In this text we’ll run via the steps essential to create a bootable installer of the Mac working system, whether or not it’s so you may set up the newest model of the macOS on a number of Macs, set up the
newest macOS beta, carry out a
clear set up of macOS, or simply to be ready with an emergency disk in case your Mac experiences issues and also you don’t need to hook up with the web or
in Recovery mode (otherwise you
can’t entry Recovery mode).
If you need to learn how to make a bootable set up of the newest macOS beta, macOS Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, or an older model of Mac OS X or macOS, you’ve come to the suitable place.
You may also use your bootable installer to
set up macOS on a separate quantity of your exhausting drive (or on a partition if you’re operating an older model of the Mac OS). It’s additionally a hassle-free solution to
return to an older model of macOS and an ideal possibility if you happen to discovered downloading the installer took a very long time and also you don’t fancy spending the following few days downloading it a number of occasions on a number of Macs. Once is kind of sufficient!
Luckily, making a bootable set up of the Mac working system turned a complete lot simpler when Apple launched OS X Mavericks again in 2013. With that model of Mac OS X, and all variations since, it’s been doable to make use of the Terminal command createinstallmedia to create a bootable installer of the macOS, on this article we’ll present you the way.
We will run via the next steps to create a bootable USB for Mac:
- Get the macOS installer information
- Create a bootable installer for macOS
- Choose the right createinstallmedia command
If you need to
run macOS on an exterior drive, which is barely completely different, now we have a separate article.
What you want to make a bootable USB for Mac
There are two major stuff you’ll have to make your bootable set up drive: a USB stick (or a Thunderbolt drive) and the set up information. Once you might have these two issues the method shouldn’t take very lengthy.
1. A 15GB Flash Drive (at the least!)
We advocate a 15GB (or extra) drive – in actual fact extra can be advisable: the installer for Monterey was 12GB whereas Big Sur’s installer was 13GB.
We advocate a Flash reminiscence stick, reasonably than a typical exhausting drive, as it is going to be faster. You’ll additionally profit from USB 3, or USB Type C – this can be your solely selection if in case you have a more moderen Mac (in any other case you will have an adapter). If you might have an M1 Mac you would possibly truly be higher off with a Thunderbolt drive as a result of there have been some points with utilizing USB drives with the M1 Mac. Read our spherical up of the greatest SSD drives for Mac the place we advocate the LaCie Portable SSD, however you would use any low cost USB thumb drive.
Note: If you might have knowledge on the drive that you simply plan to make use of you will have to switch it to a different drive, or get a brand new drive, as it is going to be utterly formatted and erased.
2. The set up information
Depending on which model of macOS you might be operating, and the model you need to to put in, you’ll both have the ability to get the set up information from Software Update in System Preferences, the Mac App Store, or you’ll have to get hold of them from elsewhere.
The Mac App Store might be the better possibility, however there can nonetheless be difficulties relying on which model of macOS your machine is operating, and if you happen to have been hoping to seize older set up information that may be tough – now we have one other article discussing
how you can become old variations of macOS.
It goes with out saying that you will want an web connection to obtain the software program and it’s possible you’ll want it whereas putting in the model of macOS if it must examine for firmware or verify your iCloud credentials.
How to get macOS installer information
As we stated already, the way you get the set up information will rely on the model of macOS you might be operating presently and the model you need the installer for. Below we’ll take a look at how you can get Monterey installers in addition to how you can become old variations of the macOS and even Mac OS X. We do have a devoted article about
How to obtain outdated Mac OS X and macOS variations.
How to get macOS Monterey installer
macOS Monterey, which turned accessible to put in on 25 October 2021, is offered to obtain from the
Mac App Store right here. You can even have the ability to obtain the installer through Software Update if you happen to haven’t but put in it.
Download the set up information, however ensure you cease earlier than the precise set up begins. When the set up begins the information might be disposed of, so you want to step in earlier than hand!
Once the set up information for Monterey are downloaded it is possible for you to to search out them within the Applications folder through the Finder. It will look one thing like this:
You want to make use of these set up file to make the bootable installer in your USB stick. Instructions for that under.
How to get a macOS beta installer
If you need to check out the newest beta you’ll want to join the beta program, you’ll then have the ability to obtain the installer information.
We clarify
how you can get and set up the macOS beta right here. We even have included the createinstallmedia code you’ll want for
putting in the newest beta through a USB under.
How to get Big Sur or older installer
To get the installer for macOS Big Sur observe these steps:
- If you might be already operating Big Sur in your Mac go to the Mac App Store – click on
this hyperlink to go straight to the related web page. - Click on Get and the set up information will begin to obtain.
If it’s Catalina you might be after you may nonetheless get the set up information from the Mac App Store:
- Open the Mac App Store.
- Go to the Catalina web page, you may click on this
hyperlink to Catalina on the Mac App Store. - Now, if you happen to click on on Get, your Mac will supply to obtain the installers.
Just don’t click on on set up as you want the set up file for the following stage of this tutorial…
With macOS Catalina, Mojave or High Sierra put in it’s a bit tough to get the set up information for older variations of macOS. This is as a result of when High Sierra launched Apple stopped making older variations of the OS accessible to obtain through the Mac App Store.
Luckily it might nonetheless be accomplished, and we clarify
how you can get outdated variations of macOS right here. If it’s already open just remember to shut the Mac App Store earlier than clicking on any of those hyperlinks or they received’t work.
Apple gives dmg information of those older macOS variations – you want to obtain them in Safari. A disk picture named InstallOS.dmg will obtain and as soon as it does you want to find the pkg installer contained in the disk picture.
