I always keep a partitioned thumb drive with bootable versions of all the various OS systems that my extended family uses, because invariably at Christmas I end up having to solve all of their issues they’ve accumulated over the past year, and I find that having a clean boot helps immensely.
The very first step is to make sure you format the USB drive in Disk Utility! I erased & formatted using APFS. I then followed your instruction to the letter & it worked great!!! I've used my USB Drive to install Catalina to 2 iMacs & 2 MacBook Pros & the process was fast & flawless! Thank you for such a simple & effective tutorial...Awesome!
This worked!!! I had the “?” File showing up every time. I just plugged in my usb to my friends computer. Followed these instructions until it was on my USB. plugged it into my computer and held opt. Booted up from this drive and copied it onto my hard drive. And it’s working so far!! Downloading right now. Thank you so much dude! I thought my Mac was done for.
Yes, a bootable backup is an essential tool to have for any Apple OS owner. I find it super handy and quick to have access to it when needed. Yes, it is much more convenient to download it when needed but it's an 8GB OS and being outside the United States or in a remote area where the internet is limited when it comes to speed, it can make it impossible to get the 8GB OS downloaded. So, thank you for sharing this updated video because I'm always here watching it step-by-step while creating the USB bootable drive (even though I now after 4 updates, I've become super familiar with the process) but I feel safer going through the video just in case I forget to do one of the required step or misspell sudo lol
Thank you for this tutorial. I sat infront of my laptop for 4 hours yesterday and nothing worked. Followed this step by step n it took me 10 minutes. Im literally in tears 😩😩😩
Excellent instruction video. I wasted so long going through many websites and forums trying to assist with this; your video did it! I managed to bring mac back to life. Thanks once again.
Great video. Built my USB drive while watching this for the second time. (paused here and there to catch up or wait for the full transfer) Now to swap out the memory and drive on the MacBook.
A MILLION THANKS !!!!! This worked like a charm! You didn't leave ANY steps out, told me exactly what I would see and this tutorial followed what I did every step of the way. I cannot thank you enough for this exact training. YES!!!! I have subscribed!
I just received a Mac from a friend who told me I could have it if I erased the info on it first. It had Yosemite 10.10.3 on it. I investigated how to restore the mac to factory Image, and everywhere I looked, said to boot to the recovery utility first, then erase the main partition and then run the "install OSX". Well, that was my first mistake.I run the install osx, it asks me which drive, then it asks me for my itunes login and pw, then i get a message "This item temporarily unavailable" I've investigated this and essentially it means that Yosemite is no longer available on the App Store.GREAT! So I find your video on how to install Catalina 10.15. The only person I can trust with a Mac is my sister. I took a 16gbflash to her, she d/l-ed the catalina and we followed your video (several times). When we finally got the bootable USB catalina created, I put the drive into this disabled mac and booted it up holding down the option Key. After a moment, the "install MAC catalina" icon came up, I clicked it and a second later I got the infamous NO ENTRY symbol on the screen. Do you what I did wrong and how it can be fixed? I Erased the flash drive and made it again, and I still get the same result. I saw another video on how to fix this, and it mentioned something about "enabling read/write for all" under the properties. I'm currently away from a working mac, so how can I do this?Help PLEASE!!
Absolutely excellent tutorial. I really like how you took your time and explained everything well, leaving little room for those who watch it to run into any errors, bravo! Gets a like from me.
Great tutorial thanks, I encountered one glitch which may help others. Do not have your USB drive formatted as APFS, it will not allow the process to begin erasing….make sure it’s journaled…
Thank you so much, you literally just fixed my whole laptop. My laptop was frozen on the startup screen and you just saved my life! Thank you thank you thank you!!!
can't wait to watch your Mac Pro 2019 review. I hope you're the first to get a sample because your reviews are the best on UA-cam. Apple has to thank you.
Thank you so much, have been onto Apple support and they could not solve my MacBook problem, but creating the boot disk I have been able to Install Catalina again, which was proving impossible, very clear instructions (unlike other tube descriptions) many, many thanks
WOW!!! you guys are always the TOP LEVEL Instructors. followed every single step and I've just restored a machine that was about to be trashed. thanks so much.
Wow! I wish every tutorial was like yours man honestly! Like I mean I have been searching how to do this for 2 days and have watched few videos in two days and wondering why could they not just tell me about the drag and drop functions which makes life so easier when it comes to this? Anyways I had to like this video and I have subbed simply for the simplicity of your explanation. Thanks a million by the way! I am yet to try it still and when I do and it works, I will update my comments here.
