Is it possible to burn a bootable cd?

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MaxTek's picture
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Is it possible to burn a bootable cd?

I am using OS 9.2.2 and using a Shrinkwrapped mounted image and am trying to burn a "bootable" (blessed system folder) cd from it, with no luck at all. It burns just fine but the System Folder has no icon on its folder.

I am using "disc burner" because the version of toast I have (4.x) doesn't support my Sony i-Link burner.

Is this possible or am I wasting my time? Is there a procedure other than the straight forward way when using "Disc Burner"?

Thanks,

MaxTek

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Hope this helps

I had one of those I-Links, and it hated Mac's. It didn't burn, or if it did, it screwed up. I sent it back and got a Lacie which works great, no problems, I can burn straight from a combo drive to it through firewire and it works fine. Hope this helps.

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I can't remember if you can d

I can't remember if you can do this with Toast 4, but in later versions, you can save a disc project as a disc image. What I would do is create a bootable disc project in Toast (there should be an option for Bootable CD or "make bootable" or something along those lines), save it as a disc image, and then burn it using Apple's tools. Otherwise, I would just try to find a newer version of Toast; creating a bootable CD with just the Finder and Disc Burner is difficult if not impossible.

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Re: Hope this helps

I had one of those I-Links, and it hated Mac's. It didn't burn, or if it did, it screwed up. I sent it back and got a Lacie which works great, no problems, I can burn straight from a combo drive to it through firewire and it works fine. Hope this helps.

That's too bad you had problems with yours. As for burning straight iTunes and backup cds, it works like a charm. Not coasters as of yet. I got it for 8 bucks a month ago at a yard sale. I came home and hooked to my iMac (OS 9.2.2) and it recognized it instantly as well as "disc burner" I couldn't be happier.

MaxTek

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Re: I can't remember if you can d

I can't remember if you can do this with Toast 4, but in later versions, you can save a disc project as a disc image. What I would do is create a bootable disc project in Toast (there should be an option for Bootable CD or "make bootable" or something along those lines), save it as a disc image, and then burn it using Apple's tools. Otherwise, I would just try to find a newer version of Toast; creating a bootable CD with just the Finder and Disc Burner is difficult if not impossible.

I did read something (many, many sites into my google search) about this. The problem now is finding (which is very hard) an upgrade to 4 that supports my Sony drive.

Here is the page I found if anyone needs it:

Creating a Mac Startup CD With Toast 4

By Brian Aslakson

posted to the Roxio newsletters on March 20, 2001

One of the most useful things you can do with your CD burner is make a backup CD that will boot your system. Often, the only startup CD you have is the one that came with your hardware, which is likely several system upgrades ago. Further, even the lastest System CD from Apple won't have your personalized settings on it, especially Internet and network connection settings. To protect against system problems, sit down and make yourself a startup CD with Toast 4 right now. In the process, you'll learn how to make any CD a bootable CD.

There are three ways to make a startup CD using Toast 4: copying an existing Startup CD or Mac Volume, or by using Mac Files & Folders.

The easiest is to simply use the Disc Copy program included with Toast to make a backup of your Mac OS CD. This won't let you change what is on the CD, however. If you have Toast 4 Deluxe, you can save it as a disc image before writing it. Then you can mount the disc image and modify it, even completely changing the System Folder! A disadvantage is that you can't change the size of the volume, but if there is room on the CD, you can always add a second volume if needed. There are some tricky steps involved in modifying a partition, but if you want more than just a copy of your original startup discs, there are better ways to get what you want.

Another way to create a bootable CD with Toast 4 Deluxe is to use the "Mac Volume" option in the main Toast window. Select a volume with a valid System Folder, click the Data button, and check the Bootable checkbox. This will copy the entire volume, including its System Folder.

This process works well. The problem is that while a CD can hold 650-700 MB of data, most of the volumes out there are filled with a lot more than that! Creating a System Folder on a Jaz disk or separate drive or partition will let you have greater control over what you are writing, but if you just have one hard drive volume, you can also use Toast's Create Temporary Partition command (in the Utilities menu) to create a partition of whatever size you want, and place your System Folder and other desired files in it.

But the easiest way to create a startup CD is to use the "Macintosh Files & Folders" option in the Toast window. A lot of people have trouble with this because they simply drag a System Folder into the window. However, they end up with a CD named "System Folder" that doesn't work! The first step is to make sure there is a "System Folder" folder inside the CD. There are several ways to do this, but the easiest is to click the Data button, click Add CD, and then add the System Folder.

This all sounds very easy, and it can be, but sometimes writing a "just right" startup CD can make you feel you are on a PC running Windows! Don't worry, though, it is even worse for them. Here are some common 'gotchas' and how to avoid them.

