If you’re using the Lion USB thumb drive, select the “Apple Store” option. Now if you’re using the Mac App Store version of OS X Lion, select the “Mac App Store” option. Upon clicking Next, you’ll see some options.
Accept any license agreements, and select your USB thumb drive when you arrive at the Destination Select screen. Or if you’re using the Lion USB thumb drive, make sure to have it attached to your computer before proceeding to the next step.
the downloaded Install Mac OS X Lion App should be in the Applications folder of your Mac. Either way, you should have the preferred installation mode in your possession, i.e. As mentioned earlier, you can either use a downloaded copy of Mac OS X Lion (from the Mac App Store) or you can use the Lion USB Thumb Drive. Now it’s time to copy the installation files to the USB drive. Wait a couple of seconds till the process completes. Now you’re ready to apply the changes to the USB, so click Apply, and click Partition. Make sure that the format is set to Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Under Volume Scheme, select 1 Partition, and give it a name (Installer, for instance). Select your USB drive in the left sidebar, and click the Partition tab. Attach the USB thumb drive, and open Disk Utility from Application/Utilities, or just type Disk Utility in Spotlight. Make sure you have a system running Mac OS X at hand. Last but not the least, you need patience, tolerance, and the enthusiasm to make things work!įirst, let’s get the installation USB drive ready.
Also, download the UniBeast package from the Downloads section of tonymacx86’s website (you need to be a registered user for that, so register first, because you might also need to post on the forums for help if you come across a problem). You’ll also need a USB thumb drive, preferably 8GB or larger.
You can read the original guide here at tonymacx86’s blog.įor this one, you need a system running Mac OS X, a Mac App Store downloaded copy of Mac OS X Lion (downloaded as an app) OR a Mac OS X Lion Recovery USB (available from an Apple retail store and/or from the Apple online store). Since the guide itself is self-explanatory, we are just going to follow along here. This system could be a real Mac, or it could be your existing hackintosh as well. You’ll need access to a system running Mac OS X (Snow Leopard or Lion, doesn’t matter), only for the USB drive preparation steps.
Follow this guide, and you’ll be able to do a clean-install of Mac OS X Lion on your hackintosh, or upgrade your existing Snow Leopard installation (that’s your personal preference). (Do keep in mind that there are a lot of counterfeits sold by third parties on Ebay and Amazon so it's equally important to buy your USB flash drive new from a reputable source.So by following this guide, you can install Mac OS X Lion on your hackintosh using only a USB thumb drive.
If all else fails, try a different name-brand flash drive of at least 8 gigabytes or greater in size. Some users have problems creating a successful bootable USB flash drive because they attempt to follow Apple's instructions on older versions of Mac OS X that require Disk Utility, not the Terminal window "createinstallmedia" command, to create a bootable USB flash drive. If you still can't boot from the USB flash drive, verify that you created the Mac OS installer on the USB flash drive while working in the same (or as close to) current Mac OS as you intend to write to the USB flash drive. If you can't see it, reset the PRAM and try again. On the machine you wish to install on, you can hold down the Option (ALT) key to select the boot drive, select your installer.
Most of the guides, including Apple's own support doc on how to create a bootable Mac OS installer on USB - as of this date - fail to mention the ownership step.įirst and foremost, the USB flash drive must support ownership functionality. It may be that boot-up from the USB flash drive is "prohibited" because your USB flash drive requires adjustment to the "ownership" settings.