How to Create a Bootable Flash Installer for Mac OS X Lion

The Lion USB Key Drive is an incredibly useful tool that can become a recovery disc with access to Disk Utility, reinstallation, and use of Time Machine backups, all within the Recovery HD partition. With this process, you'll be able to perform a clean installation of OS X Lion on a USB drive.

If you're looking for the benefits of making a bootable Lion USB drive, then this guide is perfect for you. Not only will you learn how to create a recovery disc with access to Disk Utility and reinstallation, but also how to use Time Machine backups and more.

What You'll Need

Before we begin, make sure you have the following:

* A Mac compatible with OS X Lion

* A USB drive with at least 8GB of free space

Creating a Bootable Lion USB Drive

To create a bootable Lion USB drive, follow these steps:

1. Connect your USB drive to your Mac and open Disk Utility.

2. Select the USB drive on the left side of the window and click the 'Delete' tab.

3. Format the USB drive as 'Mac OS Extended (Journaled)' and give it a name you prefer.

4. Double-click the 'InstallESD.dmg' file to install the Lion disk image on your Mac desktop.

5. Once installed, right-click the USB drive in Disk Utility and select 'Restore.'

6. Select the 'Mac OS X Install ESD' image as the source and click 'Restore.'

Restoring the Installation

After formatting the USB drive, you'll need to restore the previously installed InstallESD.dmg file to an empty USB drive.

1. Open Disk Utility and select the USB drive on the left side of the window.

2. Click the 'Format' tab and select 'Mac OS Extended (Journaled)' as the format.

3. Name the USB drive with a name you prefer.

4. Select the USB drive on the left side of Disk Utility and click the 'Delete' tab.

Final Steps

Once you've restored the installation, your USB flash drive will now be ready to use as a bootable installer for Mac OS X Lion.

1. Simply plug in the USB key, hold down the Option key during startup, and select the drive.

2. Wait for the Lion DMG to be restored to the USB drive. This may take some time, but you'll see a screen like this:

By following these steps, you've successfully created a bootable flash installer for Mac OS X Lion. With this tool, you can now install and reinstall your operating system with ease, as well as use Time Machine backups and more.

Remember to always be cautious when formatting drives and deleting data, so make sure you have the right things in the right places before proceeding.

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