Thank you! I still use a Late-2012 Mac mini (i7) for music recording and one day the SSD *WILL* fail. Catalina is the last MacOS to work on it, so having a bootable USB installer is a must for a new drive. Liked. Subscribed. 👍
You have a really lovely way about you, Jeff. I've watched so many different tutorials to do this - along with trying to understand the Apple instructions... Yet you have made it so much clearer for me. I've successfully created a Catalina bootable USB. Thank you :D x
Thank you!!!!! Your instructions were so precise and clear and I have subscribed. Quick question: Can I now remove the Install MacOS Catalina from the applications drive? I am limited on space. Thank you.
Sure I will do a clean install as I havent had a clean install OSX since High Sierra :) Thanks for the advice and the tip that we dont even need to type all the directories just copy paste the USB stick.
Followed your instructions; it worked flawlessly. Question: Why couldn't I have simply dragged and dropped the install file onto the thumb drive from the location of the original file? Wouldn't it have worked? Just curious. Thanks.
Wow this is very detailed. Will the process work for earlier versions such as 10.9? My Mac is showing that version to load into it before I can upgrade to the later versions. Thanks in advance.
Thank you! I used your tutorial do create a Mojave USB Flash Drive and downgrade my Mac, the Catalina doesn't work good with Windows on Bootcamp, my Audio doesn't work, now with Mojave it's all working again. Thank you.
Another tutorial Jeff. Would you make another one when Catalina is officially released? Also, do the second one with DiskMakerX or another app that can be used to make a USB installer. Thank you, Jeff.
I’m on OS 10.8.5 currently. How do I upgrade to Catalina on my iMac please? Can I use the method in this video for my current OS version? I’m stuck with error 102...
Hi, do I need to have the USB drive formatted before I do this? As I bought a brand new drive and want to make this boot drive straight out the packet? Or does this process format the drive when it makes the boot drive?
What's the difference between installing Catalina the way you just describe from a USB vs not quitting the install process after it downloaded from software updates in preferences?
I always keep a partitioned thumb drive with bootable versions of all the various OS systems that my extended family uses, because invariably at Christmas I end up having to solve all of their issues they’ve accumulated over the past year, and I find that having a clean boot helps immensely.
you should do a youtube video about it and have links to buy the hardware amazon links on it, so we can buy stuff and you to get more money
@@gabyu If you randomly delete all their data you will not have to maintain the thumb drive
The very first step is to make sure you format the USB drive in Disk Utility! I erased & formatted using APFS. I then followed your instruction to the letter & it worked great!!! I've used my USB Drive to install Catalina to 2 iMacs & 2 MacBook Pros & the process was fast & flawless! Thank you for such a simple & effective tutorial...Awesome!
hey is it apfs encrypted or just the plain APFS?
@@vanagno Use plain APFS. Do not use encrypted and you'll be fine.
@@marcwoodward8056 awesome worked great!
It still not working for me
@@jamessanchez4906 Maybe the USB stick is bad? Try a different stick if you have one...that might fix the problem.
This worked!!! I had the “?” File showing up every time. I just plugged in my usb to my friends computer. Followed these instructions until it was on my USB. plugged it into my computer and held opt. Booted up from this drive and copied it onto my hard drive. And it’s working so far!! Downloading right now. Thank you so much dude! I thought my Mac was done for.
Also. My MacBook is 2011-2012 and Catalina works instead of Lion (which is what my computer came with)
Yes, a bootable backup is an essential tool to have for any Apple OS owner. I find it super handy and quick to have access to it when needed. Yes, it is much more convenient to download it when needed but it's an 8GB OS and being outside the United States or in a remote area where the internet is limited when it comes to speed, it can make it impossible to get the 8GB OS downloaded. So, thank you for sharing this updated video because I'm always here watching it step-by-step while creating the USB bootable drive (even though I now after 4 updates, I've become super familiar with the process) but I feel safer going through the video just in case I forget to do one of the required step or misspell sudo lol
Thank you for this tutorial. I sat infront of my laptop for 4 hours yesterday and nothing worked. Followed this step by step n it took me 10 minutes. Im literally in tears 😩😩😩
Excellent instruction video. I wasted so long going through many websites and forums trying to assist with this; your video did it! I managed to bring mac back to life. Thanks once again.
Great video. Built my USB drive while watching this for the second time. (paused here and there to catch up or wait for the full transfer) Now to swap out the memory and drive on the MacBook.
I did the exact same ting. I thought this video rocked! GREAT TRAINER!
