boot alt/option key

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Level 1

35 points

boot alt/option key

First thanks for read my question, so my problem is that I buy a Western Digital (My Book) USB external hard drive so I did a backup with Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper both apps do a great backup job and with both I can boot from my USB external hardrive via System Preference Startup Disk, but when try to boot via restart and hold down alt/option key neither can boot Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDupe not even my internal hard drive shows I releas the alt/option key and the computer boot from my internal drive so I disconect de external hardrive and restart my MacBook Pro (to see if the key is not working properly) but it works the computer show my internal drive almost instanyly so I choose it and the computer boots normaly then I try it again with the external hard drive conected and hold alt/option key for about 1 minute but neither hard drive shows but when I releas the alt/option key the computer boot from my internal drive properly.

so what I'm doing wrong?
Thanks

macbook pro

Posted on Dec 25, 2007 3:02 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

sig

Level 8

35,862 points

Dec 25, 2007 3:08 PM in response to papirin

Press Option-Command-Shift-Delete
during startup.

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Answer 2

smithrj

Level 4

1,541 points

Dec 25, 2007 3:09 PM in response to papirin

How appalling that a computer with two FireWire ports can't use two FireWire devices!

Ray

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Answer 3

papirin Author

Level 1

35 points

Dec 25, 2007 4:33 PM in response to sig

I will try that but what it does can you tell me and I do it with or without the external drive conected
thanks

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Answer 4

papirin Author

Level 1

35 points

Dec 25, 2007 4:35 PM in response to smithrj

hi thanks for read but my computer have only one firewire MacBook Pro first generation and only have money for this cheap external harddrive.

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Answer 5

papirin Author

Level 1

35 points

Dec 25, 2007 4:57 PM in response to papirin

sig I try your suggestion but didn't work and something I not metion before my external hardrive is partitioned 50gb for Mac OS X and the other is empty the 2 partition are GUID format Mac OS extended (journaled)

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Answer 6

papirin Author

Level 1

35 points

Dec 25, 2007 5:13 PM in response to papirin

thank you both so I reset my Reset Parameters Ram then restar the computer and said I will hold alt/option key until something happend and guess what something and after like 2 minutes an half something happend the two hardrives show so I guess the slownwes of the system to recognize the external harddrive is because the hardrice is cheap and very slow but again
thanks

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