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Preparing for Disaster: A Guide for Mac OS X Backup, Recovery, and Restoration – Part 1: Preparing Your Storage Device [Mac OS X]
Having access to your Mac OS X Install DVD, a full-functioning portable Mac OS X installation, and your data while on the go is sometime every Mac tech head should have with them. In order to make this possible, you have to plan how you will have access to this data. On a single or multiple Flash Drives / SD Cards? On an external hard drive?
Planning how you want your data stored will save you a lot of headaches in the future.
As mentioned in the introduction, you have three different devices you can boot Mac OS X from: an external hard drive (USB or FireWire), a Flash Drive, or a SD Card (in newer model Macs with built-in card slots). Depending on the storage device you’re using, you have a few questions you have to answer.
Is the size of my Storage Device big enough?
The bare minimum size of your storage device must be 8GB.
If your Flash Drive or SD Card is only 8GB, you will need a minimum of two Flash Drives and/or SD Cards: one for the Mac OS X Install DVD and one for your Mac OS X Recovery Drive. You may also want to pick up a larger Flash Drive or SD Card if you want to install system updates and additional programs on your Recovery Drive.
Do I want to use Time Machine with this device?
If you’re planning on using Time Machine, you’re most likely using an external hard drive. The reason this question is important is that it pertains to the next question…
Do I want my Time Machine data to be separate from my Recovery partition?
As mentioned previously, the bare minimum size your storage device or partition must be is 8GB. This gives a little wiggle room for the Mac OS X Install DVD and just enough room for a base install of Mac OS X for the Recovery partition.
The problem with making the Recovery partition 8GB is that it’s set in stone at that point.* If you need to install system updates or additional software, you’re going to need more space. So you have four options:
A. Keep your Recovery partition at 8GB; keep your data / Time Machine backup on a separate partition
Let’s you keep the bare basics, if that’s all you need. You just won’t be able to install any OS updates, but it will make installing a fresh OS easier on your Recovery partition easier.
B. Make your Recovery partition larger; keep your data / Time Machine backup on a separate partition
Still run into the possibility of running out of space on your Recovery partition depending on size of OS Updates, number of applications you still, and the size of the partition. At the same time, it also still makes installing a fresh OS easier.
C. Share your Recovery partition with your data / Time Machine backup
Not as big of a worry about running out of space for the Recovery partition as it’ll be stored on the largest partition available on your external hard drive. OS X must be installed on partition before Time Machine is used with it. Installing a fresh OS will be a little more troublesome as you cannot install OS X on a Time Machine drive/partition (which is why we will install OS X on it beforehand).
D. Doesn’t matter. I’m using a Flash Drive and/or SD Card.
If you’re using a Flash Drive or SD Card, it’s very likely you’re not worried about a data / Time Machine partition.
*Yes, I know there are partition resizing applications available, but going through the trouble of resizing partitions and hoping everything stays in tack is a hassle. Not to mention it can be very time consuming depending on the amount of data stored on the partition.
Once you have decided on the route you’re going to go with your data, it’s important to remember that the following steps will remove anything and everything on your storage device you are wishing to use.
1. Launch Disk Utility
To start, launch Disk Utility from the Utilities folder (which is located in the Applications folder) on your Mac.
2. Select your External Hard Drive, Flash Drive, or SD Card
In the list of available disks on the left, select the external hard drive you are wanting to use. A list of options will appear on the right side of the window.
3. Select the Partition tab.
The partition tab is going to let us decide how to split up our storage device. Depending on what you decided to do with your data will determine what you choose in the next step.
4. From the Volume Scheme pull-down menu, select…
A. 1 Partition
If you’re using a Flash Drive or SD Card that is 8GB in size, you’ll only have enough room for 1 Partition.
B. 2 Partitions
If you’re using a Flash Drive or SD Card that is 16GB in size or larger, or you’re using an external hard drive in which you’ll be sharing your Recovery partition with your Time Machine / other data, select 2 Partitions.
C. 3 Partitions
If you’re using an external hard drive and want to keep your Recovery partition and Time Machine / other data separate, select 3 Partitions.
*You can have as many partitions as your storage device allows. These are just the recommended number of partitions that will be used in this guide.
A sample two parition (left, in device list) and three partition (center) setup.
5. Click the Options… button, select GUID Partition Table, and click OK.
In order for Mac OS X to be able to boot from your storage device, it must be able to read the information about your storage device properly. For Intel-based Macs, it has to read from the GUID Partition Table.
6. Enter Volume Information
Each partition on your storage device must have information about the partitions entered.
A. Enter the Name of the volume(s)
This is the name of the partition as it will show in the Finder. Try to name each partition something easy to recognize.
For example, the first partition of the storage device is where I will be storing my Mac OS X Install DVD, so I would call it Mac OS X Install HD, Mac OS X Install USB, or Mac OS X Install SD, depending on the device I install it on. The name is completely up to you.
B. Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the volume(s) Format.
No matter what, each partition must be formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as this is the only recognizable format Mac OS X will understand when using it as a bootable device or for Time Machine.
C. Enter the Size of the volume(s)
If you are using a 1 Partition setup, use the maximum size available to you.
Otherwise, it’s important that this first partition be a minimum of 6.74GB, the size of the Mac OS X Snow Leopard Install DVD. I recommend a size of 8GB so that you can future-proof yourself for future releases of Mac OS X.
On a 2 Partition setup, use the remaining available space on your storage device.
On a 3 Partition setup, the second partition must be a minimum of 8GB. Again, if you plan on installing system updates and additional software, it’s recommended you make this partition larger. The third partition will use whatever space is remaining.
7. Click Apply
If you have all your partitions set up and ready to go. Once again, doing so will wipe out any existing files and partitions on the external hard drive. If you’re really sure that you have everything the way you like it, click the Apply button.
Your storage device is now prepared for your Mac OS X Install DVD and your Mac OS X Recovery Installation. The next part of this guide will focus on how to get your Mac OS X Install DVD onto your storage device, as well as making sure you can boot from it.