How Prepare Ext Drive to serve as bootable backup?

the last five lines are NOT in the permissions portion of the window.

There is no 'debug' menu in DU and putting it in spotlight also reveals none.

After Bombich Software Tech Support (maker of Carbon Copy Cloner) looked at my CCC log it showed that the external FW drive was in fact the startup drive. And that is the case at this moment when I am typing from that external FW startup instead of the internal HD.

When I purchased this MacMini with 10.6.8 there was no icon on the desktop showing the internal drive in the upper right screen corner as has been the case since my first mac in 1985. Someone provided a way to alter that (but I do not recall HOW) and viola, there was the internal Hard Drive on the desk top upper right corner.

So when external drive was made to startup and always came up as the 2nd drive on the right side of the screen

like it has been for decades I thought it meant that the EXTERNAL drive did NOT boot. I did not understand that Apple had changed that process....but found it just now in a post by baltwo....

If I choose to do so, how can the internal HD icon on the desk top be removed, or relocated. I now realize that I can check the Apple Menu "about this mac".

Thanks to all for your patience and help.

Thanks, but I already have diferent names so that isn't the issue.

APPLE chose to alter the process that had been in place from the very beginning, one that we have relied upon for decades........

(I think it was in one of your answers in a different forum that I was digging through that mentioned the startup drive icon. It indicated how to have it appear or not appear. Finder menu bar>Finder>Preferences>General tab>check harddrives)

However, that was ONLY part of the process. The other part - inherent in Mac's literally for decades - has been the inherent AND FIXED placement of the startup drive icon at the top right of the screen. Normally the internal drive was shown...but on a boot with a different drive or whatever, the ICON of that BOOT item always came up first.

WHILE WE CAN NOW CREATE OR REMOVE THE ICON OF THE DRIVES, THEIR PLACEMENT ON THE DESKTOP CAN ALSO BE ALTERED... and for decades we could not change the icon locations which Apple removed probably because as an alternate Film, DVD viewing platform it was distractive.

oh, well ... another new process to learn.

Here's what I did so far that helps me be aware of the difference - not perfect, but it does cause me to think!

In 10.6.8 the Internal Drive Icon (MacMini3) has been moved to the upper LEFT corner of the screen in normal operation with that as the startup driive.

After restart having selected an external FW drive as startup (verified from the Apple Menu) the INTERNAL DRIVE ICON is at the top right (NOT left as with internal drive)..

Then, as you suggested, move the external FW drive that IS THE STARTUP to the upper most corner and

put the internal drive icon under it.

Thanks for the help. Enjoy your day

TNX!