As you may know, you can reinstall macOS on your computer via the internet recovery. But did you know that you can create a bootable USB drive to install macOS from? This will let you boot your Mac from a different source if it won’t work normally, and makes installs on multiple machines easy.
Mar 29, 2019 Download the 'disk image' of the operating system you want to install. The Rufus website has a collection of links to downloadable OS disk images at the bottom of the page under the header “Non-exhaustive list of ISOs Rufus is known to work with”. The file you'll need to download. And if you have multiple Macs, it’s inefficient to download the new OS to each and every Mac. That’s why I like to make a bootable external drive for the sole purpose of installing the Mac. Oct 24, 2019 Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in Terminal Connect the USB flash drive or other volume you're using for the bootable installer. Make sure that it has at least 12GB of available storage and is formatted as Mac OS Extended. Open Terminal, which is. Using Your New Bootable USB Drive To use your bootable Mavericks USB drive, simply plug in the drive to your Mac of choice and restart (or turn on) the computer while holding down the Option (Alt) key on your keyboard. When the gray screen comes up, select 'Install OS X Mavericks.' Apple released the new Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite in the Mac App Store for everyone to download and install for free on October 16th, 2014, but downloading a 5+ GB file for each of your computers will take some serious time. The best thing to do is download it once and create a bootable install USB drive from the file for all of your Macs. Note 8 download mode for mac.
Let’s see how to do this.
Choosing a USB Flash Drive for Installing Mac
USB flash drives are cheaper than ever, so you won’t have to spend much for this task. However, make sure to buy a name-brand flash drive (like SanDisk, Kingston, or PNY) from a reputable store. Stay away from super-cheap drives with suspiciously high storage on sites like eBay.
These drives have their firmware hacked to report a false size to your operating system. Download to watch offline netflix mac. Not only will the transfer speeds be painfully slow, but using them may also result in loss of data or even a damaged USB port.
Also, check to see what ports you have on your Mac. Asc timetables for mac download. The 12″ MacBook has a single USB-C port, while MacBook Pro models from 2016 and later feature USB-C ports exclusively. Fortunately, there are USB-C drives available, or you can use a USB-C to USB-A adapter.
It’s best to go with a USB 3.0 drive, with a minimum size of 16GB. The Samsung BAR Plus is good overall value for the money; we’ve highlighted the fastest USB 3.0 drives you can buy for more options.
Formatting Your USB Flash Drive
You can only create a bootable installer for macOS on a Mac. If you’re using a flash drive that already has data on it, make sure to back up any important files as you’re going to erase everything in a moment.
Open Finder. Navigate to Applications > Utilities, and open up Disk Utility. You should see your flash drive under the External section in the left pane. After selecting it, click on the Erase button along the top.
Choose a friendly name (which you’ll use later), and make sure to choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for the format. Finally, click Erase and you’re done with this step.
Downloading the macOS Installer
![How To Download Mac Os To Usb How To Download Mac Os To Usb](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133908995/648870299.jpg)
To download the macOS installer, open the App Store and search for your version of macOS. Click on the Download button if you’re on High Sierra or earlier.
macOS Mojave is slightly different, as it opens up your System Preferences to download the installer. This is because one of the changes in Mojave is a new way of installing updates.
In either case, once the installer opens, quit it without continuing the installation.
Creating a Bootable USB Using Terminal
Terminal is the easiest way to create your bootable USB drive. Just replace the MyVolume portion of the command with the name you gave your drive in the Disk Utility step above.
Take note that the commands differ slightly for creating Mojave and High Sierra installers on older versions of macOS.
Mojave installer on Mojave or High Sierra:
Mojave installer on Sierra or earlier:
High Sierra installer on High Sierra:
High Sierra installer on Sierra or earlier:
Sierra:
El Capitan:
Copy and paste the command you need above into your Terminal window and press the Return key. Math type 6 mac download. After entering your password, confirm you want to erase the USB drive by typing Y followed by Return.
