Create a bootable USB drive for OS X 10.11

Good evening,

A key designed according to my method cannot be chosen as a startup disk from the system preferences. That's normal.

However, when starting the Mac while holding down the alt key, it can be selected as a startup drive among the standard hard disk, the recovery partition of the hard disk, and any other potential startup disks.

Once the Mac has booted from this key, we get a screen to install El Capitan, and going through the menu bar, instead of continuing the installation, we can launch Disk Utility.

In Disk Utility, we see the internal hard drive and its standard partition, and below that, the USB key in 3 parts.

The 1st part is the USB key as a whole, and below its 2 included disk images, the one that is actually the boot part and resembles a recovery partition, and the one that is the installation disk image. This last part must obviously not be erased. The boot part cannot be erased as it is in use.

In any case, the Mac must accept booting from this key after starting with the alt key held down. I tested all this before posting my method to be sure it works, and this is how I installed my version of El Capitan on which I am currently writing. This was after a total wipe of the disk. And I had no issues.

Here are the screens following a boot from this key, while El Capitan is already installed. From memory, I believe that when I did this boot while the Mac was still on Yosemite, we could see in "Disk Utility" the internal hard drive's recovery partition, in addition to its standard partition.

Choice of the USB key after booting with the alt key held down:


Installation screen after booting from the key:


Disk Utility taken from the menu bar after booting from the key: we can see the internal disk, the key, and its 2 "child disk images"


Best regards

Always indicate your exact system configuration and read the given response in full
Have a good day :-) - Francis

Good evening,

Some good advice

Because it is not robots that respond, but volunteers who deserve respect, simply put.

--
When it's urgent, it's already too late (Talleyrand)

Sorry, it's not me who wrote the folkloric phrase of the responding robots.
So it's a move by the CCM robot!
It's outrageous because how do you expect me to write this when I'm asking for help?
So for the unanswered response, I believe that CCM wrote in its document "Applications/Install" instead of "Applications/InstallER"

My first question to CCM is a success!

Vutsio - Oct 12, 2015 at 6:32 PM
I want to create a USB key for 10.11 via Terminal using the CCM document. 
I have only succeeded once. It is impossible to create the second one by copy/paste or by typing verified by 2 people. 

sudo: /Applications/Install OS X: command not found

Vutsio Oct 13, 2015 at 7:57 AM
Sorry, I am not the one who wrote the folkloric phrase of the responding robots. 
So it's a job of the CCM robot! 
It's absurd because how can you expect me to write this when I'm asking for help? 
So for the unanswered reply, I believe that CCM wrote in its document «Applications/Install» instead of «Applications/InstallER» 

My first question to CCM is a success!

Hello,

Earlier, dede74000 addressed a response to you indicating that on CCM, it is not robots that respond because you seem to ignore the basic rules of politeness (Hello, Thank you, etc...). He provided you with a link under the term "Some good advice", which you can see by simply clicking on the link.
This remark about robots was thus addressed to you personally.
Since in your subsequent response you persist in ignoring these simple and non-binding small rules, but nonetheless pleasant, I am adding this additional link....

For the concrete issue, I believe I understand that you are referring to this page:
https://www.commentcamarche.net/faq/44770-creer-une-cle-usb-d-installation-os-x-10-11-alias-el-capitan

If this is indeed the page in question, I should be able to respond since I wrote it. I tested the procedure before publishing it, I have just reread it, and I see no error. The terms used are correct and the command works as you can see from the Terminal screenshot that I added to this page.
NB: a click on the image allows you to enlarge it.



Your command quoted at the beginning of the discussion cannot work since you wrote:

sudo: /Applications/Install OS X
instead of:
sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X.... etc...

Why didn't you copy and paste the command?

Kind regards

Always indicate your exact system configuration and read the entire response given
Have a good day :-) - Francis

Hello and... thank you very much! My first attempt with your total link created my key.
However, I had properly copied/pasted your link from the document!
The curious thing is that "Startup Disk" does not see it, and a restart with alt does not show it either!
But shutting down/starting does not display the orange key icon, only a blue icon like that of TM named EFI. A double-click and the key works normally.
As previously mentioned, "InstallER" was an attempt from the MacPlanet link after yours.

I was therefore able to install 10.11 on an external volume to test it.

I just responded but I haven't received the copy, did you get it?
If not, thank you very much because the key works but with a blue EFI icon.