Booting from a firewire disk on two machines

[spydr]

Hi,

I am trying to keep my work files with me for of site access — our IT folks will not let me access my desktop remotely. I don't want to use a laptop to carry to and fro either.

Instead, I am thinking about booting from a firewire 800 disk (7200rpm), and functioning from exclusively. I can take the drive with me, whenever I need to have all data with me at a home machine — more importantly I am hoping I can boot from the same disk on my home iMac and do what I need to do.

I just tested it out for to see if the performance is acceptable — I can barely tell the difference! (perhaps a bit longer to boot - but that's about it).

My work computer is 27" iMac Core i7 2.8GHz with 8GB ram and my home unit is 24" iMac Core2Duo 2.8GHz with 2GB ram.

Will booting OS X on two different machines and changing files get me into troubles down the line?

I know that some applications won't like it as they look at the MAC id for license authentication. Any other issues that I should be aware of?

 

[iThinkergoiMac]

You should be fine, apart from the issue you mentioned about programs looking at MAC addresses (or system serials).

 

[vansouza]

Find out and let us know. I am wondering how you can boot to two different iMacs with one boot disk... two different everything .. even down to memory and you should expect some issues. As for booting from external fire wire ... I have done that for years... perhaps you should think of just using some tool like ChronoSync or some such to just copy out the home directory... just thinking...

 

[spydr]

It works — and no issues from trying it for a day.

I can clone the disk with ccc in less than an hour and take home my work in less than ten ounces! Make whatever changes and bring it back and reclone it backwards and it seems to work.

But there is some thing unsettling about this that I don't quite like! can't quite place it - perhaps it's the fear of getting screwed somehow in the long run.