How to Make a Bootable USB Mac OS / macOS Installer 10.4 – 12.4 (2022)

First of all, why? — In my case, we needed a bootable OS X installer to wipe an old iMac to be processed for surplus/ewaste. Periodically we get old machines no longer supported, and need to wipe the drives prior to dispossession. I also like to install a clean copy of the latest supported OS, partially to overwrite part of the drive, but also in case it finds a new home somewhere.

10.4 Tiger, 10.5 Leopard, and 10.6 Snow Leopard

  • With 10.6 Snow Leopard and earlier, you can simply restore the dmg/iso image onto your installation medium.
  • Note: Most PPC Macs cannot boot from USB, you may need to use a (powered) external hard drive, or burn to a DVD.
  • DMG/ISOs may be available from sites like archive.org or isoriver.com (obtaining from anywhere other than Apple directly, is 100% at your own risk!)

10.7 Lion and 10.8 Mountain Lion

  1. The installers is no longer available in the App Store, so download Installer from Apple:
  2. Double click to mount the DMG to mount it.
  3. Open Terminal.app and run the following commands:

$ cd /Volumes/Install\ Mac\ OS\ X
$ mkdir ~/Desktop/MtLion
$ cp InstallMacOSX.pkg ~/Desktop/MtLion
$ cd ~/Desktop/MtLion
$ mv InstallMacOSX.pkg InstallMacOSX.xar
$ xar -xf InstallMacOSX.xar
$ mv InstallMacOSX.pkg/InstallESD.dmg .
$ asr imagescan --source InstallESD.dmg
$ sudo asr restore --source InstallESD.dmg --target /dev/disk3s2 –-erase

  • Mind the space+period at the end of line 7.
  • Make sure to choose the proper volume in line 9.
  • Similar process (file paths will differ slightly) for 10.7 Lion.
  • https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2077

10.9 Mavericks


10.10 Yosemite and later, through 12.4 Monterey

$ sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app

$ sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ Sierra.app

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

$ sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

$ sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Catalina.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

$ sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big\ Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

$ sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

  • Note that “--applicationpath...” is required for Sierra and earlier, but not for High Sierra and later.
  • Something is broken in the Sierra installer, and createinstallmedia was giving me an error “not a valid mount point“. Thanks to a MacRumors forum post from user: EricFromCanada, the following command will edit a plist file, and it should work:

$ sudo plutil -replace CFBundleShortVersionString -string "12.6.03" Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app/Contents/Info.plist
$ sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ Sierra.app


You now theoretically can make a bootable installer for every version of OS X/macOS from 10.4 Tiger through 12.4 Monterey.


Other notes

Along the way, for versions of macOS that have expired certificates, I found two semi-manual processes to make USB Installation Media. In the end, while they did “work,” I did not need to employ these methods, but they may come in handy the next time the certificates expire.

Centurios Blog method:

$ cd /Volumes/Install\ OS\ X
$ mkdir ~/Desktop/Yosemite
$ cp InstallMacOSX.pkg ~/Desktop/Yosemite
$ cd ~/Desktop/Yosemite
$ pkgutil --expand InstallMacOSX.pkg yosemite
$ ls -F yosemite
Distribution* InstallMacOSX.pkg/ Resources/
$ cd yosemite/InstallMacOSX.pkg/
$ tar -xvf Payload
...file listing...
$ mv InstallESD.dmg Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/SharedSupport/
$ sudo Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia" --volume /Volumes/Yosemite --applicationpath Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app

If the above doesn’t work for 10.10 and greater, there is another more manual process here, but there’s some funkiness with the installation:

$ cd /Volumes/Install\ OS\ X
$ mkdir ~/Desktop/Yosemite
$ cp InstallMacOSX.pkg ~/Desktop/Yosemite
$ cd ~/Desktop/Yosemite
% mv InstallMacOSX.pkg InstallMacOSX.xar
$ xar -xf InstallMacOSX.xar
$ mv InstallMacOSX.pkg/InstallESD.dmg .
$ hdiutil attach InstallESD.dmg
$ cp /Volumes/OS\ X\ Install\ ESD/BaseSystem.dmg .
$ asr imagescan --source BaseSystem.dmg
$ sudo asr restore --source BaseSystem.dmg --target /dev/disk3s2 –-erase
$ rm /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/System/Installation/Packages
$ cp -R /Volumes/OS\ X\ Install\ ESD/Packages /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/System/Installation/
$ cp -R /Volumes/OS\ X\ Install\ ESD/BaseSystem* /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/

Sources:

I AM MY UNION

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I am a member of SEIU Local 503 OPEU.

I am a strong supporter of Bernie Sanders for President, 2016.

From Daily Koz earlier this week:

The highly influential, 2-million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU) endorsed Hillary Clinton for president yesterday. In her announcement, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry said that,

“Hillary Clinton has proven she will fight, deliver and win for working families. SEIU members and working families across America are part of a growing movement to build a better future for their families, and Hillary Clinton will support and stand with them.”

But a good number of those 2-million members disagree.

New Hampshire’s local SEIU chapter (the state’s largest public labor union) has broken from national leadership to endorse Bernie Sanders, and members around the country are protesting the union’s support of a candidate running on a $12 minimum wage, when the SEIU has been leading the Fight for 15.

SEIU (International) has been spamming their own website and Facebook page with Hillary-centric propaganda, proving that Mary Kay Henry is in bed with Clinton. They made no effort to democratically poll general membership. And to make matters more embarrassing, there are paid scabs, likely from Hillary’s campaign, and from the Koch-funded anti-union “freedom foundation” spouting more pro-Hillary propaganda and dividing our membership even further.

Honestly, the international union should have no business making any endorsement, with the alienation the majority of membership that supports Bernie feels, I can’t imagine the disillusionment a conservative tea-bagger would be feeling! The right thing to do would be to either wait until the primary election, or democratically poll EVERY hard working, dues paying, card carrying member and endorse the popular choice.

If like me, you are offended by the plutocraic (top-down, and un-democratic) method of this endorsement, I encourage members: Please copy the following text and email it to your union leadership, both locally and nationally:

I beg you to please reject SEIU’s endorsement of HRC for president! The union should take a thorough poll of it’s members before making such a disastrous decision!

I will be canceling my CAPE/COPE contributions until this is rectified!

As a truly progressive candidate for the Democratic Party nomination, Senator Sanders has the chance to inspire millions of Americans with policy proposals that put the interests of the 99%, front and center. His campaign will draw attention to what unions and collective bargaining have accomplished for workers and energize our movement.

Labor must step up to change the direction of American politics. We need politics to focus on the issues of our time: growing inequality and pervasive racism, the power of concentrated wealth and its corruption of our democracy, an escalating pension and retirement security crisis, runaway military spending and a militarized foreign policy, Medicare for All, and the need for new, bold solutions to our shared problems.

We call on labor leaders, union members and working people to unite behind Bernie Sanders for a voice in the presidential political process and to elect the President working families need – a President who will answer to the 99 percent!

We are Labor for Bernie 2016.