Boot disk?

[DanL]

I've always wondered -- if I have a backup clone attached to my system, how can I make it conspicuous which disk I am booted to? That is, if my default internal startup disk fails on a power failure, and my system boots to the backup clone, how obvious is it going to be that my internal disk has crapped out? The two disks have identical names. In principle, I can just blithely continue, assuming nothing is wrong. That is, the whole purpose of the clone is to have something to run on while you're waiting for your internal drive to get fixed. If you don't know that your internal drive needs to be fixed, that's not good.

 

[honestone]

Typically the "clone" is on an external drive, and thus its icon is different. That is the way it is for me. Also, why would you name the clone the same as your internal one? Mine (for both of my Macs) is different. And in fact, given that I make two backups for each of my Macs to 2 separate external devices (SSDs), the clones for each Mac even have different names.

The other way you would know, of course, is that it takes longer to boot from the external clone.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

Also, if you Arrange by: Name in View Options for the Desktop, it will always put the startup drive on the top of the "column" of drive icons on the right-hand side.

C

 

[DanL]

Well, not so. When I boot to my SuperDuper clone, what gets displayed with the disk icon in the top right corner of the Desktop is the name of the machine, not the name of the boot disk partition where the clone resides. In fact, the name of my clone partition on my backup disk is "Daily Backup", and this phrase is not to be found on the desktop of my machine when I boot to that clone. So when I boot to the clone, my Desktop looks *exactly* the same as when I boot to my internal drive. I mean, that's what a clone is supposed to do, no?

Yes, "About this Mac" points to "Startup Disk: Daily Backup", when I boot to that clone, but I have to go look to see it. If my Mac is booted to my clone, there is nothing on my desktop that indicates that.

 

[honestone]

I am entering this post on my late 2012 Mac Mini. Inside it is a Samsung 840 Pro 256 gig SSD, and I have only one partition on it entitled "Macintosh SD". It is the boot partition.

I have an external enclosure attached (via USB) to the MIni, and within that enclosure is a Samsung 850 Pro 512 gig SSD. I have 3 partitions on it:

Mac Mini Backup SSD
MacBook Air Backup SSD
Other Files SSD

Those first 2 partitions (as their names imply) are SuperDuper! backups for each of my Macs. The third one contains various files, folders, etc.

After booting up my MIni from its internal boot drive, here is the order of those "devices" on my desktop, on the right, starting from the top:

Macintosh SD (grey colored disk icon)
Mac Mini Backup SSD (orange colored disk icon)
MacBook Air Backup SSD (orange colored disk icon)
Other Files SSD (orange colored disk icon)

When I restart the Min i from the Mac Mini Backup SSD partition (again, made with SuperDuper!), the order of those "devices" on the desktop, on the right, again from the top, is:

Mac Mini Backup SSD (orange colored disk icon)
Macintosh SD (grey colored disk icon)
MacBook Air Backup SSD (orange colored disk icon)
Other Files SSD (orange colored disk icon)

Similar "arrangements" occur also for my MacBook Air, and also for the other external Samsung 850 Pro 512 gig SSD that I have.

Here is one thing you can try: rename one of those external partitions (you can do that by clicking on the device name under the icon). It would be best if you give it some "unique" name that is different than the one for your internal boot drive).

Finally, I have never needed to change any kind of "setting" for that order I mentioned above. That device order appears no matter what Mac OS I have used. In fact, I don't even know how to change it.

 

[DanL]

As I said, when I boot from a backup partition, the disk icon in the upper right corner of the Desktop is the same as when I boot from the internal disk, and the name displayed there is the same as that of the internal disk that it is a clone of. When I display those external disk partitions on the desktop, sure, they are orange colored disk icons. Also as I said, the name of those external partitions is different than the name of my internal disk. Those different names are displayed with the orange colored disk icons. But when I boot from the external partition, that's not the name or the icon color that is displayed at upper right on the Desktop.

I'm not making that up.

I don't need to "rename those external partitions" because THEY ALREADY HAVE DIFFERENT NAMES THAN THE INTERNAL DISK.

Maybe there is some system setup that makes it work for you like you say it works for you. But it doesn't work that way for me.

I am using El Cap 10.11.6, BTW.

By the way, Dave Nanian agrees that this is how SuperDuper clones work.

 

[DanL]

I should say that it occurs to me that there is a workaround. The issue is, when it reboots, who did it boot from? Did it really boot from the internal disk? Of course, when it reboots, it requires a login. I usually don't log out, so my rule should be that whenever I have to log in, there has been a reboot, and I'd better look at "About This Mac" to check who it booted from.

