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Impossible to create an USB install disk

Max(IT)

Max(IT)

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Original poster
Dec 8, 2009
8,551
1,662
Italy
el cap installed on all of my three macs, flawlessly, and now I'm trying to create a bootable USB disk to use it in the future , if needed, as I've done with Mavericks.
I downloaded again the installer, used the Diskmaker X freeware app .... and it didn't work! Stuck at the copying files prompt.
I tried with the command prompt method.... Same result !
Ok, I assumed it was the 16 Gb USB stick (strange enough , since it was the same used for Mavericks) so I buy another one. Tried again and same results.
What's wrong ???
 
Max(IT) said:
I downloaded again the installer, used the Diskmaker X freeware app .... and it didn't work! Stuck at the copying files prompt.
Click to expand...
This is just my opinion, but whenever people post that something is "stuck" I believe that in fact they just didn't wait long enough. Be patient. It takes quite a while to make the installer, and DiskMaker doesn't provide a lot of feedback. I'd give it at least an hour just to be safe, not that it will take that long. Be patient.
 
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I also used Diskmaker X 5 to make a bootable disk. It took quite a while, but it worked perfectly.

Remember that USB sticks are about as slow of a transfer process as they come, and you're essentially installing a mini-system on it. It's not going to be instant, or even a 5 minute thing.
 
MacGizmo said:
I also used Diskmaker X 5 to make a bootable disk. It took quite a while, but it worked perfectly.

Remember that USB sticks are about as slow of a transfer process as they come, and you're essentially installing a mini-system on it. It's not going to be instant, or even a 5 minute thing.
Click to expand...

Mmmmm..... I have a 64Gb USB 3.0 stick - it's not slow.
 
chabig said:
This is just my opinion, but whenever people post that something is "stuck" I believe that in fact they just didn't wait long enough. Be patient. It takes quite a while to make the installer, and DiskMaker doesn't provide a lot of feedback. I'd give it at least an hour just to be safe, not that it will take that long. Be patient.
Click to expand...
not a newbie here. If I say "stuck" I mean stuck.... waited more than 30 minutes.
 
smithrh said:
Mmmmm..... I have a 64Gb USB 3.0 stick - it's not slow.
Click to expand...

Even if you have a fast USB device, it is still slow. I think its doing a lot of calculations, and caching onto and off of you hard drive setting it up before it actually formats your thumb drive and lays out the data onto your thumb drive. Keeping that in mind, the bigger the thumb drive, the longer the format will take. Also, like the others have said DIskMaker X provided little to no interaction to advise you of its current status, and at times does appear to be "stuck." I would give it at least an hour, regardless of how fast your thumb drive is. If possible, just start it, and go to sleep, or go have some tacos at McDonalds or something else to keep you busy.


Also, if I am not mistaken, Disk Maker X basically just performs the terminal commands in the background for you, and eases the process by creating the correct terminal commands for you based on the name and location of your installer.
 
flowrider said:
This worked for me:

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2015/0...able-os-x-10-11-el-capitan-usb-install-drive/

I used the "only slightly less-easy way"

Terminal Command:

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app --nointeraction

Lou
Click to expand...
This is what I used and worked flawlessly. Did it for both 10.11 GM and Public, as well as 10.10.3/.4. Worked every time
 
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Is it enough a 8gb sd card, for el capitan?
Dmg and installer is about 6.5gb, but I want to be sure.

I try with diskmaker and it stuck with a message about 'sudo'.
 
The official tool for creating USB installers worked flawlessly for us in all iterations of 10.11 (from early beta to 10.11.2). I'd try a different stick.
 
leman said:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372
Click to expand...

Thanks.

If I use this command
/Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia
with el capitan installer already in 'applications' folder,
will it ask me for the media that it will create it?
Or should I give the path myself?
This is where I remember myself stuck in the past.
Apple has a graphical tool for almost anything, but this still remains in the good ancient days of command lines.
 
cool11 said:
Thanks.

If I use this command
/Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia
with el capitan installer already in 'applications' folder,
will it ask me for the media that it will create it?
Or should I give the path myself?
Click to expand...
You need to specify the destination. Just follow the directions on the Apple page.
 
cool11 said:
Apple has a graphical tool for almost anything, but this still remains in the good ancient days of command lines.
Click to expand...

I am not sure I agree with this. They only have graphical wrappers for workflows that cater to the 'normal' user. The administrative stuff is pretty much command line. Which is quite reasonable in my book. This is even the case with the Server app — it offers nice shortcuts for common operations, but there is a quite flexible command-line based machinery in the background that allows you to do much more.
 
