Minimal bootable partition?
 

Can someone point to instructions for making a rock-bottom minimal bootable partition? (By "minimal" I mean that it doesn't have a single file in it that it doesn't need.)

TIA!

kj

P.S In case it matters, I'm still using OS X 10.4.

I am sure there is a more extreme answer to this but I installed Tiger onto a 4Gb USB memory stick, including Diskwarrior, by simply using the Tiger install disk, selecting options at the appropriate point, and unticking everything I didn't need, languages, printers etc etc. It was pretty straightforward and it works.

Disk Utility tells me it has used 2.8 Gb out of 3.5 Gb capacity.

Don't forget to put a GUID partition table on it if using it in an Intel mac.

Mike

Try using "DasBoot" (see VersionTracker).

I tried it with Leopard and a Kingston USB memory, but did not work, it just could not boot from the flash drive using an Intel Macbook Pro. It has taken few hours now, but no success. I need a minimal system and iTunes running from a 8 GB flash drive. Any suggestion?

Das Boot didn't work?

Unfortunately, DasBoot Isn't Leopard-Compatible
 

I just tried using DasBoot with OS X 10.5.2, and found that it doesn't work (as others on the 'net are reporting, too). It can't see the source CD/DVD, and it can't see any destination volumes. I've emailed the developer to see if they're planning a Leopard-compatible version, but no response yet.

I, too, am interested to know how to create a "bare bones" OS X install on a USB flash drive. This would be a great feature to add to SD!

I'm sure they're working on it.

I can't make DasBoot work either.

I have put Leopard 10.0.5.2 on an 8 Gb usb memory stick which boots fine and runs usefully fast. The Leopard install disk said there wasn't enough space, even with all options unticked. I had to install elswhere, prune it down and clone it to the USB stick with Superduper!

Mike

Questions for Mike...
 

Hi Mike:

How much space does Leopard take up on your 8 GB drive? The reason I ask is that's the size I have. I tried to clone my DiskWarrior CD to my USB drive, and although it started up okay, DW crashed, so that's not an option to create a bootable USB flash drive. Interestingly, the cloned DW install was only about a gig, leaving plenty of room for other stuff.

What exactly did you "pare down?" I can imagine removing all unneeded languages and printers, as well as unneeded apps and their associated files, but what else did you remove?

Once you have Leopard on your USB drive, can you update it to 10.5.2 and apply all other relevant updates? If so, and if there's a least a couple of gigs still free, then that's the solution!

Cheers!

Disk Utility says capacity is 7.7 Gb on the top (disk) line, but 7.34 Gb on the volume line, with 6.1 used and 1.2 available.

I only pared down the obvious, as you said. I installed the driver for my printer separately afterwards, also Diskwarrior.

I can't remember now whether I updated to 10.5.2 before or after cloning, sorry.

Thanks!
 

Thanks, Mike. I'll give that a try and see if I can get a Leopard install down to less than 6 GB.

Cheers!