This is only here for archival reasons. Please use a newer guide if possible.

Old Method 7

Installing Mac OS X Using Two USB Drives (Windows-only)

Requirements:

On the PC:

  1. Install TransMac and then run the program. Insert the DVD into you drive and the larger USB drive into an available port. Right-click on your DVD, select "Save Image of Disk" and save it to a folder on your hard drive. Wait for this to finish. Next, right-click on your flash drive, highlight "Format Disk" and select "Format with Disk Image". Select the DVD image you just created, "Open", and then click "Yes". Wait for this to finish, this will probably take at least half an hour.
  2. If you haven't already, download the appropriate DellMiniBoot ISO.
  3. Unzip and open the ISO. If you do not have software to open ISO files natively, try using Virtual CloneDrive. Now, copy all of the files from the ISO to your smaller USB drive. You can now eject the ISO.
  4. If you haven't already, download Syslinux. Unzip it to your C: drive. Plug in the USB drive, and type “cmd” either in the search box in the Start menu on Vista and Windows 7 or the “Run...” command on XP. Navigate to the new directory you just extracted, usually:
    Code:
    cd C:\syslinux-3.63\win32
    Then type:
    Code:
    syslinux.exe -ma <your USB drive letter>
    On mine it looks like:
    Code:
    syslinux.exe -ma E:
    It should take a few seconds and then return to a blank prompt. This is normal, you are done with this step.
    *Note: You may be able to perform both operations on the flash drives at the same time, but it is not recommended as it has not been tested. It will only take you a few more minutes to wait it out anyway.
    You may now close the Command Prompt and remove your USB drive. (If you have space available, it may be worthwhile to copy over the newest DellEFI to this smaller drive, it will save you time later.)

    On the Dell Mini:

  5. Once your Mac has finished copying the DVD to the larger driver, you may eject both the disc and the drive. This would be a perfect time to make sure that there is nothing left on your Dell Mini that you need or to back up any further files. This install process will erase everything on your drive. Turn your Mini on, enter the Setup menu by pressing "2" (two) during boot, and make sure that "USB Legacy Support" is on and that "USB Wake from Sleep" is off. If you like you can set the boot order so that it tries to boot from USB drives first, but I prefer to leave this off. Save and exit.
  6. Insert your USB drives, the smaller one first and the larger one second. This is important because the boot order is typically determined by the order in which the drives are attached. Unless you reconfigured the boot order, you will need to press "0" (zero) during boot to bring up the boot selection screen. Boot from the USB Storage. You should see some text about loading initrd.img, and when that is done you may see an error about com.apple.boot not loading correctly, this is absolutely normal so ignore it. Press "Esc" (Escape) when you get to the boot prompt and then type in either 80, 81, or 82 to find the drive with the DVD files on it. Press Enter, and you will now proceed with the Mac OS X Installer. For those fortunate enough to have a 10.5.6 disc, this should have a normal aspect ratio. If you have an older one, it will look stretched.
  7. Select your language. Before you go much further, you will want to open Disk Utility (Utilities in the Menu Bar, and then Disk Utility) and partition your. So first select your SSD in the pane on the left (not a volume on the SSD, the actual SSD drive icon) and then select the Partition tab. Set the format of the partition as Mac OS Extended (Journaled), give it a name, and then select "Options..." and set it to GUID. (You can also do this to another USB drive if you feel like installing to an external drive.) Once you are done you should exit Disk Utility and continue on with the install process. Depending on the size of the install drive you may need to deselect some of the options, such as additional languages and printer drivers. You can do this by clicking the Customize button. (If you still don't have enough room after deselecting everything, then see Advanced 3.)
  8. Installation can take as little as thirty minutes, but this varies. Sometimes the installation works perfectly and it tells you so, sometimes it tells you that installation failed even though it did the whole process. Either way you should restart, this is simply a quirk in the process. The restart can take a few minutes, so give it some time. If it hangs on a blank screen try pressing "Esc" and then if that doesn't help simply hold down the power button until it turns off, and then turn the Mini back on. You may want to remove the larger USB drive for convenience. Boot back into the smaller flash drive, but this time you will want to use it to boot into the SSD, again using either 81 or 82, but type "-x" (without quotes) before doing so. It will look like "boot: -x".
  9. For those with 10.5.6, this should be fairly painless. The drivers on the DellMiniBoot v8.02b1 enable nearly everything except sound to work on first boot. For the lesser versions, it won't be as pretty but it will be functional. Go through the first-time setup process. Once the setup is finished, you should see the Desktop and Dock.
  10. Now install the AboutThisMac.pkg, then proceed to run DellEFI. Do not run these from the smaller flash drive, since there have been corruption issues and DellEFI in these ISOs is outdated. Unless you have some reason to, use the default settings by selecting "Easy Installation" and then clicking Install. Confirm your decision, let it run, but press No when it asks if you are ready to reboot.
  11. You MUST download and install the 10.5.7 Combo Update. I recommend that you download and extract to a flash drive this beforehand since I can't guarantee that you will have internet capabilities on first boot. You may need to make room on your drive to fit it, see the tips section for this. Do this before proceeding any further! When it is finished, press Restart. Boot using the USB drive like you did at the end of Step 7. Reinstall DellEFI, this time selecting a Custom Installation and checking the boxes to reinstall the bootloader and extensions, then restart. You can now remove the USB drive(s) and start from the SSD. You are done, at least with the installation. Congratulations!

mechdrew Old 7 Version 2.94