How can I force my Mac to boot from a different hard
drive?The best option is to use the Startup Disk control panel - but
sometimes you can't get there because the internal drive is set as
default, and that drive has a problem.
Be sure to try booting with extensions off. Sometimes that will
let you get around a software problem so you can use the Startup Disk
control panel.
If not, hold down Command-Option-Control-Shift while booting. This
combination is built into the Mac ROMs and makes Macs boot in the
default sequence of the Mac Plus (which doesn't support the Startup
Disk control panel). This key combination forces your Mac to scan the
SCSI bus in this order: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.
If there is a bootable drive or partition available at a SCSI ID
higher than 0 (or the ID of your troublesome drive), this will let
you boot from it. I can't say how this works with Macs using
IDE/Ultra ATA drives; I've never tried it.
Failing this, you may need to use a boot floppy, Disk Tools disk,
or boot from CD-ROM. Macs with internal floppies will boot from the
floppy drive if a bootable disk is present at startup.
Booting from CD-ROM requires an Apple CD-ROM player or a
third-party player that uses the Apple drivers, a Centris 610 or
newer, and a SCSI ID of 3 for the CD-ROM drive. Holding the C
key during startup forces these computers to check the CD-ROM for a
bootable disk. 
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