http://www.informationweek.com/byte/howto/personal-tech/desktop-os/231002151 Backup mit Lion Boot disk Installer CD und disk image: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1553 - Connect an external hard drive (FireWire or USB) that has sufficient free space to hold at least one copy of the contents of your Macintosh HD. - Start from your Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.6 Install DVD. (Insert the disc, then restart and hold the C key.) - Select your language. Do not start an installation. - Choose Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. - Select the disk you wish to back up (your source disk, such as Macintosh HD) in the source pane on the left. - Click "Verify Disk" to check the hard disk for issues. If an issue is found, click "Repair Disk" to repair. - Click the "New Image" button in the toolbar. - Give your image a useful name such as "04-15-2009 Macintosh HD backup". A date in the name makes it easy to tell when the backup was made. - Note: For additional security, you can encrypt the backup disk image. From the "Encryption:" pop-up menu, select either 128-bit or 256-bit AES encryption. When prompted enter a password for the encryption: Use the password assistant to help you make a good password, or see this link for information about how to choose a good password. - Be sure the Save destination is a location on your external hard disk, then click "Save" to continue. - Enter your admin name and password if prompted. The imaging process will begin. The time it takes to complete the imaging process depends on factors such as the amount of data on your Macintosh HD. Approximately 1 GB per minute will be imaged, depending on various factors. - When the imaging process is complete, select the newly created disk image in the device pane. Then, choose Images > Scan Image for Restore... from the menu bar, and let the scan complete. - Quit Disk Utility (press Command-Q). Then press Command-Q to quit the Mac OS X installer; you will be prompted to restart. ( http://www.tuaw.com/2011/06/07/how-to-burn-a-lion-boot-disc/ ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0FL80vulkM https://discussions.apple.com/message/22616469#22616469 Problem: Mac falls asleep while making a disk image **Solution 1** You can use the following commands in recovery mode (instead of the heavy object on the spacebar). Before using disk utility from the recovery menu - click on utilities and open a terminal window. At the prompt type the following command (no need to elevate privileges): <code> pmset -a sleep 0 displaysleep 0 </code> Quit terminal - and return to recovery menu - and then open disk utility. The system and display will stay awake indefinitely. Until you reboot. I think this was resolved in Mavericks 10.9.1 ir 10.9.2 (not sure - haven't had an opportunity to test fully) - but the pmset command above will solve all your problems. **Solution 2** Find a heavy object (i use one of those big scotch tape dispensers) and wedge it over the keyboard so that it is leaning on the Space key so that the system thinks you are constantly using the keyboard. The system won't go to sleep, and constantly hitting the Space key seems to have no negative impact on the backup.