0

A while ago, I had the idea to use the bootable Mac OS X USB drive-making procedure on a hard drive partition, so that I could basically have a version of the “Recovery HD” that doesn’t need to download Mac OS X every time. Then I realized that since I have that partition, I have absolutely no use for the original “Recovery HD.”

I was wondering, is there a way to actually turn my new partition into the official “Recovery HD”? As in, invisible during normal computer use but boots when ⌘+R is held during startup?

Giacomo1968
  • 5,623
user24601
  • 6,242
  • 5
  • 28
  • 54

1 Answers1

1

If you've installed Yosemite it will automatically have created an invisible recovery partition and so you may as well delete the recovery partition you created. Keeping a copy of the Yosemite installer on a USB stick is definitely a good idea though in case your drive ever dies or you need to perform a clean install (on an SSD for example).

Alternatively, you can hide volumes/partitions using the Utilities>Visibility function in Onyx.

ScunnerDarkly
  • 2,361
  • That's not my question. I want to keep my partition because it's better than Recovery HD in that it already had the full installer. I'm trying to figure out how to make my computer assign the role that Recovery HD currently has to my new partition. – user24601 Mar 03 '15 at 12:35
  • Why bother? Your installer partition should be available from the boot selector anyway, just make it invisible to Finder using Onyx and you're good to go. Or, save the 5-6GB that your partition is taking up and just create a proper USB installer... – ScunnerDarkly Mar 03 '15 at 14:07
  • Eh. I guess making it invisible to Finder is as good as I'm gonna get. And why use a "proper" USB installer when you can literally carry the backup installer everywhere your computer goes (and one that works at faster speeds than USB, no less)? – user24601 Mar 03 '15 at 15:07
  • One day your HDD will die, whether it's from fatigue or because it took impact damage when you dozed off and your MacBook slid off your lap onto the deck. It could (and does) happen... – ScunnerDarkly Mar 03 '15 at 15:27
  • Yeah, and when that happens, I'll have the USB installer that I've also made! I just want to not have to remember to bring the USB everywhere I go, and trust my HDD not to totally die in a place where I wouldn't be able to get to the USB. – user24601 Mar 03 '15 at 15:39
  • I work on the basis that HDDs will always fail at the most inconvenient time possible (which is pretty much anytime) - that way I'm not surprised when they do actually croak... – ScunnerDarkly Mar 03 '15 at 15:59
  • I keep bootable recovery/repair/toolkit partitions on all my internal drives, just in case. – Tetsujin Mar 08 '15 at 17:30