Q - Anyone able to boot an older Mac via CD or DVD burned from SR .ISO file?

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  • BootAble – FreeDOS boot testing freeware

    To obtain direct, low-level access to a system's mass storage drives, SpinRite runs under a GRC-customized version of FreeDOS which has been modified to add compatibility with all file systems. In order to run SpinRite it must first be possible to boot FreeDOS.

    GRC's “BootAble” freeware allows anyone to easily create BIOS-bootable media in order to workout and confirm the details of getting a machine to boot FreeDOS through a BIOS. Once the means of doing that has been determined, the media created by SpinRite can be booted and run in the same way.

    The participants here, who have taken the time to share their knowledge and experience, their successes and some frustrations with booting their computers into FreeDOS, have created a valuable knowledgebase which will benefit everyone who follows.

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S

Scott

Well-known member
Sep 18, 2020
102
29
Trying to finalize my "boot a Mac" instructions; already posted instructions for:
  • Booting FreeDOS natively from a USB Flash Drive for non-UEFI systems (roughly pre-2015)
  • Booting a UEFI system from an external drive with MacOS, or Linux, or Windows, running VirtualBox (roughly 2015 to 2021, Intel Macs)
Trying to boot my 2012 MacBook Pro from a CD burned with the SR 6.1 ISO, and also the SR 6.0 ISO, and it won't boot from either. Note that:
  • The same CDs will boot a PC
  • The Mac will boot from a FreeDOS 1.3 LiveCD (so a bootable CD is operable on this Mac)
  • The Mac will boot from a USB Flash Drive, but I'm trying to be comprehensive and provide information for those who can't boot from USB
Either:
  • There's something very finicky about my particular Mac booting from the SpinRite ISO/CDs, or
  • There's something about the way those ISOs were built that is not as universally compatible as one would hope
Any experiences from anyone else would be welcome, thanks!!
 
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