Jul 10, 2020 Create a Bootable USB Sierra Installer in Mac OS X 10.12 - Duration. IT & Software 626,204 views. Upgrading a laptop - Duration: 53:20. CareyHolzman Recommended for you. Jun 09, 2020 6. Boot Mac from USB. Follow the below process to boot your Mac from bootable USB: Insert the bootable USB installer drive and go to “Apple Menu Restart”. When your Mac restarts, press and hold the Option key till “Startup Manager” opens. The Startup Manager scans and lists the drives that are connected and bootable.
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There are various ways to boot macOS. Aside from using the built-in Startup Manager, you can also boot into Verbose, Safe, and Target Disk modes. In addition to this, macOS users also have an option of picking a disk to boot the operating system from. But let’s delve into something more specific. You’re about to find out how to boot your Mac up directly from external storage, specifically flash storage or a USB-based flash drive. Learn how to create bootable flash drive for Windows 10.
Why You Need to Boot from External Drive?
There are many occasions you may have trouble with your Mac.
- Corrupted system files and Mac crashes unexpectedly.
- Mac runs very slow with sufficient storage.
- You have deleted some system files wrongly.
- You couldn’t login to your Mac.
- Troubleshooting purposes.
Let’s begin with the obvious question here; what are the basic requirements for creating bootable USB for Mac?
How to Create Bootable USB Drive for Mac?
- USB drive with sufficient storage space.
- Access to a working and supported Mac.
- Format USB to Apple supported file system.
- Get installer file for macOS.
- Create bootable USB.
- Booting Mac from Startup Manager.
If you are not able to login to your Mac, you need to use Time Machine backup disk. Otherwise you should have another Mac for creating a bootable USB.
1. USB Drive
The macOS installer file is large with approximate size of 6 to 10GB depending upon the version. Also the process needs to sufficient storage space on your USB. So ensure to have at least 32GB or greater storage space on your USB drive.
Remember to copy and backup the USB since you need to delete the entire content for creating the bootable drive.
2. An Intel Based Mac
Apple transitioned to an Intel processors in 2005. In other words, if your Mac is not older than 2005, you should be fine.
3. Format USB Flash Drive to Apple File System
First, plug in your USB drive. Press “Command +Spacebar” to access Spotlight, then type “Disk Utility”. You can view the current file system of the USB drive. In our example, we have FAT32 file system which is compatible on Windows. You need to erase and format the USB to be compatible with your Mac.
Click on the “Erase” button on “Disk Utility” and choose the format as either APFS or Mac OS Extended. In most cases, your Mac will show the supported format by default and you don’t need to change it. On older Mac, you will see an additional scheme option, choose “GUID Partition Map”. Click on “Erase” button to continue further.
Disk Utility will delete all content on the USB and format it in the selected APFS or Mac OS Extended format.
4. MacOS Installer File
In order to create a bootable USB drive for Mac, you need download Mac OS installer. Open App Store on your Mac and search for the latest macOS version. Remember, App Store will only have the latest version which is macOS Mojave at this point when we write this article. Search for “macOS mojave” and click on the “Get” button.
This will start downloading the installer file to your “Applications” folder.
5. Creating USB Installer
After downloading, the installer will automatically ask you to install macOS Mojave. Simply quit the installer without starting the installation.
- At this point, ensure you have inserted the formatted USB drive, let’s say the name of the USB volume is “Boot Disk”.
- Also make sure the downloaded macOS installer file is in “Applications” folder.
- Press “Command + Spacebar” and search for “terminal” to open Terminal app.
- Copy and paste the below command in Terminal and hit enter.
- You need to enter admin password to proceed further.
- Terminal will ask you to confirm erasing the volume, press Y and hit enter to confirm.
Ready to start.
To continue we need to erase the volume at /Volumes/Boot Disk.
If you wish to continue type (Y) then press return:
- Now the erase disk process will start to copy the installer file on the USB drive. After successful completion of the process, name of the USB drive will be changed similar to the installer file name like “Install macOS Mojave”.
Note that Apple discourages booting with an earlier macOS version than the version your device is shipped with.
6. Boot Mac from USB
Follow the below process to boot your Mac from bootable USB:
- Insert the bootable USB installer drive and go to “Apple Menu > Restart”.
- When your Mac restarts, press and hold the Option key till “Startup Manager” opens.
- The Startup Manager scans and lists the drives that are connected and bootable.
- Note that the Startup Manager will only list volumes that include bootable volumes. If you only see “Macintosh HD” like below then the USB drive is not connected to your Mac or not created properly with the installer file.
