How to Create Bootable Google Chrome OS USB? Similar to Linux OS, you can boot Chrome OS from a USB. Once you run the operating system from the USB, the system fetches every necessary files from USB to the primary memory.
With the advances in technology, faster data access (SSD), and slimming hardware footprints, legacy technologies are typically the first cuts made to get these devices thinner and lighter while making them more powerful and efficient.
Installing OS X has never really been a particularly difficult task, but try doing that on a MacBook Air or a system with a broken optical drive. Not so easy anymore is it? Even downloading the OS from the Mac App Store wouldn't do when the hard drive needs replacing or the Recovery Partition is corrupt. Luckily, Macs have a couple of options, specifically USB booting, and since most have an SD card slot, we can use those as well.
Creating a USB Installer for Apple OS X 10.7-10.8
Before proceeding, we'll need the following items to complete the process:
Follow these steps:
1. Using a Mac with at least OS X 10.6.8 installed, access the Mac App Store and download the Lion (10.7) or Mountain Lion (10.8) app installer.
2. Insert the USB drive into the Mac and launch Disk Utility.
3. Click on the USB drive from the left-hand menu and select the Partition tab.
4. Click the drop-down menu, selecting 1 partition.
5. Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
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9. Go back to Disk Utility and click on the newly formatted USB Drive in the menu, then click on the Restore tab.
10. In the Source textbox, click the Image button and select the InstallESD.dmg file on your Desktop. For Destination, drag & drop the partition created on the USB drive onto the textbox. (Figure E) 11. Upon verifying that the fields are correct, click the Restore button and select Erase from the application, if prompted to do so. (Figure F) 12. The process may indicate in excess of one hour, but in my experience the process takes significantly less time to complete. (Figure G)
Creating a USB Installer for Apple OS X 10.5-10.6
The process is nearly identical, with a few alternate items to complete the process:
*Note: Install DVD must be the original DVD from Apple and not a Restore DVD that came with earlier model Apple computers & laptops. The process has not been tested with Restore DVDs and may not yield a reliable, OS X Installer USB.
Once completed, the USB drive will be bootable and have the full installation of OS X on there to install from scratch and update systems, as needed. Remember, this being a writable drive offers some additional perks over read-only media with a few caveats as well.
Pros:
**Note: Feel free to include any additional files or folders to the existing drives, so long as the original file hierarchy is not modified in any way. This is important as the OS X installer is looking for specific files at specific locations during installation. A missing, modified or corrupt file could result in an unreliable installation.
Multiple OS X versions on the same USB/SD card (Bonus)
While writing this article, I found myself in a predicament - I only had a 8GB USB drive! But luckily, I found a 16GB drive I'd lent my wife awhile back and decided to try to get the two versions of OS X encountered most frequently (10.7 & 10.8) onto the same 16GB USB drive.
And it worked! To achieve this, you'll want to have a USB/SD card capable of holding all the OSs on drive. This means about 8GB of storage space per version of OS X. The steps are identical to the Creating a USB Installer for Apple OS X 10.7-10.8 tutorial listed above, except for two key differences.
OS X can start up your Mac in a myriad of ways, some of which our ongoing tutorial series has discussed already in detail such as using built-in Startup Manager to pick a disk to startup your Mac from and booting into Safe, Verbose and Target Disk modes.
Today we get to talk about starting your Mac up from external storage like optical media or an external USB-based hard drive or flash storage.
Booting from an external storage allows you to start up your Mac in another version or copy of OS X, troubleshoot certain issues and more.
Requirements
Starting up your Mac from an external disk requires the following:
Apple advises against booting from external storage containing a version of Mac OS X earlier than the one your Mac shipped with.
How to start up your Mac from a bootable CD/DVD
Step 1: Turn on your Mac by pressing the power button, or restart it if it’s already on by choosing Restart in the Apple menu.
Step 2: Press and hold the C key on your keyboard immediately upon hearing the startup chime. Your Mac should start up from the OS X installer CD/DVD media. You can also press the left mouse button on a wired mouse during the startup in order to open the disc tray.
Tip: You can easily burn a bootable image of OS X to a DVD using Disk Utility.
How to start up your Mac from an external USB storage device
If your USB thumb drive, USB-based external disk or flash storage contains a usable operating system or an OS X installer, you can select it at boot time using OS X’S built-in feature called Startup Manager, which can be invoked via a simple keystroke.
