How can I make or create a macOS Sonoma bootable USB installer?

Download Sonoma dmg file and burn it to a USB drive. That's the simple way to make Sonoma bootable USB installer on a PC or Mac.

Using dd with a bootable macOS installer image to create macOS Sonoma bootable USB on Windows 10 is theoretically possible but practically challenging due to the differences in image formats and the way macOS installer images are constructed.

Key Points & Challenges:

1. macOS installer images are often in .app packages, .dmg, or .iso formats.
2. The .dmg or .iso may contain multiple partitions, filesystem types, and EFI boot files.
3. Simply using dd to write a .iso or .dmg directly to a USB drive may not produce a bootable installer unless the image is an exact, bootable image designed for USB creation.
4. To create macOS Sonoma bootable USB on Windows 10. macOS installer images are often not raw images but rather disk images that need to be properly prepared and configured.

Considerations:

• The image must be a bootable ISO/DMG created specifically for booting macOS installer.
• Direct dd writing may corrupt or make the drive unbootable if the image isn't prepared correctly.
• Partition structure and EFI files are crucial; many images are not set up for direct dd burning.
• Legal restrictions: Ensure you have the right to use and create installer images.

Step-by-Step guide to create macOS Sonoma bootable USB on Windows 10 Home:

1. Format and Partition the USB Drive
   Connect your USB drive (at least 16GB recommended).
   Use Windows tools like Disk Management or DiskPart to format it:
   Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
   Use DiskPart:

diskpart
list disk
select disk X   # Replace X with your USB disk number
clean
convert gpt
create partition primary fat32 fs=FAT32 quick
assign
exit

  The drive now has a GPT partition with a FAT32 EFI partition.

2. Obtain macOS Installer Files
You need the macOS Sonoma installer files, which are typically only available via the Mac App Store.
If you already have access to a Mac:
  Download the Install macOS Sonoma.app.
  Use createinstallmedia to prepare the installer.
Alternatively, find a macOS Sonoma installer ISO/DMG from trusted sources (note legal considerations).

3. Extract and Copy Installer Files
  Mount the installer (on Mac or using a tool like 7-Zip on Windows if possible).
  Copy the contents of the installer to the USB drive:
  The Install macOS Sonoma.app contains the core files.
  You mainly need the InstallESD.dmg or BaseSystem.dmg.

4. Create EFI Bootloader Files
You need to manually create or copy EFI boot files:

  Download a minimal EFI bootloader such as rEFInd or Clover EFI (though you wanted to avoid bootloaders, this is minimal).
  Place the EFI files in the EFI partition:
  Create a directory: /EFI/BOOT/
  Copy the bootloader files (BOOTX64.EFI) into this directory.
  Configure the startup.nsh or bootx64.efi to point to the installer files.

5. Create macOS Sonoma bootable USB
  Ensure the EFI partition has the proper boot files and configuration.
  The goal is that when you boot from the USB on a compatible machine, the EFI firmware loads the bootloader, which then loads the installer files.

Below are the steps to make mac Sonoma bootable USB on any Windows PC or Mac. It is the best way available in 2025!

Step 1: Prepare for a fast USB drive with 16GB or more storage.

Step 2: Download macOS Sonoma bootable disk image (.dmg). You can get it from the internet. Apple does not offer such an option.

Step 3: Go and install a dmg burning program. This will make a bootable macOS bootable USB from the downloaded dmg file.

Step 4: Wait a couple of minutes. As the disk image is pretty big.

Step 5: Boot the Mac from USB and reinstall macOS Sonoma from the bootable USB drive.

That's!

How much do you know about QEMU? Using QEMU to run a macOS virtual machine on a Windows computer is an advanced but feasible method to create macOS Sonoma bootable USB. Here's an overview of the process.

High-Level Steps:

1. Set Up QEMU on Windows
2. Configure a macOS Sonoma VM
3. Download macOS Sonoma Installer inside the VM
4. Create Macos sonoma bootable USB using createinstallmedia command within the VM

Using QEMU to run macOS Sonoma VM on Windows allows you to access macOS tools and create Macos sonoma bootable USB directly from the VM environment. It's obscure, complex, but effective if you’re comfortable with virtualization and command-line setup.