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Success: Install OS X from USB disk [flash card]

holyfield

By holyfield,
in Tutorials (The Genius Bar)

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holyfield
holyfield
Posted
Posted

NB! Something is really wrong with CSS here, it disables lists styling at all ;)

 

There are several reasons why we might need to install an OS from USB disk, no CD/DVD reader or CD/DVD is broken or SATA DVD is not supported, Double Layer DVD burining fails and so on.

 

Installing OS from USB has several advantages:

  • faster installation
  • easy to add extra files to installation media
  • easy to put into pocket and use on any usb boot supporting computer
  • you dont lose CDor DVD due invalid burn (DL DVD's are expensive)

Disadvantages:

  • flash card is more expensive than DVD or DL DVD
  • have to learn something new :)

For this tutorial we need:

  • 8GB usb disk or flash card (or 5GB or larger)
  • Windows or OS X running machine
  • OS X installation media (DVD ord DVD image)

If you do not have OS X running machine, you can use olso OSX installation DVD to bulid bootable USB.

  1. Partition USB disk - you have two choises

    2. OS X - Disk Utility
      If you dont have OS X you can also boot some comp with OS X installation DVD and use Disk Utility from menu Utilities.
      1. Open Disk Utilites
      2. Select your USB disk from left panel (not partition on it)
      3. Select Partition tab from right panel
      4. Select 1 Partition from combo box
      5. Enter name, for example OSXInstall
      6. Shoose format: Mac OS X extended (journaled)
      7. Click on Options button and select MBR (master boot record) and OK
      8. Press Apply
      9. Wait until your USB wil be prepared

      [*]Windows - Paragon Drive Backup

      1. Download USB image from internet
      2. Extract archive to somewhere on your hard disk
      3. Open Paragon Drive Backup
      4. Select your USB disk on drives list
      5. Right click on drive on existing partition
      6. From conext menu choose restore partition or disk
      7. Click switch to file view
      8. Navigate and select appropriate folder that contains image backup
      9. Follow restore screen and press apply on toolbar
      10. Wait until your USB wil be prepared

      [*]Make new HSF partition bootabe

      1. Use OSx86 Tools [on mac Mac OS]

        [*]Use terminal

        1. ... adding this part soon

        [*]Copy installation media to the bootable USB media

        1. OS X - Disk Utility

          [*]OS X - Disk Utility

          1. Insert your USB disk in
          2. Insert installation DVD into DVD drive
          3. Boot up your comp from bootable DVD
          4. Follow instructions above
          5. For source use partition on DVD

          I will add photos also soon! ;)


      2. Open Disk Utility
      3. From right panel select restore
      4. Drag your new bootable USB HSF partition to the Destination field
      5. Drag your OS X installation image into the Source field
      6. Do not check erase destination !!!
      7. Click restore, confirm restore
      8. Enter password when asked
      9. Wait until files are copied to the USB disk

  2. Open OSx86 Tools
  3. Click on button Install EFI / Run FDISK
  4. Select for disk to use your new USB partition
  5. For EFI to install choose No EFI (Darwin bootoloader)
  6. Press Install EFI
  7. Wait untill installation finished
  8. Close dialog and OSx86 Tools
  9. You have now bootable usb disk
  10. Test it !! Do not copy files on media before you are sure that you can boot from new bootable disk. Please not, if you get on booting up from new bootable usb disk an error message that boot file not found, its ok, becouse you have copied OSX installation to the USB yet.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Panda_N_Shark
Panda_N_Shark
Posted
Posted
NB! Something is really wrong with CSS here, it disables lists styling at all :)

 

There are several reasons why we might need to install an OS from USB disk, no CD/DVD reader or CD/DVD is broken or SATA DVD is not supported, Double Layer DVD burining fails and so on.

 

Installing OS from USB has several advantages:

  • faster installation
  • easy to add extra files to installation media
  • easy to put into pocket and use on any usb boot supporting computer
  • you dont lose CDor DVD due invalid burn (DL DVD's are expensive)

Disadvantages:

  • flash card is more expensive than DVD or DL DVD
  • have to learn something new :D

For this tutorial we need:

  • 8GB usb disk or flash card (or 5GB or larger)
  • Windows or OS X running machine
  • OS X installation media (DVD ord DVD image)

If you do not have OS X running machine, you can use olso OSX installation DVD to bulid bootable USB.