Step 1: Turn on your Mac by pressing the power button by choosing Restart in the Apple menu, or restart it if it’s already on.
Step 2: Press and hold the Option (⌥) key immediately upon hearing the startup chime. Release the key after Startup Manager appears. Startup Manager will scan and list connected drives and volumes that can be booted from, as shown below.
Step 3: Highlight the volume you want to use by using your mouse or trackpad, or left and right arrow keys on the keyboard.
Step 4: Double-click or press the Return key to boot your Mac from the selected volume.
Tip: If there are several USB storage devices connected to your Mac, Startup Manager will only list the ones containing bootable volumes.
Full tutorial:how to pick a startup disk for your Mac at boot time.
How to start up your Mac from an external volume using System Preferences
You can use System Preferences to tell your Mac to automatically use optical media or an USB-based external disk or flash storage every time it’s restarted.
Step 1: Open the System Preferences application in the Dock.
Step 2: Now click the Startup Disk pane. You will be presented with various disk icons.
Step 3: Select the system you would like to use to start your computer up.
Step 4: Now click the Restart button to start up your Mac using the chosen volume.
Tip: Your Mac will now always boot into the selected startup disk until you change it in System Preferences, or temporarily override it through Startup Manager.
Full tutorial:how to choose a startup disk using System Preferences.
Troubleshooting startup issues
Should you run into problems whilst attempting to boot your Mac from an external storage device, consult our FAQ below to help troubleshoot any start up issues you may be plagued with.
Is the storage device to an external power supply?
Depending on its model and power requirements, it may be necessary to connect your USB storage device to an external power supply.
Is the storage device connected and turned on?
Make sure your external storage is turned on and connected to your Mac. USB-based external hard disks usually have the power on/off button at the back of the enclosure.
Does your disk need repair?
If your Mac doesn’t boot from an external volume or the drive doesn’t show up in Startup Manager even though it contains a bootable copy of OS X, it might need repair.
The first order of business should be attempting to repair disk permissions in Disk Utility. In the worst case scenario, you might need to reinstall OS X on the external volume.
Did you try using a different USB port?
If you own a MacBook or MacBook Pro notebook, try using a different USB port if you cannot startup from the external USB storage device.
Has the disk been formatted with a GUID partition type?
Intel-based Macs support starting from an external USB storage device’s volume that has been formatted with a GUID partition type.
Does your Mac shut down automatically upon connecting the disk?
Apple states that a MacBook Air contains a preventive measure which prompts the computer to shut down automatically if the connected USB storage device has issue or if the USB port on the MacBook Air itself is damaged.
Are you using Boot Camp?
If you’re using Boot Camp in a dual-boot Windows/OS X environment, you may be unable to boot natively into supported versions of Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 10 operating systems installed on external USB hard drive.
Are you using an external USB hub?Create Mac Bootable Usb Drive
Using an external hub to connect several USB storage devices may cause your Mac to fail to recognize them at boot time. Try connecting the USB drive to another port on the hub. Should that fail, connect the disk directly into your Mac’s USB port. Keep in mind that some USB hubs and external USB storage devices need an external power supply, depending on their power requirements.
Is the disk connect to the keyboard’s USB port?
Both wired and wireless Apple Keyboard, and some other keyboards with built-in USB ports, may not supply enough power to some external USB hard drives.
Is the disk bootable?
Make sure the external drive you’re trying to start from contains a usable operating system. Volumes that aren’t bootable and don’t contain a copy of a valid operating system aren’t listed in Startup Disk or Startup Manager.
Are you using wireless keyboard?
If you use an Apple Wireless Keyboard or another Bluetooth keyboard with your Mac, keystrokes won’t be recognized during the startup process because Bluetooth isn’t initialized at boot time. Connect a wired keyboard or use the built-in keyboard if you own a Mac notebook. The same disclaimer applies to holding the left button on a wireless mouse at boot time to open the disc tray.
Other ways to start up your Mac
Your Mac can start up in a number of different ways, including the following methods that our tutorials provide step-by-step instructions for:
Media Creation Tool To Create Bootable Windows 10
We will be covering more ways to start up your Mac in future tutorials.
How To Create Bootable Windows CdSee also:Mac Bootable Usb Windows 10
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