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Ron K · Nov 10, 2011, 04:34 AM

Since I am often in locations where the internet connection is slow and inconsistent, I need to be able to reload my OS Lion without using the internet. An Apple tech said that I could buy a flash drive from Apple with the OS Lion on it for $75. However, I am a bit miffed that I should have to pay $75 for an OS that I already own but have only limited access to. He suggested that I should be able to make a copy and put it on an 8 G flash drive myself. How can I do that? First how can I access OS Lion in order to make a copy? And second, are there any impediments to being to reload Lion onto my computer (2011 13" MBA) if I should have any problems? Thanks

Waragainstsleep · Nov 10, 2011, 05:54 AM

I made an image on an 8GB flash drive.
You need to re-download the installer if you didn't already save it, then restore the ESD disk image to the flash drive with Disk Utility. Have a look around the OS X threads, there was a lot of discussion about it when Lion came out.

As far as I know you'd need to keep a copy of Snow Leopard handy too, if your machine started out with it.

Waragainstsleep · Nov 10, 2011, 05:58 AM

Here:

Build your own Lion install USB thumb drive for cheap | TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Big Mac · Nov 10, 2011, 07:30 AM

Why keep a copy of Snow Leopard if your goal is to install Lion? If you didn't start with Lion do you have to still rebuild from Snow Leopard before installing Lion?

Athens · Nov 10, 2011, 08:20 AM

No, you do not need to keep a copy of Snow Leopard. If you take the dmg image from the Lion Installer, it is a full OS X install. The only reason to keep Snow Leopard around is if you don't make a install drive or dvd of Lion then you will need Snow Leopard to re-download from the Apple Store.

Ron K · Nov 10, 2011, 12:11 PM

Thank you for the excellent information. I should clarify that I purchased my MBA with Lion already installed.

chabig · Nov 10, 2011, 12:30 PM

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chabig · Nov 10, 2011, 12:33 PM

I'm curious Ron. Why do you need to reinstall Lion so much? I started with Mac OS X 10.1. Ten years later I've never reinstalled it on any machine.

Waragainstsleep · Nov 10, 2011, 12:57 PM

I thought the installer looked for a Snow Leopard install. I've only had to use it once.

chabig · Nov 10, 2011, 01:05 PM

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep

I thought the installer looked for a Snow Leopard install. I've only had to use it once.

The installer doesn't care. As Lion was only sold through the Mac App Store, the only OS before Lion that had the app store was Snow Leopard.

Ron K · Nov 10, 2011, 10:49 PM

Hi Chabig

I don't normally have to reinstall an operating system, but I am having an issue with my Trash automatically deleting and I cannot change it from that mode. I was with Apple tech support and we couldn't even locate my trash which leaves me no choice but to reinstall my OS. I am very reluctant to do that over the internet because the internet connection here in the Philippines is so slow and tenuous. So, I think it best for me to have a physical drive with the OS so that I can reinstall without having to worry about an install failure.

Big Mac · Nov 11, 2011, 06:46 AM

Glad you mentioned the problem you're having, Ron. You should be aware of the fact that Mac OS X behaves pretty logically most all of the time, and the system architecture is built on many individual components-services, special folders and files, etc.. If those various components aren't functioning properly, you can often successfully fix them by analyzing the problem and looking for solutions online, instead of resorting to simply reinstalling the OS as a cure-all. See this article:

Solving Trash Problems

Waragainstsleep · Nov 11, 2011, 06:46 AM

Originally Posted by chabig

The installer doesn't care. As Lion was only sold through the Mac App Store, the only OS before Lion that had the app store was Snow Leopard.

I was just going by what others were saying when Lion first came out which was that the Lion installer looked for a Snow Leopard install to upgrade. It struck me as stupid at the time, but there you are. Nothing to do with the app store either way.

Ron K · Nov 11, 2011, 11:15 AM

Thanks to all; problem solved. It took a while (hours) with Apple tech to come to a solution without having to reinstall the OS. Basically, it was the last option left before the tech would have advised a reinstall. The problem was always a permissions issue that was showing up, not just with the Trash, but with other files and folders that I was unable to modify or delete for lack of permissions.

So, the core problem was that I had lost permissions to many of the basic functions, and the final solution was to revalidate my password. It had been corrupted or "confused" by the fact that when I transferred the data from my iMac which was running Leopard, it had to create a new user. Unfortunately due to some other issue, I had to repeat the process two more times until I finally got all of my data moved. This left me with 3 new user accounts with different names, etc. So, I deleted all 3 redundant accounts and just kept my original proximate. By then the issue had been imbedded in the existing user account. It was a real slog, because we spent a lot of time looking for the Trash folder which we could never find, even after multiple attempts in Terminal. Again, thanks for the support. All the best.

Athens · Nov 14, 2011, 03:25 AM

Absolutely have Snow Leopard with you in case you have to redo Lion. I just upgraded to a SSD in my Macbook Pro and the Lion DVD I made ran into problems. I ended up installing Snow Leopard first then doing the upgrade via the downloaded installer and it worked. If you own SL make a backup of the downloaded installer on top of a DVD install as a just in case option.

I feel like doing my machine again to track down while it failed from the DVD.

Spheric Harlot · Nov 14, 2011, 09:20 AM

Originally Posted by Athens

Absolutely have Snow Leopard with you in case you have to redo Lion. I just upgraded to a SSD in my Macbook Pro and the Lion DVD I made ran into problems. I ended up installing Snow Leopard first then doing the upgrade via the downloaded installer and it worked. If you own SL make a backup of the downloaded installer on top of a DVD install as a just in case option.

I feel like doing my machine again to track down while it failed from the DVD.

I just reinstalled Lion onto a naked hard drive (warranty replacement) from an install DVD I created from the InstallESD.dmg. Worked fine.

Athens · Nov 14, 2011, 05:44 PM

Worked fine on the macbook and my other Macbook Pro and first time I installed it on the computer I redid last night worked. But I recommend if you have a SL disc that you don't toss it or leave it at home when travelling just incase. It appears the Lion DVD install is not 100%. I still have yet to figure out what it failed as a straight install last night.