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Show HN: OSX-ISO – Create a bootable ISO of macOS from the installation app file

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Re: Show HN: OSX-ISO – Create a bootable ISO of macOS from the installation app file

#21

Post by bluedino »

ilikepi wrote: post #15

From the README: > [...list of macOS installer apps...] > Mac users can download theses files from the App Store. This isn't really accurate. It's not possible to find and download macOS releases older than the current release. The only exception I was able to find a few months ago is if you've already downloaded them once previously while signed into the App Store on a different machine. I believe in that case an ol…

Plus, old versions expire after a certain time due to Apples signing of the files

Re: Show HN: OSX-ISO – Create a bootable ISO of macOS from the installation app file

#22

Post by hoistbypetard »

rulusidaze wrote: post #13

It's not clear to me why this was made. We'll ignore the question of why you would want an ISO (you can write a DMG direct to USB, and Jamf, DeployStudio, etc, require a PKG...), and move on to optimization. You can skip a lot of the convert/copy/asr steps by just using the hdiutil -srcfolder command, targeted to the createinstallmedia DMG, in conjunction with your target format. (This can be reproduced in Disk Utili…

I run build systems as images on an ESXi host which runs on a Mac Mini.

The easiest way to install OS X on ESXi is from an iso. My scripts for creating these isos are not as nice as this one. (I use ESXi because I find I can get one or two more build VMs per Mini this way.)

I'd never heard of Disk Maker X before, but at a glance it does not look like it can emit an iso.

Re: Show HN: OSX-ISO – Create a bootable ISO of macOS from the installation app file

#23

Post by hoistbypetard »

busterc wrote: post #3
maxscam wrote: post #2

Does this support non osx hardware like a windows machine?

I do not know and I don't have a windows machine to test with. I personally use the ISO's on my mac with VMWare Fusion. If you discover it does or doesn't please share.

What's the advantage of ISOs with Fusion? For Fusion, I've always just pointed the guest's CD drive at the .app bundle and installed that way.

I first needed a script like this one when I moved a couple of mac minis to ESXi so I could squeeze extra build VMs onto them. The easiest way to get an image onto ESXi without using a bootp server or something is an iso; it doesn't handle app bundles the way Fusion does.

Re: Show HN: OSX-ISO – Create a bootable ISO of macOS from the installation app file

#24

Post by [deleted] »

djrogers wrote: post #17
initself wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just downloaded El Capitan today from the App Store from the same machine I installed from.

Yes, releases older than Sierra can still be found if you had previously downloaded them, but Sierra is gone and presumably High Sierra will be as well once it’s been replaced.

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: OSX-ISO – Create a bootable ISO of macOS from the installation app file

#25

Post by feelin_googley »

Would this allow a user to have a "diskless" Mac?

I create bootable media, e.g. USB sticks or SD cards, for PCs and RPis and I can thus run "diskless"; no disk access is required and the full system fits in RAM.

I can insert the media into any available PC and use the computer, without disturbing anything on its HDD.

This can also be very useful for emergencies where a computer with a HDD will not boot due to some problem with what is on the drive.

Is this flexibilty possible with today's MacIntosh?

Re: Show HN: OSX-ISO – Create a bootable ISO of macOS from the installation app file

#26

Post by hrrsn »

feelin_googley wrote: post #25

Would this allow a user to have a "diskless" Mac? I create bootable media, e.g. USB sticks or SD cards, for PCs and RPis and I can thus run "diskless"; no disk access is required and the full system fits in RAM. I can insert the media into any available PC and use the computer, without disturbing anything on its HDD. This can also be very useful for emergencies where a computer with a HDD will not boot due to some pr…

Not quite, this is just creating the installer ISO. However, macOS is perfectly happy to be installed on an external hard drive or USB drive, and that can be booted on any Mac that supports the macOS version on the drive.

Re: Show HN: OSX-ISO – Create a bootable ISO of macOS from the installation app file

#27

Post by mikeash »

bluedino wrote: post #21
ilikepi wrote: post #15

From the README: > [...list of macOS installer apps...] > Mac users can download theses files from the App Store. This isn't really accurate. It's not possible to find and download macOS releases older than the current release. The only exception I was able to find a few months ago is if you've already downloaded them once previously while signed into the App Store on a different machine. I believe in that case an ol…

Plus, old versions expire after a certain time due to Apples signing of the files

You’re thinking of iOS. That doesn’t apply to the Mac.

Re: Show HN: OSX-ISO – Create a bootable ISO of macOS from the installation app file

#28

Post by [deleted] »

hrrsn wrote: post #26
feelin_googley wrote: post #25

Would this allow a user to have a "diskless" Mac? I create bootable media, e.g. USB sticks or SD cards, for PCs and RPis and I can thus run "diskless"; no disk access is required and the full system fits in RAM. I can insert the media into any available PC and use the computer, without disturbing anything on its HDD. This can also be very useful for emergencies where a computer with a HDD will not boot due to some pr…

Not quite, this is just creating the installer ISO. However, macOS is perfectly happy to be installed on an external hard drive or USB drive, and that can be booted on any Mac that supports the macOS version on the drive.

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: OSX-ISO – Create a bootable ISO of macOS from the installation app file

#30

Post by alwillis »

feelin_googley wrote: post #25

Would this allow a user to have a "diskless" Mac? I create bootable media, e.g. USB sticks or SD cards, for PCs and RPis and I can thus run "diskless"; no disk access is required and the full system fits in RAM. I can insert the media into any available PC and use the computer, without disturbing anything on its HDD. This can also be very useful for emergencies where a computer with a HDD will not boot due to some pr…

You’ve been able to boot Macs over a network connection for many years… here's an example using a Linux machine as a netboot server for a Mac: https://www.blueboxmoon.com/wordpress/linux-based-mac-bsdp-a...
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