Booting external iMac backup on Mini seems no longer possible with Lion?

[hwitten]

Hopefully I'm just missing something.

One reason I like(d) Macs over PC's was that in a pinch I could take an external backup from one Intel Mac and use it to boot another Mac.

I.e. One Mac fails and back in business using last external backup using any other Intel Mac. This worked perfectly pre-Lion.

I have an iMac27/Lion and Mini/Lion, both recent, I.e. latest. Have tried SuperDuper and CCC to create the backups but I can't use one created on the iMac and boot the Mini.

Migration is really a bad alternative as instead of minutes it's many hours. As a last resort, the iMac's external does mount so at least I have the data but it just used to be so simple to "backup" ones hardware that I want to be sure I didn't overlook something.

TIA

 

[old-wiz]

What iMac and what Mini?

You could definitely have trouble if you have an iMac clone pre-thunderbolt and try to boot it on a Mini with thunderbolt.

 

[hwitten]

Both are Thunderbolt and the external is TB as well.

Going to build a backup with an external that has USB and FW and I'll try that. I tried it earlier with FW to a non-Thunderbolt Mini without success so I got a TB Mini, hoping it would work. So-far not.

Have also tried to re-install Lion on the Mini using the Apple USB, but it won't 'recover' the Lion TB Mini.