Install Macos From Usb Stick



The other day when visiting my family, under a large pile of torn up binders and laminated documents, I found my sibling’s old 2013 MacBook Air. I thought it would be wasteful to just leave it there so I picked it up and took it to the lab, AKA home.

I discovered that the laptop was password locked with my sibling’s user and password. Since it must’ve been laying at my family’s house for a few years at least, and we as human’s have a tendency to forget our credentials, I decided to save the attempts and just format it and start with a clean OS.

Formatting and Reinstalling MacOS

  1. Download: macOS Big Sur, macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave or macOS High Sierra These will be downloaded to your Applications folder as an app called Install macOS version name. If the installer opens after download, quit it without continuing the installation.
  2. The M1 Macs have a problem with the USB interface so you may encounter problems if you try to install Big Sur on and boot from SSDs connected via USB. This was worst in Big Sur 11.0.1, got better.
  1. In the menu bar, choose Apple menu > Restart. As your Mac restarts, hold down the Command + R keys until the macOS Utilities window appears.
  2. Select Disk Utility, then click Continue.
  3. Select your startup disk on the left, then click Erase.
  4. Click the Format pop-up menu, choose Mac OS Extended format, enter a name, then click Erase.
  5. After the disk is erased, choose Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility.
  6. Select Reinstall macOS, click Continue, then follow the onscreen instructions.

All of the steps ran smoothly and I had a working machine! The battery was still in really good shape as well, the screen was scratchless and the keyboard still had that bounce to it.

Go to Applications and double click on the macOS Catalina installer 2. Click on Continue and then accept the macOS Catalina license terms and select the disk where you need to install macOS Catalina. In this case, select the USB disk, which is the external disk that you previously formatted.

So I began downloading all the applications I usually use like Google Chrome, iTerm, Visual Studio Code. But when launching Google Chrome, I discovered that when navigating to GMail or Google Drive, I received an error message indicating that the applications do not support this browser and operating system.

I wasn’t buying it that the hardware would not be able to run the browser and applications and I had a strong belief that it’s some Apple-imposed limitation as part of the ‘Lightbulb Conspiracy.’ So I decided to pursue a different option: installing the latest Ubuntu on this 2013 MacBook Air to free the software restrictions of the machine manufacturer and unleash the power of the hardware.

I decided the best approach would be to initially dual boot MacOS and Ubuntu, ensure that Ubuntu is stable and then remove the partition where MacOS lives.

Create a Bootable Ubuntu USB Stick

The first step was to generate a bootable USB stick which would hold the Ubuntu image.

I logged into MacOS and downloaded the latest Ubuntu image from https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop and saved it in ~/Downloads/ubuntu-20.04.2.0-desktop-amd.iso.

I then opened the Terminal and ran the following command:

The command utilizes the MacOS hdutil tool to convert an image between two data types: .iso (disk image in ISO-9660 standard) to .img.dmg (disk image specifically by MacOS). The -format UDRW argument specifies that we want to read and write the image with the Apple UDIF format. To read more about the hdutil and UDIF format, I suggest reading the hdutil man page and disk image formats.

The command above created a new file in /tmp/ubuntu.img.dmg. But since we don’t want to run the MacOS installer (which is what the dmg image and extension do by default) in this case but want to create a bootable USB stick, we’ll need to convert the image from .img.dmg to .img:

At this point we can insert the USB stick which will likely be mounted by default to /dev/disk1.

Next, we need to unmounting the disk representing the USB stick, copying all files from the image to the unmounted disk using the dd binary and then ejecting the disk. We can perform all these steps using the MacOS diskutil binary within the Terminal:

We’re done with this step! We now have a USB stick containing the Ubuntu OS. We can eject it for now.

Next, we need to prepare some disk space on the hard disk where we intend to install Ubuntu.

Creating a Partition

A partition is basically a separation of the hard disk into individual sections (also known as containers).

To be able to run both Ubuntu and MacOS on the same machine, we require to create a partition in the hard disk to hold both operating systems.

