The truth is that there is no any notable application to create a better Mac OS X bootable installation USB than Disk Utility. It is right to know that only with a Mac system one is fully guaranteed to be able to do such a thing. It requires some useful information before going about the process for the installation of Mac OS X on Apple Macbook or other product versions to be carried out without much troubles using the USB flash drive.
Image of Disk Utility
One needs to have ready things which are important as requirements to successfully carry out the procedure that would be explained in a jiffy.
First and foremost, make sure one has a good USB memory stick make available. Some USB products can be inimical to the whole process if any error emanates from it due to it been likely damaged. It is first to recommend a trusted product. Usually going for Kingston, Samsung and Sony products is a good choice due to their good qualities, guaranteed and one can be confident of their capacity to function at maximum level with little or no trouble at the end. So, any of those products is best bet. Another thing is having a working Mac system at one disposal to carry out the process is the ultimate. It is where must of the works is going to be carried out, the whole steps in creating the bootable USB key.
First and foremost, make sure one has a good USB memory stick make available. Some USB products can be inimical to the whole process if any error emanates from it due to it been likely damaged. It is first to recommend a trusted product. Usually going for Kingston, Samsung and Sony products is a good choice due to their good qualities, guaranteed and one can be confident of their capacity to function at maximum level with little or no trouble at the end. So, any of those products is best bet. Another thing is having a working Mac system at one disposal to carry out the process is the ultimate. It is where must of the works is going to be carried out, the whole steps in creating the bootable USB key.
Another thing for sure is that this same process applies to all versions of Mac OS X , be it Lion, Leopard, Tiger, Darwin, etc all follow this procedural way of making a bootable USB flash. To fully grasp all the process there is need for a step-by-step explanation both for clarification and the wise thing to do.
Things required for the process are :
a. A USB flash or memory stick of at least minimum capacity of 4Gb(only for Tiger) and 8Gb is highly recommended for others.
b. A Mac system - it could be Macbook, Macbook pro,etc. Even a Powerbook 4G can be used as long as it has Disk Utility present.
c. A Mac OS X ISO(which is an acronym for International Standard Organization or International Organisation of Standard) file downloaded from Apple store or create one from a genuine Mac OS X version on DVD you intended to install in your system or from a backup. Make sure it is compatible with your system and Kernel versions. To get this information - left-click on the Apple icon on the extreme top left corner of your system and select 'About This Mac'. The version is there but for further detail click on 'More info...' select 'Software ', the information of your software overview is displayed there.
To start off with , it is advisable as a warning to save all the important files in the flash because you are going to loos all of them in the process. To be on the safer side, first of all check what you have in the USB, save them to the system and follows the next steps.
Take the following steps to create a bootable Mac OS X USB key:
Step 1: Mount the ISO(Usually Install.toast.dmg (InstallESD.dmg) file on the desktop. If should in case you find the file InstallESD without the extention .dmg simply replace it by renaming it with the extension .dmg.
Step 2: Make sure the ISO file after mounted turns into Mac OS X Install DVD (InstallESD.dmg) on the desktop.
Step 3: Click Finder, go to Macintosh HD and select Application. Look for Utilities among files in Application and click on it. In Utilities folder find Disk Utility and double-click on it to launch it right away.
Step 4: Locate your USB flash among mounted disk, on the left hand side of the Disk Utility box. To be sure of your disk look for the size which is usually display along side the disk.
Image of locating and erasing your USB
Step 5: Click Erase at the top of the Disk Utility box. On 'Format' select Mac OS Extended (Journaled). On 'Name' type in the Version of the Mac OS X you are going to install or which ever name you want to name you disk. Click on the 'Options', select GUID Partition Table without this your USB won't boot on start -up screen and click Apply to continue with the partitioning of the USB key.
Image of transferring installation files to USB
Step 6: Select the formatted USB drive for the left side of the Disk Utility and select Restore at the top right hand side.
Step 7: For 'Source' drag from the left the mounted Mac OS X InstallESD.dmg file into bar. For the 'Destination' drag from left the formatted USB into the bar and click 'Restore' below to continue.
Step 8: When the system ask for 'Admin Password', enter your password and click OK to continue. Make sure there is confirmation the USB will lose data on it. In some minutes the creating of your bootable USB will be done.
