macOS 10.15, code name for Catalina, is the latest operating system shipped for Mac desktop and laptops. And it is the right time to create a bootable USB install USB based on Catalina becasue the signing certificates for old version of macOS and OS X are expired soon. It means only macOS Catalina is available for future macOS install. So before the Mac goes into trouble or just want to install a fresh copy of Catalina, it is highly recommend making a bootable USB installer right now!
Looking for make a bootable USB installer for macOS Catalina for your Mac device but don't know how? Well, this article will guide you straight away with all the preparatory tips and steps to create a bootable macOS Catalina USB install drive in minutes.
Part 1: Preparation for Making a Bootable macOS Catalina Install USB
Before we get started for creating bootable macOS Catalina install USB, there are a few things we should pay attention to. This will avaoid the portential issue within the installation process.
1. An accessible Mac computer where you can download and make the bootable installation drive.
2. An USB drive with a minimum storage capacity of 16 GB. Also, it should be formatted to APFS.
Create Macos Catalina Bootable Usb On Windows
How To Create A Bootable Usb For Macos Catalina. To create a GPT partition on a removable drive, use these steps: How To Create A Usb Installer For Macos Catalina. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as an administrator option. Type the diskpart command and press Enter. How to create a bootable macOS Catalina 10.15 USB install drive Step 1: Download macOS Catalina. After Catalina 10.15 launches later this fall, you’ll be able to download it directly from the Mac. Step 1 How to create a bootable USB drive. If you're currently running macOS Mojave, click this link to find the Mojave installer in the App Store. For Catalina, click here. For all earlier versions of macOS, launch the App Store on your Mac, and search for the macOS version you want (this option is only available when running macOS High Sierra. Make sure the USB drive is connected to the Mac. Next, click on the Apple logo from the top left and choose Restart. When you hear the startup sound or see the Apple logo, immediately press and hold the Option key. Select the bootable installer as the startup disk, and follow the instructions.
3. Make sure there are enough free space on Mac. The Installer file is over 8G.
Part 2: Download a Copy of Bootable macOS Catalina Installer
There are two ways to download macOS Catalina 10.15. The most common way is via Mac App Store or you can use the third-party apps, which is a good alternative if the operation could not completed successful in App store. This happens a lot at least on my MacBook Pro.
Step 1: Open App Store on Mac and type 'Catalina' in search bar.
Step 2: The macOS Catalina install app appears in search result and click 'Get' button. Now the Software Update interface shows up, asking if you want to download macOS Catalina.
Step 3: Confirm the operation and the system starts to download macOS Catalina Installer. Now wait for the task to be completed. You will find the an app named Install macOS Catalina in Application folder. That's the file for OS installation.
Part 3: Create Bootable macOS Catalina USB Using DMG Editor
If you have download macOS Catalina DMG file, then UUByte DMG Editor is the only tool you can find to make a macOS bootable USB from DMG disk image. However, if you downlaoded the Catalina install app from App store, please skip this part and read the following recommendations.
Step 1: Click above button to download a copy of UUByte DMG Editor.
Step 2: Install the app on a Windows PC or Mac and insert an USB drive into the computer.
Step 3: There are three options you can see from the main window. Click 'Burn' button in this step for creating bootable USB.
Step 4: Click 'Browse' button to import the macOS Catalina dmg file into DMG Editor and select the correct USB drive, where the dmg file will be copied to. Now, click 'Burn' button to initial the task.
Step 5: There is a progress bard associated to this process and you can see the estimated time. Wait untile you get 'burning completely' message. This means the burning process is finished successfully and the USB is now bootable!
Eject the USB drive from Mac and insert it to the device where macOS needs to be installed. And follow the instructions to install macOS when the installation wizard is loaded.
Part 4: Create Bootable macOS Catalina USB Using Install Disk Creator
When you get the macOS 10.15 Catalina install file, the next move is to burn the file to USB. However, it is not a single copy-paste. The bootable information should be written to USB at the same time. So you must use third-party apps to get it done. At here, we are using Install Disk Creator, one of the best GUI programs to make a bootable USB from macOS.
Step 1: Click this link to download Install Disk Creator.
Step 2: Unzip the file on Mac and drag the app icon to Application folder. Open the app from Launchpad and insert an USB drive into Mac.
Step 3: From the app interface, click the USB drive name you just installed and add macOS Catalina Install App file in Application folder. Then click 'Create Installer' to write boot information and copy installation files to USB.
