Suggestions For A USB Flash Drive To Back Up OS

[beeinformed]

Hi,

I have a 27 inch 2012 imac computer and I wish to purchase an usb flash drive to use as a recovery backup for the Mountain Lion operating system.

I would appreciate any suggestions as to what brands to get as well as what size drive to order (8 or 16 GB).

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me with selecting an usb flash drive!

[xMClass]

The Mountain Lion file size is a little over 4GB. So you'll want at least 8GB. I use Sandisk USB flash drives, never failed me once.

See here for more tips:

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/07/25/...key-installer/

[beeinformed]

Originally Posted by xMClass

The Mountain Lion file size is a little over 4GB. So you'll want at least 8GB. I use Sandisk USB flash drives, never failed me once.

See here for more tips:

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/07/25/...key-installer/

Thanks for your quick reply! Would the "PNY 8GB Hook Flash Drive" be sufficient for my iMac computer?

Below is the link for the usb drive:

http://store.storeimages.cdn-apple.c...d=0&layer=comp

[xMClass]

Originally Posted by beeinformed

Thanks for your quick reply! Would the "PNY 8GB Hook Flash Drive" be sufficient for my iMac computer?

Below is the link for the usb drive:

http://store.storeimages.cdn-apple.c...d=0&layer=comp

Don't see why not! Should work just fine.

[beeinformed]

Originally Posted by xMClass

Don't see why not! Should work just fine.

Thanks! I'm going to order this usb drive!

[mrsir2009]

Originally Posted by beeinformed

Thanks for your quick reply! Would the "PNY 8GB Hook Flash Drive" be sufficient for my iMac computer?

Below is the link for the usb drive:

http://store.storeimages.cdn-apple.c...d=0&layer=comp

Yep The brand of the flash drive doesn't really matter too much - A flash drive is a relatively simple device, so in most cases they're all the same.

[beeinformed]

Originally Posted by mrsir2009

Yep The brand of the flash drive doesn't really matter too much - A flash drive is a relatively simple device, so in most cases they're all the same.

Does it make a difference if the speed of the usb flash drive is 2.0 or 3.0 as my iMac computer comes with 3.0 usb ports? Thanks!

[justperry]

Originally Posted by beeinformed

Does it make a difference if the speed of the usb flash drive is 2.0 or 3.0 as my iMac computer comes with 3.0 usb ports? Thanks!

If the Flash chips inside are the same speed it won't matter, btw, USB 2 is already much faster than most if not all USB flash memory sticks.

Edit: Experience Accelerated File Transfer and Backup

Up to 190MB/s which IS much faster than USB 2 can deliver.

[mrsir2009]

Originally Posted by beeinformed

Does it make a difference if the speed of the usb flash drive is 2.0 or 3.0 as my iMac computer comes with 3.0 usb ports? Thanks!

Well, either will work, however a 3.0 flash drive would be faster on your iMac.

[Peace]

Originally Posted by mrsir2009

Well, either will work, however a 3.0 flash drive would be faster on your iMac.

That might depend on the thumbdrive . My USB 3.0 drive read is much faster that writing to it.

[Giuly]

Originally Posted by beeinformed

Thanks for your quick reply! Would the "PNY 8GB Hook Flash Drive" be sufficient for my iMac computer?

Below is the link for the usb drive:

http://store.storeimages.cdn-apple.c...d=0&layer=comp

That's a USB 2.0 drive, ergo reinstalling the system will take ages. You would be better off with something like the LaCie RuggedKey.


But, if you use it a lot and need sheer speed, the Mushkin Enhanced Ventura Plus is the fastest 16GB drive, the read speed is rated a little faster than the SanDisk Extreme USB 3.0, then again if you want to repurpose it later, the SanDisk has faster write speeds and looks better.



Also, you know that your 2012 Mac has Internet Recovery if you press Command+R when turning on, which makes the USB stick obsolete, right?

[jwjsr]

Originally Posted by Giuly

That's a USB 2.0 drive, ergo reinstalling the system will take ages. You would be better off with something like the LaCie RuggedKey.


But, if you use it a lot and need sheer speed, the Mushkin Enhanced Ventura Plus is the fastest 16GB drive, the read speed is rated a little faster than the SanDisk Extreme USB 3.0, then again if you want to repurpose it later, the SanDisk has faster write speeds and looks better.



Also, you know that your 2012 Mac has Internet Recovery if you press Command+R when turning on, which makes the USB stick obsolete, right?

How long would usb 3 stick take vs internet recovery with 6mbps internet connection?

[simsaladimbamba]

Originally Posted by jwjsr

How long would usb 3 stick take vs internet recovery with 6mbps internet connection?

