How can I create a macOS bootable usb on Windows 10?

[Mayaui]

I'm currently trying to create a macOS bootable USB drive from a Windows 10 machine. Despite searching extensively, I haven't found a straightforward process or guide that explains how to create a macOS bootable USB on Windows 10, especially for someone not familiar with Terminal. Can anyone guide me through the steps or recommend reliable tools or methods tailored for Windows 10 users that can help achieve this without needing extensive Terminal knowledge? Your guidance would be invaluable.

[#2]

I have encountered the same problem as you before, and I found many ways to solve it. In the end, I used UltraDMG. It can create a macOS bootable USB directly on Windows, and you don't need to do any complicated command line operations.

This tutorial helped me a lot:

https://www.howtogeeker.com/create-mac-bootable-usb-on-windows

Just prepare your macOS DMG file, insert the USB, open UltraDMG, select your DMG file and USB, and click a button. The interface is simple and the steps are very simple. I think it should be helpful to you.

[#3]

@WilliamsMoore An easy way without taking much time is to download the dmg file of Mac OS X or macOS. After that, burn dmg file to USB flash drive with command line or third-party tools. This will format the USB with proper file system and extract content from bootable dmg file. I have been using this trick for creating macOS bootable on Windows 10 for years and no problem with this at all.

The most trick part is how to find a working dmg file on the web as Apple only offers dmg download for a couple of old Mac OS X versions, like El Capitan, Yosemite, Mountain Lion and Lion.

[#4]

Before creating macOS bootable usb on Windows 10. You can't just throw a USB in there and expect it to work. Make sure to format the USB to FAT32 before you start. You can do this from Windows— just right-click the drive in File Explorer, choose 'Format', and select FAT32. If you choose NTFS, you'll hit a brick wall later on.

You need the actual macOS dmg file to create the USB. You can usually get this by downloading it directly from the Mac App Store (if you have access to a Mac). Otherwise, be super careful where you download this from. A site that seems okay might have a virus-up-your-boot drive kind of situation going on.

[#5]

@WilliamsMoore This is correct. It could be much easier to create a macOS bootable USB on a Mac with the createinstallmedia command. The createinstallmedia command is a Terminal utility provided by Apple for making a bootable USB installer for macOS. This is especially useful when you need to install macOS on multiple machines, perform a clean installation, or recover a system that isn't functioning properly.

First, set up a macOS virtual machine on Windows PC. Then download the macOS installer from the App Store. The installer will be saved in your Applications folder with a name like Install macOS Sonoma.app, Install macOS Ventura.app, etc., depending on the version.

After that, connect a USB drive and follow the command to create a Mac bootable USB drive on Windows PC for free (taking High Sierra as example):

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

[#6]

@Mayaui The above command will then erase the USB drive and create macOS bootable installer. This may take several minutes. The Terminal will display progress as it creates the bootable USB. Once it's done, you’ll see a message that the process is complete, and the USB drive will be ready to use.

How to Install macOS from Bootable USB Installer on Mac:

1. Shut down the Mac you want to install macOS on.
2. Insert the bootable USB drive into the Mac.
3. Turn on the Mac and immediately press and hold the Option (⌥) key until you see the startup disk selection screen.
4. Select the USB drive to boot from it.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to install macOS.

This is an indirect but efficient solution to make a macOS bootable USB on Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC. You need to be patient waiting for the progress to be done!

[#7]

Alright, so you've got a decent plan to create a macOS bootable USB by using a macOS virtual machine on your Windows 10 PC. It seems like a clever work-around. But run macOS in a virtual machine isn't always a smooth ride. If your hardware isn't beefy, you might find the VM sluggish. This can make the process of downloading and creating your bootable USB frustratingly slow.