- Select your Wi-Fi network name from the “Choose Network…” dropdown and enter the password to connect to internet. Remember, you need to have an internet connection for installing from USB as the installer needs to get updates for your Mac from Apple’s server.
- Double click on your USB that contains the macOS installer or highlight it and press the return key.
- You will see macOS Recovery app and choose “Install macOS” option from Utilities.
- It may take long time depending upon your Mac to start booting with macOS Mojave.
Wrapping Up
As simple as the process seems, it tells you a lot about your system. For example, if a USB flash drive that contains a bootable copy of macOS doesn’t show up on the Startup manager, you may need to repair the disk permission. Also, remember to format the USB drive with a APFS or Mac OS Extended format.
That said, now you know how to boot up another version of or a copy of macOS and troubleshoot possible issues with your device.
Not long ago, to install the operating system or to create a rescue disc, there was no other choice than to burn the operating system into a CD/DVD. Though it is nothing hard but CD/DVD method is clunky, not-so user-friendly and majorly laptops are on their way to bury the CD/DVD writer. Thankfully, now we can use USB flash drives but to make it bootable you would need a Bootable Software.
Read: How to Encrypt USB Drive Using VeraCrypt
How to create a Bootable USB from iso?
To install an OS, all you need to do is burn the ISO to a USB pen drive using any of the following USB bootable software. Once done, restart your computer and change the boot order to boot from USB. After that, just follow the onscreen instruction and you are good to go. When you no longer need the OS file, you can simply format the drive and use it to store other data. To help you create bootable USB drives, here are TechWiser’s top 7 free USB bootable software for Windows.
Read: How to Use USB Flash Drive on Android and iOS
Create Bootable Usb Software Mac Free
USB Bootable Software
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1. Rufus
When it comes to creating bootable USB drives in Windows, Rufus is the best, free, open-source, and easy-to-use software. Rufus not only lets you create bootable USB for different kinds of operating systems but you can also use it to flash BIOS, firmware, and run low-level utilities. Add to that, Rufus is much faster than the other apps when it comes to creating bootable Windows USB drives.
Moreover, you get various different options like the ability to change the partition scheme, cluster size, and file system. These options are beneficial when you are creating BIOS, firmware, or other low-level drives. Rufus also checks the USB drive for any bad blocks. For that, all you have to do is, select the checkbox “check device for bad blocks” under format options and you are good to go. Do mind that depending on the drive size, number of passes, and USB drive speed, it takes quite a bit of time to complete the verification process.
If you are looking for a free and fast bootable USB creator then give Rufus a try. The best thing is Rufus doesn’t require an install, you can run it directly from the portable exe file.
Features: Free and open-source, Multiple OS & BIOS Support, customizable bootloader options, Bad-block detection, portable variant, etc.
Download Rufus
2. Windows USB/DVD Tool
If you are a Windows user and the only requirement is to create a bootable USB drive for Windows, then the official tool is for you. As the name suggests, the Windows USB/DVD tool can be used to create both bootable USB and DVD drives.
What makes the tool special is its ease of use. All you have to do is insert the USB drive, select the ISO, and click Next, that’s it. After the initial format, the Windows USB/DVD tool will create the bootable USB drive within a few minutes.
As easy and good the tool sounds, it lacks any advanced customizations whatsoever. For instance, you cannot change the file system or partition scheme. You cannot even create extended labels or check for bad blocks. That being said, if you don’t mind the lack of advanced options and you are looking for a simple straightforward solution then you should try the Windows USB/DVD tool.
Features: Windows-only.
Download Windows USB/DVD Tool
3. Etcher
Etcher is the new kid on the block and the easiest to use bootable software in this list. The main reason to build Etcher was to escape the complexity of selecting multiple options and settings with different Operating-system. It just requires few clicks to convert your SD card or USB into a bootable drive. It supports Windows, Linux based OS and even macOS. Etcher also has a pro variant that is targeted towards enterprises where 100+ drives need to be flashed simultaneously.
The app is open-source and you can visit the GitHub repo to know more.
Features: Easy to use, Multi-write support, multiple OS support, etc.
Download Etcher
4. Universal USB Installer
The name says it all, Universal USB Installer is a Windows bootable USB tool that lets you create almost any type of bootable USB media. Be it Linux or Windows, special antivirus rescue drives, security, and penetration testing drives, or other low-level bootable drives.