Terminal will now erase and create your bootable USB drive, ready for you to boot from.
Creating a Bootable USB Using DiskMaker X
If you’re not a fan of using Terminal, you can try a third-party app designed specifically for creating a bootable macOS USB drive. After downloading your macOS version of choice as detailed above, you can download and install DiskMaker X.
Due to its updated security, macOS Mojave has some additional steps required if you’d like to use DiskMaker X. The developers recommend reversing these changes after you’ve made your USB drive if you’re not planning on using the app in the future.
Navigate to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility. To make changes, click the lock icon at the bottom and enter your credentials.
Then click on the Plus button, navigate to the Applications folder, select DiskMaker X, and click open. DiskMaker X should now appear on the list.
As soon as you launch DiskMaker X, it will prompt you to confirm the macOS installer you’ve downloaded.
The next prompt shows one of the advantages of DiskMaker X in that you can create a multi-installation disk. This means that you can create a few partitions on your USB drive and have a different macOS installer on each partition.
If you would rather create a single install disk, select Erase All Disk. Lastly, confirm that you’d like to erase everything on the USB drive.
DiskMaker will continue to create your disk in the background and update you on its progress. After a few minutes, DiskMaker X will notify you that your boot disk is ready and give you some instructions on how to use it.
Booting Your Mac From a USB Drive
How To Download Mac Os To Usb For New Os
Now if you find yourself in a sticky situation where your Mac isn’t booting, or you want to do a fresh install of macOS, you have a solution. You can boot from your USB drive and not have to download the macOS installer again.
Simply plug your created USB drive into an open USB port on your Mac. Power on the system, or restart it if it’s already on. Immediately press and hold the Option (Alt) key on your keyboard when it starts booting.
You should now see an option to select your USB drive as a startup disk. After selecting it, your system will boot off your USB drive and you’ll be taken to the macOS Utilities screen.
Some wireless keyboards may not work at this point. If you’re having difficulty, plug in a wired keyboard instead. If you don’t see your USB drive as one of the startup options, try a different USB port.
Using Your Bootable macOS USB
From the macOS Utilities screen, you can perform a fresh install of macOS, restore from a Time Machine backup, or access tools like Disk Utility. You can also use your USB drive to upgrade macOS to the latest version. (Be sure to prepare your Mac for an update first.) If you need to troubleshoot your Mac without a network connection, this USB drive could be a lifesaver.
Did you know you could also install operating systems on a USB stickHow to Install Multiple Bootable Operating Systems on a USB StickHow to Install Multiple Bootable Operating Systems on a USB StickWant to install and/or run multiple operating systems from a single bootable USB stick? You can with these tools.Read More? We show you how:
Image Credit: karandaev/Depositphotos
Explore more about: Install Software, macOS High Sierra, macOS Mojave, USB Drive.
- The experience of building the USB with DiskMaker_X_7 was painless. I am now able to boot to a screen with two icons like the one shown in this article. At this point, I select the USB drive that is named 'Install OS X High Sierra' and that takes me to the menu with 4 choices. When I go into Disk Utilities, I am able to re-format the 500GB HD in the iMac and it automatically creates a new volume. I named my volume 'Abyss'.Then I return to the 4-choice menu and select 'Install MacOS', and click the Continue button. The Continue button turns gray -- forever.Yes, I have verified that this iMac is eligible to use High Sierra.What could be wrong? Is it possible that I need a newer OS X Base System? Can that be upgraded?
- Cant boot my iMac, only in recovery mode..and reinstalling OS X from the web is a headache since my internet connection is slow and unstable..Creating USB bootable right now, fingers crossed! thanks for the help
- Nazy,I have the same problem which is why i search and get to here. Seem that USB bootable os can help. Anyone can help to answer Nazy.