Part 5: Create Bootable macOS Catalina Install USB via Patcher App
You might get this error when trying to download macOS Catalina from App Store. And that's why we need to use third-party apps to replace Mac App Store.
macOS Catalina Patcher is a great utility for creating USB flash drive installer for Mac devices that don't support macOS Catalina. The Patcher tool is available with several new updates and features. However, these updates are not applicable for all the Mac users to upgrade their devices to the latest desktop iOS version. This tool is used for the unofficial installation of macOS Catalina on Macs that wouldn’t normally support an upgrade to Catalina.
Step 1: Connect the USB to Mac and format it to OS X Extended with Disk Utility app.
Step 2: Download the latest version of macOS Catalina Patcher. Go to Tools and click 'Download a Copy' to download the installer app.
Step 3: It will take some while to complete the download as its size is around 8GB. When the download is finished, open macOS Catalina Patcher app and click 'Browse a copy' option to add the downloaded installer file (Install macOS Catalina) in Application folder. Then choose the target USB drive and start the copying installation files to USB.
Step 4: Reboot Mac and hold on to the Option button. Startup Manager will appear on the screen. Nowm use the arrow keys to choose the bootable USB flash drive and click on Return.
Step 5: Open Disk Utility app and format the hard drive to APFS. From the Install macOS screen, select the hard drive on Mac to install the OS.
Step 6: As the installation process is done, shut down the Mac, and reboot back to the install USB drive. This is to ensure post-install patches on that device so that Catalina supports the system.
Step 7: Returning to macOS Recovery environment, hit 'macOS Post Install'. The installer will automatically choose all the accurate patches needed for your device, by default. Then hit Apply Patches and let the process complete. and allow the process to complete. After applying the patches, choose 'Force Cache Rebuild' and hit Restart. Now your device will reboot, where you can easily start the macOS Catalina installation.
Part 6: Make Bootable macOS Catalina Install USB Using Terminal
Another choice to create a bootable macOS USB is through Terminal app. It is completely free and there is no need to install addition apps. However, it takes more time to figure out how it works.
Step 1: Download a copy of macOS Catalina according to the above section.
Step 2: Head to Applications folder. Then right-click on the macOS Catalina Install app icon and pick Show Package Contents. Access Contents and go to Resources folder.
Step 3: Open Terminal app and enter 'sudo' command.
Step 4: Drag the createinstallmedia to Terminal window through the Finder location as shown in Step 4.
Step 5: Type 'volume' and put a space. Head over to Finder -> Go -> Go to Folder, enter '/Volumes' and hit Go.
Step 6: Insert the USB drive to the Mac device, which will then be displayed in Finder window.
Step 7: Fetch the volume of the flash drive to Terminal with a drag-and-drop. Hit Return from keyboard to give in the entire command. Then type your password when notified.
Step 8: When prompted, enter 'y' to proceed followed by hitting return from the keyboard. Now the installation erases all content on USB and the installer files will then be copied to the drive. The process will only take a little while to complete.
Summary
Hopefully, both the tips were helpful in guiding you on how to make bootable macOS Catalina on Mac. However, it is best to go with macOS Catalina Patcher app if your Mac device is compatible with Catalina 101.15 version and only needs a bootable USB drive to install the OS.
MacOS Catalina, macOS Mojave, and macOS High Sierra download directly to your Applications folder as an app named Install macOS Catalina, Install macOS Mojave, or Install macOS High Sierra. If the installer opens after downloading, quit it without continuing installation. Hint: before reading the guide (How to Install macOS Catalina On VirtualBox On Windows), it is suggested to browse into the necessary File part of the article and get macOS Catalina 10.15 then, and you will have time to browse the post before downloading has finished. When you are downloading macOS Catalina Virtual Machine image file and Google Drive touches its download limit, then right-click on the file and choose COPY to make a copy in the Google Drive of your own. From here download the macOS Catalina virtual image file. Moreover, we have provided an alternative link of media fire too. MacOS Catalina 10.15.4 introduces iCloud Drive folder sharing, Screen Time communications limits, Apple Music time-synced lyrics view, and more. The update also improves the stability, reliability.
macOS Catalina 10.15 is the latest operating system that runs on Apple Mac laptops and desktops. However, it is still in beta test and only available for part of Mac computers with high profile or enrolled in Apple Beta Program. Is there any way to upgrade the macOS to Catalina manually or install Catalina on Mac from scratch? The answer is Yes. But you have to download macOS Cataina DMG or the installer app.
If you are looking for the easiest way to download macOS Catalina DMG on a Macand but don't know how? Well, there are three ways by which you can instantly get the latest macOS installer without a hassle.
