Yosemite bootable USB installer

[tywebb13]

It does create it properly. It's just that the core storage logical volumes hides it in the startup manager. The logical volume needs to be reverted to get partitions back to normal so that the startup manager can see the recovery partition.

Developers and public beta testers are by now used to this annoyance and are quite at ease with how to fix it, but I can appreciate why others may be perplexed by it. Just follow the instructions and it will all get back to normal.

 

[dlmart2]

A recovery partition will be created by the usb made this way, and installing yosemite from the usb will create a recovery partition. But the installer may also create core storage logical volumes which prevents the recovery partition from showing up in the startup manager.

If the yosemite installation creates a core storage logical volume you can revert it to get partitions back to normal by running these 2 commands in terminal.

diskutil cs list

and then

diskutil coreStorage revert lvUUID

where lvUUID is the last lvUUID reported by the previous Terminal command.

Then restart for everything to get back to normal after you have run these commands in Terminal.

The recovery partition will then show up in the startup manager.

Thanks. But what do you mean by "the last lvUUID reported by the previous Terminal command". Can you be a little specific on which UUID to use. I don't want to screw anything up in case the order is reported differently.

 

[Tourgott]

Could anyone please upload the tool? Website is down since a few hours.

 

[tywebb13]

Thanks. But what do you mean by "the last lvUUID reported by the previous Terminal command". Can you be a little specific on which UUID to use. I don't want to screw anything up in case the order is reported differently.

OK.

Run this in terminal and post up what happens. Then I'll give you specifically what to do next:

diskutil cs list

 

[dlmart2]

OK.

Run this in terminal and post up what happens. Then I'll give you specifically what to do next:

diskutil cs list

Thank you!


new-host-4:~ Dlm$ diskutil cs list
CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)
|
+-- Logical Volume Group 5B577B95-2B0D-4890-BBB6-6EBE3D8A94BF
=========================================================
Name: Macintosh HD
Status: Online
Size: 1120333864960 B (1.1 TB)
Free Space: 131072 B (131.1 KB)
|
+-< Physical Volume F8B9C52F-7E6C-4A83-BC86-1FC2635E9A92
| ----------------------------------------------------
| Index: 0
| Disk: disk2s2
| Status: Online
| Size: 120988852224 B (121.0 GB)
|
+-< Physical Volume 01EFA605-D4D6-4415-8AD4-6DE80913677A
| ----------------------------------------------------
| Index: 1
| Disk: disk0s2
| Status: Online
| Size: 999345012736 B (999.3 GB)
|
+-> Logical Volume Family 7CB871EC-669F-476A-8C8C-5968C320F012
----------------------------------------------------------
Encryption Status: Unlocked
Encryption Type: None
Conversion Status: NoConversion
Conversion Direction: -none-
Has Encrypted Extents: No
Fully Secure: No
Passphrase Required: No
|
+-> Logical Volume CF2DCC92-42F7-4BBF-8FD8-B4494D76C3D5
---------------------------------------------------
Disk: disk5
Status: Online
Size (Total): 1111826366464 B (1.1 TB)
Conversion Progress: -none-
Revertible: No
LV Name: Macintosh HD
Volume Name: Macintosh HD
Content Hint: Apple_HFS

 

[tywebb13]

By "the last lvUUID reported by the previous Terminal command" I mean in your case CF2DCC92-42F7-4BBF-8FD8-B4494D76C3D5

But it says "Revertible: No"

So the command to revert it won't work. Otherwise it would have been

diskutil coreStorage revert CF2DCC92-42F7-4BBF-8FD8-B4494D76C3D5

I don't think you can do it straight away because you have a fusion drive. The revert command only works for logical volumes created with the convert command (which is what the yosemite installer usually does). But fusion drives already have core storage logical volumes - ones not created by the convert command - and this is why it is not by default revertible in your case - and it actually stops the yosemite installer from recreating the logical volume via the convert command.

So how to make it revertible?

Split the fusion drive first:

diskutil coreStorage delete 5B577B95-2B0D-4890-BBB6-6EBE3D8A94BF

(WARNING: with core storage, the delete command should be treated with great trepidation. Only use it if you have a backup or don't mind losing everything)

Then reformat the drive as HFS+ Journalled.

Reinstall yosemite, and let it make the logical volumes - this time though it should be revertible and you can then use the method I posted before.

