Here's how you can create a Mac OS X El Capitan bootable USB flash drive. OS X El Capitan is finally here, and if you're looking to install Apple's new desktop OS fresh from the ground up, then.
These advanced steps are primarily for system administrators and others who are familiar with the command line. You don't need a bootable installer to upgrade macOS or reinstall macOS, but it can be useful when you want to install on multiple computers without downloading the installer each time.
- Here's how you can create a Mac OS X El Capitan bootable USB flash drive.
- Install El Capitan From Usb El Capitan From Usb Mac OS X Utilities I But i am helpless as there are no servicing centre of apple in Bangladesh. In this article, you are going to learn how to create bootable USB for Mac OS in case you dont have a Mac computer. Os X El Capitan 10.11.0 Bootable Usb Dmg File.
- Oct 01, 2015 Connect your USB thumb drive to your Mac, then launch the DiskMaker X application from your Applications folder. 3.) A small window will appear asking you to choose from three versions of OS X, in order to create the boot disk. Click the button that says “El Capitan (10.11)”.
- Just click on the setup file and with some click, the installation will finish. After that, Launch TransMac when TransMac is launched you will see the list of Flash drives or local disk. Then Right-click on that flash you want to create bootable USB for Mac OS El Capitan then select Restore with Disk Image. Restore with the Disk image.
What you need to create a bootable installer
- A USB flash drive or other secondary volume formatted as Mac OS Extended, with at least 14 GB of available storage
- A downloaded installer for macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra or El Capitan
Download macOS
- Download: macOS Big Sur, macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave or macOS High Sierra
These will be downloaded to your Applications folder as an app named Install macOS [version name]. If the installer opens after downloading, quit it without continuing installation. To get the correct installer, download from a Mac that is using macOS Sierra 10.12.5 or later, or El Capitan 10.11.6. Enterprise administrators, please download from Apple, not a locally hosted software-update server. - Download: OS X El Capitan
This will be downloaded as a disk image named InstallMacOSX.dmg. On a Mac that is compatible with El Capitan, open the disk image and run the installer within, named InstallMacOSX.pkg. It will install an app named Install OS X El Capitan into your Applications folder. You will create the bootable installer from this app, not from the disk image or .pkg installer.
Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in Terminal
- Connect the USB flash drive or other volume that you're using for the bootable installer.
- Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
- Type or paste one of the following commands in Terminal. These assume that the installer is in your Applications folder and MyVolume is the name of the USB flash drive or other volume you're using. If it has a different name, replace
MyVolumein these commands with the name of your volume.
Big Sur:*
Create Bootable Windows 7 Usb Mac
Catalina:*
Mojave:*
High Sierra:*
El Capitan:
* If your Mac is using macOS Sierra or earlier, include the --applicationpath argument and installer path, similar to the way this is done in the command for El Capitan.
After typing the command:
- Press Return to enter the command.
- When prompted, type your administrator password and press Return again. Terminal doesn't show any characters as you type your password.
- When prompted, type
Yto confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return. Terminal shows the progress as the volume is erased. - After the volume has been erased, you may see an alert stating that Terminal would like to access files on a removable volume. Click OK to allow the copy to proceed.
- When Terminal says that it's been completed, the volume will have the same name as the installer you downloaded, such as Install macOS Big Sur. You can now quit Terminal and eject the volume.
Use the bootable installer
Determine whether you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, then follow the appropriate steps:
Apple silicon
- Plug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
- Turn on your Mac and continue to hold the power button until you see the startup options window, which shows your bootable volumes.
- Select the volume containing the bootable installer, then click Continue.
- When the macOS installer opens, follow the onscreen instructions.
Intel processor
- Plug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
- Press and hold the Option (Alt) ⌥ key immediately after turning on or restarting your Mac.
- Release the Option key when you see a dark screen showing your bootable volumes.
- Select the volume containing the bootable installer. Then click the up arrow or press Return.
If you can't start up from the bootable installer, make sure the External Boot setting in Startup Security Utility is set to allow booting from external media. - Choose your language, if prompted.
- Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.
Learn more
A bootable installer doesn't download macOS from the internet, but it does require an internet connection to get firmware and other information specific to the Mac model.
For information about the createinstallmedia command and the arguments you can use with it, make sure the macOS installer is in your Applications folder, then enter the appropriate path in Terminal:
To install macOS or OS X from USB, you need to create a bootable install USB drive for Mac operating system. This tutorial will introduce you three ways to create bootable USB drive for macOS High Sierra, macOS Sierra, Mac OS X El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks and more.
