Firmware Password

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i am new to Mac / OS X and i am currently running through something called 'firmware password' which i can block people from booting my iMac using external source. i have some questions:

will i be prompted for the firmware password if i really want to boot from external hd/cd/whatever media but not the internal hd?

if the above question is NO, how can i boot the iMac if there is something wrong with the internal hd like a corrupted system?

thank you.
 

bobtomay

,
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Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
The system will not be able to boot without the firmware password...period.

If you forget the firmware password, you can throw the machine away. If it becomes corrupted, you can throw the machine away. It will be of no use to you nor anyone else. However, the drive itself could still be removed and placed in another machine or external enclosure.

The use of a firmware password should not be enabled without due consideration.


edit:
I'd listen to technologist (below) about this sort of thing before myself any day.
 
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12" Apple PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz)
Apple can reset the password if necessary. They will probably charge you for this service.
 

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