Start-up with another drive

[helmutnc]

I am operating witth OS 10.5.8
My hard drive is compromised. I cannot go back to a previous window, cannot copy, etc.
I have another drive on which a system & most other stuff is stored. I use it only occasionally.
Is there any way that I can start-up my computrer from this drive, using the stored system & bypassing my computer?

 

[honestone]

You need to tell us what kind of Mac model you are using. Also, how much can you do with the "compromised" internal hard drive? If it is not completely "dead/useless", there are some things you could try first before attempting to boot from the external drive.

In any event, it is important to know how you "placed" in information on the external drive. If you used a "cloning" program like Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! (the one i use, and it works flawlessly! Plus, it has a "free" mode), then a bootable backup was made on that external device. But, if you just dragged and dropped various files onto that drive (including the system ones), don't think you'll be able to boot from that external drive.

The easiest way to tell is to start your Mac up while holding down the Option key. Hold it down until you see a screen that shows all bootable devices attached/internal to your Mac. If the external drive/partition shows up, then you should be able to just double click that icon, and the machine will start up from it.

But, need answers first to the questions above before we can help you more.

 

[helmutnc]

I cannot:
1: copy
2. open a previous window
3. move an item from one folder to another using rhe cursor
4. Everytime I Quit, or the computer goes to sleep my account no. disappears, & I must type it in & the password to gain web access
This began about 3 weeks ago with 4 shortly after ATT&T installed a new modem & has slowly gotten worse

 

[helmutnc]

I cannot:
1: copy
2. open a previous window
3. move an item from one folder to another using rhe cursor
4. Everytime I Quit, or the computer goes to sleep my account no. disappears, & I must type it in & the password to gain web access
This began about 3 weeks ago with 4 shortly after ATT&T installed a new modem & has slowly gotten worse

I forgot: I have an iMac

 

[honestone]

I forgot: I have an iMac

What specific model/year is your iMac?

Also, what happens when you disconnect the modem? Do things work better?

And, again I'll ask: how did you get all of your Mac "stuff" onto the external drive?

 

[helmutnc]

iMac 24" 3.06/4GB/1TB/512/sd/MSE/KB
I access the modem via WIFI. the modem serves, thru WIFI, all computers & TVs in the house. The other computers incl another Mac, are OK
I moved the other folders individually to the external drive

 

[honestone]

iMac 24" 3.06/4GB/1TB/512/sd/MSE/KB
I access the modem via WIFI. the modem serves, thru WIFI, all computers & TVs in the house. The other computers incl another Mac, are OK
I moved the other folders individually to the external drive

Since you just moved your "stuff" to that external drive, that means you cannot boot from it. I would strongly suggest that you start backing up your stuff, and as I mentioned, the excellent "free" cloning program SuperDuper! will make a bootable backup.

Since the other Mac is OK, if both the iMac and other Mac have Firewire 800 ports, you can boot the iMac in Target Disk Mode. How that would work is:

1. Connect the two Macs with a Firewire 800 cable.

2. Start up the "good" Mac.

3. After it completes its' start up process, for the iMac, hold down the T key when you boot it up.

4. The iMac's internal drive will then show up on the good Mac's desktop as an "external" device.

You can then use whatever Disk Repair tools you have on the good Mac to analyze and "possibly" repair the iMac's drive/software, etc.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

I see this is the 3rd thread you have created regarding your computer issues. The other 2 have been left open … might be a good idea to stay with this one & not create any more until we get to the bottom of things as it might all be related to the same issue.

 

[helmutnc]

Since you just moved your "stuff" to that external drive, that means you cannot boot from it. I would strongly suggest that you start backing up your stuff, and as I mentioned, the excellent "free" cloning program SuperDuper! will make a bootable backup.

Since the other Mac is OK, if both the iMac and other Mac have Firewire 800 ports, you can boot the iMac in Target Disk Mode. How that would work is:

1. Connect the two Macs with a Firewire 800 cable.

2. Start up the "good" Mac.

3. After it completes its' start up process, for the iMac, hold down the T key when you boot it up.

4. The iMac's internal drive will then show up on the good Mac's desktop as an "external" device.

You can then use whatever Disk Repair tools you have on the good Mac to analyze and "possibly" repair the iMac's drive/software, etc.

The other mac is a Macbook runnuing QS 10.9.5. Is that OK?

 

[helmutnc]

The other is a MacBook running OS 10.9.5. Is that OK?

 

[honestone]

The other is a MacBook running OS 10.9.5. Is that OK?

That's fine. Do you have any tools beyond Disk Utility for disk maintenance/repair? I only ask because maybe Disk Utility (even the version with Mavericks) might not be robust enough.

By the way, why haven't you upgraded the iMac to Mavericks (OS 10.9.5)? That would be a good step to take.

Also, hopefully you'll start to take my advice about backups. In fact, your Macbook is an excellent candidate!

 

[helmutnc]

I have not upgraded because I am happy with 10.5..8 & I have some software of a version that I like that probably won't operate on system upgrades

 

[honestone]

I have not upgraded because I am happy with 10.5..8 & I have some software of a version that I like that probably won't operate on system upgrades

OK, understand. But, what about backing up? Since you have an external drive, you can use it. And, you can partition it with at least two partitions, one for each of your Mac's backups (one for the iMac, and the other for the Macbook). That will save you plenty of grief!

 

[helmutnc]

I can't find free download for Superduper.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

I can't find free download for Superduper.

Here you go … go to the Shirt Pocket website and it's over to the top right