I was under the impression that I could create multiple partitions with Protogo 3.0.2. I've got a Basic PowerPC Profile to boot older Power Macs and an Intel Profile to boot newer Macs. The Intel profile was created a while back with Snow Leopard 10.6.8.

I need to create a bootable Lion/Mountain Lion disk now so that I can start _any_ Mac up but I can't do this without Protogo wanting to erase all the existing partitions. The problem here, obviously, is that I can't boot a newer Mac with the existing Intel Profile created with Snow Leopard. And vice-versa. I can't start an older Mac up with a newer Intel Profile created with Lion/Mountain Lion (Macs which won't run either OS).

I'm not sure what the solution is. I'm trying to create a "one size fits all" solution. Or maybe my wires are crossed. Can I boot a first-generation Intel Mac (ie: iMac4,1) with a Lion profile? I don't thibk so.

It sure would be nice to see Protogo support multiple profiles, created on an as-needed basis. Are there any plans for this?

(See instructions below.)

The only way to know whether a first generation Intel iMac can boot from an installation of OS X Lion is to see if it meets the hardware requirements for Lion.

Apple has a useful list of the system software versions supplied with all of the Intel-based models:

support.apple.com/kb/HT1159

You might find it helpful to check from time to time in the FineTunedMac.com forums, and look for postings by a user named Virtual1 about the topic of trying to boot many different models from a single drive having multiple partitions.

i would also like this functionality. i thought that was a capability of ProToGo since it says "multiple profiles".

i would like to have one 500GB drive with profiles (and partitions) for all of the different Macs i have to service for clients, instead of a drawer full of thumb drives.

thanks

-eric

There is a frequent contributor to the forums at www.finetunedmac.com who services, if I recall correctly, about 100 computers for a school system. He has created some very elaborate drives with multiple operating systems. It is a lot of work.

It is possible to have multiple partitions on a single Protogo device, by creating a custom profile that describes the entire device, adding volumes to the profile, and then choosing one of the available profiles for each volume . See pages 9-13 of the Help in the Protogo application.

Here are some instructions that might be easier to follow than the manual, because they are specifically for creating multi-boot Protogo devices:


Making a custom profile using TechTool Protogo:

1. Click the ‘New’ button.

2. Double click the Untitled Configuration that appears, or select it and press Edit.


3. The new profile will already have the Basic profile included, click Add Volume to add a second profile.
Change the ‘System’ drop-down menu to reflect the profile you want to add.

4. Repeat this process, adding the profiles for your situation.

5. Name the profile, and click Save.

Now, you can build the Protogo device, and it will include one partition for each profile that you have included.

Note that it can be convenient to add the Basic profile last, so that it gets any remaining space on the device. Also, remember that PowerPC Macs only boot using FireWire devices. If you include the PowerPC profile on a device that is USB only, it will only boot Intel Macs that support 10.5.8.