Booting from external drive

[jbrown]

Can I boot a current retina MBP from an external drive with Mountain Lion?

cheers

🙂

 

[heisenberg123]

Can I boot a current retina MBP from an external drive with Mountain Lion?

cheers

🙂

yes you can, you would have to first make a clone using something like carbon copy cloner to your external

make sure the external is formated GUID and OSX Journaled

once the clone is completed you plug it in hold option on a reboot and you will see the extenal drive as a choice to boot from

 

[jbrown]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Just to clarify, I have already got an external drive with the latest ML on it…I'd like to boot from it as it is now ( with ML and all my programs ).

Possible? 🙂

 

[Weaselboy]

Can I boot a current retina MBP from an external drive with Mountain Lion?

cheers

🙂

By current, do you mean the very newest model that came out in October? Those machines came with Mavericks and Mountain Lion will not have the drivers to run them.

 

[jbrown]

That was what I wanted to achieve….I currently have a 2012 non retina MBP,
and want to upgrade to a retina MBP.

I have an expensive to upgrade program ( Vectorworks ) that won't work with
Mavericks, but is fine on ML…so if I could only get a rMBP to run ML🙄

 

[heisenberg123]

That was what I wanted to achieve….I currently have a 2012 non retina MBP,
and want to upgrade to a retina MBP.

I have an expensive to upgrade program ( Vectorworks ) that won't work with
Mavericks, but is fine on ML…so if I could only get a rMBP to run ML🙄

I believe you cant downgrade to an OS that was never on your machine

 

[Weaselboy]

That was what I wanted to achieve….I currently have a 2012 non retina MBP,
and want to upgrade to a retina MBP.

I have an expensive to upgrade program ( Vectorworks ) that won't work with
Mavericks, but is fine on ML…so if I could only get a rMBP to run ML🙄

Sorry... nope. Mountain Lion won't run on the new one. 🙁

Can you update to Vectorworks 2014?

 

[jbrown]

Sorry... nope. Mountain Lion won't run on the new one. 🙁

Can you update to Vectorworks 2014?

Very expensive to do that🙁

 

[Fishrrman]

[[ Just to clarify, I have already got an external drive with the latest ML on it…I'd like to boot from it as it is now ( with ML and all my programs ).
Possible? ]]

That depends...
... on whether the -version- of ML that you have on the external drive is capable of booting your Mac. If you have an earlier version of the system than the one required by your current Mac, chances are it won't be "good enough".

The easiest way to create a bootable clone is with CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper. CCC will even re-create the recovery partition on an external drive.

Also, be aware that there are -some- external drives out there that won't boot the Mac, even if the OS is "correct". That's because of hardware (more likely firmware) problems with the drive enclosure itself. It has nothing to do with the software.

How to boot from the external:
- Restart
- Hold down the option key and keep holding it down until the startup manager appears
- Select the external drive (use pointer or arrow keys), then hit return.

 

[Weaselboy]

That depends...
... on whether the -version- of ML that you have on the external drive is capable of booting your Mac. If you have an earlier version of the system than the one required by your current Mac, chances are it won't be "good enough".

It has already been established OP is looking at the new Retina model and that model requires Mavericks and will not run on ML.