[JnC]

Originally Posted by underwhelmed

...There just isn't a NBM of the same version so you can't use it to update the installation USB thumb drive.

I'm not clear on this.
My install USB thumb drive is from a 10.6.0 retail disk. I haven't done anything to it and think I should keep it as is. Am I missing something?

Just wondering: I know you've read my how I made a bootable... (and thanks for recommending it to others) I trust the info is still good.
I am still curious - I made it in MBR (thinking the mini was at it's very most basic level a PC) - would I have been better off using GUID and would it have taken less time to make (and be faster to use?)

As always, underwhelmed, thanks for your help.
J

---------- Post added at 05:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:16 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Oscar

...my understanding of this particular release (NBI .. 351 aka NBI special) is that nothing was added or really changed except for memory allocation -- i don't know the details; point being that it really is still the same as is used to install 10.6.3 -- so no harm will come from running it on that.

by your post i realize you know this already. but still, i would strongly caution against trying any updates while traveling especially if the mini is the only computer you have with you.

cheers

Thanks for the further info on NBI special. I haven't done anything yet, but I know that occasionally rerunning the NBI is supposed to fix a host of issues (which thankfully I don't have) so I was concerned about installing the newer version to use with 10.6.3.

You are right, I know full well not to do anything stupid like an update when I have no backup (except my trusty thumbdrive with my bootable clone of the system) We have 2 minis, but only travel with one - why expose both to the stresses of travel?

Could you take a look at my question in the reply to underwhelmed about MBR vs GUID for the bootable clone. I never felt secure that I did the right thing in going the MBR route.

Thanks again,
J

[Oscar]

"Could you take a look at my question in the reply to underwhelmed about MBR vs GUID for the bootable clone. I never felt secure that I did the right thing in going the MBR route."

i actually did this myself at one point a very long time ago-- just out of plain ol' curiosity because at the time i was also messing around with a number of linux distros that could always be ran off of live usb media.

i believe when i did it i also used MBR thinking as you did that the mini wouldn't boot from a GUID partitioned USB drive.

however, i also have cloned the mini to an external drive before which was GUID, and that booted fine as well.



on the surface, that would suggest that either will work. . . . but.... thinking of it now, i can't be certain the mini wasn't just using the bootloader already installed on the internal harddrive and showing the external drive as a bootable option from there.

i no longer have that usb. the biggest issue i had with it was that it was just plain to slow for me-- to the point i didn't feel it was really usable. (chuck it up to lack of patience). i'll see if i still have a bootable external drive to check which bootloader is actually handling it , update if i do.

update: so i'm now logged into the mini via external drive, with the internal drive removed, that makes certain the bootloader being used is from the external drive--which is GUID.

so either MBR or GUID will work for the flashdrive back up. as to whether you might have saved time? i think not much if at all. as for sluggishness when running the OS from the flashdrive, i don't really think it can be helped, though i know some higher end drives are supposed to be considerably faster than the ordinary but may be to pricy to justify.

gl

cheers.

[JnC]

Originally Posted by Oscar

...that makes certain the bootloader being used is from the external drive--which is GUID.

so either MBR or GUID will work for the flashdrive back up..

Thanks so very much for the info Oscar and doing the experiment for me. Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you.

I've always wondered if mini (the PC part of it) needed MBR since it boots to a Dell screen before going to the Apple and thus GUID wouldn't work, but on second thought I realized that Mechdrew's install involved doing things with GUID...

I know I did one external as MBR and the one for the initial install was GUID so I should have known that that would work too.

I want to make another bootable clone of just the system for traveling, I think I may do it as GUID and hope it may be faster. I know I may have to run the NBI on the clone USB drive to make it work - that's when things begin to puzzle me...

J