Apple Releases Utility to Create Lion Recovery USB Key

[res1233]

Time Machine does back up external drives by default (of course they have to be connected to your machine). You need to go into Time Machine preferences and exclude the drives you don't want backed up.

I'll be darned... I could have sworn it didn't. I guess I probably never had an external drive connected to my computer that wasn't for Time Machine... It doesn't seem to let me back up my flash drive however. That's pretty much what I was getting that from.

EDIT: Oh, derp. My drive is formatted FAT32... That's probably why. I'm a bit slow today.

 

[salbiani]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)



"When someone asks you if you are a god, you say YES!"

Too funny!
I wonder how many people get the reference.

 

[valkata]

I am still a little confused. I do a bit of mac support and managing for some friends and family and right now one of the more useful tool in my digital tool box is a snow leopard installer on my external firewire drive. I made it from a retail snow leopard disc and it works like a charm for installing or reinstalling mac os x on any mac that supports snow leopard. I would love to add a Lion installer to my arsenal of mac recovery tools. Can I do that with this or will any mac I use it on be tied to my personal apple account and/or have a limited number of installs?

No, you can't do that with Apple's utility.

You need to do this unofficial way: get "Install ESD.dmg" from Lion install application and burn it to DVD, restore to USB stick, external drive, etc.

 

[valkata]

I am curious, I had a usb setup with Lion DMG on it from the install where I can do a fresh install or upgrade. Now I used that same USB to install this utility and the previous dmg is kind of gone now, wtf? what did I gain out of installing this utility vs having the entire OS dmg on my usb originally?

Well, you gained nothing. In fact you lost your full Lion install. You better start reading on screen instructions, this utility says, that it will erase all contents of the drive it is beeing installed to.

 

[valkata]

No download necessary. It uses the recovery partition to create the USB recovery image.

EDIT: Unless the recovery image is not a full installer, which is possible.

Recovery image is just replica of that 600 something megabyte recovery partition Lion creates on HDD. When you do recovery from it, it will require your Apple ID and will download full install of Lion.

 

[Negritude]

So, I'm thinking, when you use one of the recovery options to re-install Lion, is there a point, before or just after the install starts, when there is the existence of the full install package on disk, and that, if you ABORT the installation in a rude manner, you can somehow get access to the full install package via some means, in order to extract the InstallESD.dmg file, and then create a FULL Lion installer?

You see, the problem still remains for those who purchase a Mac with Lion pre-installed, that we have no obvious way to create a FULL recovery/install DVD from the included tools. For those who are techs, this is a must. Apple's internet dependent recovery options will NEVER be a substitute for a full installer or recovery disc on read-only media, whether that be a locked flash drive or burned optical media. Not only do I need to have the complete OS at my immediate disposal, but I need it on media that can't be written to.

 

[yamabushi]

Fail

Apple's internet dependent recovery options will NEVER be a substitute for a full installer or recovery disc on read-only media, whether that be a locked flash drive or burned optical media. Not only do I need to have the complete OS at my immediate disposal, but I need it on media that can't be written to.

I was just about to post the same thing. Very disappointing to have so many security enhancements in the new OS release completely invalidated by flawed recovery methods. No official method for using write only media without an internet connection for recovery and clean install is a complete failure.

 

[tom vilsack]

Whats the big deal? (other then when installing new hd)

Would it be so hard for apple:

-sell a full offline version of lion on dvd or usb.
-include dvd or usb version of lion on all new computers.
-make a utility that creates a usb full version of lion.

side note: and allow during install to do a custom install (don't need or want all the lang,printer drivers!)

also: not everyone has blazing fast internet...how is waiting 4-5 hours to install lion a advance? somethings wrong when i can install tiger on my ibook in 30 min where lion on a new macbook air/pro takes me 5hours!

 

[MRU]

I assume with this ability, it could and hopefully should mean tnat if you need to download lion in the future, say when it it has been updated to say 10.7.6 etc, then by re-downloading the operating system will give you the newest version of the operating system fully up to date.

If so, this would be handy and save having to re-download and install all the current patches after a clean installation, and go some way to alleviating the having to download the OS for install.




Still a proper install USB media is better

 

[duncanbishop]

Lion is only 4 GB not 34 GB. That would be gigantic! It's been covered but here's the link to a utility that can do what you want. https://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/18/make-an-os-x-lion-boot-disc/

I used just this approach to install Lion from the App Store onto both my iMac and Macbook Pro. But prior to running the installer, I removed all existing OS X installations, worked a treat. This for me is the best approach for anyone that has a mac with an optical drive, or who has a USB dvd drive.

 

[macnisse]

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Good deal, thanks Apple!

 

[echo.park]

Have you guys ever seen this article?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718?viewlocale=en_US

If you happen to encounter a situation in which you cannot start from the Recovery HD, such as your hard drive stopped responding or you installed a new hard drive without Mac OS X installed, new Mac models introduced after public availability of OS X Lion automatically use the Lion Internet Recovery feature if the Recovery HD (Command-R method above) doesn't work. Lion Internet Recovery lets you start your Mac directly from Apple's Servers. The system runs a quick test of your memory and hard drive to ensure there are no hardware issues.

Lion Internet Recovery presents a limited interface at first, with only the ability to select your preferred Wi-Fi network and, if needed, enter the WPA passphrase. Next, Lion Internet Recovery will download and start from a Recovery HD image. From there, you are offered all the same utilities and functions described above.

As with the Recovery HD, reinstallation of OS X Lion from Lion Internet Recovery requires an Internet connection. See "Supported network configurations and protocols" below.