Unlike other software, the best thing about Universal USB Installer is that you can select the operating system from the drop-down menu. Now, as per the selection, it will create bootable media with appropriate settings. For instance, if you want to create a bootable Ubuntu USB drive then you have to first select Ubuntu from the drop-down menu. Further, the software will handle all the complexities of making directories, boot partition, etc.
Moreover, the most useful feature of Universal USB Installer is its ability to create bootable USB drives with persistence storage. In case you are wondering, the persistence storage allows you to backup, store and access persistence data like system settings, application backups, bookmarks, etc., directly on your bootable USB media. Of course, you can select the amount of persistence store you’d like to have while creating the bootable USB drive. Do mind that this feature is only available for selected Linux distributions.
Features: Multiple OS support, customizable bootloader options, multi-boot support, bad-blocks check, persistent storage to view system settings, backup, etc.
Download Universal USB Installer
5. RMPrepUSB
If you are looking for a highly customizable and feature-rich bootable USB creator then RMPrepUSB is the way to go. Just like with Universal USB Installer, you can create almost any type of bootable USB media. But what makes RMPrepUSB special is its ability to create multi-boot drives, support for multiple image formats, customizable the bootloader options, file system options, and QEMU Emulator.
In case you don’t know, you can quickly boot into a bootable USB drive using QEMU Emulator right on your Windows machine. No need to reboot your system. This feature is useful when you want to verify if the bootable USB has been created properly. Other than that, you can also install various bootloaders like grub4dos, syslinux, grub2 to mbr, bootmbr, WEE, etc. There are loads of other settings if you are willing to explore and experiment.
As good and feature-rich it is, the software is not so easy to use. Considering the steep learning curve, the software is mainly intended for advanced users. The good thing is, the official website offers a ton of detailed and handy guides so you won’t be stuck or clueless.
Features: Multiple OS support,multi-boot drives, customizable bootloader options, file system options, and QEMU Emulator.
Download RMPrepUSB
6. UNetBootin
Just like the Windows USB/DVD tool, UNetBootin is designed to create bootable drives but only for Linux. The good thing about UNetBootin is you can either create a bootable media using an ISO file or you can download the Linux distribution within. When creating bootable media for Ubuntu distribution, you can set aside some space to preserve files across reboots. This feature is especially useful when you want to install software on live bootable drives.
To sum it up, if you are looking for minimal software that can create bootable Linux USB drives without any complexities then you should try UNetBootin.
Features: Bootable media for Ubuntu, download ISO within the app.
Download UNetBootin
7. YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator
YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator is developed by the creators of Universal USB Installer. While Universal USB Installer is designed to create regular bootable USB drives, YUMI or also known as Your Universal Multiboot Installer is designed to create multiboot USB drives.
When I say multiboot I’m talking about the ability to install multiple operating systems, firmware, antivirus tools, and other utilities in a single USB drive. You are only limited by the size of your USB drive. Of course, just like with Universal USB Installer, you can create Persistent storage to back up necessary files between reboots.
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If you are like me and have multiple pen drives with multiple operating systems, rescue software, and antivirus tools then give YUMI a try and see if it fits your needs. I personally use YUMI to create a bootable USB drive with multiple Linux distributions.
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Features: Multiple OS & Firmware support, multi-boot support, customizable bootloader options, multi-boot support, persistent storage to view system settings, backup, etc.
Download YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator
8. WinSetUpFromUSB
WinSetUpFromUSB is yet another popular and feature-rich bootable media creator for Windows. Although it is specifically designed to create bootable Windows drives, you can also create bootable Linux distributions using SysLinux or IsoLinux. Apart from creating Windows bootable drives, WinSetUpFromUSB is also capable of creating bootable media for WinBuilder, WinPE, BartPE, UBCD4Win, etc.
Though the user interface of the app looks a bit simple, you can access various advanced options by selecting the “Advanced Options” checkbox. Moreover, the app also comes with the ability to test bootable media in QEMU emulator and various other useful tools like 7-Zip, RMPrepUSB, Bootice, FBinstTool, etc.
Features: Multiple OS & Firmware support, customizable bootloader options, multi-boot support, live-boot in QEMU emulator, etc.
Download WinSetUpFromUSB
Wrapping Up
If booting or bootloader sounds new to you, Etcher would be the ideal usb bootable software for you. If you deal only with Windows, Rufus or Windows USB/DVD tool is a good option. For everything else, you can go for YUMI or Universal USB Installer.
Read: 10 Best USB Encryption Software to Lock Your Flash Drive (2017)