1. If you create a System Folder on one Macintosh model to use on another, it may not work. In order to ensure it will work on any system, you need to have used Apple's Universal system install originally. Even though this installs a lot of items you may not need on your particular machine, you can be assured it will work elsewhere (except perhaps on the newest machines, which may require a newer system altogether). The System Folder on your Apple System CD is a Universal System, so you can also copy that, although it won't have any personalized information.
2. Make sure Mac OS 9 is installed completely before copying it. After installing, you have to boot the system once for it to finish. If the system is written to a CD before this happens it obviously won't work very well!
3. Startup from the System Folder you want to use and set it up. Do things like turn Virtual Memory and File Sharing off, install drivers for anything you'll want to use (for example, for a USB scanner), setup Internet and network connections, maybe set a distinctive background pattern.
4. Set up the preferences for applications you want to use. If, for example, you are putting Norton Utilities on your disc, set the preferences for Disk Doctor to be the way you want it. If you have preferences set up correctly in another System Folder, just copy them over.
5. Make sure that if there is anything in the Startup Items folder, that you want it there. An alias to something not on the CD will mean that you will get an annoying error message anytime the CD is started up.
6. Just before deciding that everything is set up just right, run Apple's Disc First Aid to make sure that there isn't any problem. Then restart and double-check everything.
7. If the System Folder is moved around, it might lose its special icon (a Mac OS logo, or in older systems, an all-in-one Macintosh) which indicates that it is recognized as valid to start up the computer. To get the Macintosh to recognize it again, simply double-click on the System file that is inside the System Folder. Then close both the System file and the System Folder and double-check that the special icon now appears.
8. Some applications and extensions will attempt to write to the startup volume. If started from a CD-ROM they might not work correctly - or at all.
9. Finally, there is a worm (worms are similar to viruses) called the Autostart worm. It takes advantage of the "Enable CD-ROM Autoplay" checkbox in the QuickTime Settings control panel to spread. Most users will have this turn setting turned off, but it is important that you ensure that you don't spread this worm, or indeed any virus, to others, so make sure it's off, and run a good virus checker.

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Toast 4 can create a bootable CD

In order to use Toast 4 to create a bootable CD, you need to offer it a Mac volume as the CD's source. A CD built as files and folders won't do. One way to do this is to create a disk image that has all the stuff you need, including a system folder, mount that image and use that mounted volume as the source to burn the CD in "Mac Volume" format, which offers the option to create a bootable CD. Alternately, you don't have to use a disk image as the original source. An appropriately sized HD volume could serve as the "Mac Volume" source for Toast.

Here's one way to do it. Use Toast 4: menu: Utilities: Create Temporary Partition, that's Toast-speak for disk image - I'll call it "Bootable CD" for this example.

Make "Bootable CD" the size of your CD-R blanks, say 650MBs. Once created, use Toast to mount the "Bootable CD" file as a volume. Using the Finder, load that volume up with a system folder and any other junk you want to include.

Next, again in Toast, select "Mac Volume" as the disk format, and drop the mounted "Bootable CD" volume from the desktop onto the Toast window. Click the "Data..." button, which now gives you the option to make the disk bootable. Do not select the other options, select "bootable" only!

You can either burn the disk directly, or (preferably) save the disk as another disk image to burn whenever you choose, menu: file: save as disk image... or cmd-D.

I doubt this method could manage a bootable X CD, but it certainly works for anything pre-X.

Edit: I wrote the above and after posting saw you had found a similar set of instructions. You ask about burning the CD with Toast 4, but that's not necessary if you end up with the bootable disk image as I described above. Once you save the disk image, you can use most any burning tool to write the CD, using the final "Bootable CD" image as the source. Toast disk image file format is (for all intents and purposes) the same as Disk Utility's "DVD/CD Master" format.

dan k

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Excellent walkthroughs. I was

Excellent walkthroughs. I was going to post something similar, but y'all beat me to it. Blum 3

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Re: Toast 4 can create a bootable CD

Edit: I wrote the above and after posting saw you had found a similar set of instructions. You ask about burning the CD with Toast 4, but that's not necessary if you end up with the bootable disk image as I described above. Once you save the disk image, you can use most any burning tool to write the CD, using the final "Bootable CD" image as the source. Toast disk image file format is (for all intents and purposes) the same as Disk Utility's "DVD/CD Master" format.

dan k

Ah! This is the part I was looking for. As you were writing this I was searching high and low for the file "Toast_412_DLX_Updater.hqx" and it is nowhere to be found (anyone have it?).

So since I can't update my Toast 4.0 (to recognize my drive) I can use it to make the bootable image and than use "disc burner" correct?

Thanks everyone!

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no support in Toast 4.x for FireWire burners

You have to use 5 or above as the earlier versions aren't "FireWire" aware.

As for Disk Burner, I really don't know how that works as I've never used it for anything. Can it burn disk images?

dan k

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Re: no support in Toast 4.x for FireWire burners

You have to use 5 or above as the earlier versions aren't "FireWire" aware.

As for Disk Burner, I really don't know how that works as I've never used it for anything. Can it burn disk images?

dan k

I tried your suggestion for creating bootable disk images from Toast but I am getting this error box:

"Couldn't complete the last command because of a Mac OS error. Result code: 29595".

MaxTek

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use OS 9, not Classic

You gotta do this in OS 9 (or earlier), you cannot build your disk under OS X.

dan k

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Re: use OS 9, not Classic

You gotta do this in OS 9 (or earlier), you cannot build your disk under OS X.

dan k

I'm not using OS X. My mac is running OS 9.2.2. I have Panther installed but rarely boot into it.

MaxTek

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Toast 4.2 under 9.2.x worked OK for me

I just quickly created a bootable CD image using Toast 4.2 under 9.2.2 on my iBook 700. Then I used Disk Utility in Tiger to burn the image, which booted the iBook fine. So you see, it is possible, with 4.2 at least.

Maybe for some reason 4.0 can't do it under 9.2.x? Can you use 9.1 or 8.6 or whatever instead? BTW, I'm pretty sure the 4.0 -> 4.2 update was free, have you checked the Roxio web site?

dan k

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