razzacraft1
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Q: Yosemite Bootable Disk mounts but will not boot

My iMac is running slow and often gets the spinning wheel, but I haven't been able to use Creative Cloud at all since we moved house. I've tried reinstalling creative cloud, reinstalling Yosemite from recovery disk, nothing is working.

 

So I want to do a fresh install of Yosemite. First I tried the instructions here http://macs.about.com/od/OS-X-Yosemite/ss/How-to-Make-a-Bootable-USB-Drive-of-th e-OS-X-Yosemite-Installer_2.htm#step-hea…on a 9GB flash drive. The disk will mount, but it was not bootable. It booted the iMac's system. Then I tried the instructions here on a 40GB USB drive http://www.macworld.com/article/2367748/how-to-make-a-bootable-os-x-10-10-yosemi te-install-drive.html. Still not bootable, still boots iMac's drive. Lastly, I used the instructions to make the USB drive bootable http://osxdaily.com/2014/10/16/make-os-x-yosemite-boot-install-drive/and used the terminal command to create the drive following. Even zapped the PRAM. And still no joy. Tried to boot it on my macbookPro and no joy there either.

 

Does anyone know what I can do to do a clean install on my iMac? Yes, I have a backup. Yes, I select the YosemiteInstaller after holding down the option key on restart. No, I didn't make any mistakes creating these disks. My USB ports are not 2 or 3, so I assume it will be slow, but unusable?

 

thanks very much.

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

Posted on Apr 13, 2015 1:20 PM

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razzacraft1

Q: Yosemite Bootable Disk mounts but will not boot

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  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Apr 13, 2015 1:25 PM in response to razzacraft1
    Level 10 (271,284 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 13, 2015 1:25 PM in response to razzacraft1

    Are you using OPTION boot?

     

    Boot Using OPTION key:

     

      1. Restart the computer.

      2. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the

          "OPTION" key.

      3. Release the key when the boot manager appears.

      4. Select the flash drive's disk icon.

      5. Click on the arrow button below the icon.

  • by razzacraft1,

    razzacraft1 razzacraft1 Apr 13, 2015 1:55 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 13, 2015 1:55 PM in response to Kappy

    Please read my initial request "Yes, I select the YosemiteInstaller after holding down the option key on restart." And that I said it mounts each time, but after selecting it, it does not boot, the iMac does.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Apr 13, 2015 2:06 PM in response to razzacraft1
    Level 10 (271,284 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 13, 2015 2:06 PM in response to razzacraft1

    Did I read correctly that you do not have USB 2.0 or 3.0 ports? Clarify that remark please. Otherwise, all I can say is that if you made the installer properly then try it on another Mac to see if it works. If it still doesn't work then there may be a problem with how you made the installer or you are using brand of flash drive that doesn't work on your computer.

  • by razzacraft1,

    razzacraft1 razzacraft1 Apr 13, 2015 2:36 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 13, 2015 2:36 PM in response to Kappy

    I tried them all on my Macbook Pro, like I said in my original post, no joy. USB screen shot attached.Screen Shot 2015-04-13 at 17.35.39.png

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Apr 13, 2015 6:06 PM in response to razzacraft1
    Level 10 (271,284 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 13, 2015 6:06 PM in response to razzacraft1

    You have two hi-speed USB ports. You need to use those. You can't boot from a USB 1.0 port.

  • by razzacraft1,

    razzacraft1 razzacraft1 Apr 14, 2015 2:08 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 14, 2015 2:08 PM in response to Kappy

    I have two high-speed USB ports on the keyboard, which is plugged in to one of the four in the back of the mac. It's a late 2009 27" in. Which of the four ports on the back are the high speed ports? I tried the keyboard, that didn't work on either end. I tried the available ports in the back - I've got the keyboard and a backup drive plugged into two of them and the other two free.


    Somehow I don't think it's a USB problem, and here's why. This is from Apple: iMac (Late 2009) and iMac (Mid 2010): External features, ports, and connectors - Apple Support

    Four USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0 ports

    The back of the iMac (Mid 2010) and iMac (Late 2009) has a total of four USB 2.0-compliant ports. You can connect both USB 2.0- and USB 1.1-compliant devices to these ports. The USB 2.0 ports support both low-speed, full-speed, and high-speed data transfers, up to 1.5 megabits per second (Mbit/s), 12 Mbit/s, and 480 Mbit/s respectively.

    Any other ideas?

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Apr 14, 2015 2:15 PM in response to razzacraft1
    Level 10 (271,284 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 14, 2015 2:15 PM in response to razzacraft1

    As far as I know all the rear ports are USB 2.0.

  • by razzacraft1,

    razzacraft1 razzacraft1 Apr 14, 2015 3:10 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 14, 2015 3:10 PM in response to Kappy

    Then what? Why won't it boot?  I tried 3 different methods, as I stated. I follow directions very well. Is there another way of doing it? A DVD available? Is it possible to do a clean install from Recovery mode?

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Apr 14, 2015 3:18 PM in response to razzacraft1
    Level 10 (271,284 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 14, 2015 3:18 PM in response to razzacraft1

    Honestly, I don't know why you have a problem.

  • by baudem,

    baudem baudem Dec 27, 2015 4:41 AM in response to razzacraft1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 27, 2015 4:41 AM in response to razzacraft1

    I was reading the post because I had the same problem. The secret is: release the option (alt) key when the Mac boots: your bootable drive will appear then!   I guess you solved it by now, but for future reader... non-experienced like me, at least.