On June 2, 2014, Apple announced the next iteration of its powerful, yet elegant OS X operating system. Continuing the naming trend, was made available the same day as the in the form of a Developer Preview beta for software developers to test their apps on the new platform. What about the end-user? Must we really wait until later this year to try out Apple's latest OS?
Also, make sure the Yosemite installer, called Install OS X Yosemite.app, is in its default location in your main Applications folder (/Applications). This means that if you moved it before installing Yosemite, you need to move it back before making your installer disk. Create a bootable USB drive for macOS X El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, macOS Sierra. Search the web for a hacked macOS disc image file, or ISO.
Those interested in testing Yosemite may sign up for the, which will allow them to test the new OS, if selected. A word of caution, however, as beta software is just that. Largely untested and full of bugs, this may lead to conflicts with production systems. Additionally, certain applications may not work fully (or at all) until updates are made available. It you decide to install beta software, you should do so on a sanitized, secondary device that meets to minimize issues. With that said, follow the steps below to create a bootable USB installer:. Insert the USB Flash Drive (or SD Card) into the Apple computer, and launch Disk Utility.app from the Applications Utilities folder.
Select the drive you wish to use from the device list and click the Partition tab. Under Partition Layout, select 1 Partition from the drop-down menu.
Enter a name for the device, and select the format as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the drop-down list next to Format ( Figure A). Figure A.
Click the Options button to bring up the partition scheme menu. Select the radio button next to GUID Partition Table, clicking OK to accept the change ( Figure B). Figure B. Verify the changes to be made to the drive are correct, and then click Apply.
A verification prompt will appear. Click Partition to execute the changes ( Figure C). Figure C. Depending on the size of the drive, the changes typically take several minutes to process.
Once completed, the removable drive will be prepped for OS X ( Figure D). Figure D. Launch Terminal.app to enter a command that will unhide the hidden files needed to complete the next few steps.
Enter the following command ( Figure E): defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 1 KillAll Finder Figure E. Navigate to the location where the OS X 10.10. DP1.app file is saved. Right-click the installer and select Show Package Contents from the context menu ( Figure F). Figure F.
Sort through the file hierarchy Contents SharedSupport and mount the InstallESD.dmg file by double-clicking it ( Figure G). Figure G. With the contents of the InstallESD.dmg file visible, there are two files specifically that will be used to create the OS X installer to the removable drive: BaseSystem.dmg and the Packages folder ( Figure H). Figure H. Switch back to Disk Utility.app to select the partition name created in step #2.
Next, select the Restore tab and drag the partition from the device list to the Destination box. Also, drag the BaseSystem.dmg file from the finder window to the Source box ( Figure I). Figure I.
Clicking the Restore button will prompt a confirmation message. Clicking Erase will initiate the process to install the files onto the drive.
Additionally, Disk Utility will request administrative authorization to perform the task. Enter the administrative credentials and click OK to execute the commands ( Figure K). Figure K. The process can take several minutes to complete.
However, by my experience, it is far shorter than what is stated by the progress bar ( Figure L). Figure L.
Upon completing the file transfer, the drive will auto-mount in Finder. Navigate to the System Installation directory where you will find an alias to the Packages folder. Delete the Packages alias by right-clicking the file and selecting Move to Trash from the context menu ( Figure M). Figure M. To replace the alias, copy the Packages folder from Step #9 to the Installation directory. Again, the transfer time will depend greatly on the age of the machine ( Figure N). Figure N.
As a rule of thumb, unless specifically necessary to your daily functions on the computer, launch Terminal.app to enter the command to make the system files hidden again. While optional, it is generally not considered a good security measure to keep these files unhidden. Enter the following command ( Figure O): defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 0 KillAll Finder Figure O With the transfer completed and the files safely hidden again, the removable drive is ready to perform a clean or upgrade installation of OS X Yosemite. The process is almost identical to the. To perform a clean install, simply insert your drive, power on the computer, and hold down the option key to access the boot selection menu. From there, select the USB drive partition, and follow the prompts to install OSX 10.10 on your Mac.
