Learning how to create a bootable macOS installation disk can be helpful in a variety of situations. Rather than download and install a new OS from Apple's servers each time, it can be used for multiple installations on different machines. It can also help in situations where the operating system is corrupted or installation from app store shows errors.
To create a bootable macOS installation disk, you have to burn the DMG file to a USB drive as CD/DVD is not available for Mac computers. Here's how to do it from text commands and using a purpose-built software called WizDMG. You will first need to download the DMG file for the macOS version you wish to install. For example, if you want to create a bootable macOS Mojave installer, you will need the DMG file for macOS Mojave. Once the file has been downloaded to your PC, you can proceed with one of the bootable disk creation methods shown below.
Method 1: How to Create Bootable USB Installer for Mac via Commands
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macOS (formly named Mac OS X) is just a variant of popular Unix based operating system. This means a lot of daily and advanced tasks on Mac can be done via text commands such as creating bootable USB installer for Mac. However, this could be a lot of challenges if you had no clue about commands and I suggest taking a look at the other solutions in this post to avoid messing up the computer with the wrong commands.
Step 1. Search macOS name in app store (Mojave, High Serria, EI Capitai). Click 'Get' button to download the installer image on your Mac. The downloaded file will be located in Application folder.
Step 2. When the download is completed, the installation windows opens automatically, just close the window and go to Application folder. You will find a file started Install, such as Install macOS Majave.
Step 3. Now connect an external flash drive with more than 16G free space. And backup the data in that USB drive as the installer erase all content from it. Open Disk Utility app and format the USB drive with APFS or Mac OS Extended.
Step 4. Open the Terminal app and copy-and-past the following commands to make a booatble USB installer from macOS image:
For Majove: sudo /Applications/Install macOS Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume
For High Serria: sudo /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume
For EI Capitan: sudo /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app
Step 5. Input the admin password when being prompted. And wait for the booatable disk being created. When it is done successfully, you will receive a message shown in above screenshot.
Unconfortable with text commadns and prefer doing it in a simple way? The second suggestion is more user friendly!
Method 2: How to Make Bootable USB from macOS with WizDMG
WizDMG fills a huge gap in Windows not supporting DMG files. It is a desktop utility supporting Windows and Mac. It allows you to directly burn DMG files to disk in order to create a bootable macOS Mojave installer or a boot disk for any macOS version.
WizDMG offers an intuitive interface with no clutter and full functionality to handle DMG files. Apart from burning such disk image files to DVD/CD or USB, it also gives you edit options where you can add and remove files from within the DMG file, rename DMG files and even create DMGs from files and folders on your desktop. This software application has been created for novice users as well as experts. It is easy to use, has a very high burn success rate and will help you create a bootable macOS installer in no time. Follow the instructions below:
Step 1Install WizDMG
Download WizDMG from the official website and install it on your PC. Launch the program and select the 'Burn' option in the main interface.
Step 2Create Bootable USB from macOS Install Image
Click on Load DMG to import the macOS installation file into the application. Insert a USB (16G free space) and click on the 'Burn' button next to the appropriate media type.
The important thing to remember here is that you now know how to create a macOS installer in Windows. There aren't a lot of options out there because of the compatibility issues between Mac and Windows environments. That means converting DMG to ISO and back again to DMG leaves the door open for corrupted files and incorrectly burned bootable media, which defeats the whole purpose because it might not even work in the end.
Method 3: Create macOS High Serria/Mojave Bootable USB on Windows 10/7
Another way to create macoS bootable disk on Windows is using a tool called DMG2IMG along with Windows command prompt. It requires a bit of a workaround, but even novice users can learn to burn a DMG file to a disk to create bootable media for a macOS installation. Just make sure you follow the instructions below carefully.
Step 1. Download DMG2IMG and install it in your Windows PC. Open File Explorer and go to the folder containing the DMG2IMG program, then right-click and select 'Open command windows here.'