Even a USB 1 stick would be faster than that, but a USB 2.0 stick would definitely be faster, since you would have to download 4 GB via a 6 Mb/s line, which would take 1.5 hours to download. Even when I use my Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard installer from an external USB 2.0 HDD I can install in less than 30 minutes, sometimes 15 to 20 minutes I guess.

If the USB 3.0 stick would have flash modules that offer a significant speed, like 50 or 80 MB/s or even more, than a USB 3.0 stick would be quite good, but as USB 2.0 offers 35 MB/s already, it might be overkill for an installation medium.

[jwjsr]

Originally Posted by simsaladimbamba

Even a USB 1 stick would be faster than that, but a USB 2.0 stick would definitely be faster, since you would have to download 4 GB via a 6 Mb/s line, which would take 1.5 hours to download. Even when I use my Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard installer from an external USB 2.0 HDD I can install in less than 30 minutes, sometimes 15 to 20 minutes I guess.

If the USB 3.0 stick would have flash modules that offer a significant speed, like 50 or 80 MB/s or even more, than a USB 3.0 stick would be quite good, but as USB 2.0 offers 35 MB/s already, it might be overkill for an installation medium.

can I boot ML from the usb stick?

[simsaladimbamba]

Originally Posted by jwjsr

can I boot ML from the usb stick?

If it is properly formatted* and cloned, yes.
Use CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper! to make a bootable clone of either the installation medium or the actual OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion install onto the USB flash memory thumb drive.

* How to format a new HDD to install Mac OS X onto (or make a bootable copy onto)

[jwjsr]

Originally Posted by simsaladimbamba

If it is properly formatted* and cloned, yes.
Use CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper! to make a bootable clone of either the installation medium or the actual OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion install onto the USB flash memory thumb drive.

* How to format a new HDD to install Mac OS X onto (or make a bootable copy onto)

thanks simsalad, i installed samsusng 840 iin my mac min 2012 but I messed something up and it didn't create fusion, Philipma1957 says a gotta erase to make osx thinks its broken in order to creat fusion drive

[justperry]

Originally Posted by Giuly

You know that your 2012 Mac has Internet Recovery if you press Command+R when turning on, which makes the USB stick obsolete, right?

I just found out (Told by a newbie) that to get directly into internet recovery it is Command-Option-R.

Find out here on an Apple page buried deep inside and not in the shortcut page, it's halfway down.(Search: Option)

[jwjsr]

Originally Posted by Giuly

That's a USB 2.0 drive, ergo reinstalling the system will take ages. You would be better off with something like the LaCie RuggedKey.


But, if you use it a lot and need sheer speed, the Mushkin Enhanced Ventura Plus is the fastest 16GB drive, the read speed is rated a little faster than the SanDisk Extreme USB 3.0, then again if you want to repurpose it later, the SanDisk has faster write speeds and looks better.



Also, you know that your 2012 Mac has Internet Recovery if you press Command+R when turning on, which makes the USB stick obsolete, right?

option ????? upon startup lets me choose which drive to boot from?

[jwjsr]

CC cloner took 3hr to clone Osx 10.8.1 ML to my usb stick on my 2012 mnini. Normal? Does that mean its gonna take that long to copy it back to my SSD?

[justperry]

Originally Posted by jwjsr

CC cloner took 3hr to clone Osx 10.8.1 ML to my usb stick on my 2012 mnini. Normal? Does that mean its gonna take that long to copy it back to my SSD?

Yes most likely, many files to copy.
No, reading that USB stick is most likely much faster.

[simsaladimbamba]

Originally Posted by jwjsr

CC cloner took 3hr to clone Osx 10.8.1 ML to my usb stick on my 2012 mnini. Normal? Does that mean its gonna take that long to copy it back to my SSD?

It was most likely a USB stick with slow write speed, as doing the same with a USB HDD takes about ten minutes.

[beeinformed]

I've decided to go with a 3.0 usb flash drive, instead of the 2.0 version (to use as a recovery backup for the Mountain Lion OS) and would appreciate suggestions for an inexpensive option? Thanks!

[Weaselboy]

Originally Posted by Giuly

Also, you know that your 2012 Mac has Internet Recovery if you press Command+R when turning on, which makes the USB stick obsolete, right?

True enough... but if you ever need to DL a 4.7GB installer over hotel wifi, you will wish you had the USB key installer. I carry one with me on trips.

[Giuly]

Originally Posted by Weaselboy

True enough... but if you ever need to DL a 4.7GB installer over hotel wifi, you will wish you had the USB key installer. I carry one with me on trips.

You travel with your 27" iMac? Kudos.

[Weaselboy]

Originally Posted by Giuly

You travel with your 27" iMac? Kudos.

It fits quite nicely in my briefcase.