By Michael Argentini
Managing Partner, Technology and Design
Locate the file named Install OS X Yosemite, and then right-click the file and select Show Package Contents. Open the Contents folder, then open the Shared Support folder. Here you will find the disk image that contains the files you need to create a bootable installer. Double-click the InstallESD.dmg file. Doing so will mount the InstallESD.
- Nov 18, 2016 4:20 AM in response to Midori2 In response to Midori2. Not sure what's happening. Open your Applications folder. Right click on your Install OS X El Capitan.app file, choose Show Package Contents and expand the folders for Contents, Resources and see if the createinstallmedia file is in Resources.
- Once done, click on Apply to create this partition. Step 3: Download OS X 10.10 Yosemite from Mac App Store. Once downloaded, quit the installer and make sure that the OS X Yosemite installer that you downloaded from the Mac App Store, is in Applications folder, and set to its default name; ‘Install OS X Yosemite.app’.
How do you erase your Mac hard drive and install OS X Yosemite without a startup disk? Normally the answer would be to boot into recovery mode. But what if you need to partition the hard drive, wiping the recovery partition? You need a bootable OS X Yosemite installer. Here's how to make one using Apple's built-in boot drive creation tool.
What You Need
- The 5GB OS X Yosemite installer app that downloads into your Applications folder when you first install it via the Mac App Store. The file name is Install OS X Yosemite. After you upgrade to Yosemite, this file is deleted. So you have to quit the installer once it appears in order to keep this file.
- A flash drive, external hard disk, SD card, or the like, with at least 8GB of capacity.
- Your Mac user account must be an Administrator. If it isn't, go to Users & Groups in System Preferences and assign Administrator to your user account. You can change it back to a standard user when you're finished. You can also sign in to your Mac as the administrator to create the bootable drive.
Step 1: Format Your Drive
First, you must partition and erase the drive so that it can be bootable. To do this, launch Disk Utility and choose the destination drive in the drive list (left column). On the right, in the Erase tab, choose to format the drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). These are the defaults, so just confirm the settings.
Next go to the Partition tab and under Partition Layout choose '1 Partition' in the dropdown menu. Change the name from 'Untitled 1' to 'Untitled'. This is so that the Terminal command below will find the drive. Once the process is complete, the drive name will be 'Install OS X Yosemite'.
Click the 'Options' button. In the dialog that appears, choose 'GUID Partition Table' as the partition scheme, then click 'OK'. Again, this is the default, so just confirm the setting.
Finally, click 'Apply' to confirm the settings and prepare the drive.
Step 2: Make the Drive a Yosemite Boot Installer
In a single command you'll create the bootable install drive. Pretty sweet! To do this, launch Terminal and enter the following command. Note, this assumes that you haven't moved the installer out of your Applications folder. If you have, simply replace '/Applications' with the location of the installer:
The sudo command will ask for your password. As you type it will not appear. This is normal. Just enter it and press return to create the boot drive.
During installation, you'll see a progression of status messages.
Wait until you see a status of 'Done.' When you do, you can safely eject the drive and quit Terminal.
Step 3: Start Up from the Install Drive
If you open the new bootable drive in the Finder, you'll notice that it appears empty, other than the Install OS X Yosemite app. No worries. The boot files are hidden, and the installer app allows you to upgrade without booting from the drive if you don't need to.
To boot from this new installer, shut down the Mac, plug in the bootable drive, and hold down the option key while powering back up. You should eventually see a series of bootable drives. Click on the one named 'Install OS X Yosemite' and press the return key.
Where to next?
Although I prefer using a USB flash drive as the destination for the installer, you can use either method to create a bootable version of the OS X Yosemite installer on any bootable media, including hard drives, SSDs, and USB flash drives. Download Windows 10 Disc Image. First, you need to download the Windows 10 ISO file. Go to the download page and select the proper edition of Windows 10 in the dropdown menu. Download OS X Mavericks from the Mac App Store, if you haven't already.If it tries to start the installation, just close it. Insert your USB drive (you'll need one that's 8GB or larger) and open. OS X Lion and its downloadable installer create a conundrum for Mac users who would like to have bootable media from which to install Lion. The reason many people want to have a bootable Lion installer is to create clean installs: that is, to install Lion on a freshly formatted hard drive that doesn't contain any previous OS. How to write a USB stick with macOS. How to write a USB stick with macOS.
