For all Macs produced AFTER the launch of Lion, you can re-install Lion via the Internet.

You can re-install Lion via an Internet Connection – this is a really cool option.

Similarly, to go directly to the recovery program, just hold COMMAND R when you start.

You simply choose the “Recovery HD” one and it will launch the Recovery program. When you do that, you will see all of your Mac partitions. You can launch this by holding down OPTION when you start. Once you install Lion, it creates a small hidden partition on your Mac. Lion already has a recovery partition – this is actually very useful to use should you need to do some disk repairs.(Note to “file sharers” – you might NOT want to distribute the “InstallESD.dmg” file on sharing sites as it may contain your Apple ID or may prevent you from getting updates.) However, if you are going to create a Bootable DVD so that you can install it on other computers that are tied with different Apple IDs, you might want to reconsider doing this. Assuming that you have the same Apple ID on all of your computers and you simply want to create an installer for those computers, this is a good solution. The Lion Installer is tied to your Apple ID (unconfirmed) – many App Store purchases “sign” their apps to your Apple ID when you purchase/download via the App Store.There are some important things to remember, though, before you embark on this effort. Note: if you are looking for instructions for Mac OS X 10.8 – Mountain Lion – please see this post.

You will also be able to order a USB stick from Apple but that will be a bit of costly option, especially when you can do it yourself. In my excitement yesterday about the release of the new Macintosh operating system called “ Lion“, I downloaded and installed the new OS without thinking about creating a bootable DVD since Lion is the first Apple OS to NOT come on DVD but rather be distributed via the App Store.

Free os x lion download