These advanced steps are primarily for system administrators and others who are familiar with the command line. You don't need a bootable installer to upgrade macOS or reinstall macOS, but it can be useful when you want to install on multiple computers without downloading the installer each time.

1. Create Bootable Drive Mac Os
2. Create Bootable Installer Mac Os
3. Create Bootable Drive Mac Os X
4. How To Make Bootable Drive Mac Os

Jun 20, 2019  Support Windows, Mac and Linux. Able to download Linux ISO within the program. Easily create ISO image from files or folders. Cons: Non-native user interface. Lower success rate on new USB drives. Lack support for CD or DVD. Rufus for Mac Alternative 3: Etcher. Etcher is another great Rufus alternative for Mac. Macworld also has bootable-install-drive instructions for: mac OS High Sierra (10.13) El Capitan (OS X 10.11) Yosemite (OS X 10.10) Mavericks (OS X 10.9). May 15, 2020  A bootable installer for macOS El Capitan is a good idea even if your plan is to perform an upgrade install. Having your own copy of El Capitan on a separate device ensures that you'll always be able to install or reinstall it.It also helps in performing basic troubleshooting tasks, even if you have no connection to the internet or access to the Mac App Store. 2 days ago  Some Mac users may wish to create a bootable MacOS Catalina installer drive, typically using a USB flash drive or with another similar small boot disk. Bootable USB installers offer an easy way to upgrade multiple Macs to macOS Catalina, to perform clean installs of MacOS Catalina, to perform maintenance from a boot disk like formatting disks.

Download macOS

Find the appropriate download link in the upgrade instructions for each macOS version:

macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave, ormacOS High Sierra
Installers for each of these macOS versions download directly to your Applications folder as an app named Install macOS Catalina, Install macOS Mojave, or Install macOS High Sierra. If the installer opens after downloading, quit it without continuing installation. Important: To get the correct installer, download from a Mac that is using macOS Sierra 10.12.5 or later, or El Capitan 10.11.6. Enterprise administrators, please download from Apple, not a locally hosted software-update server.

OS X El Capitan
El Capitan downloads as a disk image. On a Mac that is compatible with El Capitan, open the disk image and run the installer within, named InstallMacOSX.pkg. It installs an app named Install OS X El Capitan into your Applications folder. You will create the bootable installer from this app, not from the disk image or .pkg installer.

Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in Terminal

1. Connect the USB flash drive or other volume that you're using for the bootable installer. Make sure that it has at least 12GB of available storage and is formatted as Mac OS Extended.
2. Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
3. Type or paste one of the following commands in Terminal. These assume that the installer is still in your Applications folder, and MyVolume is the name of the USB flash drive or other volume you're using. If it has a different name, replace MyVolume in these commands with the name of your volume.
   Catalina:*
   Mojave:*
   
   High Sierra:*
   El Capitan:
   
4. Press Return after typing the command.
5. When prompted, type your administrator password and press Return again. Terminal doesn't show any characters as you type your password.
6. When prompted, type Y to confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return. Terminal shows the progress as the bootable installer is created.
7. When Terminal says that it's done, the volume will have the same name as the installer you downloaded, such as Install macOS Catalina. You can now quit Terminal and eject the volume.

* If your Mac is using macOS Sierra or earlier, include the --applicationpath argument, similar to the way this argument is used in the command for El Capitan.

Use the bootable installer

After creating the bootable installer, follow these steps to use it:

1. Plug the bootable installer into a compatible Mac.
2. Use Startup Manager or Startup Disk preferences to select the bootable installer as the startup disk, then start up from it. Your Mac will start up to macOS Recovery.
   Learn about selecting a startup disk, including what to do if your Mac doesn't start up from it.
3. Choose your language, if prompted.
4. A bootable installer doesn't download macOS from the Internet, but it does require the Internet to get information specific to your Mac model, such as firmware updates. If you need to connect to a Wi-Fi network, use the Wi-Fi menu in the menu bar.
5. Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.

Learn more

For more information about the createinstallmedia command and the arguments that you can use with it, make sure that the macOS installer is in your Applications folder, then enter this path in Terminal:

Catalina:

Mojave:

High Sierra:

El Capitan:

Bootable USB Installers for OS X Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, and Sierra

Create Bootable Drive Mac Os

First, review this introductory article: Create a bootable installer for macOS. Second, see this How To outline for creating a bootable El Capitan installer. Simply replace the Terminal command with the one from the preceding article by copying it into the Terminal window. You will need an 8GB or larger USB flash drive that has been partitioned and formatted for use with OS X.

Drive Partition and Format

1. Open Disk Utility in the Utilities' folder.
2. After Disk Utility loads select the drive (out-dented entry with the mfg.'s ID and size) from the side list.
3. Click on the Erase tab in the Disk Utility toolbar. Name the drive, 'MyVolume'. <---- IMPORTANT!
4. In the drop down panel set the partition scheme to GUID. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
5. Click on the Apply button and wait for the Done button to activate. When it does click on it.
6. Quit Disk Utility.

Create Installer

Create Bootable Installer Mac Os

Open the Terminal in the Utilities' folder. Choose the appropriate command line (in red) depending upon what OS X installer you want. Paste that entire command line from below at the Terminal's prompt:

Create Bootable Drive Mac Os X

Command for macOS High Sierra:

sudo /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app

Command for macOS Sierra:

sudo /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app

Command for El Capitan:

How To Make Bootable Drive Mac Os

sudo /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app

Command for Yosemite:

sudo /Applications/Install OS X Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X Yosemite.app

Command for Mavericks:

sudo /Applications/Install OS X Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X Mavericks.app

Press RETURN. You will be asked for your admin password. It will not echo to the Terminal window. Then press RETURN again. Wait for the return of the Terminal prompt signifying the process has completed. It takes quite some time to finish. Be patient.

Sep 13, 2018 1:16 PM