However, I'd be inclined to run the first command again after this before reverting because the lvUUID may have changed.

Here are more details on splitting the fusion drive: http://www.macworld.com/article/2015664/how-to-split-up-a-fusion-drive.html

 

[kristoffer4]

I am also waiting for this.

 

[hwojtek]

Hmmm is it correct for me to say people should be warned not to have any other files titled "Untitled" because they will be deleted?

You are perfectly safe with any number of files titled “Untitled”. Files are not volumes.
You are also perfectly safe with any number of volumes titled “Untitled”, since they are identified by a number subsequent to the volume name. Plug 5 pen drives to the computer, take a look into /Volumes/ and see that they are numbered 1 to 4 (apart from the first one, which doesn’t have any number, and in this case will be used as installation medium).

 

[fnq v much]

thank you very much - first time ever used terminal and can assume the usb works because everything else has (not real happy with Yosemite - graphics - but suppose I'll get used to it ...) just for interest tried the diskutil thing and got;
' No CoreStorage logical volume groups found '
tywebb13, if it doesn't start a deluge for you, does this mean anything i should do something about? please do not put yourself out - and thanks again anyway
steven

 

[Merode]

By "the last lvUUID reported by the previous Terminal command" I mean in your case CF2DCC92-42F7-4BBF-8FD8-B4494D76C3D5

But it says "Revertible: No"

So the command to revert it won't work. Otherwise it would have been

diskutil coreStorage revert CF2DCC92-42F7-4BBF-8FD8-B4494D76C3D5

I don't think you can do it straight away because you have a fusion drive. The revert command only works for logical volumes created with the convert command (which is what the yosemite installer usually does). But fusion drives already have core storage logical volumes - ones not created by the convert command - and this is why it is not by default revertible in your case - and it actually stops the yosemite installer from recreating the logical volume via the convert command.

So how to make it revertible?

Split the fusion drive first:

diskutil coreStorage delete 5B577B95-2B0D-4890-BBB6-6EBE3D8A94BF

(WARNING: with core storage, the delete command should be treated with great trepidation. Only use it if you have a backup or don't mind losing everything)

Then reformat the drive as HFS+ Journalled.

Reinstall yosemite, and let it make the logical volumes - this time though it should be revertible and you can then use the method I posted before.

However, I'd be inclined to run the first command again after this before reverting because the lvUUID may have changed.

Here are more details on splitting the fusion drive: http://www.macworld.com/article/2015664/how-to-split-up-a-fusion-drive.html

But why would the recovery partition be hidden? How Apple thinks we're going to repair broken OS then?

 

[fnq v much]

from it's introduction, not long ago, wasn't it always hidden?

 

[tywebb13]

But why would the recovery partition be hidden? How Apple thinks we're going to repair broken OS then?

It is hidden in the startup manager because of the core storage logical volume.

from it's introduction, not long ago, wasn't it always hidden?

It is hidden by default in disk utility because it's not very useful there. One way to verify that you actually have a recovery partition is to enable the debug mode in disk utility in terminal with

defaults write com.apple.DiskUtility DUDebugMenuEnabled 1

Another reason for doing this is that if you want to actually get rid of it, you can make it show up there and then delete it.

How can you recover still (despite all the core storage madness)?

There is a thing called internet recovery. This basically makes your computer go back to factory settings.

To do it, you boot up with the command+option+R and reinstall the system that came with your computer (unfortunately also requiring a redownload of the system).

Ultimately however all this angst about recovery partitions, internet recovery etc., is totally abated if you have a good working bootable usb installer which is the purpose of this thread.

That will always be able to get your computer back to a workable state without having to redownload the system.

 

[Merode]

There is a thing called internet recovery. This basically makes your computer go back to factory settings.

I know of it, but then again it kills the purpose of Recovery Pertition at all - it's just wasted space then.

Either I'm completly lost, or there's some serious logical issue regarding this matter.

 

[tywebb13]

Well my way of thinking is:

bootable usb installer (not requiring redownload) vs. other ways to recover like recovery partition, internet recovery, etc (which require redownload).

It's a no-brainer. If you are desperate to restore your computer to a useable state after some gargantuan crash corrupting your whole universe, the last thing you need is to be sitting around waiting for a 5GB download before you can fix your computer!

I should however temper my enthusiasm for a bootable usb because another way to recover is through restoring from a time machine backup which is sometimes more appropriate than using the full power of a bootable usb.