There is no need to create an usb drive, cause you can start your computer anyway and download all the tools from Apples servers right away. The same stuff that the usb drive would contain.
So I have no idea why Apple released that utility.

 

[tkermit]

There is no need to create an usb drive, cause you can start your computer anyway and download all the tools from Apples servers right away.

That works only on the most recently introduced models:

new Mac models introduced after public availability of OS X Lion automatically use the Lion Internet Recovery feature

 

[Nord]

I went on Mac for its simplicity. l lost my grip with Lion. Don't get me wrong, the system is great, but I don't understand what to do in case of problems with all this "recovery" stuffs popping-up now and then that I keep reading about. Some say it's good, some say bad, some say it's the full Lion, some say it's not, some say it's to download, some say it's for DVD, some say new Macs have no DVD equivalent and some say I can't sell my old Macs anymore because Lion installation program's got a Windows-kind-of serial number now, some say it's still ok; I'm so confused.

Once I had to recover data from a Time Machine drive, it was easy with the DVD, all I had to learn was to press the C key at startup for CD. I fortunately never used it for more complex stuffs, like reinstall Mac OS X, I always upgraded. I don't get it anymore with these "partitions" and stuffs, and this news makes me even more confused as for what kind of a "solution" this is, and there's no Apple store in my country, not for 700km, where I can go ask and take it in case of problems.

I just have to hope nothing will happen, so far I haven't had any problems in 7 years. On this, my trust in the Mac hasn't changed the slightest.

 

[freemini]

Have you guys ever seen this article?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718?viewlocale=en_US



There is no need to create an usb drive, cause you can start your computer anyway and download all the tools from Apples servers right away. The same stuff that the usb drive would contain.
So I have no idea why Apple released that utility.

Only the new MBA and Mac Minis have that. All other Macs don't, so you need a physical recovery disk/flash drive.
My only question about this is does it create a small partition on the flash drive or use up all of it? So if I use a 8GB flash drive, will it make a 1GB partition and leave the rest available for me to use or just partition it all and use 700mb from 8GB?

 

[Winni]

Thanks Apple.

But, it would have been nice for this to have been announced prior to all the whining that occurred about the lack of physical media options.

It is safe to assume that Apple only created this utility BECAUSE of all the (justified) whining. It's good - both for them and their customers - that they now corrected their mistakes and will even offer USB sticks with Lion on them for sale later this month.

 

[divinox]

Think Balmer will allow this for Windows?

This he'll sell the next version for $30?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Windows has supported Boot from LAN and Boot from USB since what? xp? Thats how many years? 10?

As for 30$ your comparison is retarded. Apple has an integrated stack, while Microsoft sell software.

 

[Detlev]

Just noticing that it is not available through the App store. That's odd. (slight tangent here) There seem to be many inconsistancies like this recently within Apple software products. i.e. scrolling back pages in Safari can be done but not in iTunes, the App store, Finder, or System Preferences. Certain Apple products installed previously by DVD are recognized in the App store for redownload/upgrades but others are upgraded via the Software Update feature. The standard installation of Lion provides Launchpad and an Application smart folder on the Dock (both redundant and seemingly experimental if not less than supportive of the new feature). Apple usually forces the hand in these situations and users have to accept it or not upgrade. This might be interpreted in many different ways. (back on topic) I like doing clean installs now and again but until iCloud is operational I am hoping that I do not have to do one. The time it now takes due to the amount of files on the drive is painful.

 

[alFR]

Would it be so hard for apple:

-sell a full offline version of lion on dvd or usb.

What, you mean like the USB stick version they've already said they'll be selling later this month?

 

[tkermit]

Interesting: I didn't realize that my external USB drive already had a Lion recovery partition on it. I used Snow Leopard on that drive to install Lion on my internal disk. So now, after completing the assistant, I have two "Recovery HDs" on my external disk.

dev/disk4
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *200.0 GB   disk4
   1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk4s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS OLD SL DEF              198.0 GB   disk4s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             631.8 MB   disk4s3
   4:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             631.8 MB   disk4s4

What I'm actually planning to do though, is to have two "recovery partitions" on that drive, where one of them contains the full ~4GB Lion installer, and the other one just allows for the Apple provided recovery method. The best of both worlds, if you will.

 

[ZipZap]

Why does everyone refer to past postings about the lack of a recovery option as whining???

The mac community complained about a short-coming, and Apple listened and responded.

Whining implies that the previous posts were without merit.

I consider all the posts on this thread indicating how and when Apple should have responded to this issue as whining when a solution is at hand.

 

[Rapscallion]

Sorry but I'm still not satisfied. I would like to have a full install that does not require an internet conection at all. I hope that the USB stick that they eventually put up for sale will be the full install I'm wishing for.
Thats my opinion, and I think its reasonable.

 

[ZipZap]

im pissed now! nowhere on apples website did it say that it would reformat the drive or erase all other data! alls it said was make sure you have 1gb of space on it! this is bs, this is madness!

The process makes a bootable partition. That is going to erase and reformat any USB.

Are you sure a disclaimer did not pop up?

 

[ZipZap]

So I put in my 8GB USB Drive and it erased everything on it and changed the name to "Recovery Disk."

If I ever need to re-install Lion on my iMac or Air I just put in the USB and upload it to the system from there?

PS - If I want to add other stuff to my USB can I also do that too? Or should I just leave Lion?

I would repartition the 8gig as I did....4.3 gig / rest. Then you can use the remaining to store other Mac files as needed.

 

[silentnite]

This kind of reminds me of windows, never any disk on hand when you needed it. Just hoping it works a lot better than pressing F10