Bootable MacOSX 10.6 Snow Leopard emergency USB flash drive boot disk

I want to create a minimal recovery boot disk for SL. I've followed how-to's on creating one for 10.4 and 10.5, but so far it I couldn't get it to work with 10.6.
If you have successfully done this, or can point me to a pre-made image or how-to, it would be much appreciated.

I found this article:
[2009 Live DVD, howto make a simple, working osx livedvd|http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=144128]
Here's the overview of the method presented there:
How it works:
This method works because OSX has a disk image boot system in place to support its network boot system. IOHDIXController and kernel can take a path to disk image supplied to them, and mount it as /, via "imageboot", which recognizes a disk image as an attachable filesystem.
Further, Apple has setup a system to take a read-only disk image and attach a shadowfile to it, so that it is writeable. Intended to support a network boot system by making the user's session local and non-persistent, it is implemented in /etc/rc.netboot. Basically, vndevice (/usr/libexec/vndevice) attaches a shadow file to the dmg, and enables a copy-on-write strategy on that device--writes to the dmg are diverted to the temporary shadow file. This is much like what happens on a linux live dvd, albeit with Unionfs.
Normally the shadowfile is created on a local disk or network share, on either nfs or hfs. Under my method, the shadowfile is created on ramdisk formatted with hfs, and the system behaves exactly as if it were booted with netboot. The difference is that I specify that the dmg to boot from is local(file:///), and then manually start a customized rc script. The script behaves like rc.netboot, except i create a ramdisk and setup the shadowfile there instead of on a local disk. After that / is R/W and OS X boots normally into finder...and beyond.
Got that?!

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Boot problem - Snow Leopard on USB flash drive

Built a fresh install of 10.6 on a USB flash drive. The steps I took to do this were:
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Booted to external drive, installed updates to get to 10.6.8.
Carbon Copy Cloaner the external firewire OS to a 32gb Patriot USB drive
Removed the external drive, then forced the station to boot to the USB drive
The behavior I get is a startup chime, then the grey Apple logo, but NO spinning gear. No other types of signs or symbols come up for roughly 5 minutes. The system then reboots itself and chimes. Then repeat until I hard shutdown and make it boot back to the Mac Pro's internal HDD.
I also tried installing the OS disc directly to the flash drive ( after formatting it ) but it does the same thing. Chime - logo - no gears - reboot.
The drive itself works as I've used it for other purposes and I can see the files on there. The access light is blinking so it appears to be trying to communicate with the computer.
Did I miss a step somewhere?

http://www.maciverse.com/install-os-x-snow-leopard-from-usb-flash-drive.html
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

Full featured bootable Mac OS 10.7.5 on USB flash drive?

Is it possible to get a full featured bootable 10.7.5 onto a USB flash drive? I'm can only seem to get it working with the OS installer, disk utility, Safari, and limited access to other features.

Did you prep the flash drive first?
Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Now, run the installer application. Click on the Install button. Click on the option to select another disk. Select the flash drive as the target and click on the Install button.

Installing Leopard from USB flash drive

Basically i need to install Leopard from a USB flash drive on my Macbook, but i will sum up my issue: (I'm afraid i'm not a computer-"geek", so bear with me when i try to explain the issue :-))
My macbook hdd recently died on me, so put in a new, clean hdd. I now need to install Leopard on the new hdd from a DMG-file.
So, i have an 8GB USB flash drive and DMG-file of Leopard.
I formatted the USB flash drive to NTFS, and copied the 6+GB DMG-file onto the flash drive.
I tried booting from the flash drive by holding down the option key, but a blank screen shows up with a mouse pointer. There is no Flash drive or install icon to select.
Can anyone tell me, what i'm doing wrong?

