How to Create macOS bootable USB?

A bootable USB drive for macOS or Windows operating systems is very useful to install, reinstall, upgrade operating systems. It can also be used for system recovery and repair. A bootable USB drive has many other used cases, such as testing different OS environments, maintaining security and privacy, and its effectiveness in dealing with malware infected computers. We are going to see that how we can create a macOS bootable USB drive for Monterey Operating System (version 12).

What we need?

• A USB drive which has a minimum capacity of 16GB of memory.
• The Monterey macOS installer. You can download it from the App Store.
• Tand of course a MacBook to insert the USB drive.

Let’s create the macOS Monterey bootable USB drive

1. Download macOS Installer
• Open the App Store on your Mac.
• Search for the macOS Monterey or any other version you need (e.g., macOS Monterey, macOS Big Sur).
• After you download the installer of macOS, it will appear in your Applications folder as “Install macOS Monterey.app”.
2. Insert the USB drive into your MacBook
3. Create Bootable Drive Using Terminal
• Open Terminal from Applications/Utilities.
• Type the following command, replacing version name if your download other versions of macOS.
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/[USB drive name] sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big\ Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/[USB drive name]
• Replace [USB drive name] with the name of your formatted USB drive.
• Run the command by hitting Enter and then enter your admin password when prompted.
• Wait for the process to complete. It can take some time depending on the speed of your USB drive. If you encounter an error IA App name cookie write failed then here is the fix .
4. Using the Bootable USB
• With the USB drive inserted, restart your Mac.
• Immediately hold down the Option (Alt) key on your keyboard as it boots.
• From the list of bootable devices, select the USB drive.
• Follow the on-screen instructions to install or reinstall macOS.
Notes
• Ensure you have a backup of any important data on the USB drive as it will be erased during the process.
• The process and commands may vary slightly depending on the macOS version.
• Always download macOS from official sources to avoid any security risks.
Creating a bootable USB for macOS can be very helpful for troubleshooting, upgrading, or setting up new Macs. Just follow these steps carefully, and you’ll have a bootable USB drive ready for use.