EDLIU

Q: Create A Bootable OS X Yosemite DVD/USB Drive

Hi,

 

I'm using OS X 10.9.5 Mavericks and would like to upgrade to OS X Yosemite.

 

How do I create a bootable OS X DVD/USB Drive so I can clean install the OS?

 

Thanks.

 

Ed

iMac (20-inch Early 2008), OS X Mavericks (10.9.3)

Posted on Oct 22, 2014 3:21 AM

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Q: Create A Bootable OS X Yosemite DVD/USB Drive

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  • by bodyxs,

    bodyxs bodyxs Oct 22, 2014 3:40 AM in response to EDLIU
    Level 3 (676 points)
    Oct 22, 2014 3:40 AM in response to EDLIU

    Here is the link with the instructions:

    Creating a bootable OS X installer in OS X Mavericks

    Don't pay attention to the title, works for Yosemite (from OS X: About Recovery Disk Assistant down below link).

  • by EDLIU,

    EDLIU EDLIU Oct 24, 2014 10:10 PM in response to bodyxs
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 24, 2014 10:10 PM in response to bodyxs

    Hi,

     

    Can I use the "Bootable USB Flash Drive – Diskmaker X" to create a bootable OS X Yosemite USB Drive?

     

    Thanks.

     

    Ed

     

    ps. Create a bootable OS X Mavericks DVD

  • by bodyxs,

    bodyxs bodyxs Oct 24, 2014 11:37 PM in response to EDLIU
    Level 3 (676 points)
    Oct 24, 2014 11:37 PM in response to EDLIU

    Well, as a word of advise if an Apple method exists (like a single command line), we can't encourage to people to rely on third party apps.

    Good luck!

  • by tywebb13,Helpful

    tywebb13 tywebb13 Dec 28, 2014 12:58 AM in response to EDLIU
    Level 1 (25 points)
    Dec 28, 2014 12:58 AM in response to EDLIU

    If you prefer to make a bootable dvd, you can do it this way:

     

    After downloading the full Yosemite installer app from the Mac App Store, run these 14 commands in Terminal to create a Yosemite.iso file and then burn it to a dual layer DVD with Disk Utility. You may then boot up from it by holding the option key down and then install Yosemite.

     

    hdiutil attach /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg -noverify -nobrowse -mountpoint /Volumes/install_app

     

    hdiutil convert /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.dmg -format UDSP -o /tmp/Yosemite

     

    hdiutil resize -size 8g /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage

     

    hdiutil attach /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage -noverify -nobrowse -mountpoint /Volumes/install_build

     

    rm /Volumes/install_build/System/Installation/Packages

     

    cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/Packages /Volumes/install_build/System/Installation/

     

    cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.chunklist /Volumes/install_build

     

    cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.dmg /Volumes/install_build

     

    hdiutil detach /Volumes/install_app

     

    hdiutil detach /Volumes/install_build

     

    hdiutil resize -size `hdiutil resize -limits /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage | tail -n 1 | awk '{ print $1 }'`b /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage

     

    hdiutil convert /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage -format UDTO -o /tmp/Yosemite

     

    rm /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage

     

    mv /tmp/Yosemite.cdr ~/Desktop/Yosemite.iso

  • by arthur,

    arthur arthur Dec 28, 2014 1:59 AM in response to EDLIU
    Level 5 (5,193 points)
    iBooks
    Dec 28, 2014 1:59 AM in response to EDLIU

    I've used http://diskmakerx.com/ a few times, works very well.

  • by pokesilverpk,

    pokesilverpk pokesilverpk Feb 9, 2015 10:58 AM in response to tywebb13
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 9, 2015 10:58 AM in response to tywebb13

    this method worked the best thanks, i was able to create an ISO image

  • by userremoved,

    userremoved userremoved Aug 7, 2016 11:52 PM in response to tywebb13
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 7, 2016 11:52 PM in response to tywebb13

    Hi there folks,

     

    thank you for sharing this with us. If you're interested in an YOSEMITE install DVD that will also create a recovery HD (will not be created with the method described here) have a look at my post at MacRumors:

     

    http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20901162#post20901162

     

    Regards, Mike Lite

  • by PriceCaptain,

    PriceCaptain PriceCaptain Apr 28, 2015 3:38 AM in response to tywebb13
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 28, 2015 3:38 AM in response to tywebb13

    some people adds these two lines to the commands to copy the installer dependencies after removing the "Packages" links,  are these needed? Mavericks doesn't have these..

     

    cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.chunklist /Volumes/install_build/BaseSystem.chunklist

     

    cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.dmg /Volumes/install_build/BaseSystem.dmg

  • by Mark Kaintz,

    Mark Kaintz Mark Kaintz Jul 2, 2015 10:49 AM in response to tywebb13
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 2, 2015 10:49 AM in response to tywebb13

    Would I be able to use these exact command line instructions to create a bootable USB drive?  I have a blank 16GB stick.  Do I need to provide the path to the Yosemite installer (currently residing in my Applications folder)?

