Installing Mac OS in a second partition

[buligjigandi]

Hi.
I have Mac osx 10.6.7 in my MacBook Air. If I create a partition, can I install Mac OS in that partition and boot from that instead of the existing one?

 

[maflynn]

Yes, and if you decide to, you can use Carbon Copy Cloner to duplicate the original partition.

I use an external drive to not only back up my Mac but also use that to boot up from when I need to perform some maintenance on my primary OS volume

 

[buligjigandi]

good. I installed the MacLeopard system in a new partition, but I am blocked in "creating an account" procedure. the "continue" button is not enabled with my choice of pwd and username and I cant go on. is it any particular rule for passwords?