Late 2013 13 inch macbook pro will not boot from bootable external hard drive

The mavericks 10.9.1 version from the app store will not boot on late 2013 macbook pro retina (fully updated).

Matt

I can confirm that getting the InstallESD.dmg image from Internet Recovery works to create a bootable disk on late 2013 Macbook Pro Retina.

So it looks like the version downloaded from App Store isn't suitable for this machine (yet).

Matt

Is this when installed on a USB 3 external drive or on a USB 2 external?

If Apple continues with the Dual Releases of Point Release updates for Mavericks I'm not sure any App Store version of Mavericks will ever be able to boot the newest Mac computers that come with the special build for the new hardware.

To me it seems they have specifically targeted new Mac's to only run, boot, that new hardware from the special version, and updates to that special version, of Mavericks that originally comes on them. Only time, and when and if there is ever a 10.9.2 update, will tell.

mattcampbell wrote:

I can confirm that getting the InstallESD.dmg image from Internet Recovery works to create a bootable disk on late 2013 Macbook Pro Retina.

So it looks like the version downloaded from App Store isn't suitable for this machine (yet).

Matt

Is this when installed on a USB 3 external drive or on a USB 2 external?

Its not the USB device or port version that is the issue. Its the version of the OS. But I successfully used the InstallESD.dmg obtained from the Internet Recovery process to create both a 10.9 installer partition on a usb 3 disk and also installed 10.9 onto another partition. Both the installer and the mavericks os boot fine.

If Apple continues with the Dual Releases of Point Release updates for Mavericks I'm not sure any App Store version of Mavericks will ever be able to boot the newest Mac computers that come with the special build for the new hardware.

True. But what normally happens is that the newer device OS releases generally get merged back into the retail/app store version. Unfortunately you'll just have to keep trying each release until this occurs. Or do what I did above and get the right version from Internet Recovery.

To me it seems they have specifically targeted new Mac's to only run, boot, that new hardware from the special version, and updates to that special version, of Mavericks that originally comes on them. Only time, and when and if there is ever a 10.9.2 update, will tell.

I think its really a case of the app store version and previous versions of the OS not supporting the machine/hardware - probably the drivers of the newer machines haven't been added. So really the newer machines require a build of OS X 10.9 which support the machine. Without this it cannot boot from the files/installation. Again it doesn't seem to matter what device you are using (usb disk, usb thumb, even internal drive). If it has a version of OS X which doesn't support the machine it can't boot it.

Matt

With older OS X versions once there was a Point release update of that version installing the Combo Updater, downloaded from the Apple download website not the App Store version, allowed older installs to boot on the new hardware that originally only the special build version would work on. The Combo Updater contained all the hardware drivers for all Macs that could run that version of OS X. With this Dual Release system that seems to be gone. Again only time will tell and the release of 10.9.2.

I also have this problem, just recently purchased new late model 2013 Macbook Pro for our company. Tried as all have stated to boot from USB unsuccessfully. In following this thread I understand most of the conversation but am cloudy on a couple of points. I tried unsucessfully to do as matcampell suggested and get the installESD.dmg from the recovery process so if someone could post that procedure I would be grateful.

Also how do you download the Combo Updater? I am still fuzzy on difference between it and the app store version?

There is no Combo Updater for Mavericks. Apple has released 2 different versions of the 10.9.1 update (As stated above). One for older Mac's running Mavericks and one for the newest models. Whether that will be the case with future point releases of Mavericks no one knows.

You can't boot a NEW Mac with any version of OS X other than the version that came on it. Even if that other, older, Mac you made the bootable external drive with is running Mavericks. It must be the same version of Mavericks that came on you NEW Mac.

Just Clone the New Mac's hard drive to an external and it should boot your New Mac.

RiverRatinKY wrote:

I also have this problem, just recently purchased new late model 2013 Macbook Pro for our company. Tried as all have stated to boot from USB unsuccessfully. In following this thread I understand most of the conversation but am cloudy on a couple of points. I tried unsucessfully to do as matcampell suggested and get the installESD.dmg from the recovery process so if someone could post that procedure I would be grateful.

Also how do you download the Combo Updater? I am still fuzzy on difference between it and the app store version?

So - I currently have a drive that was in my older MacPro (5.1) that is running OSX 10.8.5

It won't boot on the MacPro (6.1) via a USB HDD Dock.

It I update the drive's OS to the lastest OSX (10.9.1), do you think I will be able to boot from it in the MACPro (6,1)?

You should be, based solely on the release numbers:

Mac Pro 6,1 13A4023

"Full Retail" 10.9.1 13B42

Didn't help me with the MacBookPro11,3 (the last release; Fall 2013) issue with external booting. I can't boot from my cloned drive (cloned via CarbonCopyCloner, another via SuperDuper, and another via Disk Utility -- none boot the MBPr), not from an external USB3 drive made specifically for repair work (i.e., an emergency boot drive) with the latest installer from scratch. The only booting is either the main drive (i.e., the internal) or the Recovery Drive (that is to say, the system's own partition/recovery drive on said internal).

I can see there being some issue with the "made" USB3 external, but a cloned drive should boot it without issue. But it doesn't.

In case this helps anyone … I was having the same issue. My Late-2013 iMac running Mavericks couldn't boot from a external USB hard drive that was cloned from the internal drive using Carbon Copy Cloner. I saw on a MacRumors thread (link below) that some people were having success booting from USB drives if run thru a USB 2 hub.

It was a slow startup, but I was able to boot from the USB drive if – and only if – it was not connected directly to the iMac but thru an older USB 2 hub. Whatever. It worked for me. Hope this helps others.

And sorry, if this was already brought up. I only read the first couple and last pages of this thread.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1726319