Title: Can you boot/install/restore a MacBook Pro with a MacBook Air USB stick?
Tags: usb;installation;macbook-pro;macbook-air
Question: The new MacBook Airs don't have optical drives, so you can't install or restore the OS via DVD. They include a little USB stick for this purpose:



I have a MacBook Pro and a MacBook Air. Does anyone know if it will work with my MacBook Pro? I'm thinking about removing my optical drive to put in another HD. The only sticky situation I might get into is if I need to do an install or restore on the road without an external DVD drive.

(Good article on replacing optical drive with hard drive enclosure:  remiel.info/post/1601242301/making-the-leap-to-ssd-on-a-macbook)


Here is the accepted answer: Your question implicitly has two parts. First, yes it is possible to restore other Macs with a USB stick. I routinely use an OS X Install DVD on a large USB stick or external. However, I'm not sure if you can use the MacBook Air USB restore stick to restore your MacBook Pro. At least for DVDs that come with other Macs, those are locked to the machine and can't be used on other machines.

So your best bet would be to clone the restore disk that came with your MacBook Pro to another USB stick and then replace your optical drive with another hard drive.


Here is another answer: Apparently Not:

```
  Can I use the MacBook Air Software
  Reinstall Drive to install software on
  other Macs?
  
  No. The software will only install on
  the MacBook Air it shipped with.
```

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4399


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