Step 2. Type the following command and hit Enter: dmg2img [sourcefile.dmg] [destinationfile.iso]
Step 3. Now that the DMG file has been converted to ISO format, you can use the following command to burn it to a disk. Before that, insert a disk into the optical drive: isoburn.exe /Q E: 'C:UsersUsernameDesktopdestinationfile.iso'
Step 4. This command utilizes the Windows native disk image burner to burn the ISO to the disk in your optical drive. The ISO file can't be used directly in macOS, but it can be mounted as a virtual drive. Once you do this, you can convert it back to DMG using Disk Utility in Mac. You can then use this as your bootable macOS installer.
As you can see, this is a bit of a workaround because DMG files aren't natively supported in Windows. Likewise, ISO files aren't fully supported in macOS. However, you can use this method to create a macOS installation disk in Windows. If you want a much simpler solution, then review the next method shown here.
Summary
If you ask us how to create a bootable macOS installation disk, this is the method we recommend. There's no confusing command line work involved, you don't need a bunch of additional software utilities to get the job done, and the high accuracy of the application ensures that you won't be wasting disk after disk trying to burn the installation media for macOS onto a disk. Use WizDMG as a quick and painless way to create a macOS installation disk in a very short time.
Related Articles & Tips
ISO image burning is rather a need when your system is compromised due to malware attack and you need to format, or you need to reset your forgotten password of your admin account. Thus if you are not fully aware of how to burn ISO image file onto to disk especially on Mac computers, this article would be the best guideline to show you the methodology. Mac besides windows computers has got certain discrepancies which makes it a bit different from others, but if you have got the right ISO image burning tool to accomplish your task, Mac computers can be as supportive as the Windows computers.
Also read: How to burn ISO file to USB on Windows
Besides, the user needs to have a basic idea of what burning of ISO image file means exactly. Well, if you are not fully aware, then you should know that ISO image files are fragmented files or achieve files of an optical disk which are compressed in the form of an Image called ISO image. It is specifically characterized by the extension it uses, that is .iso file. Thus if you want to create a Windows 10 bootable USB on mac then you have to burn the ISO image files onto the disk by segregating a partitioned zone within the disk to avail the compressed files and make them executable. The methods in this article will show you how to create a Windows 10 bootable USB/DVD on Mac . Keep reading to know them in full-length.
Method #1: Create Windows 10 Bootable USB/DVD on Mac Using Disk Utility
Instead of trying out with an external agent, it would be better to make use of the in-built application of Mac, called Disk Utility to burn the ISO image files on disk to make them bootable. It comes pre-installed with the Mac OS so you don't have to worry about its downloading and installation. Just follow the steps below to burn ISO files to USB/DVD on Mac OS X.
Step 1. Go to the 'Applications' and then 'Utilities'.
Step 2. Locate the app 'Disk Utility' from the apps available on the 'Utilities' folder.
Step 3. Now pull down the fileStep 4. Browse to the ISO image file that you want to get burnt into your specific drive and click 'Ok'. menu and choose 'Open Disk Image'. Browse to the ISO image file that you want to get burnt into your specific drive and click 'Ok'.
Step 4. Insert the empty disk, be it CD/DVD or USB with a comparable storage capacity depending upon the size of the ISO image.
Step 5. Now click 'Burn' to burn the ISO image files into the disk and wait until the burning is completed.
Iso Image Creator Mac Os X
Cons:
- Sometimes the app might intermittently stop in between the process if the file size is too heavy.
- Errors are reported with Disk Utility. and only works with OS X 10.10 or lower.
- There are bugs issues, present while burning the ISO image files.
Also read: Top Free ISO Burner Software for Windows 10/8/7
Method #2: Burn ISO to USB/DVD/CD on Mac OS X using WizISO
Mac OS comes with a great a tool for making bootable USB/DVD from ISO, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work for burning ISO images to USB drives on Mac because it may comes with some sort of cryptic errors. Here we will introduce a professional ISO burning tool for your Mac OS X. iSeePassword WizISO is an astounding ISO burning tool which supports both Windows and Mac computers and give you ability to create Windows 10 bootable USB on Mac OS with easy.
