Install OS X on external firewire drive

[colindunn]

So I have a Lacie 250GB external firewire drive that I would like to install OS X onto. I am 95% sure this is possible, any help would be much appreciated.

 

[symphonix]

Here is the long and short of it.

- Plug the drive in. Make sure it is working and that there is nothing on it you don't mind getting rid of.
- Put your Mac OS X install disc into the drive and shut down.
- Turn on your Mac while holding down the "C" key to start from the CD drive.
- Once the installer loads, on the "Select Destination" step, you'll get the option of choosing where you want to install Mac OS X. Make sure you choose the external drive.

 

[colindunn]

Thanks for your help. But there is a ton of stuff on my external drive that I do not want to get rid of. Is there any way to partition the drive?

 

[jbarley]

Thanks for your help. But there is a ton of stuff on my external drive that I do not want to get rid of. Is there any way to partition the drive?

A google search for "non destructive OS X partitioning" comes up with at least 2 ways this can be accomplished, neither of them for the feint of heart.

jb.

 

[g/re/p]

I wonder how many thousands (millions??) of people have lost large amounts of unreplaceable data from actually trusting "non-destructive" partitioning applications..............

[whisper]don't risk it without first backing up the data[/whisper]

 

[fryke]

[whisper]which means you can do it the destructive way without losing anything just as easily. backup, partition, bring back the stuff from the backup.[/whisper]