OS X Installer Drive can be very useful when we want to perform clean install to our Mac. Since Mac OS X no longer comes in disc media. This guide will help you to create bootable USB installer drive.
You will need a USB flash drive 8GB to make this bootable installer. Larger size is acceptable, but it would be a waste since the USB will be solely dedicated for OS X installer. All previous content will be erased and we can’t use the remaining space for anything else.
There are other methods available to create this bootable installer since OS X Lion. The latest OS X Mavericks introduced a simpler way for us to do this.
Step 1 : Download OS X Mavericks from Mac App Store
Mavericks comes as free from Mac App Store. The download size is around 5.3 GB so it will take a while depending on your internet speed.
When you see a window of Mavericks install, stop there. Do not proceed with installation.
Step 2 : Connect an empty USB drive (8GB or more)
If your USB drive is not empty, you can format it first using Disk Utility. Make sure you have copied necessary data from the USB drive (if any). Change the name of your USB drive to “target” (this can be anything else, but we are going with this name to make it easier for the next step).
Step 3 : Open Terminal app
Launch Terminal from Applications > Utilities.
Step 4 : Type this into Terminal
sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/target –applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app –nointeraction
Since the command uses sudo, you will be prompted to enter your administrator password. The password will not appear when you type it, it’s an expected behavior for your security. Just type the password and hit return. If you choose a different name for your USB drive, you might need to change the word target in your syntax.
The following results will be displayed :
Erasing Disk: 0%… 10%… 20%… 30%…100%…
Copying installer files to disk…
Copy complete.
Making disk bootable…
Copying boot files…
Copy complete.
Done.
You might need to wait around 15-30 minutes for this process.
Step 5 : Done
Close the Terminal and safely remove your new bootable Mavericks installer drive.
How to use this installer drive? Simply power on your Mac while pressing option key. A selection screen will show your main HDD, your recovery partition (if any) and your USB installer drive in yellow.
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