Nevertheless you can still use the bootable usb to facilitate a time machine backup restore too.

 

[joecool99]

Diskmaker worked fine for me (made from mavericks)

Yes it makes a recovery partition (just did clean install using diskmaker)

is the recovery partition hidden by default with Diskmaker method install?
that is the problem with terminal command created install media.

* also want to understand, is this a BUG? or is apple heading towards hiding the recovery partition for users?
as they are doing with iTunes 12 - killing the sidebar.

 

[Vertigo50]

is the recovery partition hidden by default with Diskmaker method install?
that is the problem with terminal command created install media.

It's hidden with EVERY method, including updating through the App Store. This is Apple's new way of doing it. It's not a flaw with any particular method. It also makes more sense, as there is really no reason for users to be messing with the recovery partition at all. Stop thinking like a Windows user and just use your Mac!

 

[joecool99]

so how do you access the hidden recovery partition?
i use it all the time, very useful for checking drive for errors etc.

 

[edenbensal]

I have weird question about recovery mac computers.
I have bought mac mini 2012 with mountain lion installed on and before couple month i have upgraded to mavericks.
I always wonder how to do a factory reset to the OS, so i went the apple website and in the support page i found out the if i want to reinstall my system to factory default i need to enter recovery mode.
So here are my question:
1) recovery mode install the latest os x that my mac support or reinstall the current os?
2) install mac os x system via bootable usb drive is an official method that apple suggest or this is something like "hackintosh"?
3) i see here in this forum that many users suggest to install yosemite from scratch and don't upgrade via mac app store - why? I for example prefer to do an upgrade because is easy and my all data stay untouched.
I know that in the WINDOWS "world" is recommended to do fresh install when you want to upgrade but is because windows is piece of **** and mac os x is much better.
So can someone answer my noob question?
Thank!

 

[dlmart2]

It is a fusion drive. I did a clean install of Yosemite so there is nothing else on the drive. Thanks for your help anyway.

By "the last lvUUID reported by the previous Terminal command" I mean in your case CF2DCC92-42F7-4BBF-8FD8-B4494D76C3D5

But it says "Revertible: No"

So the command to revert it won't work. Otherwise it would have been

diskutil coreStorage revert CF2DCC92-42F7-4BBF-8FD8-B4494D76C3D5

I don't think you can do it straight away because you have a fusion drive. The revert command only works for logical volumes created with the convert command (which is what the yosemite installer usually does). But fusion drives already have core storage logical volumes - ones not created by the convert command - and this is why it is not by default revertible in your case - and it actually stops the yosemite installer from recreating the logical volume via the convert command.

So how to make it revertible?

Split the fusion drive first:

diskutil coreStorage delete 5B577B95-2B0D-4890-BBB6-6EBE3D8A94BF

(WARNING: with core storage, the delete command should be treated with great trepidation. Only use it if you have a backup or don't mind losing everything)

Then reformat the drive as HFS+ Journalled.

Reinstall yosemite, and let it make the logical volumes - this time though it should be revertible and you can then use the method I posted before.

However, I'd be inclined to run the first command again after this before reverting because the lvUUID may have changed.

Here are more details on splitting the fusion drive: http://www.macworld.com/article/2015664/how-to-split-up-a-fusion-drive.html

 

[sovereign]

/Volumes/Untitled is not a valid volume mount point

 

[dlmart2]

/Volumes/Untitled is not a valid volume mount point

...until you format your USB drive with the 'Untitled' label...

 

[tywebb13]

/Volumes/Untitled is not a valid volume mount point

Is your usb called Untitled? If not, then this probably is what caused the error in which case, you should erase the USB in Disk Utility and call it Untitled.

 

[hjoneshjones]

Erasing Disk: 0%... 10%...
Error erasing disk error number (-69888, 0)

 

[sovereign]

Is your usb called Untitled? If not, then this probably is what caused the error in which case, you should erase the USB in Disk Utility and call it Untitled.

Yes. Two different USBs erased and named Untitled. Same message.

 

[tywebb13]

You aren't doing this in Snow Leopard are you? It doesn't work in Snow Leopard. That is another reason you may be getting this error.

Workaround is to copy the installer somewhere outside your Applications folder first. Then install yosemite directly from the original installer in your Applications folder. This will delete itself after restart. But then when it boots up into yosemite, you can put your copy back into the Applications folder and run the command under yosemite instead.