gd0

Q: Changed Startup Disk, need info on Finder

First issue: I am stuck with this system, cannot afford any upgrades.

 

Second issue is just a request for information.

 

The now-five-years-old internal HD started to show signs of instability (struggled with backups via SuperDuper etc). So I assigned Startup Disk to one of three external HDs (two 500G, one 160G (I am unable to edit my gear profile here for some reason)).

 

First time I'd done this, and everything appears to work fine.

 

I noticed that I needed to replace the Aliases in the Dock, so that apps would launch from the Startup Disk and all work going forward gets done here. I'm content to never access the internal HD again (it's old and too small at its max 160G size).

 

I further noticed that the Finder and Dashboard aliases are not replaceable as I did the above alias swaps. Is the fact that I've changed the Startup Disk enough to ensure that the Finder is operating on the new Startup and not the old, dying internal HD? Or am I misunderstanding the procedure to begin with?

 

Just want to completely bypass the internal without disconnecting it outright. Just trying to confirm if I am already doing that.

 

Am I missing anything basic?

 

Thanx in advance.

Power Mac G4 PPC, Mac OS X (10.4.11), 667 MHz / 160G int / 160G ext / 1.5G RAM / DSL

Posted on Feb 6, 2012 2:37 PM

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Q: Changed Startup Disk, need info on Finder

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  • by gd0,

    gd0 gd0 Feb 12, 2012 12:23 PM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Feb 12, 2012 12:23 PM in response to BDAqua

    "Cable select" is the jumper setting shown on the usable HD.

     

    The OEM HD (again, it's disconnected) shows a different pin configuration than shown in your diagram or the article. Looks like 10 pins, not 8, with two jumpers, unless I'm not seeing clearly. Sketch below. There might be a missing pin, from the difficult uninstall.

     

    oemHD.jpg

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Feb 12, 2012 12:43 PM in response to gd0
    Level 10 (123,745 points)
    Feb 12, 2012 12:43 PM in response to gd0

    Which brand drive is this? Different manufacturers have different pinouts.

     

    And did I read that right above, you could get the Disk Info with the old drive disconnected?

     

    That pin may be missing from the factory, looks like a Maxtor drive...

     

    http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/images/support/en/us/mxo_ata_jumpers_rev.jpg

     

    That drive looks like set to Master for sure, & the sideways jumper is just a way to park/store the jumper without it actually doing anything.

  • by Michael K. Moore Jr.,

    Michael K. Moore Jr. Michael K. Moore Jr. Feb 12, 2012 12:48 PM in response to gd0
    Level 1 (80 points)
    Feb 12, 2012 12:48 PM in response to gd0

    I have a PowerMac G5 Dual 1.8 GHZ, the PCI-X model. For Mac OS 10 to recongnize the drive it MUST BE A 1.5gbps drive. Now most any drive is backwards compatible. So if your drive can do 3 GBPS then it will automatically back down to 1.5. On my 1tb Western Digital and the original 500GB I bought the computer with, I had to put the jumper over Pins 5 and 6. And to switch Jumper settings use tweezers.

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Feb 12, 2012 1:16 PM in response to Michael K. Moore Jr.
    Level 10 (123,745 points)
    Feb 12, 2012 1:16 PM in response to Michael K. Moore Jr.

    Hi Michael, thanks for trying to help, but actually the G4 here uses PATA/IDE/ATA drives.

     

    Your advice is great for G5's using SATA drives though.

  • by Michael K. Moore Jr.,

    Michael K. Moore Jr. Michael K. Moore Jr. Feb 12, 2012 1:21 PM in response to gd0
    Level 1 (80 points)
    Feb 12, 2012 1:21 PM in response to gd0

    Sorry, thought we are talking bout a G5 here. Oh well, I have a G4 QuickSilver dual800. I have 2 hard drives in it. The 1st one has a Jumper on  pins 5 and 6 and the 2nd has no jumper. Try that combo. To be honest with you though, my G4 dosen't seem to care about jumpers though. And make sure that you are using the fastest ATA bus because the ATA33 is only for the optical. The one that has the ability to have 2 ATA drives on one channel is usually the fastest and the one you should use.

  • by gd0,

    gd0 gd0 Feb 12, 2012 1:23 PM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Feb 12, 2012 1:23 PM in response to BDAqua

    The active internal HD is a Seagate 160G, Ultra ATA.100, 7200RPM, 8MB Cache. I don't see transfer speeds on the package or in the manual. Again, the jumpers are set to "Cable select."

