iMac External Drive Question

[MacOCD]

My friend says he is having problems with his hard drive, and it says there isn't a startup disc. It gives the folder with the "?". He says he needs a new hard drive but I'm not sure that is the problem, can any one confirm?

If it is the problem he is wondering if he can just boot from an external drive and install the OS on the drive? He wants to use that as a replacement for his internal.

 

[spinnerlys]

Try this first:

Mac doesn't boot

 

[MacOCD]

Try this first:

Mac doesn't boot

Ok we did everything, but none of it worked.

So I'm guessing the hard drive is busted, can he use an external to boot in replacement for the internal? Because that's what he wants to do since he is out of warranty and short on money.

 

[spinnerlys]

Ok we did everything, but none of it worked.

So I'm guessing the hard drive is busted, can he use an external to boot in replacement for the internal? Because that's what he wants to do since he is out of warranty and short on money.

Yes, that is possible, one can boot from an OS installed on an external HDD or one can install an OS onto an external HDD.

It will work with USB and Firewire HDDs if your friend has an Intel Mac (almost any Mac released since 2006), if it is a PowerPC Mac, Firewire is the only option unless you have one of these Macs*.


*
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20060301112336384

1. iMac G5 w/ ALS
2. iMac G5 w/iSight (thanks to the eager user who emailed me)
3. 12" PowerBook 1.3GHz

 

[MacOCD]

He has the intel aluminum, so it will work.

Thanks for the help.