Mountain Lion Bootable USB Key

Question

Level 1

68 points

Mountain Lion Bootable USB Key

I have an OS X Lion USB Key purchased from Apple for $69. I use it for diagnostic related tasks for any of my many Macs.

While I understand that there are 'solutions' out there that aren't sanctioned by Apple which will allow you to create your own USB key or boot DVDs, I want to know what Apple's plan is in regards to offering the same product mentioned above for Mountain Lion. Furthermore, will there be any sort of trade in program or upgrade offering to those who have the Lion USB Key? 😕

When searching the Apple Online Store, I noticed that not only is there no key for Mountain Lion, there's also no more key for Lion.

MacBook Pro * 15" Screen / 2.6 GHz w/ 4 GB RAM + iMac 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo w/4GB, Mac OS X (10.6.6), Two x 27" iMacs w 4GB RAM & 3.06 GHz Intel ... + iPhone 4 + iPod

Posted on Jul 27, 2012 8:03 PM

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Answer 1

boxallw

Level 1

8 points

Jul 27, 2012 8:06 PM in response to FireFish

It is so **** hard to create a USB key. Mine fails with evey method I try. Apple needs to give these out to people who can prove ownership.

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Answer 2

Jul 27, 2012 8:11 PM in response to boxallw

The key is to format the USB key or USB hard drive as a GUID volume, then "restore" the freshly formatted drive with the DMG within the OS download file; right-click on the "Install OS X Mountain Lion" app downloaded to the apps folder from the MAS, then select "Show Package Contents." Head to Contents > SharedSupport and look for the file called "InstallESD.dmg." That's what you want to "restore" to the USB key/drive. Follow this guide step by step (read over it ahead of time just for extra measure): http://lifehacker.com/5928780/how-to-burn-os-x-mountain-lion-to-a-dvd-or-usb-fla sh-drive.

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Answer 3

FireFish Author

Level 1

68 points

Jul 27, 2012 8:46 PM in response to boxallw

Ideally that would be nice if Apple would give keys to those who paid on the App Store; but the way they did it with Lion was they sold it for $69 and the big difference was that it didn't prompt you for an Apple ID login when installing OS X from the USB key whereas it does from the installer downloaded from the Mac App Store.

While I prefer an Apple genuine key, I recommend trying this app to create your own. It didn't work for me either, but I think it was because I needed to plug the USB Key directly into my iMac vs. into my USB extension bay (which allows me to use many USB devices at once). Once I tried it with the key directly in my Mac, it worked like a charm. You need to download Mountain Lion first from the Mac App store as it uses that installer to build the key.

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