We previously showed you how to create a Windows 10 USB installation media when performing a clean install of Windows 10, but there might be an instance where the only machine you have available is a Mac. We'll show you to create a bootable USB flash drive with the Windows 10 installer from a Mac. It's easier than you think, thanks to the built-in Boot Camp Assistant from Apple.
Download Windows 10 Disc Image
First, you need to download the Windows 10 ISO file. Go to the download page and select the proper edition of Windows 10 in the dropdown menu. If you don't know what K, KN, or Single Language edition stands for, just select Windows 10 in the list.
Create USB installer with Boot Camp Assistant
After downloading the ISO file, you'll need to use Boot Camp Assistant to move it to a bootable USB drive.
- Insert a USB flash drive to your Mac. Make sure it's at least 8GB, which is usually marked on the USB stick. You can also check by right-clicking the USB drive on your desktop and clicking Get Info. Check if the number next to Capacity is at least 8GB. All the files in the drive will be deleted, so make sure there are no important documents inside.
- Open Boot Camp Assistant. The easiest way to launch it is through Spotlight Search, which you can bring up by pressing Command and Spacebar. Press Enter to launch the app.
- Check the box for 'Create a Windows 7 or later version install disk' and deselect 'Install Windows 7 or later version.'
Click Continue to proceed.
Boot Camp Assistant will automatically locate the ISO file from your downloads folder, but make sure it is the right file. Click the 'Choose…' button and locate the ISO file. Make sure the destination disk is the USB thumb drive you've inserted.
Click Continue. It can take about 20 minutes to format and set up the USB installer on the Mac.
When Boot Camp Assistant is done, the USB drive will be renamed to WININSTALL. Click Quit to close the app and then Eject the USB drive.
That's it! You now have a bootable USB drive with the Windows 10 installer. You can use it to configure new Windows 10 PCs from scratch. We told you it was easy!
Create Macos Usb From Windows
Have you tried creating a Windows 10 installer USB drive from a Mac before? Did you encounter any issues? Let us know your experience in the comments!
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
If you want to do a clean install of macOS Sierra, or you have multiple Macs to install it on, then a bootable flash drive for is your best bet for easy installation. Here’s how to make one.
The Easy Option: Disk Creator
The easiest way to create a USB flash installer is with the free program, Disk Creator.
Advertisement
- Download the macOS Sierra installer and Disk Creator.
- Insert an 8GB (or larger) flash drive. If you have any other data on that flash drive, back it up now, because the installer will delete everything on it.
- Open Disc Creator and click the “Select the OS X Installer” button.
- Find the Sierra installer file. This is should be located in your Applications folder.
- Select your flash drive from the drop-down menu.
- Click “Create Installer.”
When it’s done, insert your USB drive into any Mac, then launch the installer by holding down the Option key when you boot up your computer.
Advertisement
Create Os X Lion Install Usb On Windows
Create Install Media Yosemite City
The DIY Option: Terminal
Install Os To Usb
Create Install Media Yosemite Free
If you don’t want to download an extra bit of software, you can make your own installer USB drive using Terminal.
Create Mac Os X Install Usb On Windows 7
Advertisement
Create Macos Sierra Install Usb From Windows
- Download the macOS Sierra installer.
- Insert an 8GB (or larger) flash drive and give it a name. For this tutorial, we’ll use the name
Untitled
. Make sure the drive is formatted for OS X Extended (Journaled). If it isn’t, open up Disk Utility and format is so it is. Before you do so, back up any important data on that drive. It’s best to disconnect any other external hard drives or flash drives so you don’t mix them up. - Open up Terminal (Applications > Utilities).
- Type (or copy and paste) this command into Terminal, replacing
Untitled
with the name of your drive, then press Enter:sudo /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app --nointeraction &&say Done
- Type in your password when prompted and press Enter.
- Let the command line do its work and don’t interrupt it until you see the final line that says
Done
. This can take a while, so be patient.
Advertisement
When it’s done, insert your USB drive into any Mac, then launch the installer by holding down the Option key when you boot up your computer.