The official InstallMacOSX.dmg from Apple is a hybrid image. Some third-party tools convert it incorrectly to ISO or CDR, destroying the bootable signature.
Plug the bootable USB drive into a native USB port (avoid unpowered USB hubs if possible).
Open , format the USB drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) , and name it "LionUSB". Ensure the partition scheme is set to GUID Partition Map .
Once finished, your USB drive is fully configured as a clean, fixed bootable drive ready to restore any compatible Intel-based Mac to OS X 10.7.2. Part 4: Technical Compatibility Check
Once formatted, right-click the drive again and select .
Add a space after -cr , then drag and drop your Lion DMG file into the Terminal window. The command should look like this: xattr -cr /Users/username/Downloads/lion_10_7_2.dmg Use code with caution.
: Open Terminal in the installer's Utilities menu and type date 0101010112 (setting the date to Jan 1, 2012) to bypass the certificate expiration.
You must have at least 2GB of memory and a compatible Intel processor.
Once the recovery environment loads, select from the utility menu. Select your internal hard drive or SSD.
Select your internal drive ( Macintosh HD ) as the installation destination.
Follow this with fsck_hfs on the disk identifier provided by the first command.
Disclaimer: This information is for legacy system restoration purposes. Using older software may pose security risks.