Backup USB of 10.8

[Kirkle]

Just bought an iMac that came with 10.8 installed, can I download a copy of 10.8 and make a USB back up of it? In other words, can I download it from the App store for free since I just bought it when I bought my machine?

 

[grapes911]

You don't need to. Apple Recovery has you covered. If you really want a bootable USB drive you can though.

 

[Kirkle]

Thanks, I'll look into that.

 

[Nermal]

You can create an offline install drive by following these convoluted steps.

 

[Fishrrman]

Why not use CarbonCopyCloner to do a "clone" of your existing system to a USB flashdrive?

If you want to keep it "bare bones", you can deselect items in CCC that you do not want copied.

Once completed, you will have a fully-bootable version of the OS on the flash drive. It may not be "completely virgin", but it will be usable, and "restorable", if something ever goes wrong with your main drive...