Hi Dweepe;
On top of everything else the other posters pointed out, I would suggest that formatting the USB flash drive to NTFS is not doing you any favors either. NTFS is a propriety file system from Microsoft which the Mac can only read with special software install.
My suggestion is to replace your optical drive. A new one can probably be purchased for much less then the problems you are creating for yourself in your attempts to work around replacing it.
Allan

Satellite M40-237: CD Boot not working + is USB flash drive boot possible

*Model: Satellite M40-237 (PSM40E)*
I decided to reinstall windows, my hard drive is currently formatted. So as usual, boot from Windows CD is needed to start instalation but it simply won't boot. I never had problems like this, boot always worked. It is like there is no bootable CD in the drive (but it is bootable and it is working on another PC).
- i have the latest BIOS
- BIOS detects optical drive and everything is ok, HDD is primary ODD is secondary
- i tried selecting boot priority with F12 and/or setting it from BIOS, but it won't work either way
What could be the problem here? Drive not working properly (i hope it is that and not something worse)? I had some problems with the drive i before (writing...), but it reads CD/DVD's normally and like i said boot was working fine before. I cleaned the lens a little, disconected it and put it back. Is there anything more i can do ?
I am trying to find someone who has the drive that fits so i can try with that one, but who knows when will that be.
Now, here is the second question i have related to this. Because my laptop is practically useless currently (i can't install anything), is it possible to boot from:
a) external USB optical drive
b) USB flash drive
Bios on this laptop has no USB boot option, it has HDD / CD / FDD / network. But I've red somewhere that FDD = USB if legacy emulation is enabled.
If that is correct i should just plug the USB drive and select FDD as boot option ? If i can't find USB optical drive, i was thinking of making USB bootable flash disk and copying windows xp installation on it. So once it boots into DOS i just start setup from the stick.
tnx

First of all I have to say that the booting from USB flash memory (USB stick) is not possible and you shouldnt waste the time trying this.
Regarding your CD/DVD drive booting issue
Well, its really strange it sounds a little bit like a kind of master/slave/c-sel settings issue. But usually you should get a IDE (#0 or #1) error if one of the devices (HDD or ODD) would be not recognized ?:|
The whole story sounds mysteriously
Maybe there is a firmware issue
Several months ago a friend of mine was not able to boot from the CD.
He entered the BIOS and set the BIOS back to the default settings.
This helped
This is a suggestion but I really dont know if it helps.

Request BIOS to fix an USB flash drive boot problem in EFI (GE60 0ND-265FR)

Hello,
I'm currently trying to install Ubuntu on my MSI GE60 0ND notebook but I'm having troubles to boot on my USB flash drive in EFI mode.
I've disabled Fast Boot and Secure Boot options but the only thing I can have is the GRUB menu of the liveUSB and whatever option I try I always get a blank screen. On the other hand everything works fine when I set the BIOS on Legacy mode.
It's the same problem they have on this thread : https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=165756.0 but with an other notebook.
The problem is I want to keep Windows 8 side by side with Ubuntu so I must have them both installed in EFI mode.
I asked for help on a specialized forum (french Ubuntu's community) and they believe this problem is related to the BIOS. Do you think an unlocked BIOS will help with that ?
Here are my current BIOs and EC infos :
BIOS Version : E16GAIMS.514
BIOS Build : 03/12/2013
EC Version : 16GAEMS1 Ver5.05
EC Build : 02/21/2013
Thanks for your help, and sorry if I've made English mistakes.

i don't know if unlocked BIOS can help you with this

[875P Neo Series] USB Flash Drive Boot?

I've got a 875P Neo-FIS2R MB, MS-6758 (v.1.x) with AMI Bios 1.6. Before purchasing a USB Flash drive, I'd like to know whether this MB can boot from it.
Any help appreciated

See the link in my signature. You should be able to.

USB Flash Drive boot?

USB flash drives are available in 4 and 8 gb sizes now. Is it possible to put OSX on one of these drives and boot from it?