How to create a bootable installer for macOS
Now you might have the set up information, we will transfer onto the method of constructing the bootable installer.
Note, the createinstallmedia methodology described right here doesn’t work beneath OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or earlier – it requires OS X 10.7 Lion or later. Also, the processes have modified barely since Mavericks so in case your seeking to create an set up of one of many ‘Cat’ variations of Mac OS X it’s best to learn this older article as an alternative.
Since Mavericks, making a bootable set up of macOS requires a single command in Terminal. The createinstallmedia command makes it doable to create a bootable copy of an installer on any drive that’s linked to your Mac. You’ll discover all of the createinstallmedia instructions under, together with the Monterey createinstallmedia command.
Note that the createinstallmedia command erases something in your exterior disk although, so ensure there’s nothing on it that you simply want.
These are the directions to observe to create your bootable USB – notice there might be tiny changes relying on the installer you require:
- Plug in an exterior drive with at the least 15GB area as that’s how a lot the installer would require.
- Launch Disk Utility (press Command + spacebar and begin to sort Disk Utility).
- Before this subsequent step, notice: if you’re operating High Sierra or later you will have to click on on the View drop down under the shut minimise buttons. Choose Show All Devices from the choices. Now you will notice the exterior root drive along with the quantity under it.
- Select the foundation drive within the sidebar (the following step received’t work if you happen to solely choose the quantity).
- Click on Erase.
- Choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) because the Format.
- Choose GUID Partition Map because the Scheme.
- Your drive will most likely be referred to as ‘Untitled’ by default, you would give your drive a reputation akin to ‘macOS’ or ‘USB’. (Note you will have to interchange the time period ‘MyVolume’ within the createinstallmedia command under with no matter title you give your drive).
- Click on Erase.
- Wait whereas Disk Utility creates the partition and units up the drive (this may take a couple of minutes).
- Then click on Done.
- Now you might be able to make your bootable installer: open Terminal (the simplest manner is to press Command + spacebar after which begin typing Terminal. Otherwise you’ll discover it within the Utilities folder).
- Copy the textual content that corresponds to the model of macOS you might be putting in into Terminal – you’ll discover the textual content in the part under. Make certain that you simply use the title you might have given your drive – e.g. change Untitled to MyVolume.
- Click Enter/Return.
- Terminal will ask for a password. This is your person password. Note you received’t see characters seem as you sort it in, that’s advantageous. After typing in your password, press Enter.
- Terminal can also ask for permission to entry the detachable drive. Click okay.
- Terminal will warn that it’s about to erase the drive (so ensure there wasn’t something vital on it – there shouldn’t be if you happen to already formatted it as per the directions above). If you need to proceed press Y after which Return. The course of can take some time, you’ll see “Erasing Disk: 0%… 10%… 20%… 30%…100%…
- Now Terminal will spend a few minutes copying the installer file to your drive. “Copying installer files to disk… Copy complete” and so forth will seem within the Terminal window.
- When Terminal has completed copying the installer you will notice the phrases Copy full and Done seem.
How to make use of an USB installer to replace your Mac
Now you might have the installer on the exterior drive you should utilize that to put in copies of macOS on a number of Macs (so long as the Macs are supported by that model).
- Plug the exterior drive into the Mac that you simply need to set up the macOS on.
- Start up the Mac. If you might have an Intel-powered Mac maintain down the Option/Alt key whereas it’s booting up. If it’s an M1 Mac you then simply press and maintain the on change till you see numerous choices.
- Your Mac will finally show the Startup Manager, click on in your exterior drive to pick out that because the startup disk. Your Mac will now begin up in Recovery Mode.
- Click on Install macOS after which click on on Continue. The model of macOS on the bootable drive ought to begin to set up in your Mac now. (If you need to do a clear set up, wiping your Mac first, observe the directions right here: How to do a clear set up on a Mac.
- Eventually the Mac ought to restart. Wait whereas the replace takes place after which get pleasure from your newly up to date working system.
Foundry
You may also run the Mac working system instantly from an exterior drive reasonably than your built-in startup disk, that is useful if you’re testing new variations of the Mac OS. The course of is completely different to the one described above although, and we cowl it right here: Read about
How to run macOS on an exterior exhausting drive right here.
Note that older variations of macOS used “applicationpath” whereas newer ones don’t – if you happen to use the command you’ll get an error (now we have the code for the all variations of macOS and Mac OS X under).
The createinstallmedia command might be barely completely different relying on which model of macOS you might be wanting to make use of.
Note MyVolume might have a special title for you, for instance it may be USB or Untitled. Check in Disk Utilities, it’s the title of the exterior disk you might be utilizing.
Beware that now we have heard of individuals copying and pasting within the — just for them to alter to a – in Terminal, so watch out of that.
Monterey
sudo /Applications/Install macOS Monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –quantity /Volumes/MyVolume
Monterey beta
sudo /Applications/Install macOS Monterey beta.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –quantity /Volumes/MyVolume –nointeraction
Big Sur
sudo /Applications/Install macOS Big Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –quantity /Volumes/MyVolume
Catalina
sudo /Applications/Install macOS Catalina.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –quantity /Volumes/MyVolume
Mojave
sudo /Applications/Install macOS Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –quantity /Volumes/MyVolume
High Sierra
sudosudo /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –quantity /Volumes/MyVolume
Sierra
sudo /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –quantity /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install/ macOS/ Sierra.app
El Capitan
sudo /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –quantity /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app
Yosemite
sudo /Applications/Install OS X Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –quantity /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X Yosemite.app
Source: www.macworld.com