If performing this as an upgrade, then launch the Install OS X 10.10 Developer Preview.app from the root of the newly created drive, following the prompts to install it from a live environment. Also see. Related Topics.
Friday, November 7th, 2014 Author: UPDATE 09/2017: Update 09/2015: For help creating a bootable USB install drive for OS X El Capitan,. Apple released the latest and greatest Mac operating system last month in the form of. And like the previous versions of OS X dating back to OS X 10.7, Yosemite is only available for install via download from the Mac App Store.
So if you previously relied on DVD installs, you will be unable to do so with this version. Luckily, helps fill the void by allowing you to make a bootable OS X 10.10 Yosemite USB install drive, making a task such as installing on several different machines easier. Like the previous versions, DiskMaker X is free of charge (however, donations are accepted). All you need is an 8 GB (minimum), a, or or an SD-Card; the OS X 10.10 Yosemite Installer from the App Store; and the DiskMaker X application. It should be noted that DiskMaker X erases the volume or the drive you chose, according to the options you chose. So don’t forget to! For more about OS X 10.10 and its new features, check out our convenient.
For a walkthrough of creating a bootable USB install drive, click. Here is our brief walkthrough for making an install drive: 1.) Open the DiskMaker X disk image (.dmg) file and you will get a window with the application and a shortcut to the Applications folder.
Drag the Mountain Lion on a rock to the Applications folder that the arrow is pointing to. 2.) Open Finder and go to your Applications folder. From there launch “DiskMaker X 4b4” 3.) The first window will welcome you to DiskMaker X and ask you to choose which OS you want to make an bootable install drive for. It will default to Yosemite (10.10). 4.) After choosing the OS you wish to use, you will be presented with a window notifying you that DiskMaker X found an installer.
It will default to using the installer it found, but will also give you the option to use a different copy. 5.) The next window will ask if you are using an or another kind of disk. Choose the best option for the drive you wish to use. For this walkthrough we used an 8 GB USB thumb drive. If you are using an 8 GB thumb drive, the whole disk will be erased.
If you are using a larger drive, then only one volume will be erased. It is best to have an extra, empty 8 GB volume already on a drive if you want to use a drive other than an 8 GB thumb drive. 6.) DiskMaker X will now ask you to choose the disk/volume you want to put the installer on. In this case, it found our 8GB thumb drive.
Once you have chosen where you want to install the bootable installer press the “Choose this disk” button. 7.) Once you have selected the volume you want to install to a confirmation window will appear and let you know you will need to enter your administrator password so it can make the necessary changes. 8.) After you have entered your administrator information you will be given a warning that the contents of the volume will be erased. In the case of an 8 GB thumb drive it will erase the whole drive. 9.) DiskMaker X will then erase the drive and create the bootable install drive for your chosen OS. 10.) Once the drive has been completed, you will see the following window and your installer is ready to use!
So if you’re stuck with a slow or non-existent Internet connection or simply would like to have a tangible install disk, DiskMaker X makes for a nice alternative to the App Store download. Note: OWC has no affiliation with this software and receives no benefit related to this support (other than a benefit we all share in the continued support of these applications). If you appreciate the function or functionality this software offers, we encourage you to support the authors.
LOL: ) Per Apple: Create a bootable installer for OS X Mavericks or Yosemite or, one could use the Finder, and Disk Utility: How to make a bootable OS X 10.10 Yosemite install drive or, of course, one could use DiskMaker X. As an experienced IT and support professional, I have to agree with OWC, DiskMaker X is probably the best option for.most. users. Especially those who have never opened the Terminal and who don’t know what a file path is. Thanks for providing this article, OWC Alex, and OWC! Technical users, on the other hand MacRat, I have to hand it to you.
Thanks for the laugh.: ) You’re absolutely right. For some of us, that’s.much. easier. Recent Posts.
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