- My mac is not working and I cant log in, and i have low storage to reinstall osx using recovery system.and i have tried others way but it didnt help. so I want to know if I download El capitan using another computer, which is not a mac,and also from the sites that have a link for downloading, what else should i do, to be able use it as a start up disk on my mac ?pleeeeease help!
- wow
So, you’ve decided to download an older version of Mac OS X. There are many reasons that could point you to this radical decision. To begin with, some of your apps may not be working properly (or simply crash) on newer operating systems. Also, you may have noticed your Mac’s performance went down right after the last update. Finally, if you want to run a parallel copy of Mac OS X on a virtual machine, you too will need a working installation file of an older Mac OS X. Further down we’ll explain where to get one and what problems you may face down the road.
A list of all Mac OS X versions
We’ll be repeatedly referring to these Apple OS versions below, so it’s good to know the basic macOS timeline.
Cheetah 10.0 | Puma 10.1 | Jaguar 10.2 |
Panther 10.3 | Tiger 10.4 | Leopard 10.5 |
Snow Leopard 10.6 | Lion 10.7 | Mountain Lion 10.8 |
Mavericks 10.9 | Yosemite 10.10 | El Capitan 10.11 |
Sierra 10.12 | High Sierra 10.13 | Mojave 10.14 |
Catalina 10.15 |
STEP 1. Prepare your Mac for installation
Given your Mac isn’t new and is filled with data, you will probably need enough free space on your Mac. This includes not just space for the OS itself but also space for other applications and your user data. One more argument is that the free space on your disk translates into virtual memory so your apps have “fuel” to operate on. The chart below tells you how much free space is needed.
Note, that it is recommended that you install OS on a clean drive. Next, you will need enough disk space available, for example, to create Recovery Partition. Here are some ideas to free up space on your drive:
- Uninstall large unused apps
- Empty Trash Bin and Downloads
- Locate the biggest files on your computer:
Go to Finder > All My Files > Arrange by size
Then you can move your space hoggers onto an external drive or a cloud storage.
If you aren’t comfortable with cleaning the Mac manually, there are some nice automatic “room cleaners”. Our favorite is CleanMyMac as it’s most simple to use of all. It deletes system junk, old broken apps, and the rest of hidden junk on your drive.
Then you can move your space hoggers onto an external drive or a cloud storage.
If you aren’t comfortable with cleaning the Mac manually, there are some nice automatic “room cleaners”. Our favorite is CleanMyMac as it’s most simple to use of all. It deletes system junk, old broken apps, and the rest of hidden junk on your drive.
Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.4 - 10.8 (free version)
Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.9 (free version)
Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.10 - 10.14 (free version)
STEP 2. Get a copy of Mac OS X download
Normally, it is assumed that updating OS is a one-way road. That’s why going back to a past Apple OS version is problematic. The main challenge is to download the OS installation file itself, because your Mac may already be running a newer version. If you succeed in downloading the OS installation, your next step is to create a bootable USB or DVD and then reinstall the OS on your computer.
How to download older Mac OS X versions via the App Store
If you once had purchased an old version of Mac OS X from the App Store, open it and go to the Purchased tab. Fiat 500 haynes manual download. There you’ll find all the installers you can download. However, it doesn’t always work that way. The purchased section lists only those operating systems that you had downloaded in the past. But here is the path to check it:
- Click the App Store icon.
- Click Purchases in the top menu.
- Scroll down to find the preferred OS X version.
- Click Download.
This method allows you to download Mavericks and Yosemite by logging with your Apple ID — only if you previously downloaded them from the Mac App Store.
Without App Store: Download Mac OS version as Apple Developer
If you are signed with an Apple Developer account, you can get access to products that are no longer listed on the App Store. If you desperately need a lower OS X version build, consider creating a new Developer account among other options. The membership cost is $99/year and provides a bunch of perks unavailable to ordinary users.