Part 1. Get MacOS Catalina DMG Via Direct Download Link
Many people prefer the direct download link of macOS Catalina as it is more flexible. You can unpack the DMG file and make a bootable Catalina installer USB, which can be used to install macOS on other computers. However, it is not easy to find the direct download link because Apple wants you to upgrade from Mac App Store. Fortunately, there are a few good websites that host the direct download link of macOS Catalina DMG. After that, you can burn the macOS dmg to USB to make it bootable for installation.
macOS Catalina 10.15 DMG Download Link 1: https://themacgo.com/macdownload/ (Wait a few seconds and the download starts automatically.)
macOS Catalina 10.15 DMG Download Link 2: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ELQXMuuVWddamLPG0RHjyvaNW4r628CM (Password: Geekrar.com)
macOS Catalina 10.15 DMG Download Link 3: http://www.mediafire.com/file/wazr84baudhi27h/macOS_Catalina_DMG_by_Geekrar.rar/file
macOS Catalina 10.15 DMG Download Link 4: https://sundryfiles.com/G54 (Premium account required for download!)
macOS Catalina 10.15 InstallESDDmg PKG Download Link : http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/61/56/041-83630-A_8RCIBB415Y/7jqh3nh97ood2mjej7hdgpx7fgh5c3fi9g/InstallESDDmg.pkg
macOS Catalina 10.15 VMware Image Download Link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/yrd1py7od5911zt/Catalina_Virtual_Disk_Image_by_Techsviewer.rar/file
macOS Catalina 10.15 VirtualBox Image Download Link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/yrd1py7od5911zt/Catalina_Virtual_Disk_Image_by_Techsviewer.rar/file
Tips: After downloading macOS Catalina .dmg file, it is time to make a macOS bootable USB from it. For this purpose, you can give a try on UUByte DMG Editor, one of the most popular software to create a Catalina USB installer on both Windows PC and Mac.
Part 2. Download macOS Catalina From Mac App Store
Create Macos Catalina Bootable Usb On Windows
Apple always recommends its users downloading macOS install file from Mac App Store for security reasons. It is safe and easy. But the actual downloaded file is not an dmg file. Instead, it is an app called Install macOS Catalina, which is used to make the upgrade from current macOS to Catalina. For a clean install, it is better to download the dmg file and make an installer USB.
Note: Make sure to back up your Mac prior to installing macOS Catalina.
Step 1: Go to Mac App Store and search macOS Catalina. Then hit on 'Get' to download page.
Step 2: Doing this will open System Preferences followed by the section of Software Update, where you will find MacOS Catalina ready to download. Hit the option saying 'Upgrade Now' and download MacOS Catalina on your Mac.
Step 3: Next, macOS Catalina upgrade will ask for system reboot. Complete the process and install macOS Catalina on that computer.
Downloading macOS Catalina Install app works fine on my of newly devices but it could be problems for old Macs even it is officially supported by Catalina. If this is the case, then you have to patch the OS and install Catalina again. However, you need find a third-party app to do the dirty work. We will talk about this in Part 3.
Part 3. Download macOS Catalina 10.15 Installer with macOS Catalina Patcher
Although it may appear easy to try out the conventional approach of downloading macOS update in Software Update, there are a few known issues on old Macs shipped in 2013 or earlier, meaning the download progress can not be completed successfully. That's why macOS Catalina Patcher tool comes into help. This patching tool makes the job even simpler for installing macOS Catalina on unsupported Mac models.
However, the file size of these updates differs depending on the Mac device you are using. That means the downloaded update might not necessarily be the full installer version. For instance, if you wish to keep the installer file as archive for further application, or use it to generate bootable flash drive, this file size won't be sufficient.
Fortunately, with macOS Catalina Patcher tool, you can simply download the entire update of macOS setup from Apple's servers. Let's check out the stepwise instructions of how to use this software tool to download the macOS Catalina DMG.
Step 1: Download a copy of macOS Catalina Patcher from this link.
Step 2: After downloading and attempting to install, an error notification will be prompted. It is due to the unavailability of developer verification credential for macOS. Now, go to System Preferences -> Security & Privacy. Then find the button saying 'Open Anyway' to let the app run.
Step 3: Open macOS Catalina Patcher app and from the main menu, navigate to Options to uncheck the box saying 'Auto-apply Post Install Patches'. As you are done with the previous step and move to the screen as in the link below, hit Download a Copy.
Step 4: The following screen will notify the file size of macOS Catalina you are to download. The resolution is around 7GB and after the download, it will automatically get stored in the Downloads folder. Then hit Continue to initiate the process of download.
