How To Create an Emergency Mac OS Boot Device Using a USB Flash Drive

A bootable reproduction of os x or macos on a usb flash drive is a brilliant emergency backup tool to have accessible. It lets in you to be prepared to move nearly right now ought to some thing happen on your current startup drive.

Why a flash power? A bootable outside or internal hard power works properly for desktop macs however provides a bulky hassle for notebook macs. A flash power is a easy, less expensive, and portable emergency boot device that could handle os x or the macos. Heck, it could actually have each working structures mounted, letting you operate the emergency usb flash drive besides any of the mac’s you could have. Even if you don’t use a notebook, you may want to have a bootable usb flash drive reachable.

What you will want

• An intel-based macintosh
• An set up dvd of os x 10.Five (leopard), os x 10.6 (snow leopard) or the downloaded installer image of os x 10.7 or later or macos sierra and later.
• A 16 gb or larger usb flash power

I’ve selected to use a sixteen gb or larger flash pressure as a minimum for two motives. First, a sixteen gb flash drive is massive enough to deal with the modern-day minimum quantity of area required to put in os x directly from the installation dvd, or macos from a down load from the mac app save, or from the recuperation hd. Removing the need to pare down the os to get it to suit on the usb flash drive notably simplifies the set up system. 2nd, the fee of usb flash drives is falling. A 16 gb usb flash force is huge sufficient to put in each a whole copy of the mac os and some of your favorite programs or recuperation utilities, making it a finances-friendly emergency tool that can boot your mac and in all likelihood repair or get better its facts and get it going for walks again.

The usage of a larger flash drive can let you install multiple versions of the mac running system, or encompass extra utilities and apps you sense might meet your needs in an emergency. I’ve used a sixty four gb flash force divided into two 32 gb partitions to permit me to install os x yosemite, and macos sierra that is the 2 mac os’s used on our mac’s here at home.

Selecting a USB Flash Drive for Booting Your Mac

Selecting a usb flash force to use for developing a bootable os x or macos tool is clearly tremendously sincere, however here are some concerns to recollect and some tips to make the choice system simpler.

Compatibility

The coolest information is that i haven’t come across any usb flash drives that aren’t like minded for this cause. In case you check the specs of usb flash drives, you can observe that they every so often don’t mention macs, but worry no longer. All usb-based totally flash drives use a commonplace interface and protocol to ensure compatibility; mac os and intel-based macs observe those identical requirements.

Length

It’s possible to put in a bootable replica of os x on usb flash drives smaller than 8 gb, but it requires fiddling round with os x’s man or woman components and programs, removing the programs you don’t want, and paring down some of os x’s skills. For this text, we’re going to forego the more steps and all that fiddling, and alternatively installation a totally useful replica of os x onto a usb flash power. I advocate a sixteen gb or larger flash force, because it’s big sufficient to put in a complete replica of os x, with room to spare for a few applications.

This is additionally authentic of macos, the later versions of the mac operating gadget. 16 gb is absolutely the smallest size flash pressure you must keep in mind, and like similar to maximum garage troubles, bigger is higher.

Pace

Speed is a combined bag for usb flash drives. In preferred, they’re pretty speedy at reading facts but they may be agonizingly sluggish at writing it. Our primary cause for the usb flash drive is to function an emergency boot and records recovery drive, so we’re maximum worried with study speed. Awareness on read speeds rather than write speeds whilst you store for a usb flash force. And don’t be alarmed when it takes longer than ordinary to put in the mac os, due to the fact you will be writing lots of records.

Type

Usb flash drives are to be had in multiple flavors of the usb interface. At the same time as the standards tend to trade over time, presently usb 2 and usb 3 are the 2 common interface types. Both will work along with your mac, however if your mac has usb 3.Zero ports (most macs since 2012 have usb three ports), you’ll need to apply a flash pressure with usb 3 aid for the faster examine and write speeds available.

In case you’re the usage of a macbook with usb 3-c ports, you may in all likelihood need an adapter to head between usb three-c and usb 3. Apple is the number one supply for this form of adapter, however as usb-c gains recognition, you’ll be capable of locate 1/3 party providers at affordable expenses for the adapters.

Format Your USB Flash Drive for Use With the Mac

Maximum usb flash drives are formatted to be used with home windows. Before you can set up os x on a usb flash pressure, you may need to change the force’s formatting to the same old used by os x (mac os x extended journaled).

Format your usb flash force

Warning: all statistics in your flash pressure will be erased.

