You can upgrade to OS X Yosemite from the App Store, but that isn't ideal for installing on multiple Macs or doing a clean install. Here's how to burn Yosemite to a USB drive instead.
As with all OS X upgrades, once you run the installer on your system, it disappears from your Applications folder. You can get it back by holding down the option key while clicking on the purchases tab to re-download the file or restore the installer from a Time Machine backup, but to save you some time, it's best to do this disc burning before you update your Mac to Yosemite.
You can burn it yourself with no extra software with a simple terminal command. Here's what you need to do:
As with all OS X upgrades, once you run the installer on your system, it disappears from your Applications folder. You can get it back by holding down the option key while clicking on the purchases tab to re-download the file or restore the installer from a Time Machine backup, but to save you some time, it's best to do this disc burning before you update your Mac to Yosemite.
You can burn it yourself with no extra software with a simple terminal command. Here's what you need to do:
- Download the Yosemite installer, if you haven't already.
- Insert an 8GB (or larger) flash drive, and give it the name Untitled. Make sure the drive is formatted OS X Extended (Journaled). If not, hop into Disk Utility and format it so it is. If you have any important data on the drive, back it up now, since this process will completely erase it.
- Open up the Terminal, either through spotlight or by double-clicking on it in /Applications/Utilities.
- Copy and paste the following command into your Terminal window and press Enter:
sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app --nointeraction
- Type in your password when prompted and press Enter.
- Let the command work its magic. Don't interrupt it until you see the final line that says Done before it returns you to the prompt. This could take as long as a half hour, so be patient.
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