     

    Thanks,

    Mark

  • by nilsonj,

    nilsonj nilsonj Jul 26, 2015 9:35 PM in response to tywebb13
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 26, 2015 9:35 PM in response to tywebb13

    Excellent work. Thanks for the solution, tywebb13! I took your commands and altered them for a script that one can simply place INSIDE the root folder of the Install OS X Yosemite.app folder and run from that context to generate an ISO on the desktop. I have further confirmed that this DVD ISO will work to install OSX 10.10 on valid VMware ESXi installations with version 5.5 of the hypervisor running. You must configure the guest in EFI boot mode with OSX 10.7 or above in order to successfully load the installer (this is what tells ESX to "prove" to the virtual guest that you are running on Apple hardware; otherwise you will get a "not permitted" symbol during the boot sequence). You must also use the Disk Utility upon launching the installer to format your target disk before the installer will pick it up as a valid resource. No special command-line hacks were needed to make this work. The formatting process with the BaseSystem image makes this all possible. Here's a consolidated script you can use in one go:

     

    #!/bin/bash
    
    hdiutil attach ./Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg -noverify -nobrowse -mountpoint /Volumes/install_app
    hdiutil convert /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.dmg -format UDSP -o ./Yosemite
    hdiutil resize -size 8g ./Yosemite.sparseimage
    hdiutil attach ./Yosemite.sparseimage -noverify -nobrowse -mountpoint /Volumes/install_build
    rm /Volumes/install_build/System/Installation/Packages
    cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/Packages /Volumes/install_build/System/Installation/
    cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.chunklist /Volumes/install_build
    cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.dmg /Volumes/install_build
    hdiutil detach /Volumes/install_app
    hdiutil detach /Volumes/install_build
    hdiutil resize -size `hdiutil resize -limits ./Yosemite.sparseimage | tail -n 1 | awk '{ print $1 }'`b ./Yosemite.sparseimage
    hdiutil convert ./Yosemite.sparseimage -format UDTO -o ./Yosemite
    rm ./Yosemite.sparseimage
    mv ./Yosemite.cdr ~/Desktop/Yosemite.iso
    
    
    

     

    Provided that you have the installer in the standard Applications folder, place this script INSIDE the .app folder, like so:

     

    nano /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/makebootableiso.sh
    

     

    And then cd to that directory and run it:

     

    cd /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/
    chmod +x makebootableiso.sh
    ./makebootableiso.sh
    

     

    For ESXi, simply configure your VM Guest as "OSX 10.7 64-bit" and use EFI boot mode. Upload the ISO to your data store so that you don't belabor the installation process with network-attached access. Attach the ISO image you created to the virtual DVD drive and it should load with the Apple logo and a progress bar. Once you get to the installer, open Disk Utility from the menu system and format your target disk, then proceed as usual with the installation of OS X.

     

    Enjoy.

  • by woodmeister50,

    woodmeister50 woodmeister50 Jul 27, 2015 4:25 AM in response to EDLIU
    Level 5 (5,505 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 27, 2015 4:25 AM in response to EDLIU

    There is a very simple on line command to create the full Yosemite

    installer on a USB stick.  The command line function is hidden

    inside the Yosemite installer itself.

     

    First, obviously the USB stick needs to be formatted to a single GUID

    partition with OS X extended, journaled filesystem.  You will also need to

    download the installer app from the Mac App store.

     

    Then execute the following command:

    sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app --nointeraction

     

    /Volumes/Untitled is the path to the USB stick.  Replace "Untitled" with the volume

    name you gave the USB stick.

     

    The sudo command will request a password and you must have adminisrator

    privileges to create.

     

    Depending on how fast the USB stick is, it can take a while to complete.

     

    This will not only create an installer for OS X but will also have Disk Utility

    on it as well.

     

    I used this to create a USB stick installer to do a full clean install on a 2009

    iMac that I was going to repurpose.  All worked well.

  • by mrnk3l50n89,

    mrnk3l50n89 mrnk3l50n89 Aug 28, 2015 7:56 AM in response to tywebb13
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 28, 2015 7:56 AM in response to tywebb13

    This is the best way i've found, I just copied and pasted the commands into a text file, saved it as a .sh, then ran the .sh script via terminal. All I had to do then was sit back and let it do it's work. It's currently burning to a dual layer dvd

  • by Pellepennan,

    Pellepennan Pellepennan Sep 11, 2015 4:17 AM in response to tywebb13
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 11, 2015 4:17 AM in response to tywebb13

    ETA: Actually in response to woodmeister50


    This works really well for a re-install. But is there a way to tweak it to create a totally clean install, removing previous user(s)?

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Sep 11, 2015 4:33 AM in response to Pellepennan
    Level 8 (49,737 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 11, 2015 4:33 AM in response to Pellepennan

    Pellepennan wrote:

     

    ETA: Actually in response to woodmeister50


    This works really well for a re-install. But is there a way to tweak it to create a totally clean install, removing previous user(s)?

    The OS X installers do not alter the install destination short of replacing the OS. You have to erase the disk prior to installing using Disk Utility.

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