Create bootable USB Mac: easy way

Apple laptops users face the need to reinstall their operating system. Most often this needs to be done after the drive is replaced with a new one, if the operating system macOS fails to recover after a serious failure, or if a user simply wants to move to a different operating system. This can be done using a macOS bootable USB flash drive.

This article explains how to create a bootable USB Mac for different kinds of operating systems for MacBooks without any additional software.

For the process, you will need:

1. Flash drive.
2. MacBook.

Also: How to reset the SMC on MacBook: step-by-step guide

How to create a bootable USB Mac Flash Drive

It is easy to create a bootable USB Mac Flash Drive even without the skills if you follow the instructions. All you have to do is download the file you need and transfer it to the USB flash drive correctly.

1. Downloading the installation file

Go to the Mac App Store and download the installation file of your chosen operating system. If you need files you downloaded before, click on "Purchase", but remember that earlier versions are not available for macOS Mojave.

When the file is downloaded, the automatic installation of the operating system will start. Click on "Continue", then immediately on "Quit OS X installer".

2. Preparing to create a bootable Mac USB Flash Drive

Insert the flash drive into a USB port Mac. If there is important information on it, transfer it to another device as while creating a bootable flash drive all data will be erased during formatting.

Go to Applications/Utilities or use Spotlight's built-in search to find and run the Terminal. A black window will open where you must enter the line with the path to the installation file:

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

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

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

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

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

• Mojave: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

• Catalina: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Catalina.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

• Big Sur: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

• Monterey: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

• Ventura: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Ventura.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

If the device shows the error "not an acceptable application to install the OS", delete the installation file and download it again to the MacBook. 

Next, in the address line replace the path /Volumes/MyVolume with the path to the bootable flash drive.

3. Creating a bootable Mac flash drive

After you enter a new path to the flash drive, press "Enter", confirm the action (enter your password) and click "Enter" again.

To start creating a bootable drive, check that the path and name of the flash drive are correct. If everything is correct, enter "y" and start the writing process by clicking "Enter".

After a while, the terminal will report that the operation is completed successfully. To boot from the USB Mac flash drive, you need to press the "alt" key while booting the MacBook.

Also: How to Clear System Data on MacBook

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