How to Install OS X Yosemite

Complete Installation of OS X Yosemite:

Apple released OS X Yosemite to the masses on Thursday as a free upgrade, so plenty of users are likely already busy preparing to install the new operating system.

As with OS X Lion, OS X Mountain Lion and OS X Mavericks, Apple makes it easy for users to install the upgrade by downloading Yosemite from the App Store and running the installer.

For most users, this is the best way to upgrade because it keeps your data and existing programs intact. However, perhaps you don't want to do a regular OS upgrade, or maybe you need to install Yosemite on a machine that doesn't already have OS X installed. For those users, the best bet is to do a clean installation, erasing the hard disk and installing from scratch.

It's possible to do a clean install of OS X Yosemite on your Mac — or on a new hard drive, if you're upgrading or repairing your Mac — but it takes a bit of work.

If you went through the clean install process last year, these instructions will look familiar. With a bit of time, it's relatively easy to create a bootable copy of OS X Yosemite that you can run from a USB stick or other drive.

Note: A clean install will erase all of the contents on your disk drive. Make sure to back up your important files, settings and apps before proceeding.

Starting Up:

To do a clean install of OS X Yosemite, you'll need a blank USB flash drive that is at least 8GB in size. You'll be using this drive completely for OS X Yosemite, so don't waste a larger drive if you have an 8GB available.

You can also use an existing hard drive partition, but that process complicates the second option for this installer.

You'll also need to download OS X Yosemite onto your existing Mac.

Download OS X Yosemite:

You can download OS X Yosemite from the Mac App Store here.

This will download a 5.16GB file called "Install OS X Yosemite" to your Applications folder.

Format USB Drive:

Now, format the USB drive by opening up Disk Utility. It's in the Utilities folder in Applications.

Select your USB drive and click on the "Erase" tab. Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the format type and keep the name as "untitled."

Click the Erase button. This will take a few minutes, but will erase your USB drive will be erased and format it with the proper file system.

Easiest Option: Use DiskMaker X:

A great app for automating the creation of an OS X bootable USB disk called DiskMaker X.

DiskMaker X is still putting the final touches on its version compatible with Yosemite, but the creator's latest beta version supports OS X 10.10 and will build a bootable USB.

This is far and away the easiest way to create a bootable copy of OS X Yosemite.

Although I've successfully built a number of bootable USB disks with DiskMaker X, be aware that in my tests, the process took more time than the manual method (below). If you're low on time and high on efficiency, the manual method may be your best bet.

Option 2: The Manual Way:

This method requires using the Terminal app. If you're not comfortable typing commands into Terminal, just use the DiskMaker X app (above).

To continue with using Terminal, follow the steps below.

1. After downloading OS X Yosemite to your Applications folder and formatting your USB drive (make sure it's called "Untitled"), open up the Terminal app.

2. Paste the following command into the Terminal window and hit enter:

3. You will be prompted to enter in your user password. Then, you'll see a list of processes on the terminal screen that read:

Erasing Disk:

Copying Installer files to disk...

Done.

This process runs a special mode built into the OS X Yosemite installer that can create installable media. The disk you're copying the media onto becomes bootable, too.

The process takes less time than DiskMaker X, but you'll need to follow the instructions exactly. Don't move the installer to another folder, and make sure you don't have more than one disk drive titled "Untitled" connected to your machine.

Booting Up and Installing Yosemite:

Once your USB drive has been created, it's time to install Yosemite.

Restart your Mac and hold down the Option key immediately. When your machine boots up, choose the USB drive that says "Install OS X Yosemite."

Select "Disk Utility" and then select your main hard drive. Press "Erase" on the volume. Remember, this will erase EVERYTHING on your machine.

Read Also: Apple Retina 5K iMac Review

Go back to the main menu and choose "Install OS X." Select your internal hard drive when prompted and continue with the installation.

After the Install:

After installing OS X Yosemite, you can start restoring your programs and settings using either a Time Machine backup or Migration Assistant.

Apple, Apps, Softwares, Clean Install, How to, OS X, OS X YOSEMITE, TECH, YOSEMITE.