Step 5: The download time of the file will depend upon the internet connection and its speed. So, you might have to wait for some while for the process to complete. Eventually, the entire macOS Catalina setup file will be available on your device.
Closing Words
Well, that is all for the day. Hopefully, the above methods were helpful in guiding you on how to download macOS Catalina for both supported and unsupported Macs. When the download is finished, the next step is to burn the DMG file to USB. Then boot macOS from USB and starts the installation wizard.
It does not matter whether you use macOS or Windows 10. It’s just a matter of time until your device will refuse to start, which could happen for many reasons, including (and not limited to) file corruption, hardware failure, and buggy update. If the unexpected happens with an Apple computer, you can use a macOS bootable USB with the installation media to repair it.
This is one of the main reasons you should consider making a macOS bootable USB when your device is working properly. However, if none of your devices (MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Pro, or Mac Mini) aren’t working when you need them the most, then you can use a PC to rescue your Apple device. You can use a Windows 10, Windows 8.1, or Windows 7 device to quickly create a USB bootable installation media to reinstall macOS Catalina or Big Sur on your Mac.
In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to create a macOS Catalina bootable USB installation on Windows 10, which you can use to reinstall or upgrade the Apple OS.
Requirements
Before proceeding, you’ll need the following:
- Broken Mac computer running macOS (version 10.12, 11, or later).
- A trial copy of the TransMac software.
- One high-quality USB flash drive with 16GB of storage.
- Copy of macOS (DMG file).
Create macOS bootable USB installation media
To create a bootable USB drive with macOS, use these steps:
Download and install TransMac on the Windows 10 device.
Quick note: This is a paid software, but it gives you a 15-day trial, which is more than enough time. (If this works for you and you want to support the developer, you can purchase the full version.)Connect the USB flash drive. (If you have any data on the flash drive, remember to make a backup, as everything on it will be erased.)
Right-click the TransMac app and select the Run as administrator option.
Click the Run button. (If you’re using the trial version, wait 15 seconds.)
Right-click the USB flash drive, select the Format Disk for Mac option from the left navigation pane.
Quick note: You want to do this before creating the bootable media because there is a good chance that the drive was formatted using a Windows device. If this is the case, the chances are that it’s using an MBR partition, and the USB drive needs a GPT partition to work on a Mac.Click the Yes button to format the drive on the warning message.
Confirm a name for the drive. For example, “macOS bootable USB.”
Click the OK button.
Click the Yes button.
Click the OK button.
Right-click the USB flash drive and select the Restore with Disk Image option from the left navigation pane.
Click the Yes button to confirm the erase of the USB flash drive data.
Click the browse button on the right.
Select the .dmg file with the macOS installation files.
Click the Open button.
Click the OK button.
Click the Yes button.
Once you complete the steps, you can now insert the USB flash drive on your Mac computer to install, reinstall, or upgrade the operating system to the latest macOS version, which can be Sierra, Catalina, Big Sur, or higher.
Create a GPT partition on USB flash drive
Create Macos Catalina Bootable Usb On Mac
If the USB flash drive is not working with TransMac, it could still be a partition problem. In this case, you may need to redo the entire process again. However, this time you should use the following steps to use the Diskpart command-line utility on Windows 10 to create the appropriate GPT partition, and then follow the above instructions.
Create Mac Os Catalina Bootable Usb Windows 10
How To Create A Bootable Usb For Macos Catalina
How To Create Macos Catalina Bootable Usb Hackintosh
To create a GPT partition on a removable drive, use these steps:
How To Create A Usb Installer For Macos Catalina
Open Start.
Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as an administrator option.
Type the
diskpartcommand and press Enter.Enter the
list diskcommand to view all drives connected to your computer and press Enter.Type the
select diskcommand followed the number assigned for the USB flash drive (for example,select disk 4), and press Enter.Enter the
cleancommand and press Enter.Type the
convert GPTcommand and press Enter.Enter the
create partition primarycommand and press Enter to complete the process.
How To Create A Catalina Install Usb
Once you formatted the USB flash drive with a GPT partition, you can use the instructions mentioned above to use TransMac to create a bootable media, but this time skip steps No. 5 through 10 and continue on step 11.
Create Macos Catalina Install Usb On Windows 10
After the process completes, which can take up to an hour, connect the USB flash drive and power on your Mac holding down the Option key, select the USB drive to begin installing macOS.
How To Make A Bootable Usb For Macos Catalina
If you have problems creating the bootable media, you can get a USB flash drive that comes with macOS Sierra, El Capitan, Catalina, etc., on it with the link mentioned below. (I haven’t tried it personally, but it’s worth the try if nothing works.)