Unlike former variant of Mac OS X , Lion ( OS X 10.7 ) does n’t ship on a bootable saucer — it ’s available only as an installer app downloadable from the Mac App Store , and that installer does n’t require a bootable installation disc . Indeed , this lack of physical media is perhaps the biggest complaint about Lion ’s App Store - only statistical distribution , as there are a good number of reasons you mightwanta bootable Lion installer , whether it be a DVD , a pollex movement , or an external hard drive .
For example , if you want to install Lion on multiple Macs , a bootable installer ride can be more convenient than download or copying the intact Lion installer to each computer . Also , if your Mac is experiencing problem , a bootable installer drive makes a handy emergency disc . ( Lion boast a newrecovery mode(also called Lion Recovery ) , but not all installations of Lion get it — and if your Mac ’s drive is itself having trouble , recovery mode may not even be useable . Also , if you need to reinstall Lion , recovery fashion requires you to download the full 4 GB Lion installer again . ) Finally , a bootable installer driving makes it easier to install Lion over Leopard ( assuming you have the permit to do so ) .
Thankfully , it ’s gentle to create a bootable Lion - install volume from the Lion installer that you download from the Mac App Store ; just follow the step below .
Right-click (or Control+click) on the Lion installer to view its contents.
Update : When this clause was originally write , the Mac App Store adaptation of Lion would not boot any Macs released in mid-2011 or later , as those example send with a newer version of Lion preinstalled . However , unlike with the CD- and DVD - based Mac OS go installers of old , Apple can — and does — update the Mac App Store version of the Lion installer . So if you make a bootable Lion - installer cause using thecurrentversion of the Lion installer — which , as of 2/10/2012 , installs OS X 10.7.3 — that drive will work with all current Lion - capable Macs . If your only Mac was released after Lion , so you ca n’t download the Lion installer from the Mac App Store , I ’ve alsoprovided instruction manual for creating a bootable Lion - install drive for new Macs .
Part 1 : For all types of culture medium
Right - snap ( or Control+click ) on the Lion installer to look at its contents .
You can use Disk Utility’s Restore screen to create a bootable flash drive or hard drive.
To create a bootable hard parkway or flash parkway
Note : In version of the Lion installer prior to 10.7.4 , you did n’t require to first mount up the InstallESD.dmg image — you could simply drag the range itself into the Source study . However , with the 10.7.4 installer , you must use the mounted Mac OS X Install ESD volume or you will get an misplay at the end of the restore procedure and the newly created bootable drive may not operate right .
you’re able to use Disk Utility ’s Restore screen to produce a bootable flash drive or hard drive .
Part 2b : To produce a bootable videodisc
In Disk Utility , choice InstallESD.dmg in the sidebar
penetrate the Burn clitoris in the toolbar .
When prompted , insert a clean DVD ( a single - layer disc should put to work , although you’re able to employ a three-fold - stratum magnetic disk instead ) , prefer your burn options , and chatter Burn .
you’re able to now boot any Lion - compatible Mac from this cause or DVD and install Lion . you could also use any of the Lion installer ’s specialrecovery and repair feature — in fact , when you reboot from this drive or DVD , you ’ll see the same Mac OS X Utilities screen you get when you bring up into restore mode .
Note : As explain in our primary Lion - induction article , if you leave the Lion installer in its nonremittal locating ( in / Applications ) and use it to set up Lion on your Mac ’s startup drive , the installer will be automatically deleted after the installation finishes . So if you be after to use that installer on other Macs , or to make a bootable disc or ride as explain here , be certain to copy the installer to another private road — or at least move it out of the Applications brochure — before you instal . If you do n’t , you ’ll have to re - download the intact thing from the Mac App Store .
If you ’ve already installed Lion — so it ’s too belated to move the installer — you’ve may find that the Mac App Store claims that Lion is already installed and prevents you from downloading it again . As I explained in our main Lion - installation article , you should be capable to force a re - download using one of the following three tricks : First , Option+click the Buy App button in the Mac App Store . If that does n’t work , switch over to the Mac App Store ’s main page and then Option+click the Purchases button in the toolbar . If that does n’t work , stop the Mac App Store app and then hold down the Option winder while set up the Mac App Store again . One of these three procedures should get rid of the “ Installed ” position for Lion and let you download it . Update : Apple appears to have of late made this process easier : If you antecedently purchased Lion from the Mac App Store , the button next to Lion in the Store should just say Download — get across it to re - download the installer .
Updated 7/20/2011 , 10 am , to add together bank note about move the Lion installer package to preclude it from being cancel .
Updated 7/22/2011 , 11:10am , to add statement for forcing a re - download of the Lion installer , if necessary .
Updated 8/8/2011 , 9:19am , with additional entropy about thumb - cause capacity and cause data format .
Updated 8/19/2011 , 2 pm , to clarify compatibility .
Updated 2/10/2012 , 12 pm , with entropy about compatibility when using the belated Lion installer , and to note easier re - downloading of Lion installer .
Updated 6/27/2012 , 9 phase modulation , to add tone about Disk Utility mistake message introduced with the 10.7.4 installer , and 6/29/2012 , 8:20am , to update instructions so they work when creating a thrust using the 10.7.4 installer .