HOWTO: Install and Boot OS X On a Flash Drive >>
-Bmer
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Late 2008 mbp - installed new ssd - trying to boot from snow leopard iso on flash drive - says 'cannot install mac os on this computer'

Hello -
I just installed a new M500 Crucial ssd in my late 2008 mbp - everything was working fine on old hard drive (running snow leopard) but was getting slow and wanted to upgrade - i lost my snow leopard disk when moving from hawaii so i found an iso online - using a flash drive i partitioned the disk and made the bootable image on flash drive - formatted as extended/journaled - switched out the hard drives - plugged in the flash drive - started the comp - held option - install begins to boot - choose language - all is fine - choose english - next step window pops up saying 'cannot install os on this computer' - click on utility but all options are greyed out - disk util is greyed out - only options it gives is to start from backup or restart - real confused here - all help appreciated - thanks in advance and happy new year!

Snow Leopard comes in discs only. The USB drive may be a counterfeit and/or corrupt. There are two options for you:
Get replacement original OSX installation disks from Apple customer service. Have your MBP serial number ready and there is a charge.
Or two, purchase a Snow Leopard disk from the Apple online store:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
Ciao.

Can i install snow leopard with a flash drive?

i purchased the snow leopard family pack to upgrade 3 computers. I have installed it on one macbook pro, and finally got it to go on a mac mini. i am having an issue with my macbook pro, as it wont read the disc. Can i use a flash drive to install it? and how big should it be?

It's probably easier to install it more directly; to use a (working) DVD drive, rather than building yourself a USB keydisk. Get yourself an appropriate cable (probably FireWire) and Google or Bing search around for details of installing using what is known as Target Disk Mode, or alternatively scounge up an external USB DVD drive and use that directly on the OS X box with the failed DVD drive.

Install Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard from USB Drive

My MacBook Pro (Late 2006 15.4-inch 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) has a SuperDrive that does not work.
I wish to re-install Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, as this is the latest DVD I possess, to wipe the HDD prior to selling. It has Lion installed but this was done via the Mac App store and I don't want to sell with any links to my account or as an authorised computer.
How do I boot the MacBook Pro from a USB stick, wipe the HDD and install Snow Leopard?

You will still need a Mac and a optical drive, a external one will do. To read the disk to put it on a USB, external opticals are not bootable.
http://www.maciverse.com/install-os-x-snow-leopard-from-usb-flash-drive.html
Here is how to remove data off the machine (hold on, extermely paranoid )
How do I securely delete data from the machine?

Using snow leopard on external hard drive w/Mountain Lion OS Mac

I need to use Snow Leopard in order to use some expensive software that will not work in Lion or Mountain Lion. All of our computers have been upgraded to Mountain Lion, whcih doesn't support Rosetta. I was able to install Snow Leopard on an external hard drive and it boots up fine from another computer (that is not mine) that has Snow Leopard as its OS.
But when I boot up from my MacBook Pro (running Mountain Lion) and from my Macbook Air (also running Mountain Lion), I can't seem to do it. I hold the "option" key when starting and I get the option to start from the computer's HD or from the external firewire Snow Leopard drive. When I choose the Snow Leopard drive, it crashes and gives me that black screen with the kernel (?) message in several languages that I need to hold down the Power key to turn off the computer and reboot.
How can I get my MacBook Pro or my MacBook Air to boot up from the Snow Leopard external hard drive? (Once again, it DOES work with a Mac that has Snow Leopard as its OS).

