Install OS 10.4 on an external hard drive

jcg666 · 06-18-2008, 06:04 PM

I attempted to install OS 10.4 (from the install cd) on a partition (10 GB) on a LaCie drive (500 GB). The installation was rejected because no firmware path was present. The partition is listed by Disk Utility as "bootable" Can I accomplish this task without reformatting the drive?

sinclair_tm · 06-18-2008, 10:58 PM

Mac booting can be tricky. It all depends on the Mac, and how the drive is setup and formatted. With out knowing at least the Mac, I can't say how the drive need to be for this to work.

jcg666 · 06-19-2008, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinclair_tm

Mac booting can be tricky. It all depends on the Mac, and how the drive is setup and formatted. With out knowing at least the Mac, I can't say how the drive need to be for this to work.

The Mac is a Power PC G4 (500 MHZ) desktop, but the internal hard drive has crashed (hence the external drive). The partition intended for the OS is formatted in Mac Extended (Journaled) (HFS+). The diagnostic log for the install says that there is no Firmware path. I have a functioning Power Book, with OS 10.4.11 installed. Would it help to start from there to install on the external hard drive?

sinclair_tm · 06-19-2008, 01:11 PM

Okay, is the drive USB or Firewire? That G4 does not support USB booting, only Firewire. Macs could not boot from USB until after all Macs has USB 2.0 ports. And to boot from a extrenal drive, the partition that you want to boot from must be the first one on the drive, and the drive's partition table must be made by the Mac.

jcg666 · 06-20-2008, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinclair_tm

Okay, is the drive USB or Firewire? That G4 does not support USB booting, only Firewire. Macs could not boot from USB until after all Macs has USB 2.0 ports. And to boot from a extrenal drive, the partition that you want to boot from must be the first one on the drive, and the drive's partition table must be made by the Mac.

This G$ was upgraded to USB 2.0, but the external drive was formatted using my PowerBook. I will see how all this works after the hard drive is returned from the data retrieval shop. Thanks for your help.

sinclair_tm · 06-20-2008, 11:15 PM

Even with a USB 2.o card, that Mac still can't boot USB, as it has to be hardwritten to do so in the firmware. If the drive was formatted by a Mac, then it has what it needs, but again, it has to be firewire to boot that Mac.