the same in other applications, such as Aperture, that have an internal Trash feature. Then restart the computer. That will temporarily free up some space.
According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation—not the mythical 10%, 15%, or any other percentage. You also need enough space left over to allow for growth of the data. There is little or no performance advantage to having more available space than the minimum Apple recommends. Available storage space that you'll never use is wasted space.
When Time Machine backs up a portable Mac, some of the free space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of recently deleted files. The space occupied by local snapshots is reported as available by the Finder, and should be considered as such. In the Storage display of System Information, local snapshots are shown as Backups. The snapshots are automatically deleted when they expire or when free space falls below a certain level. You ordinarily don't need to, and should not, delete local snapshots yourself. If you followed bad advice to disable local snapshots by running a shell command, you may have ended up with a lot of data in the Other category. Ask for instructions in that case.
See this support article for some simple ways to free up storage space.
You can more effectively use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) or GrandPerspective (GP) to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can also delete files with it, but don't do that unless you're sure that you know what you're deleting and that all data is safely backed up. That means you have multiple backups, not just one. Note that ODS only works with OS X 10.8 or later. If you're running an older OS version, use GP.
Deleting files inside a photo or iTunes library will corrupt the library. Changes to such a library must be made from within the application that created it. The same goes for Mail files.
Proceed further only if the problem isn't solved by the above steps.
ODS or GP can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.
Back up all data now.
Install the app in the Applications folder as usual. Quit it if it's running.
Triple-click anywhere in the corresponding line of text below on this page to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
For ODS:
security execute-with-privileges /A*/OmniDiskSweeper.app/*/M*/* 2>&-
For GP:
security execute-with-privileges /A*/GrandPerspective.app/*/M*/* 2>&-
Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.
Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. You'll be prompted for your login password.
The application window will open behind other open windows. When you scan a volume, the window will eventually show all files in all folders, sorted by size. It may take a few minutes for the app to finish scanning.
I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means. When in doubt, leave it alone or ask for guidance.
When you're done with the app, quit it and also quit Terminal.

Startup Disk pref pane: won't run

If my pref pane for Startup Disk won't run from the current (thin) system I've booted into, is there a way (other than booting from the OSX CD-ROM) to set your startup disk?
Thanks

Restart, hold down OPTION key, select the boot volume you want to boot from, and click on the right-hand arrow.

My MacBook Pro Won't Start-The Startup disk is full and I get a white screen

When I turn it on the log in screen appears and also a message saying "Startup disk full,please delete some files" , so I log in and it just takes me to a white screen,I've tried going to the disk utility by doing Command+R when turing it on ,and I repaired Macintish HD and after that it said "Macintish HD volume is OK".Thanks for the help

1. Start up in Safe Mode.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11212
2. Empty Trash.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10677
3. Delete "Recovered Messages", if any.
    Hold the option key down and click "Go" menu in the Finder menu bar.
    Select "Library" from the dropdown.
    Library > Mail > V2 > Mailboxes
    Delete "Recovered Messages", if any.
    Empty Trash. Restart.
4. Delete old iOS Devices Backup.
    iTunes > Preferences > Devices
    Highlight the old Backups , press “Delete Backup” and then “OK”.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
5. Re-index Macintosh HD
   System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy
   http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2409

Won't remember startup disk

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