Backup drive does not show up as startup option

[t3rockhall]

Well, I have my old G4 iMac and a recycled drive in an enclosure. My wife uses this Mac for a few things, but lately has been creating a large Excel file for her church chorus music, so I thought I'd better be sure she was backing up, because of the vast number of hours he's put in.

I had been doing smart backups and they seemed to go through. I decided I'd test the backup, and, while the external drive shows up fine on the desktop, it does not come up as a boot drive choice. SO, I did a full erase and copy, shut everything down and tried to boot with the option key down, but all I see is the internal drive - no backup (there is a "network drive" with a question mark on it, though). So, the backup drive is still on the desktop, but not as a system preferences option as a startup drive.

OK, I have the excel file saved elsewhere now, so no harm, no foul, but why doesn't the drive show as a boot volume?

[dnanian]

Does the drie show up as a boot drive choice in the startup disk preference pane?

[t3rockhall]

Originally Posted by dnanian

Does the drie show up as a boot drive choice in the startup disk preference pane?

No (I noted that in my OP). Just the internal and a "network drive (with a question mark)"

If it matters, the G4 iMac is running 10.5.8. I also reset the PRAM and the Open Firmware, and ran OnyX.

I also downloaded a new copy of SD! and replaced the one on the HD.

I hadn't previously tried to use the backup as a startup (not for several years, anyway), but this came up when I went to back up the HD and a dialog box came up for a new version. When I said OK to install, the installation crashed, gave me a red dialog box. It wasn't the same after that, if this information helps.

[dnanian]

It wasn't clear whether you meant the Startup Disk preference pane or the Option+Power On menu - that's why I asked.

Check to see how the drive is partitioned. Perhaps it's not using the right partition scheme (see Help > Frequently Asked Questions, top question).

[t3rockhall]

Originally Posted by dnanian

It wasn't clear whether you meant the Startup Disk preference pane or the Option+Power On menu - that's why I asked.

Check to see how the drive is partitioned. Perhaps it's not using the right partition scheme (see Help > Frequently Asked Questions, top question).

It should be right. This drive was in my old G4 tower and I put it in the external case when I got rid of the tower. It has not been reformatted. But tomorrow, I'll go upstairs and check it out.

One correction: It's a G5 iMac (not a G4). I believe RAM is max'd out at 2G. The external drive is only 60G (as opposed to 250 in the iMac) but only has 32 G on it. Perhaps the disparity of capacity is part of the problem.

[dnanian]

We don't actually care about the size, as long as the data fits with plenty of extra space.

[t3rockhall]

Originally Posted by dnanian

...
Check to see how the drive is partitioned. Perhaps it's not using the right partition scheme (see Help > Frequently Asked Questions, top question).

It is as expected - Mac OS Extended (Journaled)

[dnanian]

That's the format, not the partition scheme...

[t3rockhall]

Originally Posted by dnanian

That's the format, not the partition scheme...

Yep. I just re-partitioned it and am now running SD. I'll report when the backup is done.

Comment: Last night, I erased and replaced with no problem, but today I tried to do a smart update and it crashed (could not copy).

I probably set the drive up for the first time when it was connected to my Intel iMac.

Don't you ever sleep?

[dnanian]

It didn't crash. If you have an issue where it fails, please send the log if you can't figure it out (with the send to shirt pocket button).

I'll sleep when I'm dead. (h/t Warren Zevon)

[t3rockhall]

I guess you hit it on the head. Re-partitioning worked, and external now shows up as a startup choice. Running smart update (again) now, and it's halfway through, so all seems OK.

Thank you for your patience.

This is why I recommend SD! whenever I can.

HR

[dnanian]

Great! Glad things are working as expected now.