This step is rather straightforward with the use of the MacOS Disk Utility. We need to launch it, select the first disk we see on the left navver (called Macintosh HD in the image below):

Then click on Partition, choose the size of the disk you want to allocate to the partition where we’ll store Ubuntu, make sure the selected format is Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled) and click Apply. My hard disk size was 120GB so I allocated 80GB to Ubuntu and left the rest for MacOS.

Replacing MacOS Default Boot Manager

Let’s recap what we have done so far:

  • We have a USB stick with Ubuntu loaded on it. We intend to use it to install Ubuntu.
  • We have created space to hold Ubuntu when we decide to install it.

What would be the next logical step? We would need to tell the machine to let us decide which operating system we want to boot into. By default, the Apple bootloader will load MacOS. To change this behavior, we need to install a different boot manager. We need rEFInd Boot Manager to do this.

Download the binary from here and extract it:

Then reboot the machine and hold Command + R. This should bring you into Recovery Mode:

Macos

We need to run the rEFInd installation script. From the main menu bar, choose Utilities > Terminal and type the following command:

This will install the rEFInd boot manager. After it completes, shut down the machine, insert the USB stick we’ve prepared earlier and turn on the machine.

Launching and Installing Ubuntu

When we turn on the machine the next time, we will be greeted with the rEFInd Boot Manager:

Select Tux (the penguin, Linux mascot) and use the arrows to navigate to the Try Ubuntu without install option. Then press e which will expose a configuration file where we will make some changes. We will need to add the following commands between ‘splash‘ and ‘---‘:

This is because by default, the Radeon HDMI audio driver is disabled in the Linux kernel. After making this change, press F10 to save and exit.

After a minute or two, you should be the Ubuntu menu:

How Install Macos From Usb

Click on Install Ubuntu, follow the installation wizard you should be set!

Addendum: Fixing Camera Detection

One of the applications I use most nowadays is Zoom so I was surprised when I joined a call and saw that my camera was not detected by Zoom. I also downloaded Cheese just to confirm sure that the issue wasn’t specific to Zoom. I saw the same greeting: ‘no device detected’.

I did some research and found that there was some firmware missing for the Facetime HD (Broadcom 1570) PCIe webcam which prevented the kernel from detecting the driver. I opened up the terminal and ran the following commands to get the driver to work (you will need git and curl installed):

Don’t worry too much about the SSL errors above, they are red herrings.

I then needed to load the drivers into the kernel:

I relaunched Cheese and saw my messy face on the camera 🙂

But once I restarted the computer, I saw that the changes were reverted. I needed to persist them somehow. After some more research, I found that I needed to add facetimehd to the kernel modules that are loaded during boot time:

After restarting, I saw that I was able to detect my camera in Zoom and Cheese!


Apple released macOS Big Sur on November 12, 2020. macOS Big Sur continues the list of Central California landmarks as well as marks the new operating system for Mac. Those who tried it say that it’s more stable. It also sports a refreshed version of Safari that is 50% faster than Chrome. Here’s how to perform a clean install of macOS Big Sur with pictures and helpful tips along the way.

What is a clean install? (Big Sur or any other macOS)

A clean install means that you install the macOS onto the erased drive.

Why is clean install more preferable?
A clean install is the opposite of macOS upgrade. You format your hard drive, and therefore, it keeps no leftovers from the previous macOS.

  • macOS performs faster
  • You get rid of apps you don’t use
  • Persistent issues may go away

Basic steps to clean install macOS Big Sur

The first step is to clean and back up your Mac to some external source. Then, you’ll need to download macOS Big Sur package to your Applications. Next, you’ll need to create a bootable USB installer (involves another external drive). And lastly, we’ll use Disk Utility to erase your Mac and install macOS Big Sur using the bootable USB device.

1. Clean & Back up your Mac

Cleanup

Cleaning your Mac is generally a healthy practice but since we’re about to back your Mac up, it’s worthwhile to get rid of system junk first. After we’ve cleaned your Mac, you’ll end up with a refreshed system ready for a Time Machine backup.

Time Machine will make a snapshot of your system.But before that we’ll ensure there's no unwanted leftovers on your entire Mac. To clean your machine automatically, you can run CleanMyMac X. This tool is one of the best-known cleaning utilities for Mac, and it’s been notarized by Apple.