[#8]

@Mayaui 

Actually, it’s a bit of a hassle to use the Command Prompt (CMD) to create a macOS bootable usb on Windows 10/11, but it’s doable. I’ve tried it before, and although it’s not the easiest way, it’s still quite rewarding once you get the hang of it. Here’s how it works:

1. Preparation: Plug your USB into your computer and make sure it has at least 8GB of capacity. Then open CMD, search for “cmd” directly, and run it as an administrator.
2. Format the USB drive: Type diskpart in CMD, which will open the Windows disk partitioning tool. Then type list disk to see which USB drive you have (you should be able to tell by size, like Disk 2 or something like that). Then type select disk X (where X is the number of your USB drive).
3. Then type clean to clear the entire USB drive. Next, type create partition primary to create a primary partition, format fs=exfat quick to quickly format it to exFAT format, and finally type assign to assign it a drive letter.
4. Copy the macOS image: After formatting the USB drive, you have to copy the macOS DMG file to the USB drive. However, CMD itself cannot directly process DMG files.
5. You have to manually extract the DMG file into ISO (using some Windows built-in tools), and then use the command xcopy path_to_iso X: (X is the drive letter of your USB drive) to copy the extracted files.
6. The last step: After the copy is completed, your USB drive cannot directly start macOS, so you still have to use a Mac to use the Mac's "Disk Utility" to convert this USB drive into a real boot disk.

To be honest, this process looks simple, but it is a bit cumbersome, especially to process macOS DMG files on Windows. However, if you don't have third-party tools and don't want to use other software, this is a reliable way, especially if you have a little hands-on ability.

[#9]

@Mayaui 

Using Windows Explorer to handle the macOS startup disk is a relatively basic method, but to be honest, it is more suitable as an intermediate step. If you just want to get the macOS DMG file to a USB drive and then do the final startup disk processing on the Mac, this method is still OK.

I did it this way before. Although it can't be made into a startup disk directly, at least you can get the file over first. Now, to create a macOS bootable USB from Windows 10 or 11. The steps are roughly as follows:

1. Format the USB drive: First plug your USB drive into the computer, open Windows Explorer, right-click the drive letter of the USB drive, and select "Format". In the format window, select the file system as exFAT or FAT32, and then click "Start". The advantage of this is that both exFAT and FAT32 formats can be read on both Windows and Mac.
2. Copy the DMG file: After formatting the USB drive, you only need to find the macOS DMG file you downloaded and drag it directly to the USB drive to copy it. This process is very simple, just like copying a normal file.
3. Subsequent processing: After copying the file to the USB drive, you can't directly use this USB drive to start macOS. You have to plug the USB drive into a Mac, open Disk Utility, and use it to convert the USB drive into a real macOS startup disk.

Although this method is not as comprehensive on Windows, it does allow you to get the files over first. If you have a Mac, this is a good solution. Overall, this is a relatively simple intermediate step for friends who don't want to toss too much.

[#10]

@Mayaui 

To create a macOS bootable usb on Windows 10? I've gone through this process myself, so let me break it down for you in a simple way.

What You'll Need:

1. USB Drive: At least 16GB (make sure it's empty because this process will wipe it).
2. macOS Sierra or newer DMG file: You'll need the macOS version you want to install. You can find these online, but make sure to grab them from a reputable source.
3. TranMac Software: This is a tool that lets you read and write macOS files on Windows. There's a free trial that lasts for 15 days, so that should be enough.
   
   

How to create a macOS bootable usb on Windows 10?

• Download TranMac from their official site and install it. It's pretty standard—just run the installer and go through the setup.
• Right-click on the USB drive and select Format Disk for Mac. This will wipe the USB drive, so ensure you back up anything important first.
• Once the USB is formatted, right-click the drive again in TranMac and choose Restore with Disk Image.
• Navigate to where you saved the macOS DMG file and select it.
• Hit OK when prompted. This process will take a few minutes (or longer depending on your USB speed).

Now you've got your bootable macOS USB. To use it, you'd need to plug it into the Mac you want to install or reinstall macOS on, turn it on, and hold the Option key during boot. Select your USB drive from the list of bootable drives.