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chabig said:
This is just my opinion, but whenever people post that something is "stuck" I believe that in fact they just didn't wait long enough. Be patient. It takes quite a while to make the installer, and DiskMaker doesn't provide a lot of feedback. I'd give it at least an hour just to be safe, not that it will take that long. Be patient.
Click to expand...

I don't know if I'm an exception to your rule or whether your generalization isn't true, but I always give something several hours, sometimes overnight, before writing that something is stuck. In my limited experience, if it doesn't work in 20 minutes it probably is hanging/freezing/stuck/justbeingperverse!
 
Max(IT) said:
el cap installed on all of my three macs, flawlessly, and now I'm trying to create a bootable USB disk to use it in the future , if needed, as I've done with Mavericks.
I downloaded again the installer, used the Diskmaker X freeware app .... and it didn't work! Stuck at the copying files prompt.
I tried with the command prompt method.... Same result !
Ok, I assumed it was the 16 Gb USB stick (strange enough , since it was the same used for Mavericks) so I buy another one. Tried again and same results.
What's wrong ???
Click to expand...
I can tell you that sometimes Diskmaker X papers to be "stuck", it takes along time. Just set it to go, and walk away for an hour or so.
 
Here's "a better way" to create a "universal" El Capitan USB flash drive.

First, you need an external hard drive.
Can be any capacity, new or old, USB, Firewire, doesn't make a difference. I used an ancient firewire drive with a 40-pin IDE drive inside.

Connect the drive to a good Mac and re-initialize it with Disk Utility.

Now, launch the El Capitan installer and "aim it" at the drive.

Let the installer put a fresh copy of the OS onto the drive.

When done, reboot to the external.

Let the OS "introduce itself", but carefully create a "dummy account" -- just a username and password and NOTHING ELSE. Politely decline any kind of registration, etc.

All you want is to be able to get to the finder.

Now, put Monolingual onto the drive, and "strip out" all unnecessary languages. This will eliminate almost a gigabyte of wasted space.

Next, put CarbonCopyCloner onto the drive. Now you have a tool so that the new install can "replicate itself" to OTHER drives.

This hard drive becomes your "master".
Protect it from alterations.

Next, take a 16gb flash drive.
Initialize it.
Now, use CCC to clone the contents of the hard drive to the flash drive.
Set up CCC so that it clones the recovery partition, as well.

When done, you have a USB flash drive that can "boot itself to the finder", and clone itself to any computer that can boot El Capitan, recovery partition and all.

No, it's not "100% virgin", in that it's not a copy of El Capitan that has "never been booted".
But except for the "temp account" that gets you to the finder, nothing else has been "touched" or "set up" on it.

Just put it on the target computer, then use Migration Assistant to "bring over" pre-existing accounts, apps, and data from and old drive or computer.

And no -- ABSOLUTELY NONE -- glitches or hangs when trying to run the "official" Apple installer any more!
 
Fishrrman said:
No, it's not "100% virgin", in that it's not a copy of El Capitan that has "never been booted".
But except for the "temp account" that gets you to the finder, nothing else has been "touched" or "set up" on it.

Just put it on the target computer, then use Migration Assistant to "bring over" pre-existing accounts, apps, and data from and old drive or computer.
Click to expand...

There is a problem with this plan though. That user account you make will have a userID of 501. And if the machine to be migrated also has an account with userID 501 (it will if this is the first account on the Mac), using Migration Assistant will cause all sorts of issues. You can read about it here.

There is a work around where you could make a second account on the new Mac which would then be userID 502, then from inside that account delete the 501 account. Then you could successfully migrate in the 501 account from the other Mac.

IMO it seems like a long way around just to avoid making a USB installer and using that.
 
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weaselboy wrote:
"There is a work around where you could make a second account on the new Mac which would then be userID 502, then from inside that account delete the 501 account. Then you could successfully migrate in the 501 account from the other Mac.
IMO it seems like a long way around just to avoid making a USB installer and using that."

Yes, correct about the account ID#, and the workaround you posted is the best way to avoid this.
Actually, one could set up the "master volume" with TWO dummy accounts.

Once "cloned over", just log into the second dummy account and then delete the first one. This leaves "ID space #1" ready and waiting for the creation or migration of the actual user account.

Yes, it's more work to "set up the master drive". But once it's done, the user will NEVER experience the hangs, unsuccessful installs, and so forth that so many write about here.

Just clone with CCC, and even the recovery partition is replicated, ready-to-use.

With my method, one does the heavy lifting up front.
But the results will be worth it:
Essentially "effortless" installs ...
 
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