To download the macOS installer, open the App Store and search for your version of macOS. Finally, click Erase and you're done with this step. After selecting it, click on the Erase button along the top.Ĭhoose a friendly name (which you'll use later), and make sure to choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for the format. You should see your flash drive under the External section in the left pane. Navigate to Applications > Utilities, and open up Disk Utility. If you're using a flash drive that already has data on it, make sure to back up any important files as you're going to erase everything in a moment. You can only create a bootable installer for macOS on a Mac.

The Samsung BAR Plus is good overall value for the money we've highlighted the fastest USB drives you can buy for more options. It's best to go with a USB drive, with a minimum size of 16GB. Fortunately, there are USB-C drives available, or you can use a USB-C to USB-A adapter. The 12' MacBook has a single USB-C port, while MacBook Pro models from and later feature USB-C ports exclusively. Not only will the transfer speeds be painfully slow, but using them may also result in loss of data or even a damaged USB port.Īlso, check to see what ports you have on your Mac. These drives have their firmware hacked to report a false size to your operating system. Stay away from super-cheap drives with suspiciously high storage on sites like eBay. However, make sure to buy a name-brand flash drive (like SanDisk, Kingston, or PNY) from a reputable store. USB flash drives are cheaper than ever, so you won't have to spend much for this task. Choosing a USB Flash Drive for Installing macOS

But did you know that you can create a bootable USB drive to install macOS from? This will let you boot your Mac from a different source if it won't work normally, and makes installs on multiple machines easy.

As you may know, you can reinstall macOS on your computer via the internet recovery.

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