New MacBook won't boot from external disk

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Level 1

111 points

New MacBook won't boot from external disk

I have a new MacBook that I am trying to boot from an external disk that had the system from my first gen MacBook Pro. When I restart holding the Option key, and select my external disk, the system restarts again and won't let me boot from that disk. Is there something different with the OS (10.5.6) that is installed on a newer MacBook that won't allow it to boot from the same OS from an older MacBook Pro?

Thanks

MBPro :: iMac :: Newton, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Jan 5, 2009 7:17 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 5, 2009 7:34 AM in response to Paul Matsuda

Try restarting but holding down the C key until the computer boots.

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Answer 2

Jan 7, 2009 5:20 PM in response to Paul Matsuda

golferx,

Will any other Intel Mac boot from the drive? If not, it's possibly because the drive uses an Apple Partition Map (bootable for PowerPC Macs) instead of a GUID Partition Table (bootable for Intel Macs).

To check: open to Disk Utility, select the hard drive on the left, select the Partition tab and look at the text at the bottom right corner of the window under Partition Map Scheme. If it says anything other than GUID Partition Table, you will need to erase and repartition it as such before it will be bootable.

Just a thought. Hope this helps. Good luck!

-i-

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Answer 3

Jan 7, 2009 5:37 PM in response to Paul Matsuda

I have a new MacBook that I am trying to boot from an external disk that had the system from my first gen MacBook Pro. When I restart holding the Option key, and select my external disk, the system restarts again and won't let me boot from that disk. Is there something different with the OS (10.5.6) that is installed on a newer MacBook that won't allow it to boot from the same OS from an older MacBook Pro?

Does the external drive have 10.5.6? How new is the new MacBook? If it came out after 10.5.6 was developed (which is some time before it was released) it may require a special version that is newer than that. Is Firmware Password enabled? That prevents booting from external drives.

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Answer 4

Paul Matsuda Author

Level 1

111 points

Jan 8, 2009 11:36 AM in response to Ian Patterson

yes, i can boot up a previous gen macbook with no problem, and also my iMac (current gen)

I took it to the Genius Bar and they had the same results and did not have a solution.

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Answer 5

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Jan 8, 2009 11:43 AM in response to Paul Matsuda

Your ext HD needs at least the OS version that shipped with the new machine or later to boot the machine. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2681 has the details.

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Answer 6

Paul Matsuda Author

Level 1

111 points

Jan 8, 2009 11:52 AM in response to Ian Patterson

Ian Patterson wrote:
golferx,

Will any other Intel Mac boot from the drive? If not, it's possibly because the drive uses an Apple Partition Map (bootable for PowerPC Macs) instead of a GUID Partition Table (bootable for Intel Macs).

To check: open to Disk Utility, select the hard drive on the left, select the Partition tab and look at the text at the bottom right corner of the window under Partition Map Scheme. If it says anything other than GUID Partition Table, you will need to erase and repartition it as such before it will be bootable.

Just a thought. Hope this helps. Good luck!

-i-

I can boot an prev gen MacBook and also my iMac (current gen). I took it to the Genius Bar and he could not get it to boot a new MacBook either and didn't have a solution.

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