There are times when you may not want to use the App Store or the recovery mode to install macOS 10.13 High Sierra on your Mac. So Apple gives you the option of creating a bootable USB drive. You can use it anytime and anywhere to quickly get the operating system running on any compatible Mac. An Internet connection is not even required as everything you need is already on the drive.
![Sierra Sierra](https://www.easeus.com/images_2016/drw_mac/screenshot/2.png)
Creating a bootable macOS 10.13 High Sierra USB drive is very easy. All you need is a Mac, as the tools provided for the process are only available on OS X and macOS, and a USB drive with a capacity of 8GB or more. I will also explain how to use a dedicated third-party tool, in case you decide that this option suits you better.
Dec 08, 2019 Click Disk Utility in the Menu bar. Click Quit Disk Utility. How to erase your startup disk in macOS Recovery mode. If you need to start completely fresh, then you'll want to erase your startup disk using Disk Utility. If you want the content on your Mac to stay intact, skip to the next section. Click on your startup disk in the Disk Utility. Mar 12, 2020 On a Mac that is compatible with El Capitan, open the disk image and run the installer within, named InstallMacOSX.pkg. It installs an app named Install OS X El Capitan into your Applications folder. It installs an app named Install OS X El Capitan into your Applications folder. The macOS 10.12 Sierra installer from the Mac App Store in your Applications folder. The installer will delete itself when you install the operating system, but it can be re-downloaded if necessary. Free macOS 10.13 High Sierra data recovery software If you are looking for a reliable and easy to use data recovery software for Mac, then give Recoverit Mac data recovery a try. Compatible with all the leading versions of macOS updates, it can retrieve your lost data in seconds.
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But first you have to download the setup file from App Store. Use this link to take you right to its landing page, or search for it manually in the App Store app. After the download is complete, Install macOS High Sierra will be available in your Applications folder. A setup wizard should have appeared by now -- you can close it.
Also, you should backup the contents of the USB drive that you are using for the process, as everything that is stored on it will be removed. And, of course, make sure that you read the instructions carefully before starting.
Apple's Way, All the Way
Apple offers a dedicated tool in OS X and macOS specifically for the purpose of creating a bootable USB drive. Unlike most tools that ship with the OS, it is not accessible directly from Launchpad. However, it can be accessed through Terminal, which you will have to open for this part of the process.
Here is what you need to do:
- Connect the USB drive to your Mac
- Using Disk Utility (it is typically found in the Other folder, under Launchpad), format the USB drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled), using the GUID Partition Mac scheme, and name it macOSHighSierra. This can be done from the Erase tab within the app; make sure that there are no multiple partitions (turn to the Partition tab to verify and correct this)
- Open Terminal (it is found in the same folder as the Disk Utility app)
- Use (paste) the following command: sudo /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/macOSHighSierra --applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app --nointeraction
- Type in your user password, when required, to start the process
Based on my experience, this is the best method of creating a bootable macOS 10.13 High Sierra USB drive. It delivers consistent results every time, and does not cause any issues.
Because it is barebones, the tool does not provide any indication as to how much time is left until the process completes. It usually takes around half an hour in my case, but this depends on the speed of the USB drive -- the faster it is the sooner this step is over.
The User-Friendly Tool
DiskMaker X (currently at version 7) is the more user-friendly tool for the job. It automates the process of creating a bootable macOS 10.13 High Sierra USB drive, requiring little input from you. And the results are virtually the same with the aforementioned method.
If you wish to use DiskMaker X to create the bootable macOS 10.13 High Sierra USB drive, here is what you need to do:
- Connect the USB drive to your Mac
- Open DiskMaker X and Select Use this copy to use the Install macOS High Sierra app from the Applications folder (Select Use another copy... if the setup file is in another folder)
- Select An 8 GB USB thumb drive. (Alternatively, select Another kind of disk if you want to use something else)
- If requested, from the given list, select the USB drive you are using for the process, and then select Choose this disk
- Select Erase then create the disk
- Select Continue
- Type in your user password when requested
Unlike the official tool baked in OS X and macOS, DiskMaker X also lets you know how long the process takes. Like I mentioned before, this depends largely on the speed of the USB drive that you have, so, ideally, you should use the fastest one available, in case time is of the essence.