Download the free version of CleanMyMac X cleaner here.
Install the app and click on System Junk to perform the scan.

Back up your Mac

Now, you’re ready to back up your computer. There is a tool built just for that purpose, you guessed it, Time Machine. Time Machine needs a storage source onto which it will copy your system.
So, you’ll need an external drive. This is the first external drive that we will use to clean install macOS Big Sur. This is the reserve backup for the worst-case scenario.

  • Go to System Preferences > Time Machine.
  • Connect an external drive (that’s more spacious than your current system).
  • Select this Disk as a backup source in Time Machine.

Well done. The preliminary steps are done with, and we’re ready to clean install macOS Big Sur.

2. Download macOS Big Sur installer

macOS Big Sur has been released on November 12, 2020.

Install Macos High Sierra From Usb Stick


Since the public release in the fall of 2020, macOS Big Sur can be downloaded from the Mac App Store. It also can be found in the Software Updates pane in System Preferences.
So you’ll find it in System Preferences > Software Updates.

  • Click Upgrade Now

Wait for the installer to download onto your drive. You will see the macOS Big Sur intro screen.

Don’t click Continue but for now, close this window by choosing Quit Install.

We only want to make sure that the app called Install macOS Big Sur.App is now firmly sitting in your Applications.

This is the file we’ll use later to run the clean install of macOS Big Sur via Disk Utility.

Now, and only now have we come to clean installing macOS Big Sur. This is only a short stop on the road, so catch your breath, and let’s move along.

3. Create a bootable Big Sur installer

Now, it’s time to grab another USB flash drive and connect it to your Mac. This drive should have at least 16 GB of storage space.

Wipe the drive clean with Disk Utility

  1. Pick this drive and click Erase in the top menu.
  2. Double-check what you’re erasing.
  3. Make sure the USB drive is shown as “Untitled”
  4. Under Format, choose: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)

All data on that disk will be lost, so beware.

Go to Terminal (Phew, we’re almost there)

This step will actually create the source disk so we can install Big Sur from bootable USB.

Launch Terminal app from your Launchpad.

Paste in the following command:

sudo /Applications/Install macOS Big Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled

Type in your admin password and press Return and Y to confirm the action.

This command creates a bootable USB installer based on macOS Big Sur.app, which we’ve previously placed in your Applications.

4. Erase your startup drive in Disk Utility

It’s time to wave goodbye to your current configuration. Remember, we’ve already cleaned it up from junk with CleanMyMac X and backed it up onto our first reserve USB drive.

Now, start your Mac in Recovery mode:

  • Turn off your Mac and hold down Command + R.
  • Choose Disk Utility from the menu.
  • Choose your main startup drive and click Erase.

Voila! Your Mac is now formatted. What you can do now (actually, this the only thing you can do now) is to clean install macOS Big Sur 11 from the connected USB installer drive. If it’s not connected, connect the bootable USB installer now.

How To Install Mac Os From Usb Stick

  1. Go back to the original Disk Utility screen
    (If you can’t return to Disk Utility, restart your Mac and hold down the Option key)
  2. Click Install macOS and choose to install it from the selected USB drive.
  3. Click on “Install macOS”

How do I regularly install macOS Big Sur?

The regular install is done via upgrading your current macOS. That is, you don’t erase your entire disk. When the new macOS Big Sur is officially released, you just open the App Store > Updates.

Or even better, go to your System Preferences > Software Updates

How to reinstall macOS Big Sur?

If for some reason your Big Sur macOS doesn’t work as expected, you can reinstall it by sending your Mac into Recovery Mode.

Install Macos Catalina From Usb Stick

  • Restart your machine and hold down ⌘ + R
  • Choose Reinstall macOS

That’s it.

As we’ve just seen, running a clean install of macOS Big Sur could be a crazy rabbit hole. We hope you survived. Now you’ll be rewarded with the best Apple’s operating system up to date. You’ll also have a clean Mac that works at blazing speed with a little extra help from our favorite Mac cleaner — CleanMyMac X. You can get started with a trial version — so download it here.