Can an iMac be started from a USB 2.0 drive, or does this article only apply to USB 3.0 drives?

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Level 1

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Can an iMac be started from a USB 2.0 drive, or does this article only apply to USB 3.0 drives?

The article doesn't specify whether you need USB 2.0 or 3.0. I have a feeling it doesn't matter, but I wanted to make sure. My iMac only has USB 2.0 ports, so I'm most interested in whether or not a USB 2.0 drive is able to be used as a startup drive. Also, what would be the difference between using a USB drive as a a startup drive vs. a Firewire or Thunderbolt drive? Thanks for the help.

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on Sep 6, 2013 11:24 PM

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Answer 1

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mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

Sep 6, 2013 11:26 PM in response to jhonkaman

You can use a USB 2.0 drive to start up your Mac without any problem, always that the drive has got an operating system. You can also start up from USB 3.0 drives if your Mac supports it, although USB 3.0 is compatible with USB 2.0.

jhonkaman wrote:

Also, what would be the difference between using a USB drive as a a startup drive vs. a Firewire or Thunderbolt drive? Thanks for the help.

The way to start up from USB, FireWire or Thunderbolt drives is the same. The only different thing is the speed, as Thunderbolt drives are faster than FireWire and USB 2.0 external drives

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