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Dec 01, 2016  This tutorial will help you create a bootable USB flash drive for your Mac on a Windows computer. In order for this to work you should have a USB flash drive. The one I used in my tutorial was. Aug 02, 2016 How to Create a Mac OS X USB Boot Drive on Windows - Duration: 6:53. Kevin Muldoon 585,231 views. Burn DMG file in Windows to bootable macOS DVD disc - Duration: 4:43.

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.

Feb 26, 2007  Install Mac OS X Snow Leopard from an external firewire hard drive or USB flash drive; OSx86 ONLY: Boot Mac OS X x86 from a USB Pendrive – this is for OSx86 (Hackintosh) Creating Mac USB drive OS X installers with modern versions of OS X; We will soon have our a tutorial to do this that will be modernized for Tiger and Leopard, stay tuned for. Jul 24, 2015  Step 3: Make USB OS X installer. Run OS X installer.DMG download in step 1 to mount it’s virtual hard drive into system Launch Disk Utility, select the right USB in the left side Click pn Restore Drag and drop OS X installer.DMG into Source Drag and drop USB into Destination.

  • 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?

Software to format mac hard drive. Three Useful Disk Formatting Software for Mac. Super Eraser for Mac - best Mac Disk Format Software. Super Eraser for Mac is a very powerful tool to permanently erase data from Mac hard. Mac Disk Utility. Start Menu for Mac.

How to Create Bootable USB Drive for Mac?

  1. USB drive with sufficient storage space.
  2. Access to a working and supported Mac.
  3. Format USB to Apple supported file system.
  4. Get installer file for macOS.
  5. Create bootable USB.
  6. 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.

Jun 08, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

A Universal Serial Bus or USB drive, also known as a flash drive is a portable data storage device that includes a memory which includes a USB interface. It is typically removable and much smaller than an optical disc. Any sort of data can be stored in this device. The drives are available in various sizes and as of till date, the 2TB(Tera-Byte) flash drives in terms of storage capacity are the largest ones available in the market.

Today, these drives are one of the most consumed used devices in the world. Thanks to their portable nature, affordability, and compatibility, USB drives are being used to send and receive endless information across a surplus of networks and platforms all around the globe. This small tool has opened the world to a stream of limitless options with respect to storing, transferring, copying data, and much more. One of them includes Booting the Mac from such device.

Part 1. Reasons for Mac Boot from USB:

Booting the Mac from USB in a way gives the power back to the user. The likeliest of the reason for choosing the boot from USB method is that your Mac won’t start which denies the user access to the computer. Using from an external source like the USB drive helps the user get around the problem. It provides the user access to contents of the internal drive, assuming the data is safe and not corrupted. It also helps to repair the Mac disk with Disk Utility and other tools. Here are the top reasons why the user should choose to Boot Mac from USB:

  • Allows the user to install a different version of MacOS.
  • It allows the user to test a new version before you make the decision to upgrade.
  • Allows risk-free testing of the Beta version.
  • Faster and efficient.
  • By installing older versions through USB, it permits certain Apps to run which are not compatible with the latest MacOS.

Part 2. Preparations for Booting Mac from USB:

To ensure a risk-free procedure certain measure should be taken:

  • The user should buy a name-brand flash drive.
  • The USB should contain 16-32GB of free space.
  • The user should scan the flash drive with some reputable Anti-Virus software.
  • The user should check to see what size of ports they have on the Mac. A 12’ Mac only contains a single C-Type port.
  • Make sure to purchase the C port flash drive to avoid any inconvenience.
  • It is adviced that the user should go with a USB 3.0 supported drive, with a size of 16GB to ensure a swift transfer of data.
  • The USB drive should be formatted with a supported GUID partition.
  • It should contain an OS X installer or a usable operating system to work with.

Part 3. How to Create Bootable USB on Mac:

There are a few general guidelines that can help get your machine started which are mentioned above, regardless of the OS the user prefers.

Here are the methods to create a bootable USB drive on Mac.

  • Creating a Bootable USB Using Terminal.
  • Create a Bootable drive with the help a third party compression software, which is available for free.

