Feb 28, 2012

Methods to Installing OS X Lion


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  With the release of Lion comes more than just a revolution in desktop OS', but a revolution of the method in which it's distributed. But is it necessarily suitable for everybody? In this post, I'll describe how Apple wants to distribute their latest Mac OS and your alternatives, such as creating a bootable disc.

  Apple has long been a headstrong pioneer in technological development, including popularizing new ideas and rebuffing older ones.

 With the iMac, Apple said goodbye to archaic interfaces such as SCSI and Serial Ports, while ushering in the era of hot-plugable intelligent connectors such as USB and FireWire. Also, noticeably and sometimes critically absent was a floppy drive! Most recently, the MacBook Air has been dodging flack for its lack of an optical drive.

 What would compel Apple to boldly and abruptly leap into the post-disc-media era? There are several factors, most due in part to Apple.

  Firstly, media is now easily accessed through high-speed internet. With iTunes and Netflix, one can rent and watch movies almost instantly, without driving to drop the film off before late fees are incurred. As well, there are plenty of options to buy and store music on non-removable media. Finally, the big push in Apple's metamorphosis, the App Store has allowed Mac users to download quality, reliable programs without the need for any physical media.

  With that leap comes an even greater leap: The distribution of a mainstream OS strictly by non-disc media.

OS X Lion: The most advanced OS, the most advanced methods

 OS X Lion is officially distributed in three methods.

 Most prominently, OS X Lion is distributed in the new Mac App Store, introduced in Snow Leopard version 10.6.6. It follows the basic philosophies of Apple's iOS App Store. The $19.99 purchase allows you to download and install Lion on any Mac that you own (with Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later installed). But what about those without internet connections or high-speed downloads?

 To facilitate those users, Apple offers convenient Personal Setup areas in Apple Stores to download the OS using their high-tier business internet services. This mostly eliminates the painful wait-times, but making a trip to the nearest Apple store isn't exactly practical for some.

 Finally, Apple offers a USB stick (a very minimalist stick) with Lion on it. Simply place the non-rewritable thumb drive into the USB port, and carry on with the installation just as you would with the App Store download. The catch is that it costs $69.99, quite a premium over the Mac App Store's cost.

 So what are your alternatives?


How to Cheat with Lion: Unsupported Installation Methods

 The following methods require that you download Lion at some point. Basically, there's no getting around downloading it or buying it on a USB drive. This method is not a means to steal, but to make installing on all of your personal systems, after purchasing Lion, less time-consuming. As well it can be used to perform a clean install.

 [Before beginning, note that if you allow Lion to install after downloading it from the App store, it will delete the file from the Applications folder, so you'll want to do this before installing Lion to avoid re-downloading.]

To create a bootable drive;

First, download Lion from the Mac App Store.

Once Lion has completed downloading, it will appear in your Applications folder. Navigate to it in the Finder.

Right click (control+click) the icon labeled Install Mac OS X Lion.

In the Contextual Menu that appears, click Show Package Contents.

In the folder that appears, open Contents, then Shared Support. There is the disk image we need, InstallESD.dmg.

Drag the .dmg to your Desktop while holding Option and it will copy it there.

Now, open Disk Utility and drag the .dmg file directly to the white field on the left of the Disk Utility window.

Highlight the .dmg file in the list and click Restore. It will have a field for a destination. You must have a thumb-drive or external hard-drive partition that is at least 5GB and formatted in the GUID partition map.

From the list on the left, drag the drive or partition that you wish to use as a Lion drive to the Destination field.

All of the data on the partition or drive will be erased and replaced.

Click the Restore button below, enter your Admin password if asked, and the process will begin.

Once finished, just mount the drive on a [booted] machine with at least Snow Leopard 10.6.6 (10.6.8 highly recommended) and install Lion as you would any app from a disk image.

To create an install DVD, follow the same instructions except rather than click Restore, select the .dmg in the list and click Burn. Insert a writable DVD and select a compatible speed (depending on your DVD) and continue.

Once finished, again, just mount the disc on a [booted] machine with Snow Leopard and install as you would any disc-mounted software. However, creating a DVD also allows you to boot directly to it in order to perform a clean install!

A new Mac for your Mac

 The only problem I've encountered while installing Lion on my iMac, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro, is that if you're using a disc or drive, you may get the error "Can't download the additional components needed to install Mac OS X"

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