     

    The OEM HD is entirely disconnected from the box, and is not visible on my Mac as far as I can tell. Certainly nowhere in the Profiler. Did a Sherlock for Maxtor, got nothing.

     

    Next?

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Feb 12, 2012 1:54 PM in response to gd0
    Level 10 (123,745 points)
    Feb 12, 2012 1:54 PM in response to gd0

    Which drive is the new one, the one we want?

  • by gd0,

    gd0 gd0 Feb 12, 2012 2:23 PM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Feb 12, 2012 2:23 PM in response to BDAqua

    The drive I want as Startup Disk is one of the 3 external HDs; it has in fact been assigned as Startup as of last week, and generally seems to work well as such (even if somehow the internal HD appears to 'interfere' occasionally). It is not partitioned, dedicated to being the main HD on which all projects are accomplished. (OWC 500G)

     

    The other two externals are partitioned for backup and archiving, but work fine and can be re-assigned if needed. (LaCie 500G and LaCie 160G).

     

    The active internal HD - the former Startup Disk as of last week - is a 5-yr-old Seagate and showing signs of old age (struggles with SuperDuper backups). I want it bypassed entirely, in the easiest but most effective way.

     

    The OEM internal HD is dead as of years ago, and is entirely disconnected form the box, though it resides there.

     

    And that's all I got.

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Feb 12, 2012 2:52 PM in response to gd0
    Level 10 (123,745 points)
    Feb 12, 2012 2:52 PM in response to gd0

    OK, and it wouldn't boot from the external drive when the internal was disconnected?

  • by gd0,

    gd0 gd0 Feb 12, 2012 3:06 PM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Feb 12, 2012 3:06 PM in response to BDAqua

    Correct.

     

    Got a blinking Apple face-question mark... stayed that way until I shut it down 3-4 minutes later.

     

    That boot attempt was via the normal way, button on the tower... no Safe Boot, or any other alternative boot.

     

    Booted (obviously) in normal fashion after I re-connected.

  • by japamac,

    japamac japamac Feb 12, 2012 3:16 PM in response to gd0
    Level 7 (24,390 points)
    Feb 12, 2012 3:16 PM in response to gd0

    Is the external conmnected by firewire?

    If not, do so.

  • by gd0,

    gd0 gd0 Feb 12, 2012 3:43 PM in response to japamac
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Feb 12, 2012 3:43 PM in response to japamac

    Yup, all FireWire, all the time.

  • by gd0,

    gd0 gd0 Feb 13, 2012 8:47 AM in response to gd0
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Feb 13, 2012 8:47 AM in response to gd0

    Today's fun...

     

    G4 couldn't finish booting on first attempt. It got as far as the blue-bat "Starting OSX" where it finished filling the blue bar but never advanced beyond that.

     

    Second attempt yielded the 1-week-old desktop again. The entire boot sequence had the appearance of the former Startup Disk (the internal Seagate HD). I let it finish, looked at iTunes to see old content, then shut down.

     

    Third attempt, the boot went as it's supposed to, obviously via the current, correct assigned Startup Disk (the external OWC).

     

    It behaves as though the internal HD isn't convinced that it isn't the Startup Disk anymore.

     

    Settings?

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Feb 13, 2012 10:36 AM in response to gd0
    Level 10 (123,745 points)
    Feb 13, 2012 10:36 AM in response to gd0

    Might be time to replace the PRAM Battery, 4 years is close to their lifespan, far less if ever without AC power, & can cause strange startup problems...

     

    http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/BAA36VPRAM/ 

     

    If you hold the Option/alt key at bootup, do you get a choice of drives to boot from?

  • by gd0,

    gd0 gd0 Feb 13, 2012 12:13 PM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Feb 13, 2012 12:13 PM in response to BDAqua

    Yes, but...

     

    That process took a couple minutes to unfold, and when it was done, it offered a choice of the active internal HD, and only ONE of the 3 external HDs - and that one is NOT the currently-assigned Startup Disk.

     

    The internal HD was highlighted in the same way Sytems Preferences highlights the current Startup Disk. Not knowing what the shown arrows were, I clicked the forward arrow, which continued the boot.

     

    Given that the internal was highlighted, I expected to see the 1-week-old desktop. But instead the boot apparently took place via the recently-chosen Startup. The desktop is current. A look at Systems Preferences shows the HD I want as startup is highlighted.

     

    A quick test reveals that I still have my original problem: existing files, when double-clicked, launch from the internal HD, and not the recently-chosen Startup.

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