Install the MacOS installer directly on the USB drive.Select “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” as the format.Rename the drive to a title of your choosing, although we recommend a title that is suggestive of what is inside, something like “Booting MacOS.”.It should bring up new fields for “Name,” “Format,” and “Scheme.” Click on your USB, then click on the “Erase” button at the top.Scroll down to Utilities, click on it, then open “Disk Utility” and you should see your USB listed under “External” on the left side. Open Finder, and on the left click on the Applications folder.

This should automatically download to your Applications folder as an app named Install macOS. How do I create a bootable USB drive for Mac?ĭownload the MacOS installer of the version you plan on installing on the USB flash drive.

That being said, the Mac App Store is probably going to be the less complicated option of the two. You can obtain them from either the Software Update in System Preferences, or the Mac App Store. It’s important to note that any and all existing data you have stored on the USB drive you plan to use will be deleted.ĭepending on what version of macOS you want to install on the USB flash drive, you’ll need to download the installation files. At least 36GB of available storage on the computer you wish to install the OS on. A downloaded installation file for whichever MacOS (of the ones listed above) you’d like.ģ. In order to create a bootable installer, there are three things you must possess:ġ.A USB external drive that can plug into the Mac device you need it to, and contains at least 16GB of available storage, though in this case more is better.Ģ. What you need to create a bootable USB for Mac You can run an OS installer like Windows, OSX, Mac, or specific versions of Linux from a bootable USB drive.įor Mac specifically, you can use a bootable USB to install MacOS Monterey, MacOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, or El Capitan. Whether a computer is brand new or becomes unusable from a compromised OS, you can use a bootable USB to install an operating system. That being said, many new Mac laptops don’t have USB-A ports, so it’s a good idea to obtain an external port that connects to a USB-C (USB Type C) port to really make the process easy-ish.Ī bootable USB is a flash drive that allows you to both install an operating system (OS), and boot the computer from the external USB drive instead of the computer’s hard drive. The good news is there’s an easy(ish) workaround!īy booting from an external drive, like a USB for example, you can diagnose certain issues by accessing the internal drive with minimal effort. Every computer may not boot up every once in a while, which can be irritating because it prevents you from getting into the system to view exactly what the problem is.

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