Create Bootable Usb Mac Os El Capitan
Use 'createinstallmedia' Command in Terminal
The most recommendable way to create a bootable install USB drive for Mac OS is using 'createinstallmedia' Command with Terminal application.
Step 1: Download macOS or OS X
The first thing to do is to download the Mac operating system that you need. To install the latest Mac OS, for example, macOS High Sierra, you can search and download the installer from App Store.
To download the older Mac OS X version, you can go to App Store > Purchases to download the Mac OS X El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks that has been previously downloaded.
However, Apple has decided that macOS Sierra and later will no longer be listed in Mac App Store's Purchased. To download the installer of macOS Sierra, go to Apple Support.
Note: After downloading the Mac OS installer, do not install the OS but quit the installer.
Step 2 Get A USB Drive with Sufficient Storage
You should have a USB drive with at least 8 GB of storage and insert the USB drive into your Mac. If you need to create a bootable USB drive of macOS High Sierra, 16 GB USB flash drive is suggested. In fact, USB drives with larger storage, like 32 GB to 64 GB, tend to show better performance.
IMPORTANT: The contents of the drive will be erased after creating a bootable installer drive. Therefore, make sure there is nothing important on your flash drive before you continue with the following steps.
Step 3 Check the Name of Your Flash Drive
The following command is to create a bootable copy of Mac OS installer on a USB drive named FlashInstaller. If your USB drive has a different name, replace FlashInstaller in the command with the name of your USB drive. If you don't want to modify the command, change the name of your flash drive into FlashInstaller.
Step 4 Create A Bootable USB Drive of macOS/OS X
Launch Terminal enter the following command according to the version of Mac operating system that you are dealing with.
macOS High Sierra Installer
sudo /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/FlashInstaller --applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app --nointeraction
macOS Sierra Installer
sudo /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/FlashInstaller --applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app --nointeraction
OS X El Capitan Installer
sudo /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/FlashInstaller --applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app –nointeraction
OS X Yosemite Installer
sudo /Applications/Install OS X Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/FlashInstaller --applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X Yosemite.app –nointeraction
OS X Mavericks Installer
sudo /Applications/Install OS X Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/FlashInstaller --applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X Mavericks.app –nointeraction
Tip: If you didn't download the installer from Mac App Store, you must modify the file path after 'applicationpath'.
After pasting the command on the Terminal, hit Enter key. You'll be asked to enter your Mac's password. Enter the password and hit Enter.
Then you need to check the name and path of your USB drive. If it is correct, press 'y' then hit 'Enter'. The Mac will begin to create a bootable install drive for macOS High Sierra, macOS Sierra, Mac OS X El Capitan/Yosemite/Mavericks. When it is done, Terminal will shows 'Done'.
To install macOS or OS X from the USB flash drive, check how to clean install Mac OS from USB(opens new window).
Make A Bootable Installer for macOS via DiskMaker X or Install Disk Creator
If you think it is too much trouble to use Terminal to make a bootable installer on a USB drive, you can use tools like DiskMaker X, Install Disk Creator. Both the tools can make an install drive for macOS Sierra, OS X El Capitan, OS X Yosemite and more.
DiskMaker X: When you launch the application, it will try to find the downloaded macOS or OS X installers program on your Mac. And you just need to follow its on-screen instructions to create a bootable USB drive by clicking a few buttons.
Install Disk Creator: Once you run the application, select a USB drive, choose a Mac OS installer, and click Create Installer to begin to create an install USB drive.
Disk Utility to Create a Bootable macOS/OS X Installer
Before using createinstallmedia command, people used to use Disk Utility to create a bootable installer drive manually. But the process is much more complicated than the Terminal method. So Apple also suggests you make a bootable install drive via Terminal.
Just in case that you don't want to use Terminal, you may follow these steps to build a USB drive for Mac OS X or macOS.
- Mount the Mac OS installer to get .DS_Store, BaseSystem.chunklist, and BaseSystem.dmg. Files from InstallESD.dmg file.
- Use Disk Utility's Restore feature to create a copy of the OS Install ESD image.
- Modify the copy of the OS Install ESD image to make it boot successfully.
Do you have other question about making a bootable USB drive for macOS or Mac OS X? Leave your comment below.