1. Insert the usb flash force into your mac’s usb port.
2. Launch disk utility, placed at /applications/utilities/.
3. Within the listing of drives attached for your mac, pick out the usb flash drive device. In my case, it’s known as 14.Nine gb sandisk cruzer media. (like lumber, hard drives and flash drives are truely barely smaller than their specs might have you ever believe.)
4. Click the ‘partition’ tab.
5. Choose ‘1 partition’ from the volume scheme dropdown menu.
6. Enter a descriptive name on your flash power; i selected boot equipment.
7. Pick out mac os x prolonged (journaled) from the layout dropdown menu.
8. Click the ‘alternatives’ button.
9. Pick ‘guid partition table’ from the list of available partition schemes.
10. Click ‘adequate.’
11. Click the ‘follow’ button.
12. A sheet will drop down, caution you that you are about to erase all data from the disk. Click on ‘partition.’
13. Disk utility will layout and partition your flash power.
14. Give up disk software.

If your the usage of os x el capitan or later you can be aware that disk application seems and operates a chunk exceptional. The system for foramting your flash pressure is very just like what is outlined above. You can find information for the usage of the newer version of ddisk software inside the article: layout a mac’s drive the use of disk utility (os x el capitan or later).

Enable ownership of your usb flash drive

In order for a power to be bootable it ought to support possession, that’s the potential of documents and folders to have unique ownership and permissions.

1. Locate the usb flash drive in your mac computer, right-click its icon, and pick out ‘get information’ from the pop-up menu.
2. Within the info window that opens, amplify the ‘sharing & permissions’ section, if it’s no longer already elevated.
3. Click on the lock icon in the bottom right nook.
4. Input your administrator password whilst asked.
5. Eliminate the test mark from ‘ignore possession on this volume.’
6. Near the information panel.

Install OS X or macOS on Your USB Flash Drive

Once you whole the preceding step, your usb flash drive will be ready so that you can installation os x.

Install os x

We organized the usb flash drive through partitioning and formatting it, and then allowing ownership. The flash drive will now seem to the os x installer as just any other difficult pressure that is prepared for an set up of os x. Due to our instruction, the stairs for putting in os x might be no different than a standard os x set up.

Having stated that, i advocate which you personalize the software programs that os x will set up. Because of the confined space at the usb flash pressure, you will need to dispose of any printer drivers that you don’t use, as well as all the greater language aid that os x installs. Don’t worry if this sounds complex; the set up instructions i link to right here are step-by means of-step guides and that they consist of information on customizing software programs.

Earlier than you start the installation, a few notes approximately the technique. As i referred to in advance, usb flash drives are plenty slower at writing information. Because the set up method is all about writing information to the usb flash force, it’s going to take pretty some time. After I achieved the set up, it took about two hours. So be affected person, and don’t fear approximately how sluggish a number of the manner appears; that is ordinary. You may expect to look plenty of seashore balls and sluggish responses as you work your manner thru the set up manner.

Ready to install? Click on the link under on your os and comply with the step-through-step guide. After you whole the installation, come lower back here for some additional guidelines about the use of your usb flash power as a boot device.

Putting in os x 10.Five leopard: erase and deploy technique

A way to carry out a smooth set up of snow leopard os x 10.6

Perform a clean set up of os x lion on your mac

A way to perform a easy installation of os x mountain lion on a non-startup force

Os x mavericks set up courses

Carry out a clean install of os x yosemite

How to carry out a easy installation of os x el capitan in your mac

How to perform a easy install of macos sierra​

Using a USB Flash Drive as a Startup Volume

Now that you have hooked up os x to your usb flash power, you’ve possibly observed how sluggish it seems. That is regular for flash-based drives, and there’s now not much you may do approximately it, besides to buy the fastest usb flash power in your fee range.

If velocity is a huge problem for you, you can entertain the concept of purchasing a small ssd in a portable enclosurer. A few producers are making ssds that are just slighty large the a widespread flash force. Of course you may pay a top rate for the rate.

It’s crucial to bear in mind why you’re creating this startup force. It’s to be used in an emergency, whilst your mac won’t boot, either because of a tough drive hassle or a software-associated problem. A bootable usb flash pressure will help you get your mac returned to operating situation, via letting you operate all the gear a fully-operating mac has to be had.

In addition to being able to use disk utility, the finder, and terminal, and feature get entry to to the net, you could also load a few specific emergency tools onto your usb flash power. Here are some of the utilities i endorse putting in. You don’t need to have all of them; in fact, it’s unlikely they could all healthy onto the flash force when you deploy os x, however having one or clearly makes feel.

Emergency utilities

• Facts rescue for data recovery.
• Diskwarrior for information healing, disk trying out, and disk repair.
• Power genius for disk restore, defragmenting, partitioning, copying, and other beneficial equipment.
• Techtool seasoned for reminiscence trying out, pressure trying out, statistics recovery, and mac hardware testing.