Author Topic: Creating a startup disk (Read 2234 times)

danf63 · « **on:** February 13, 2009, 07:00:14 PM »

I have a firewire hard drive with an operating system on it. I can't use it because it doesn't have a startup folder on it. How do I create one? Btw, it's OS X.

Dan

Texas Mac Man · « **Reply #1 on:** February 13, 2009, 07:36:23 PM »

If the external drive has a system (Tiger?) installed, it should be bootable. What are you calling a "startup folder"?

There are two ways to select the FW drive for startup.

1. Depress the Option key when you are starting up. This activates the Startup Manager window. All of the bootable devices - your internal drive (& and partitions), your FW drive (& and partitions), a CD or DVD with a system file - will appear in the window. Select the one you want & click on the right arrow.

2. Go to System Preferences>Startup Disk and select the one you want. Then restart.

danf63 · « **Reply #2 on:** February 13, 2009, 10:57:21 PM »

Tex, the firewire drive has a disk image of the system. I need to create something to make it bootable.

Dan

tacit · « **Reply #3 on:** February 14, 2009, 01:42:16 AM »

QUOTE(danf63 @ Feb 14 2009, 04:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tex, the firewire drive has a disk image of the system. I need to create something to make it bootable.

Dan

A disk image (.dmg file) can never be bootable, under any circumstances.

In order to make your FireWire drive bootable, you need to do one of two things.

1. Use your computer's Install discs to install OS X on the drive, or
2. Use a program like the free Carbon copy Cloner to clone from your current internal drive to the external drive.

RNKIII · « **Reply #4 on:** February 14, 2009, 07:23:58 AM »

Or "SuperDuper!" will also make a bootable copy of your HD. Go here to download the FREE version....works as well as the paid version... just not as many bells and whistles....

HTH,

Bob K. rnkiii

danf63 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 14, 2009, 08:53:25 AM »

Thanks, Tacit, Bob. The image is for the computers at work, which have to have the NYC Dept. of Ed. logo on the desktop and the programs the city has bought that come pre-installed when schools buy computers but I don't want all the documents the kids and teachers have created. So I think I'll back up all the documents, delete them, and then use either carbon copy cloner or the free super duper.

I remember that with OS ( use just needed a system folder to start up the computer but this is a little different.

Thanks, again.

Dan

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Author Topic: Creating a startup disk (Read 2234 times)