Best way to burn iso to usb on Mac? I need a Windows 11 bootable USB

Question

Hi all,My Windows 11 PC was running into blue screen of death after system update. I tried the troubleshooting method and did not work. Based on my past experience, the best way is to clean install windows 11. However, I don't have a Windows PC at hand. We only have an Apple MacBook Air M4 at home. Unfortunately, the boot camp assistant app is discontinued and this makes the task more challenging for a non tech savvy.If you know a workaround to burn iso to usb on mac, pls kindly let me know.Thank you very much!

brooklynedge · Answer

Burning Windows 11 ISO to USB is tricky on a Mac as it does not support NTFS file system. My advice is to create a Windows 10 virtual machine with PD and use the official Media Creation Tool to make a Windows 11 bootable USB.

P.S. The trick still works in 2025 and support all modern macOS versions like Tahoe, Sequoia, Sonoma.

Step 1: Open Parallels and Start the Wizard

Open Parallels Desktop from your Applications folder.

In the menu bar, click File > New.

Step 2: Choose Your Installation Method

Parallels will ask how you want to install Windows. Choose:

"Install Windows or another OS from a DVD or image file".

Click Continue.

Step 3: Locate Your Windows 10 ISO

Parallels will automatically search for operating systems.

If it finds your Windows10.iso file, it will be highlighted. Just select it and click Continue.

If it doesn't find it automatically, click the "Locate manually" link and browse to where you saved the ISO file on your Mac.

Step 4: Configure Your VM (The Easy Way)

Parallels will ask how you plan to use Windows to optimize performance.

Productivity: Best for Office, web browsing.

Games Only: Allocates more resources for performance.

Software Development: A balanced configuration.

Design: Allocates more RAM and CPU.

For most people, selecting "Productivity" is perfect. Click Continue.

Step 5: Name and Location

You can give your virtual machine a custom name (e.g., "My Windows 10 Machine").

Choose where you want to save it (the default location is usually fine).

Check "Create alias on Desktop" if you want a quick launch shortcut.

Click Create.

Step 6: The Installation Runs Automatically

Sit back and relax! Parallels will now boot from the ISO and start installing Windows 10 automatically. You will see the standard Windows setup screens, but Parallels handles most of the work.

The VM will restart a few times during the process. This is normal.

Step 7: Finish Up & Enjoy!

Once installation is complete, you'll be at the Windows 10 desktop.

Parallels Tools will be installed automatically. This is a critical set of drivers and utilities that makes everything run smoothly (like seamless mouse movement, shared folders, and better graphics).

You are now ready to use Windows 10 on your Mac!

Step 8: Burn ISO to USB on Mac

Boot into Windows 10 virtual machine on your Mac and download the official media creation tool to burn Windows 11 ISO to USB on your Mac.

syamter · Answer

I understand your situation, and I can guide you through creating a bootable Windows 11 USB installer using your MacBook Air M4. Since Boot Camp Assistant is discontinued, you can use alternative methods to burn ISO to USB on Mac.

Here's a step-by-step guide to Burn ISO to USB on Mac:
1. Download the Windows 11 ISO. Select the edition and language, then download the ISO file: Insert your USB drive into your Mac.
2. Format the USB drive:
Open Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility).
Select your USB drive from the list.
Click Erase.
Choose MS-DOS (FAT) or ExFAT as the format.
Set the scheme to GUID Partition Map.
Click Erase.
3. Use Terminal to create a bootable Windows installer:
Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal).
First, identify your USB drive: diskutil list
Find your USB drive (e.g., /dev/disk2).
4. Unmount the drive:
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX
Replace diskX with your drive's identifier.
5. Write the ISO to the USB:
sudo dd if=/path/to/Windows11.iso of=/dev/rdiskX bs=4m status=progress

The dd command can overwrite any drive without warning, so double-check the drive identifier!

evelynroberts · Answer

If you have an Intel Mac, then it is easy to burn ISO to USB on Mac using the built-in boot camp app.

Requirements

A Mac with Boot Camp Assistant (in Applications > Utilities).
An at least 8GB USB drive (16GB recommended).
A valid Windows ISO file.

Steps to burn ISO to USB on Mac with Bootcamp:

1. Insert the USB stick you want to use.

2. Go to Applications > Utilities > Boot Camp Assistant.

3. In older versions of macOS (before Catalina), Boot Camp Assistant has an option to create a Windows installation disk.

4. Choose your ISO file.

5. Select the USB drive as the destination.

6. The assistant will format the USB drive and copy all the Windows installation files from the ISO onto it. This will create a Windows 11 bootable USB on Mac.

7. Once done, you'll have a Windows 11 bootable USB for os install.

Important Notes

Newer macOS versions (Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura, Sequoia): Apple removed the "Create installation disk" option. Boot Camp Assistant now installs Windows directly without making a USB installer. In these cases, you can't use Boot Camp Assistant to just burn an ISO to USB.

File system: The USB will be formatted as FAT32 or exFAT, depending on ISO size. Large ISOs may require NTFS, in which case third-party tools are necessary.

eliaspefo · Answer

About burning ISO to USB on Mac. This method uses ba1enaEtchar, a tool designed for this exact purpose and known for its simplicity and reliability. However, for a Windows 11 USB to work on a non-Apple PC, we need to prepare the USB correctly first.

Step 1: Download the Windows 11 ISO
Step 2: Download and Install ba1enaEtchar
Step 3: Prepare the USB Drive

Connect your USB drive to your Mac.
Open Disk Utility (you can find it using Spotlight search - press Cmd+Space and type "Disk Utility").
In the top menu bar, go to View > Show All Devices.
In the left sidebar, select your USB drive (select the parent device, not the indented volume underneath). Its name might be like "Kingston DataTraveler" or "SanDisk Cruzer".
Click the Erase button at the top of the window.
Name: WIN11USB (You can use any name, but no spaces is best).
Format: MS-DOS (FAT)
Scheme: Master Boot Record (MBR)
Click Erase. Confirm if prompted. This will completely wipe the USB drive.
When it's done, click Done.

Step 4: Use ba1enaEtchar to "Flash" the ISO
Open ba1enaEtchar from your Applications folder.
The process is a simple 3-step flow:

Step 1: "Flash from file" - Click it and select the Windows 11 ISO file you downloaded.
Step 2: "Select target" - Click it and choose your USB drive (it should be named WIN11USB or whatever you called it).
Step 3: "Flash!" - Click this button.

ba1enaEtchar will now burn ISO to USB drive. It will show a progress bar. This will take several minutes.
You may be asked for your Mac's password to grant permissions.
When it finishes, it will validate the write to ensure it was successful. You will see a "Flash Complete!" message.

sophieturner · Answer

Hi, you can create a Windows 11 bootable USB from a Mac even though Boot Camp Assistant is no longer available. One method is to use Disk Utility to format your USB drive as exFAT, then copy the Windows 11 ISO contents onto it. Another option is to use the Terminal app with the dd command, but that requires care because selecting the wrong disk could erase data. After preparing the USB, you can insert it into your PC, change the boot order in BIOS, and start the clean installation of Windows 11. If you are not comfortable with Terminal, the safest approach is to borrow a Windows PC temporarily and use Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool, which is the official method.

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Best way to burn iso to usb on Mac? I need a Windows 11 bootable USB

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