Which format to use to make bootable external for Intel Mac
 

Hi Dave,

Just got a 500GB FW400/USB 2.0 external drive and I want to partition it to use with SD with my Mac Pro. So, I just want to clarify my plan.

1. I should connect the drive via USB 2.0 correct so it will be Intel Mac bootable?

2. I should partition the drive using Disk Utility with the SD clone being about 10% larger than the internal boot drive (assuming I will keep 10% free in the internal boot drive)?

3. The format for the external drive should be Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)?

4. The partition scheme should be APM so I can use it to boot the Mac Pro and if necessary my G4 Powerbook?

I posed these as questions since I have my doubts that this plan is correct. What do you recommend?

Thanks and Happy Holidays to you and family,
Marianne :)

OK -- no, don't connect via USB unless you have no choice: FireWire is faster. (Just because you can boot from USB on an Intel Mac doesn't mean you should...)

Sounds right for the partitioning!

clarification needed
 

Hi Dave,

Do you mean I should connect the external drive by FW400 and use SD that way and resort to USB 2.0 if I need to boot from it?

Also will APM allow it to boot the Mac Pro via USB 2.0?

Thanks again,
Marianne

No -- always use FireWire: Intel Macs can boot from both. And APM should work fine for the Mac Pro (for external drives like your FireWire one).

Much appreciated!

Dave -- I don't understand why Firewire is faster. I thought FW 400 was about the same speed as USB 2.0. No?

No. It's unidirectional streaming speed is a bit faster, but FW400 is bidirectional, so the overall speed is significantly faster.