What Now?
Now that you have a bootable macOS 10.13 High Sierra USB drive, you should know how to install the operating system on your Mac.
What you need to do is restart your Mac, and, right after that, press the Option key, and choose to boot from this USB drive. Afterwards, you can use the step-by-step setup as you normally would to install and setup macOS High Sierra.
It was 2009 when Apple last released a new operating system on physical media. Things have proceeded remarkably smoothly since version 10.7 switched to download-only installers, but there are still good reasons to want a reliable old USB stick. For instance, if you find yourself doing multiple installs, a USB drive may be faster than multiple downloads (especially if you use a USB 3.0 drive). Or, maybe you need a recovery disk for older Macs that don't support the Internet Recovery feature. Whatever the reason, you're in luck, because it's not hard to make one.
Mac Os High Sierra 10.13.6
As with last year, there are two ways to get it done. There's the super easy way with the graphical user interface and the only slightly less easy way that requires some light Terminal use. Here's what you need to get started.
- A Mac that you have administrator access to, duh. We've created Sierra USB stick from both El Capitan and Sierra, but your experience with other versions may vary.
- An 8GB or larger USB flash drive or an 8GB or larger partition on some other kind of external drive. For newer Macs, use a USB 3.0 drive—it makes things significantly faster.
- The macOS 10.12 Sierra installer from the Mac App Store in your Applications folder. The installer will delete itself when you install the operating system, but it can be re-downloaded if necessary.
- If you want a GUI, we're recommending a different app than last year—take a look at Ben Slaney's Install Disk Creator from MacDaddy. There are other apps out there that do this, but this one is quick and simple.
If you want to use this USB installer with newer Macs as they are released, you'll want to periodically re-download new Sierra installers and make new install drives periodically. Apple rolls support for newer hardware into new macOS point releases as they come out, so this will help keep your install drive as universal and versatile as possible.
The easy way
Once you've obtained all of the necessary materials, connect the USB drive to your Mac and launch the Install Disk Creator. This app is basically just a GUI wrapper for the terminal command, so it should be possible to make install disks for versions of OS X/macOS going all the way back to Lion. In any case, it will work just fine for our purposes.
Install Disk Creator will automatically detect macOS installers on your drive and suggest one for you, listing its icon along with its path. You can navigate to a different one if you want, and you can also pick from among all the storage devices and volumes currently connected to your Mac through the drop-down menu at the top of the window. Once you're ready to go, click 'Create Installer' and wait. A progress bar across the bottom of the app will tell you how far you have to go, and a pop-up notification will let you know when the process is done. This should only take a few minutes on a USB 3.0 flash drive in a modern Mac, though using USB 2.0 or other interfaces will slow things down.
The only slightly less-easy way
If you don't want to use the Install Disk Creator, Apple has included a terminal command that can create an install disk for you. Assuming that you have the macOS Sierra installer in your Applications folder and you have a Mac OS Extended (Journaled)-formatted USB drive named 'Untitled' mounted on the system, you can create a Sierra install drive by typing the following command into the Terminal.
Mac Os High Sierra Update
sudo /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app --nointeraction
The command will erase the disk and copy the install files over. Give it some time, and your volume will soon be loaded up with not just the macOS installer but also an external recovery partition that may come in handy if your hard drive dies and you're away from an Internet connection.
Recovery Disk Assistant Mac Os High Sierra
Whichever method you use, you should be able to boot from your new USB drive either by changing the default Startup Disk in System Preferences or by holding down the Option key at boot and selecting the drive. Once booted, you'll be able to install or upgrade Sierra as you normally would.