[bigmac]

Hi I have a mini 10v with 10.6.2 and O.8.3 RC5. i am wondering what i need to do to install ilfe09 from a retail dvd. What size USB memory stick would i need and what steps do i need to do to prepare the USB and copy the ilife disc to the USB. I have a 160GB hard drive so I would like to do the full install and I already have a 8gb USB stick, is that enough for the full install. How should i format the USB, then after how do I transfer the DVD to USB. I have access to a friends new MACBOOK Pro if needed. Thanks.

[mechdrew]

8 GB stick would be fine, just make us a DVD burning program to copy it to an ISO file, then copy that ISO file to the USB stick like you would any other file. Double-click the ISO file in Mac OS X on your 10v and it should mount it as a virtual DVD, and you can install from there.

[bigmac]

I was just searching some other posts and wonder can I use the Mac disk utillity to restore the DVD to the USB for the ilife install? If so do I format the USB as the MAC Extended Journeled, or leave it as FAT 32. I am wondering becuase if I am going to use a friends MAC BOOK to prepare my USB, I dont want to have to install anything like a dvd ripping program on his mac. He might not appreciate it, but if I can use tools that the mac already has available then it would not be a problem.

[mechdrew]

Don't worry about that. You can use Disk Utility to create the ISO image, just highlight the DVD and select the button to create a new image. (It might try to give it a .cdr extension instead of .iso, it doesn't really matter.)

[bigmac]

Ok so Im having some trouble trying to install ilife. I am using the same xp machine that I used to make my bootable osx usb. I used img burn to make the iso of the retail disk, but when I went to copy it over to my 8gb usb stick it said that the disc in the destination drive was full, even though it was empty and re formated. I formatted it as FAT 32. So then I tried to use img burn to make a iso directly to the usb and it seemed to be working but when it was done it had made 3 files, no of which were a iso file. So when I plugged it into the mac it would not open the files. So then I remembered using the dd command thing in the command prompt to make a bootable osx usb. So I went to mechdrews website to find the command line. I remember looking at his screen shots of windows dos terminal but now those pics are gone and the pics are of ubantu so Im a bit confused becuase when I enter the command it says it had trouble finding the file. But I put the original ilife.iso I made in my c drive folder just like I did with the macdvd.iso Anybody have any suggestions? MaybeI have a bad 8gb usb, Im lost.

[mechdrew]

FAT32 has a file size limit of 4GB. Since the DVD is closer to 8GB, it won't fit. You need to somehow format the drive as NTFS.

[bigmac]

Thanks again Mechdrew. You Rock!! I will have to try so other type of formatting then when I get back home later. I figured it must be something dumb that was holding me back. Can you tell me the command prompt line I should use to have DD tool format and copy the iso for me. I checked out your guide but it seems to have changed since last week when I originally installed OSX for the first time. The command seemed simpler before without the neeed for the volume label and only required the volume #, but I cant remember the command now and as I said earlier I cant find it on your guide anymore. Thanks

[mechdrew]

Well, the guide just got changed again and it is simpler than the changes I made last night, but here's a better solution.

First, you should use InfraRecorder, it is the only thing I trust right now for CD/DVD ripping. You can create an ISO via that if you want. But you should already have the ISO if your previous posts are still accurate.

If your are using Vista or 7, it should let you format as NTFS without issues. XP is more picky, so you'll need to follow more directions.

For your flash drive, make sure to have any folder windows closed and then open the command prompt. Type "diskpart" then "list disk" (enter after each quotation.) Find your thumbdrive disk number, type "select disk #" (your number) and then "select partition 1". "format fs=ntfs quick" and when it is finished you have an NTFS flash drive. You can now copy the ISO to it without errors.

[phubai]

I might suggest, since you have access to another Mac, using your friends CD/DVD to install iLife on your Dell. Just ask him to enable DVD/CD sharing in the Sharing module of System Preferences. If you are both connected to the same domain, you should be able to see the drive on your miniMac, and install it as though it were on your computer. Maybe a little slower, but still, it's an option you may not have been aware of.

I think the better option, is the USB stick, as once you learn the technique, you will be using it in the future for many other things, and won't have to depend on your friend being available, etc.

G'luck!

[Akki]

If you are doing this all to get at iPhoto, might want to search the boards here for that and read some. People have had mixed results using the mini's for it.