Creating a Bootable USB Using Terminal:

Terminal is the default gateway to the command line on a Mac. It is just like the Command Prompt feature works for MS Windows. The Terminal feature ensures a hassle-free experience for the Mac user without the conventional pointing and clicking, the user just has to type the commands and the computer does the rest. The user can find Terminal in the Applications>Utilities folder or it can be checked in the finder utility.

Using the Terminal feature is the most simple way to create the bootable USB drive. The user just needs to follow one easy step which is renaming the MyVolume portion of the command with the name of the drive. The name of the drive can be changed using the Disk Utility of Mac.


Here are the steps required after opening the Terminal feature to create a bootable USB drive.

  • Copy and paste the command which is suited for the version of the operating system into the Terminal window.
  • The command for MacOS Mojave is as follows:
  • sudo /Applications/InstallmacOSMojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume/Volumes/MyVolume

  • Press the Return key.
  • Enter the password.
  • Confirm to erase the USB drive by typing Y followed by the Return key.
  • Terminal will erase all the data inside the drive and create the bootable USB drive.

If there is a need to install a different version of the operating system then the user just has to replace the above-underlined command with their desired version of OS. For example, if the user wants to install Mac OS Sierra instead of Mojave then they would have to replace “Mojave.app” with “Sierra.app” inside the command line.

Part 4. How to Boot Mac from USB Media:

After creating a bootable USB drive, the user simply needs to plug the created drive into the open port on the Mac. Here are the steps to boot Mac from the USB flash drive:

  • Power on the system.
  • Press and hold the Option (Alt) key on the keyboard when the computer starts.
  • Select the USB drive as a startup disk when the option appears.
  • The system will start the boot process off the USB drive.
  • Install the operating system from the MacOS utilities.
  • Data can be restored by using the Time-Machine backup option.
Windows

Part 5. How to Recover Data from Unbootable Mac:

The Mac becomes unbootable when the BIOS which is a firmware that is used to perform hardware initialization during the booting process fails to recognize the startup process. It usually happens when there is a failed system update, system crash, damaged MBR, or when the drive becomes corrupt.

Usb

Recoverit Mac Data Recovery tool is the most efficient option to recover all the lost data when Mac becomes unbootable. Developed by Wondershare, Recoverit is one of the most preferred recovery tools in the world. The tool provides an instant preview of what is recovered after a detailed scan. It allows to connect almost every type of portable device and recover data from them. Data can be restored by performing the recovery and repair process. The process involves the installation of the Recoverit software that offers users the chance to get back the important data that they had lost.

First of all, the user is required to download the Recoverit software on Mac system from the official website. Here are the following step required to recover data from an unbootable computer:

  • Installation: Please Install Recoverit by clicking on the icon.
  • Select the folder: Select the “Recover from Crash Computer” option.
  • Initiate Recovery Process: Click on “Start” for the recovery process to launch.
  • Create Bootable Drive: Select the “Create USB bootable drive” option and click on “Create”.
  • A pop up will appear that will prompt the user to format the USB drive.
  • Format the Drive: Click on “Format” Now.
  • The process will start that will create a bootable flash drive.
  • Recover Data: After the boot is completed, click on the ”View Guide” option to recover data.
  • Start Recoverit: Launch the Recoverit software again.
  • Recover Data: Scan the drives for lost data.

All hope gets lost when the computer becomes unbootable and the data gets deleted. Recoverit recovery software is the most convenient program when it comes to retrieving lost data from the computer.

Conclusion:

Installing the MacOS from a USB flash drive gives the user an instant solution when the Mac installer due to some reason refused to work. The method to create a bootable drive is easier than it sounds. Now, you know what to do whenever you want to upgrade your MacOS from a bootable external source by following different methods to ensure a safe and hassle-free process. If you lose valuable data when the Mac becomes unbootable then you can easily recover the lost files by using the Recoverit recovery software. Recoverit guarantees data recovery in no time.

Video Tutorial on How to Boot Mac into Recovery Mode


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