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TICKET ARCHIVE -> eMac won't boot from Crossfire external

Glaskin - Dec 21, 2007 - 6:42 am

I've installed OSX 10.3.9 on my SmartDisk Crossfire 160GB external FireWire drive and selected it in the Startup preference panel of my eMac (which is running 10.3.9)

Trouble is, it ignores my preference selection and always boots using the internal hard drive.

And when I hold down Option during startup it doesn't even find the external drive and its operating system files.

I'm running OSX 10.3.9 on my eMac and my CD drive is broken.

So can the Crossfire be used for booting or am I being utterly foolish in one way or another?

Glask

earthsaver - Dec 21, 2007 - 2:03 pm

Normally, selecting it in Startup Disk is enough, but you might also want to try blessing it with this Terminal command:

sudo bless -mount "/Volumes/name\ of\ the\ disc" -setBoot

Naturally, change "name of the disc" to the name of your hard disk, remembering to insert a backslash before each space. Enter your password and give it a shot.

With a broken drive, how did you install OS X on the Crossfire?

- Ben

Glaskin - Dec 21, 2007 - 2:52 pm

Ben, I've not done very much at all in Terminal but I shall try your suggestion. Thanks for the tip.

I installed OSX 10.3.9 on the Crossfire by using Carbon Copy Cloner to clone a carbon copy of the system.

Glask

Glaskin - Dec 21, 2007 - 3:08 pm

Ben,

I followed your suggestion but, alas, the eMac still boots from the internal hard drive and not from the external Crossfire, even though the Startup Disk preference clearly shows the operating system on the Crossfire as selected.

Would anyone recommend that I CarbonCopyClone the operating system onto my FireWire iPod and try to use that as an alternative external bootable drive?

Glask

earthsaver - Dec 21, 2007 - 3:41 pm

No, I wouldn't recommend that generally. What happens if you first zap the PRAM. That sometimes resets the startup disk preference and may activate the ability to change it to the external.

Glaskin - Dec 21, 2007 - 4:40 pm

Ben,

I followed your suggestion but, alas, the eMac still boots from the internal hard drive and not from the external Crossfire, even though the Startup Disk preference clearly shows the operating system on the Crossfire as selected.

Would anyone recommend that I CarbonCopyClone the operating system onto my FireWire iPod and try to use that as an alternative external bootable drive?

Glask

Glaskin - Dec 21, 2007 - 4:50 pm

I zapped the PRAM but unfortunately it hasn't solved the problem.

earthsaver - Dec 22, 2007 - 4:32 pm

Short of recloning, I'm not sure what else to suggest.

Glaskin - Dec 23, 2007 - 12:04 pm

OK, I'll try recloning.
I understand from Apple's own support pages that some FireWire drives may not work as boot disks and I'm beginning to wonder if the SmartDisk Crossfire 160Gb is one of those. I'm not sure how I could get confirmation because SmartDisk's support pages no longer function.

TechSupport - Dec 26, 2007 - 12:10 pm

We apologize for not being able to resolve the issue you asked of us. It is the absolute worst case scenario for us to do this. In our review of why this happens, it generally is related to either the particular issue being addressed or frequently, incomplete or incorrect information provided. We hope by moving your request to the public forums that you will be able to get a solution without leaving you empty handed.

Your ticket has been closed with our support team. Your request has just been posted to Mac OS X System & Mac Software and is available for your viewing at:

http://macosx.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297346

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