Boot OS X install from one Mac on another Mac It seems I can't boot a system installed on one MacBook in another MacBook.

My laptop needs a few days of servicing, so I thought it would be easiest to clone an image of my OS X install on USB drive, then boot from this USB drive on another laptop. Unfortunately all I get is a grey "no-no" circle.

What I actually did was:


Using Disk Utility I cloned MacBook's (let's call it "A") boot partition onto USB partition.
I can successfully boot MacBook A using this cloned partition.
If I plug USB drive into another MacBook ("B") and turn it on: the operating system on USB partition appears as available in bootloader screen (with orange icon) - but I cannot actually boot from it. Screen remains grey and a grey disabled sign is displayed.
The same happens if I simply use original A's drive in USB case (so this is not a cloning problem).
The same happens if I try to boot MacMini using USB drive.


Is it normal behavior, that OS X install is bound to the computer it was installed on?

Is there something I can do to override this behavior and force my MacBook B to boot with operating system installed on A?

A is MacBook Retina 15" and B is MacBook Retina 13".

OS X version is 10.8.
Try this:


Install a fresh copy of OS X 10.8 onto your USB disk (just download the installer from the Mac App Store and select the external disk as target drive).
Boot from the newly installed OS X.
Using Migration Assistant, transfer your data and configuration files from MacBook A's startup disk. You'll have to select the option "From a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk".
Boot from the external USB drive.


I know it's not a clone, but Migration Assistant does fairly well and preserves all your data.
I did this when I had to transfer my system (OS X 10.9 on a "classic" MBP 13" late 2012) on my new SSD drive. It worked very well. I did not lose any data.

If it doesn't work, your problem may be that you're trying to boot a version of Mac OS X earlier than what came with MacBook B. Maybe installing Mavericks will do the trick.

See this article on Apple KB in order to know the original OS X version shipped with your hardware.