It provides 5 powerful key feature including ISO Burner, ISO Extractor, ISO Maker, ISO Editor and Copy Disc based on different needs. Here in this section, we would only focus on burning ISO image to USB/DVD on Mac OSX. WizISO has been incessantly serving countless users across the internet with its exceptional service and its advanced features which makes it different from other ISO burning tools.
WizISO - Create Windows 10 Bootable USB on Mac OS X
- Just 3 simple steps to burn ISO to USB/DVD on Mac OS X without getting errors.
- It combines 5 functions: Burn, Extract, Edit, Create and Copy Disc.
- It works for both GPT (UEFI boot) and MBR (legacy BIOS/CMS boot) modes.
- It supports all types of system files- FAT. FAT 32, and NTFS.
- Supports both windows and Mac OS X.
Step 1. Get the program file downloaded on your Mac OS X. Launch it admin privileges so that you can exercise all the admin rights. (It may ask you to type the Administrator password).
Step 2. You can it combines five functions including Burn, Extract, Cretae, Edit and Copy Disc. Firstly click the 'Burn' option to open main interface and browse the ISO image source file from the source location.
Step 3. Either choose 'Create a Bootable CD/DVD' or 'Create a Bootable USB' depending upon the type of disk you are using to burn your ISO image files. Insert your USB or DVD/CD to your Mac OS X. Select your file format from the 'System File' section as FAT, FAT 32, NTFS.
Step 5. After you have chosen all your priorities, click on 'Burn' button to burn the ISO image file. It will take few minutes and your bootable disk will be created with the ISO image burnt onto the disk.
Burning ISO image files on Mac is not that difficult job to pull off unless you have the basic idea of ISO image files and have the right choice for burning ISO tools. Form the article above, you can clearly deduce that iSeePassword ISO Editor for Mac is the only reliable burning image tool with no demerits or limitations at all. It has been tested with many brands of computers and operating systems including the Mac OS, thus you can completely rely on it to burn ISO file to USB/DVD on Mac OS X without getting any errors.
Also read: How to burn ISO file to DVD/CD
Don't miss: How to Create A Bootable USB/DVD on Mac OS for Windows 10
Method #3: Create Bootable Windows 10 USB on Mac using Terminal
If you're Mac Sierra users then you must notice that Apple has stripped the function to create Windows 10/8/7 bootable USB/DVD from ISO on Mac Sierra and Macbook air. So it makes it very difficult to burn a Windows ISO to USB on Mac OS. But you still have a choice to do that by using Terminal command although it's very complicated. But there are many potential errors when burning ISO to USB on Macbook air or high sierra. Most Mac OS X cannot load the IntelMEI driver and pop up a 'Windows Setup could not insatll one or more boot-critical drivers. and restart the installation'. However, most of time it's working and your data will be copied.
Mac Os X Iso Apple
First, mount the USB disk on your system then follow these steps –
Step 1. Open the 'Finder' option then 'Terminal' app. Now, type 'diskutil list' to find out which one is the USB flash drive.
Iso Maker Mac Os X
Step 2. Let's say your USB drive is 'disk 2', so first we will have to format it in the Terminal app by typing diskutil eraseDisk ExFat 'WINDOWS10' MBR disk2.
Step 3. By entering this, the app will format the USB drive and name t 'WINDOWS10' so that you can use it as an installer.
Step 4. Assuming you have downloaded the Windows 10 .ISO file and it is stored in the Downloads folder. So, go ahead and mount the .ISO by opening it. It should be named as ' CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9'
Step 5. Now, on the Terminal app type the following to copy the files of Windows 10 to the USB flash drive. 'cp -rp /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9/* /Volumes/WINDOWS10/' . This will take several minutes to complete but your data should be copied and the flash drive will be bootable. You can use it install Windows 10 on any desired system. Then you can be able to install your Microsoft Windows 10/8/7 system on Intel-based Macintosh computers.
Iso Creator For Mac Os X 10.13
Cons
- Most Mac OS X cannot load the IntelMEI driver and pop up errors on Macbook air or high sierra.
- It requires USB with at least 40 GB space
- Won't support UEFI and 64bit Windows 10 ISO.
- Command line operations, not intended for the beginner and at your own risk.