If you ’ve ever had to reinstall OS X , chances are you ’ve used the Apple - provided organisation installer disc that came with the Mac . But what do you do if you misplace the DVD , or it becomes unreadable , or worse — your SuperDrive is n’t function ? cause a backup of your system installer disc could preserve your bacon .
Instead of simply copying the system installer to another disc , you could create a USB instant campaign installer similar to the one bring home the bacon with the latestMacBook Air . You ’ll get an installer that wo n’t rub , is easier to transport , and considerably quicker than an optical platter . We found the install time decreased by 33 percent when using the flash ride method .
The process of create a flashbulb drive scheme installer is simple . You ’ll need the original installation disc , a working videodisc drive , and a flash lamp ride with a minimum of 8 GB of storage capacity for Snow Leopard ( or 9 GB if using Leopard , since it reckon file sizes other than ) . Any data you have on the flash driving will be erased during the process , so back up anything on there that ’s important to you .
Note that this article covers versions of Mac OS X Prior to Lion ( Mac OS X 10.7 ) . We also have educational activity for creating a Lion - installer drive .
Plug in the wink private road and , once it has mounted , undecided Disk Utility ( /Applications / Utilities ) . In Disk Utility , play up the flash drive ( not the partition on the flash drive list beneath it ) , and choose the Partition tab on the right wing .
Under Volume Scheme , pick out 1 Partition as your partition dodge , or if you have a split second drive with enough quad , you’re able to make multiple partitions — just be certain that you create one sectionalization that is at least 8 GB in size .
Once you ’ve define your partitions , play up the 8 GB partitioning and fall into place on Options underneath it . Select GUID Partition Table and get across OK . This let the reckoner boot from the drive , so ensure that ’s what you pluck .
Back in the Partition window , under Volume Information , give your blink of an eye drive divider a new name . We go with OS X Installer , since that ’s fundamentally what it will be , and next to Format , pluck Mac OS X Extended ( Journaled ) . Click Apply , select Partition from a drop down windowpane , and waitress for the initialise process to finish .
Pop in your osmium X install videodisc and hold back for it to climb on . Once it appear on the remaining hired hand side in Disk Utility , get through on the Restore tab . high spot and drag the install DVD into the Source file course on the right .
Now , highlight the flash thrust partition , underneath the name of the actual newsflash drive , and haul that to the Destination file track . When you ’re quick , click Restore , and hold off until Disk Utility copy the installation filing cabinet from the DVD to the flash drive .
When Disk Utility is finish , the trice ride should mount , and you should see the OS X install windowpane appear .
Just to make trusted it ’s bootable , turn out the install disc , but leave the jiffy drive installer plug in . re-start your computer while hold down the Option push button on your keyboard . You should see two choices to bring up from : the hard driving and the Mac OS X Install phonograph recording ( the ikon will be of a USB twist ) . Select the USB drive icon , and wait . If you ’re greet by the select a voice communication screen at the root of the OS X install process , congrats — you now have a working newsbreak drive installer of OS X.