Richard Signes2 wrote:
The question is: How do I start up my MacBook Air (or MacBook Pro) from an external FireWire Bootable hard drive with Snow Leopard on it? When I start up either one with the "option" key pressed, I get the option to start up with the external Snow Leopard hard drive, but when I select it, it crashes, as described above.
You can't if the Mac is a Late 2011 and later, perhaps if it's a Early 2011 (as some came with 10.6 and some with 10.7) and it should be possible for all Intel Mac's earlier than Early 2011.
Also, like what has occurred in the past, Apple does eventually issues a firmware update in later OS X versions so that earlier OS X versions, despite the Mac previously being able to boot from them, won't any longer. However far as I know Apple hasn't done this quite yet, but will one day.
Baring those issues, if you installed 10.6 on a external drive using a machine specific black/gray disk from another Mac, it has hardware drivers for that model/year of Mac only.
If you used the 10.6 white retail disks from Apple, it only has hardware drivers for all previous Intel Mac's that came originally with 10.6.2 or earlier from the factory. Mac's with 10.6.3 or later on the drive from the factory have different hardware drivers, thus not on the 10.6.3 white retail disk.
To find out what OS X version came on your machines, use the free MacTracker and use your model indentifier in the Apple menu More > Info (aka System Profiler)
So for those Mac's that originally came with 10.6.3 or later, machine specific disks must be gotten from Apple, or if your really talented, it's possible to create a univeral 10.6-10.6.8 install disk by combing the 10.6.3 image with the 10.6.8 combo update which will boot on any Intel Mac if the firmware permits and the hardware drivers are compable.
There is a method to bypass the firmware and install on Mac's that are Early 2011/Late 2011 via Target Disk Mode, or via taking the drive out of the machine as some Late 2011's use the same hardware drivers as the Early 2011 machines (only a processor bump basically)
How to revert your Mac to Snow Leopard
For the MacAir, you can install 10.6 via a USB thumb drive, of course provided it has the hardware drivers.
http://www.maciverse.com/install-os-x-snow-leopard-from-usb-flash-drive.html
So in your case you likely should be rather looking at running Snow Leopard in a virtual machine program in Mountain Lion, which MichealLax over at MacRumors has perfected a technique.
Windows in BootCamp or Virtual Machine?
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1365439

Follow up question on recovery data on USB flash drive

HP instructions say the 32 GB flash drive should NOT be branded as Windows 8 compatible. I bought a Sandisk 32 GB yesterday for $20 on sale, but it says on the back it is compatible.
Other more/or less expensive flash drives did not address whether compatible with Windows 8.
I have Windows 8.1
Thanks in advance for your help...
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi,
If the flash drive is listed as 'Windows 8 compatible' it cannot be used - the reason is because the HP Recovery Media creation software looks for an external device and flash drives marked Win 8 compatible show as internal drives.
In the example below, the 32 Gb usb flash drive 'Dave G' shows as an internal drive which cannot be used, while the usb flash drive 'Removable Disk H' would work.
Regards,
DP-K
****Click the White thumb to say thanks****
****Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem****
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Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience

Disabling a U3 USB Flash Drive

I bought a U3 USB flash drive (San Disk 2GB) and know everytime a separate drive pops up on my iBook and I have to eject 2 drives to get the thing off my mac. I tried reformatting, but still the U3 disk shows. How can my Flash disk be normal like my old San Disk 256MB drive I had before I bought this new one?
John

Hi Guys,
The following is an update to my last post. I figured I'd try again to contact U3 & SanDisk again about the error of their ways and the undesirability of the U3 software & partition for Mac users. Firstly, it turns out that U3 is apparently a subsidiary of SanDisk. The Tech Support fellow who I spoke with claimed that they had released a Mac version of the "uninstaller", but it had to be pulled from their websites because of bugs and/or compatibility issues (it probably was deleting partitions & software from users hard drives instead of the flash drive). They now say that the Mac "uninstaller" should show up again "in coming months". I would suggest using great care in using any software that comes from them - they are SO incredibly clueless (at LEAST about Mac systems)! My original recommendation from my previous post still stands: Keep giving them heqq by way of their tech support line until they come through for us!
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Use snow Leopard from USB

I updated my iMac to maverick.
Unfortunately some old app don't work anymore.
Is that possible to make an USB drive (flash or hdd) bootable with snow Leopard usable on that drive so I can use again my apps?
What is the procedure to do it and use it?
Thanks

Thank You.
I think Fusion could be the best for me. I have that so i only have to add a new virtual machine for SL.
By the way:
Do You know tthe procedure to install and run SL from USB.
I agree with you: it's not practical but economical.
Thank you

Bootable MacOSX 10.6 Snow Leopard emergency USB flash drive boot disk

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