If Apple’s supported technique of utilizing the createinstallmedia software would not work, you possibly can attempt different choices under:
With OS X El Capitan, Yosemite, or Mavericks, you need to use a USB flash drive or different detachable media as a startup disk from which to put in OS X.
Actually – attempt the above should you can, however instead, right here is an easy recipe for making a USB model of the OS X installer + related instruments. (Migration Assistant, Disk Utility, Community Utility, Terminal (that auto mounts your inside drive as wanted), Firmware Utility and Password Reset Utility.
1) Use Disk Utility backup/restore to picture no matter Snow Leopard DVD you like onto a HFS+ formatted GUID USB drive. I often first create a IMG of the DVD, but it surely ought to work in a single shot. Look ahead to restore errors – chances are you’ll want the Disk Utility menu command Photographs -> Scan photographs for restore… earlier than restoring an IMG to the USB drive.
2) bless the USB drive by deciding on it in Startup Disk or utilizing the command line. (Notice – the handbook web page for bless could also be moved, however the command nonetheless works on Mojave to bless an alternate boot. You may’t set this to be the default boot with System Integrity Safety however for this use, bless ought to nonetheless work.
It is not that arduous to make a bootable picture and much safer to DIY. It additionally avoids the necessity of downloading business software program from the web. Pleased media shifting all!
When you merely desire a bootable thumb drive, simply set up OSX onto that quantity – turning off all of the extras chances are you’ll not want. You may have your USB on one facet and the USB set up disk on the opposite to make your bootable drive guaranteeing all of the Air drivers are in your USB bootable drive (which is usually a difficulty when utilizing one other set up’s picture – generally the drivers aren’t all there on older builds of the OS)
The perfect trick I’ve when you do not have sufficient area on USB to create the ultimate up to date model is to stage the bootable picture by set up first to a 25G partition on an exterior laborious drive.
You may end putting in with a number of free area on the HS, run all of the updates newer than your installer (10.6.8 for instance), make an admin account, set up the instruments and apps you want. On the finish of the method, you then skinny out the issues you do not want. DaisyDisk or WhatSize will present you all the big recordsdata and libraries. You may safely do away with a variety of iLife and the related Utility Assist. WhatSize has many choices to strip out unneeded recordsdata, localizations and PPC code. After getting slimmed down the bootable picture on the HD partition, use the trick under to get it on the USB drive. Leopard was a decent slot in 8G however Snow Leopard is lighter and would not must weight loss program as a lot.
Edit: Listed below are terminal instructions for rolling your personal installer just like the (read-only) one which ships with present MacBook Air. I’ve a Snow Leopard DVD as /dev/disk5 and my USB is /dev/disk6. The person pages for diskutil and asr are useful should you run into little gotchas or have completely different wants than a primary one partition drive.
$diskutil record
/dev/disk5
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: Apple_partition_scheme *7.8 GB disk5
1: Apple_partition_map 30.7 KB disk5s1
2: Apple_Driver_ATAPI 1.0 GB disk5s2
3: Apple_HFS Mac OS X Set up DVD 6.7 GB disk5s3
/dev/disk6
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: *8.5 GB disk6
$diskutil partitionDisk disk6 GPT HFS+ MacUSB 100%
Began partitioning on disk6
Unmounting disk
Creating partition map
Ready for disks to reappear
Formatting disk6s2 as Mac OS Prolonged with title MacUSB
Completed partitioning on disk6
/dev/disk6
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *8.5 GB disk6
1: EFI 209.7 MB disk6s1
2: Apple_HFS MacUSB 8.2 GB disk6s2
$sudo asr restore --source /dev/disk5s3 --target /dev/disk6s2 --erase
Validating goal...performed
Validating supply...performed
Erase contents of /dev/disk6s2 (/Volumes/MacUSB)? [ny]: y
Validating sizes...performed
Restoring ....10....20....30....40....50....60....70....80....90....100
Verifying ....10....20....30....40....50....60....70....80....90....100
Remounting goal quantity...performed
$sudo bless --mount /Volumes/Mac OS X Set up DVD 1 --setBoot
Notice: that the USB drive was renamed to be the identical because the installer and the mount level in /Volumes has an area and a 1 tacked on the tip.
Notice: SIP ensures the —setBoot portion of the instructions above will fail. Take away that portion and/or ignore any errors. You have to to pick out the USB one other method than having bless carry out a one step command. That is another excuse to simply use createinstallmedia from Apple to carry out this.
