Launch the app - download the free version here. That's what I like to do: it's quick, easy, and notarized by Apple. You could spend time clearing out cache, junk and locating all of your temporary system logs manually, or you could save valuable time with a tool like CleanMyMac X. Time Machine will now begin making a backup.īefore you create a bootable installer, it’s wise to give your machine a quick cleanup so it's fully optimized and running its best before you upgrade its system. Open the Apple Menu > System Preferences > Time Machine.Ĭlick Select Disk and locate your preferred location select Use Disk. Here's how to back up your Mac with Time Machine: Make sure the portable device is formatted for macOS.īefore you start reformatting and erasing disks, it's worth doing a backup to protect all of your files, just if something happens, goes wrong, or you want to revert back. USB, HDD, or SSD with at least 16GB of available memory. How to create a bootable macOS Monterey installerįirst things first, before we go any further, let's take a look at what you need to create a bootable macOS Monterey installer: It will enable you to boot your Mac from the file system within the flash drive instead of your hard drive.

To put it simply, a bootable USB for Mac is a portable device that contains all the required installation files for a particular version of macOS.

Knowing how to create a bootable installer for macOS is handy if you want to install macOS Monterey across multiple Macs or carry out a clean install.Īll you need is a macOS formatted USB, HDD, or SSD. In this article, we'll take a closer look at all the necessary steps, plus some bonus tips. You can now quit Terminal and eject the volume.Curious about how to create a bootable installer for macOS? It might sound like a lot of manual work, but It's not as daunting as it sounds.

When Terminal says that it's done, the volume will have the same name as the installer you downloaded, such as Install macOS Monterey.

After the volume is erased, you may see an alert that Terminal would like to access files on a removable volume.

Terminal shows the progress as the volume is erased.

When prompted, type Y to confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return.

Terminal doesn't show any characters as you type.

When prompted, type your administrator password.If the volume has a different name, replace MyVolume in the command with the name of your volume. Each command assumes that the installer is in your Applications folder, and MyVolume is the name of the USB flash drive or other volume you're using. Type or paste one of the commands below into Terminal, then press Return to enter the command.Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.Plug in the USB flash drive or other volume that you're using for the bootable installer.

Mac os boot from usb