Help! Why can't I change startup discs?

[Barrett63]

This is frustrating. I am running OS 10.5 on a Power Mac Tower.
I had three partitions on the hard drive. After a freeze up, the machine wouldn't boot off the system drive. i restarted via the install disc and ran disc utility. The drive was irreparable and reformatting was necessary. Then I installed the system on one of the other partitions. I have been using Time Machine with a WD external drive and copied my original system and files back onto the reformatted system drive. I want this partition/system to be my startup system, as it has all my photos, preferences, etc. on it, but this partition will not show up in the Startup Disc preferences, no matter what I seem to do. Am I missing something? The restored system seems perfectly fine. This is consuming so much time. Thanks for any help.
-b

 

[Elbert C]

Does the partition show up when you reboot the Mac while holding down the Option key? If it does choose it and hit the arrow icon.
Try starting up in Safe Mode to see if you can select the partition from there, if it does show up at all that is.

 

[Barrett63]

I've tried both those approaches, and neither has worked. The system on the partition I want to use isn't "blessed" (that was the old term for it anyhow). It doesn't have the X on the folder. I've tried copying the system that the mac recognizes onto the partition I would like to use, but get the message that I don't have the right privileges! Thank you for the response.

 

[Fishrrman]

"I've tried both those approaches, and neither has worked. The system on the partition I want to use isn't "blessed" (that was the old term for it anyhow). It doesn't have the X on the folder. I've tried copying the system that the mac recognizes onto the partition I would like to use, but get the message that I don't have the right privileges!"

If it doesn't "show the X", it won't be bootable.

By "copying", do you mean a simple "Finder copy" (i.e., drag and drop)?

That won't work, because there are files involved that are [normally] invisible to the Finder and don't get copied. The result is an "incomplete" System folder and an un-bootable drive.

If you want to create a true "bootable clone", you need CarbonCopyCloner, available from:
http://www.bombich.com
Very easy to learn and use.

I would STRONGLY SUGGEST that you keep a fully-bootable clone of your main drive on an EXTERNAL drive of some sort (and not just on a partition of the main drive). There is always a possibility that the partition map itself may become corrupted, leaving you without any way to boot at all.

Actually, a very cost effective way to create a bootable external volume is to get one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=usb+sata+dock&x=0&y=0
(many items shown, they all work the same, just pick one you like, and they're very inexpensive, starting around $20)

.... and then use a "bare SATA drive" of your choosing from any vendor you like.

A USB/SATA dock will become a VERY useful piece of hardware to have on your desk, particularly when it becomes time to move to another Mac.

I would suggest looking for one that is "USB3" instead of "USB2" - USB3 will soon become "a standard" in 2012, even on Macs, and will outshine both firewire and Thunderbolt.

 

[Barrett63]

Yes I was doing a simple finder copy.
I don't understand why using Time Machine with an external drive didn't solve my problem in restoring my system. Isn't that exactly what it is supposed to do?

Also, wouldn't subscribing to a service that backs up all data offsite accomplish the same thing?

Thanks for the info. I do agree having a bootable copy externally sounds like a very good idea & I will look into that.
-b

 

[Elbert C]

Yes I was doing a simple finder copy.
I don't understand why using Time Machine with an external drive didn't solve my problem in restoring my system. Isn't that exactly what it is supposed to do?

Also, wouldn't subscribing to a service that backs up all data offsite accomplish the same thing?

Thanks for the info. I do agree having a bootable copy externally sounds like a very good idea & I will look into that.
-b

I don't use TM so I can't answer your questions about it, but the links below might be able to answer them for you.

Mac 101: Time Machine

10.5: Use Time Machine to create a bootable backup

How do I store a bootable backup side-by-side with my Time Machine data?