  1. Partition USB disk - you have two choises

    2. OS X - Disk Utility
      If you dont have OS X you can also boot some comp with OS X installation DVD and use Disk Utility from menu Utilities.
      1. Open Disk Utilites
      2. Select your USB disk from left panel (not partition on it)
      3. Select Partition tab from right panel
      4. Select 1 Partition from combo box
      5. Enter name, for example OSXInstall
      6. Shoose format: Mac OS X extended (journaled)
      7. Click on Options button and select MBR (master boot record) and OK
      8. Press Apply
      9. Wait until your USB wil be prepared

      [*]Windows - Paragon Drive Backup

      1. Download USB image from internet
      2. Extract archive to somewhere on your hard disk
      3. Open Paragon Drive Backup
      4. Select your USB disk on drives list
      5. Right click on drive on existing partition
      6. From conext menu choose restore partition or disk
      7. Click switch to file view
      8. Navigate and select appropriate folder that contains image backup
      9. Follow restore screen and press apply on toolbar
      10. Wait until your USB wil be prepared

      [*]Make new HSF partition bootabe

      1. Use OSx86 Tools [on mac Mac OS]

        [*]Use terminal

        1. ... adding this part soon

        [*]Copy installation media to the bootable USB media

        1. OS X - Disk Utility

          [*]OS X - Disk Utility

          1. Insert your USB disk in
          2. Insert installation DVD into DVD drive
          3. Boot up your comp from bootable DVD
          4. Follow instructions above
          5. For source use partition on DVD

          I will add photos also soon! :)

          Still missing the windows part :s


      2. Open Disk Utility
      3. From right panel select restore
      4. Drag your new bootable USB HSF partition to the Destination field
      5. Drag your OS X installation image into the Source field
      6. Do not check erase destination !!!
      7. Click restore, confirm restore
      8. Enter password when asked
      9. Wait until files are copied to the USB disk

  2. Open OSx86 Tools
  3. Click on button Install EFI / Run FDISK
  4. Select for disk to use your new USB partition
  5. For EFI to install choose No EFI (Darwin bootoloader)
  6. Press Install EFI
  7. Wait untill installation finished
  8. Close dialog and OSx86 Tools
  9. You have now bootable usb disk
  10. Test it !! Do not copy files on media before you are sure that you can boot from new bootable disk. Please not, if you get on booting up from new bootable usb disk an error message that boot file not found, its ok, becouse you have copied OSX installation to the USB yet.

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  • 1 month later...
brambo
brambo
Posted
Posted
[*]Make new HSF partition bootabe

[*]Use OSx86 Tools [on mac Mac OS]

[*]Open OSx86 Tools

[*]Click on button Install EFI / Run FDISK

[*]Select for disk to use your new USB partition

[*]For EFI to install choose No EFI (Darwin bootoloader)

[*]Press Install EFI

[*]Wait untill installation finished

[*]Close dialog and OSx86 Tools

[*]You have now bootable usb disk

[*]Test it !! Do not copy files on media before you are sure that you can boot from new bootable disk. Please not, if you get on booting up from new bootable usb disk an error message that boot file not found, its ok, becouse you have copied OSX installation to the USB yet.

 

I have an aspire D150, and the option "No EFI" does not work.... :P

 

BUT

 

If you take the PC-EFI option, installation is done in 20 min :thumbsup_anim:

 

Nice tutorial!

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  • 1 month later...
cmmcnamara
cmmcnamara
Posted
Posted

I've followed similar instructions for creating an OS X USB installer and I am able to use it but I must use a Boot 132 CD along with it....no matter which option I pick for EFI in OSX86 tools I cannot boot the flash drive without the Boot 132 CD. I've followed this guide closely as well, but when I go to check if it's bootable....it's not. What do I do from here? I tried to restore the Boot 132 image to a partition on the USB drive and then OS X Install on another as a sort of work around but the Boot132 image causes a 254, unable to verify source error in Disk Utility. I mean this is definitely better than the DL DVD install but I was hoping for something as convenient as the Linux live cds (which are easily USB made) and the Windows Installers put on USB. I feel like I am missing some sort of configuration done via terminal. Any help with this?

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