"Live" Yosemite usb stick - is this possible?

[MikeyMcG]

Is it possible to do a Yosemite install to a usb stick, so I can test everything is working before committing to a hard drive install?

I tried it on a 32gb usb 3 stick earlier, but it wouldn't boot. But from what I've been reading, this may be more to do with the usb 3 stick than the software, although I used usb 2 port to do it.

 

[MikeyMcG]

Absolutely this is more than possible. In fact I did this with a recent Yosemite install on an X99 system I was working on.

You'll need at least a USB3.0 32GB thumb drive with a fast read write. I recommend 64GB, or even (slightly overkill) a 128GB drive. Prices for these drives have come way down. Definitely worth doing.

Sounds like you either didn't enable USB3 support or you've got board settings that aren't enabling booting via USB ports switch on somehow. Look at your board settings carefully.

Well its a relief to know it can be done. I'm using a Sandisk 32gb Ultra usb3 for this, which boots my Carbon Copy Cloner backup image. This works at high speed even on usb2. Well, in comparison to my 32gb Lexar usb2 stick anyway. I also have a 64gb Sandisk Extreme usb3. So I should be covered alright.

About the usb3 support - how do I set this before doing the actual install? I always took it to be something that was set in MultiBeast once the instal was completed.

Thanks for your input. Its really appreciated.

 

[lieder1987]

I think that as long as you are using a series 9 chipset and motherboard that USB3 is supported in OS X by default.

 

[Going Bald]

Well its a relief to know it can be done. I'm using a Sandisk 32gb Ultra usb3 for this, which boots my Carbon Copy Cloner backup image. This works at high speed even on usb2. Well, in comparison to my 32gb Lexar usb2 stick anyway. I also have a 64gb Sandisk Extreme usb3. So I should be covered alright.

About the usb3 support - how do I set this before doing the actual install? I always took it to be something that was set in MultiBeast once the instal was completed.

Thanks for your input. Its really appreciated.

See http://www.tonymacx86.com/lion-desk...te-uefi-motherboards-xhci-mode-explained.html

Hope this helps even if your board may not be Gigabyte.