Nevertheless, keep in mind that if you visit developer.apple.com/downloads, you can only find 10.3-10.6 OS X operating systems there. Newer versions are not available because starting Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.7, the App Store has become the only source of updating Apple OS versions.
Purchase an older version of Mac operating system
You can purchase a boxed or email version of past Mac OS X directly from Apple. Both will cost you around $20. For the reason of being rather antiquated, Snow Leopard and earlier Apple versions can only be installed from DVD.
Buy a boxed edition of Snow Leopard 10.6
Get an email copy of Lion 10.7
Get an email copy of Mountain Lion 10.8
Get an email copy of Lion 10.7
Get an email copy of Mountain Lion 10.8
The email edition comes with a special download code you can use for the Mac App Store. Note, that to install the Lion or Mountain Lion, your Mac needs to be running Snow Leopard so you can install the newer OS on top of it.
How to get macOS El Capitan download
If you are wondering if you can run El Capitan on an older Mac, rejoice as it’s possible too. But before your Mac can run El Capitan it has to be updated to OS X 10.6.8. So, here are main steps you should take:
1. Install Snow Leopard from install DVD.
2. Update to 10.6.8 using Software Update.
3. Download El Capitan here.
2. Update to 10.6.8 using Software Update.
3. Download El Capitan here.
“I can’t download an old version of Mac OS X”
If you have a newer Mac, there is no physical option to install Mac OS versions older than your current Mac model. For instance, if your MacBook was released in 2014, don’t expect it to run any OS released prior of that time, because older Apple OS versions simply do not include hardware drivers for your Mac.
But as it often happens, workarounds are possible. There is still a chance to download the installation file if you have an access to a Mac (or virtual machine) running that operating system. For example, to get an installer for Lion, you may ask a friend who has Lion-operated Mac or, once again, set up a virtual machine running Lion. Then you will need to prepare an external drive to download the installation file using OS X Utilities.
After you’ve completed the download, the installer should launch automatically, but you can click Cancel and copy the file you need. Below is the detailed instruction how to do it.
STEP 3. Install older OS X onto an external drive
The following method allows you to download Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks.
- Start your Mac holding down Command + R.
- Prepare a clean external drive (at least 10 GB of storage).
- Within OS X Utilities, choose Reinstall OS X.
- Select external drive as a source.
- Enter your Apple ID.
Now the OS should start downloading automatically onto the external drive. After the download is complete, your Mac will prompt you to do a restart, but at this point, you should completely shut it down. Now that the installation file is “captured” onto your external drive, you can reinstall the OS, this time running the file on your Mac.
- Boot your Mac from your standard drive.
- Connect the external drive.
- Go to external drive > OS X Install Data.
Locate InstallESD.dmg disk image file — this is the file you need to reinstall Lion OS X. The same steps are valid for Mountain Lion and Mavericks.
How to downgrade a Mac running later macOS versions
If your Mac runs macOS Sierra 10.12 or macOS High Sierra 10.13, it is possible to revert it to the previous system if you are not satisfied with the experience. You can do it either with Time Machine or by creating a bootable USB or external drive.
Instruction to downgrade from macOS Sierra
Instruction to downgrade from macOS Sierra
Instruction to downgrade from macOS High Sierra
Instruction to downgrade from macOS Mojave
Instruction to downgrade from macOS Catalina
Before you do it, the best advice is to back your Mac up so your most important files stay intact. In addition to that, it makes sense to clean up your Mac from old system junk files and application leftovers. The easiest way to do it is to run CleanMyMac X on your machine (download it for free here).
Visit your local Apple Store to download older OS X version
Mac Os X Boot From Usb
If none of the options to get older OS X worked, pay a visit to nearest local Apple Store. They should have image installations going back to OS Leopard and earlier. You can also ask their assistance to create a bootable USB drive with the installation file. So here you are. We hope this article has helped you to download an old version of Mac OS X. Below are a few more links you may find interesting.