backup not bootable
 

Yes, I have read the FAQ. MacBook Pro, OS 10.5.5, SimpleTech Mini 250 GB USB drive. Drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

Using "back up all files Smart Copy"... same as I have been forever on other drives. Drive is not bootable, nor does it show up as a startup drive in system prefs. I have run repair disk as well as Disk Warrior.

What am I missing??

Thanks,

Rich

Are you sure it's partitioned properly, as "GUID"?

How do I check that??

Open Disk Utility, select the drive hardware (above the backup volume) and look at the lower right side of the window.

Disk Description : Hitachi HTS543225L9A300 Media Total Capacity : 232.9 GB (250,059,350,016 Bytes)
Connection Bus : USB Write Status : Read/Write
Connection Type : External S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
USB Serial Number : 008080400001 Partition Map Scheme : Master Boot Record

Right. Master Boot Record won't work. That's Windows partitioned. It needs to be GUID (as mentioned in the FAQ).

Thanks for your help. It seems that Disk Utility defaults to MBR and I didn't realize that. Through this I have discovered that only one of my backup drives (the oldest one) was actually bootable. Now I'll get my drives formatted properly and sleep better as well~!!

Actually, I think it defaulted to the existing format when I bought the drive. Anyway, thanks for the help.

Formatting does not change the partitioning scheme. To change that, the disk needs to be re-partitioned. In Disk Utility select the drive (not the volume), choose the 'Partion' tab, click the "Options..." button, and choose "GUID Partition Table".

Yes, I learned this today!! Also, today I bought iPartition and used it to change the partitioning scheme on 4 backup drives without having to erase the drives.