 

[honestone]

First, there is NO REASON TO USE CAPS! I am just trying to help you. Why are you "SHOUTING" at me?

Secondly, wrong, wrong, wrong about the device names. I just restarted my Mac Mini from the SuperDuper! backup I did this past Saturday, and the order is, from the top:

Mac Mini Backup SSD (orange colored disk icon)
Macintosh SD (grey colored disk icon)
MacBook Air Backup SSD (orange colored disk icon)
Other Files SSD (orange colored disk icon)

This naming/ordering has ALWAYS been the same for me with SuperDuper!, no matter which Mac OS I have used. I am now on High Sierra (OS 10.13.2), but it has been the same for Yosemite, El Capitan, and Sierra. Also, the LATEST version of SuperDuper! is V3.1.1. Are you using that one?

I am unaware of any "setting" within either the Mac OS itself or SuperDuper! that would "rename" the device/partition name.

 

[honestone]

I should say that it occurs to me that there is a workaround. The issue is, when it reboots, who did it boot from? Did it really boot from the internal disk? Of course, when it reboots, it requires a login. I usually don't log out, so my rule should be that whenever I have to log in, there has been a reboot, and I'd better look at "About This Mac" to check who it booted from.

That SHOULD not be necessary. First of all, when you start up your Mac, it boots from your internal disk. (You can confirm that by disconnecting the external drive, and then start up your Mac).

Secondly, to change the Start Up device, one needs to go to the System Preferences and select Startup Disk. What will appear next is a horizontal "list" of start up devices (the external ones will not be "directly" selectable). To change which device to start up from, one needs to click the "lock" icon, then enter their admin password (I believe it works that way for El Capitan). One can then select which device to start up from. Once one clicks on that device, a dialogue appears to "confirm" that choice.

When I do that, I can definitely see the light flashing on my external device. Also, the start up process is definitely slower than via my internal drive. It has always been that way for me (believe it was the same for El Capitan, but it's been over 3 years since I used El Capitan).

 

[DanL]

Re caps, that was just to emphasize that my clone partitions *are* named differently from my internal disk partition. I said that, and you evidently didn't absorb it, because you asked me again to rename my partitions when I already said they had different names.

What you see on your machine is exactly different than what I see. Boots from external backup partitions do not produce an orange disk icon at upper right on my desktop. They produce a regular gray disk icon. They do not produce names on that icon that correspond to the disk/partition name. The names that are shown are the names that appeared in my original system that got cloned.

Yes, I am using the latest SuperDuper.

Also, as confirmed with Dave Nanian, one doesn't expect a SuperDuper clone to produce an icon at upper right on the desktop with the name of the boot disk/partition where that clone came from. It's a clone, so you see exactly what your original system showed you. The device/partition is not being "renamed". It's just behaving like a true clone. What you had is identical what you get.

So I guess we can wonder about why things look so different. If there is some setting that would make my system behave like your system, I'd be delighted to hear about it.

 

[honestone]

Re caps, that was just to emphasize that my clone partitions *are* named differently from my internal disk partition. I said that, and you evidently didn't absorb it, because you asked me again to rename my partitions when I already said they had different names.

So what? CAPS are still not necessary, and they definitely make it appear like you are SHOUTING. But maybe that is the way you behave. Certainly not an acceptable way to appreciate ANY assistance.

Also, as confirmed with Dave Nanian, one doesn't expect a SuperDuper clone to produce an icon at upper right on the desktop with the name of the boot disk/partition where that clone came from. It's a clone, so you see exactly what your original system showed you. The device/partition is not being "renamed". It's just behaving like a true clone. What you had is identical what you get.

So I guess we can wonder about why things look so different. If there is some setting that would make my system behave like your system, I'd be delighted to hear about it.

First, as I stated, it has always been that way for me, ie, the partition names that I gave them are what appear under the icons. Secondly, external devices/partitions are always in a different color (typically orange) for me. There might be a way of changing those colors, but I have never done it. I suspect that is the way the Mac OS "colors" them. USB Flash Drives, at least for me, are white in color (I have one plugged into one of the USB ports on my USB hub right now).

Secondly, if I knew what "setting" to change, are you going to "appreciate it", or shout at me again? Here are the results of a google search I just did for "How to change disk icon colour on a Mac":

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1...prrYAhUgS2MKHVIFBaEQ7xYIIygA&biw=1272&bih=792

Hopefully your reply will not be in all caps.

 

[DanL]

OK, I think we're done here. Thank you. You can chill now.

 

[honestone]

OK, I think we're done here. Thank you. You can chill now.

Next time you get assistance from someone, don't use ALL CAPS. It is not necessary. I am more than happy to try and help folks, but I expect mature behavior in return.