Hello!
Recently, I decided to upgrade from MacOS 10.10 "Yosemite" to 10.12 "Sierra" by doing a "clean install" of the operating system. I had been tolerating ongoing slowdowns and other problems for several years, and I needed to do something about it. Here is a thread about the problems:
Weird USB / sleep issue; what can I do?
I was given advice on these Apple forums on how to clean-stall Sierra, which lead me to a MacWorld article and a YouTube video on the subject.
YouTube video from "Everything Tech":
"How to Clean Install macOS Sierra"
by Alejandro Zamora 23 Sept 2016
How to Clean Install macOS Sierra - YouTube
MacWorld article:
"How to create a bootable macOS Sierra installer drive"
by Roman Loyola 3 July 2017
http://www.macworld.com/article/3092900/macs/how-to-create-a-bootable-macos-sier ra-installer-drive.html
I went out an bought SanDisk USB 3.0 flash thumb drive (special order) especially for this installation process. I followed the instructions, downloaded the Sierra installer from Apple, and used ready-made Terminal instructions to format the SanDisk thumb drive to act as a Sierra install disk.
My latest question is this:
I want to be able to use this SanDisk thumb drive for more than one installer. I plan to install Microsoft Windows 10 and Office 365 (5-user pack), so I can run Windows-only applications on my iMac. (example: Microsoft Access). Is there a way I can copy the Sierra installer disk image to my external backup hard drive so I can erase the Sierra installer from the SanDisk thumb temporarily for use with other installers, and then copy it back again later? I plan to install Sierra on my iMac first, and also install Sierra on my parents' MacBook Pro later.
The problem I'm seeing is that if I want to install Sierra on my iMac now, and erase the iMac's hard drive to wipe it clean and do a clean install, then the Sierra installer would be wiped clean with it. If I do the same clean installation process with my parents' MacBook Pro, I would need the Sierra installer back on the SanDisk thumb again later, and I plan to use the SanDisk thumb for other installations in the meantime. This SanDisk is my only USB 3.0 thumb drive, and I want be able to swap installers on it.
Also: If I do my Time Machine backups on these machines to my external hard drive, how do I copy back only certain data (email, documents, browser bookmarks, etc.) and not the problems these machines had been experiencing before?
Thanks in advance.
Recently, I decided to upgrade from MacOS 10.10 "Yosemite" to 10.12 "Sierra" by doing a "clean install" of the operating system. I had been tolerating ongoing slowdowns and other problems for several years, and I needed to do something about it. Here is a thread about the problems:
Weird USB / sleep issue; what can I do?
I was given advice on these Apple forums on how to clean-stall Sierra, which lead me to a MacWorld article and a YouTube video on the subject.
YouTube video from "Everything Tech":
"How to Clean Install macOS Sierra"
by Alejandro Zamora 23 Sept 2016
How to Clean Install macOS Sierra - YouTube
MacWorld article:
"How to create a bootable macOS Sierra installer drive"
by Roman Loyola 3 July 2017
http://www.macworld.com/article/3092900/macs/how-to-create-a-bootable-macos-sier ra-installer-drive.html
I went out an bought SanDisk USB 3.0 flash thumb drive (special order) especially for this installation process. I followed the instructions, downloaded the Sierra installer from Apple, and used ready-made Terminal instructions to format the SanDisk thumb drive to act as a Sierra install disk.
My latest question is this:
I want to be able to use this SanDisk thumb drive for more than one installer. I plan to install Microsoft Windows 10 and Office 365 (5-user pack), so I can run Windows-only applications on my iMac. (example: Microsoft Access). Is there a way I can copy the Sierra installer disk image to my external backup hard drive so I can erase the Sierra installer from the SanDisk thumb temporarily for use with other installers, and then copy it back again later? I plan to install Sierra on my iMac first, and also install Sierra on my parents' MacBook Pro later.
The problem I'm seeing is that if I want to install Sierra on my iMac now, and erase the iMac's hard drive to wipe it clean and do a clean install, then the Sierra installer would be wiped clean with it. If I do the same clean installation process with my parents' MacBook Pro, I would need the Sierra installer back on the SanDisk thumb again later, and I plan to use the SanDisk thumb for other installations in the meantime. This SanDisk is my only USB 3.0 thumb drive, and I want be able to swap installers on it.
Also: If I do my Time Machine backups on these machines to my external hard drive, how do I copy back only certain data (email, documents, browser bookmarks, etc.) and not the problems these machines had been experiencing before?
Thanks in advance.