How to build recovery discs for Yosemite

Bootable USB Installers for OS X Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, and Sierra

First, review this introductory article: Create a bootable installer for macOS. Second, see this How To outline for creating a bootable El Capitan installer. Simply replace the Terminal command with the one from the preceding article by copying it into the Terminal window. You will need an 8GB or larger USB flash drive that has been partitioned and formatted for use with OS X. You will need a full Installer application for the version of macOS you will be using.

Drive Partition and Format

1. Open Disk Utility in the Utilities' folder.
2. After Disk Utility loads select the drive (out-dented entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the side list.
3. Click on the Erase tab in the Disk Utility toolbar. Name the drive, "MyVolume". <---- IMPORTANT!
4. In the drop down panel set the partition scheme to GUID. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
5. Click on the Apply button and wait for the Done button to activate. When it does click on it.
6. Quit Disk Utility.

Create Installer

Open the Terminal in the Utilities' folder. Choose the appropriate command line (in red) depending upon what OS X installer you want. Paste that entire command line from below at the Terminal's prompt:

Command for macOS High Sierra:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app

Command for macOS Sierra:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app

Command for El Capitan:

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app

Command for Yosemite:

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

Command for Mavericks:

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app

Press RETURN. You will be asked for your admin password. It will not echo to the Terminal window. Then press RETURN again. Wait for the return of the Terminal prompt signifying the process has completed. It takes quite some time to finish. Be patient.

You can make a bootable USB stick to install using this free program which will do all the work for you.

Bootable USB Flash Drive – Diskmaker X