Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Suggestions For A USB Flash Drive To Back Up OS

B

beeinformed

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 30, 2010
369
6
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! :)
 
B

beeinformed

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 30, 2010
369
6
xMClass said:
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:

https://www.macrumors.com/2012/07/25/create-a-bootable-mountain-lion-usb-key-installer/
Click to expand...

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....icub&op_usm=0.5,0.5,0,0&iccEmbed=0&layer=comp
 
Last edited:
B

beeinformed

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 30, 2010
369
6
mrsir2009 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,557
9,750
I'm a rolling stone.
beeinformed said:
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! :)
Click to expand...

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.
 
Last edited:
Giuly

Giuly

macrumors 68040
Oct 16, 2009
3,348
4
That depends whether you ask for timezone, state o
beeinformed said:
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....icub&op_usm=0.5,0.5,0,0&iccEmbed=0&layer=comp
Click to expand...

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.
RuggedKey_open.jpg


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.
61HvewbxpIL._SL1100_.jpg

mushkin_ventura_plus.jpg


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? :)
 
Last edited:
jwjsr

jwjsr

macrumors 6502
Mar 15, 2012
335
0
Fairhope, Alabama
Giuly said:
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.
RuggedKey_open.jpg


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.
61HvewbxpIL._SL1100_.jpg

mushkin_ventura_plus.jpg


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? :)
Click to expand...

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

simsaladimbamba

Guest
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
30
located
jwjsr said:
How long would usb 3 stick take vs internet recovery with 6mbps internet connection?
Click to expand...

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

jwjsr

macrumors 6502
Mar 15, 2012
335
0
Fairhope, Alabama
simsaladimbamba said:
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.
Click to expand...

can I boot ML from the usb stick?
 
jwjsr

jwjsr

macrumors 6502
Mar 15, 2012
335
0
Fairhope, Alabama
simsaladimbamba said:
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.

Click to expand...

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
 
jwjsr

jwjsr

macrumors 6502
Mar 15, 2012
335
0
Fairhope, Alabama
Giuly said:
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.
RuggedKey_open.jpg


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.
61HvewbxpIL._SL1100_.jpg

mushkin_ventura_plus.jpg


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? :)
Click to expand...

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

jwjsr

macrumors 6502
Mar 15, 2012
335
0
Fairhope, Alabama
CCC to USB stick slow?

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?
 
simsaladimbamba

simsaladimbamba

Guest
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
30
located
jwjsr said:
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?
Click to expand...

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

beeinformed

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 30, 2010
369
6
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! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom