- http://subrosasoft.com/blog/2011/07/create-a-bootable-mac-os-x-10-7-lion-flash-drive/
- 1) Purchase and download Lion from the Mac App Store on any Lion compatible Mac running Snow Leopard.
- 2) Right click on “Mac OS X Lion” installer and choose the option to “Show Package Contents”
- 3) Inside the Contents folder, you will find a SharedSupport folder and inside the SharedSupport folder you will find the
- InstallESD.dmg. This is the 10.7 Lion boot disc image.
- 4) Copy InstallESD.dmg to another folder like the Desktop. To do so, simply click and drag the file to the desired location
- while holding down the Option key.
- 5) Plug in the flash drive and launch Disk Utility (/Applications/Utilities).
- 6) Make sure the flash drive is properly formatted highlighting the flash drive at the left (make sure to select the device
- and not the volume shown under it) and clicking the Erase tab across the top right. Then ensure that the Format drop-down
- menu is set to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and click the Erase button. Confirm the dialog ensuring that you want to erase
- the device and all information on it (make sure you backup any existing information on the flash drive before this point).
- 7) Select the Partition tab on the top right.
- Using the drop-down menu for Volume Scheme, choose 1 Partition as the partition scheme.
- Highlight the partition by clicking on it in the space it is shown below the Volume Scheme drop-down and then click on
- Options underneath it. Select GUID Partition Table and click OK. This will allow the Mac boot from the drive.
- You may now name the device in the Name textbox. Insure that Format is set to Mac OS X Extended (Journaled). When you
- have finished, click the Apply button to format the USB device. A warning will pop-up asking if you are sure you want to
- partition the media. Click the Partition button to continue.
- 8) Click on the newly created volume listed under the USB device on the left. This volume will have the name of the device
- you set in the previous step. Click the Restore tab at the top right. In the Source area click the Image… button. Select
- the disk image InstallESD.dmg and click open (you may also drag-and-drop the disk image into the Source area).
- In the Destination area, make sure that the USB device’s name is showing. If it isn’t, simply click and drag the volume from
- the list at the left into the destination area. Click Restore and confirm the dialog informing you the volume will be
- erased. You will be prompted to enter the admin password for your Mac and the process will begin.
- The bootable USB device will be created and a progress bar will show the current status of the operation at the bottom of
- the screen.
- 9) When the operation is complete, you can verify that the flash drive is now bootable by selecting it and clicking the
- Info button in the upper left corner of the Disk Utility window. Bootable status will show as Yes.
- To boot from the USB device, simply hold down the Option key while your Mac is booting up. A screen will appear asking you
- which volume you would like to boot the system from. Click on the OS X installer USB drive and the system will boot using
- the USB stick. You will see faster boot speeds using the USB installer compared to a DVD installer disc.