A MILLION THANKS !!!!! This worked like a charm! You didn't leave ANY steps out, told me exactly what I would see and this tutorial followed what I did every step of the way. I cannot thank you enough for this exact training. YES!!!! I have subscribed!
I create my bootable usb drive 3-4 years ago and it has saved my life all these years, make sure you all keep one of these in case of emergency :p
I bow to you! I have been unsuccessful until following your specific instructions... Subscribed! Thank you!
Haha dude I love your videos. Your voice over is smooth and chill.
Seems to be working. Asked to acces my USB after erase. Just hut return. Now waiting to see the results
👍
I just received a Mac from a friend who told me I could have it if I erased the info on it first. It had Yosemite 10.10.3 on it. I investigated how to restore the mac to factory Image, and everywhere I looked, said to boot to the recovery utility first, then erase the main partition and then run the "install OSX". Well, that was my first mistake.I run the install osx, it asks me which drive, then it asks me for my itunes login and pw, then i get a message "This item temporarily unavailable" I've investigated this and essentially it means that Yosemite is no longer available on the App Store.GREAT! So I find your video on how to install Catalina 10.15. The only person I can trust with a Mac is my sister. I took a 16gbflash to her, she d/l-ed the catalina and we followed your video (several times). When we finally got the bootable USB catalina created, I put the drive into this disabled mac and booted it up holding down the option Key. After a moment, the "install MAC catalina" icon came up, I clicked it and a second later I got the infamous NO ENTRY symbol on the screen. Do you what I did wrong and how it can be fixed? I Erased the flash drive and made it again, and I still get the same result. I saw another video on how to fix this, and it mentioned something about "enabling read/write for all" under the properties. I'm currently away from a working mac, so how can I do this?Help PLEASE!!
Scrapman50 does your mac support catalina. If yes install high sierra (it installs a patch so you can use apfs drive which is what catalina uses)
Absolutely excellent tutorial. I really like how you took your time and explained everything well, leaving little room for those who watch it to run into any errors, bravo! Gets a like from me.
I'm new to MacOs and this YT page has been invaluable to me. Thanks for always having the answer to all of my questions!
I use 'Clean My Mac X' on all my Mac computers. Works really well. I particularly use it to uninstall app. It doesn't leave any fragments.
Great tutorial thanks, I encountered one glitch which may help others. Do not have your USB drive formatted as APFS, it will not allow the process to begin erasing….make sure it’s journaled…
Thank you so much, you literally just fixed my whole laptop. My laptop was frozen on the startup screen and you just saved my life! Thank you thank you thank you!!!
can't wait to watch your Mac Pro 2019 review. I hope you're the first to get a sample because your reviews are the best on UA-cam. Apple has to thank you.
That's the SANDISK ULTRA USB C!!!
Thank you so much, have been onto Apple support and they could not solve my MacBook problem, but creating the boot disk I have been able to Install Catalina again, which was proving impossible, very clear instructions (unlike other tube descriptions) many, many thanks
like a teacher u teach..... thanks..
WOW!!! you guys are always the TOP LEVEL Instructors. followed every single step and I've just restored a machine that was about to be trashed. thanks so much.
I’ve used this tutorial a few times. Works every time
The Catalina release will no longer fit on a 8GB USB drive. It is 8.1 GB in size once the create media tool is finished
Actually is 8.3 gb now lol
Wow! I wish every tutorial was like yours man honestly! Like I mean I have been searching how to do this for 2 days and have watched few videos in two days and wondering why could they not just tell me about the drag and drop functions which makes life so easier when it comes to this? Anyways I had to like this video and I have subbed simply for the simplicity of your explanation. Thanks a million by the way! I am yet to try it still and when I do and it works, I will update my comments here.
Best and easiest tutorial for catalina bootable ISO!👍🏽
This is better than apples instructions! thank you much simpler than there way that didn't even work for me!
Thank you! I still use a Late-2012 Mac mini (i7) for music recording and one day the SSD *WILL* fail. Catalina is the last MacOS to work on it, so having a bootable USB installer is a must for a new drive. Liked. Subscribed. 👍
The most effective and time saving video on the issue you are a genius
You have a really lovely way about you, Jeff. I've watched so many different tutorials to do this - along with trying to understand the Apple instructions... Yet you have made it so much clearer for me. I've successfully created a Catalina bootable USB. Thank you :D x
this is the best tutorial on internet....period
A masterpiece 👍🏼👏🏼How to easy understand what to do with terminal, thank you very much for this tutorial.
Thank you for your excellent tutorial. You are very easy to follow. I just created my first bootable drive thanks to you.
At first I thought this was crap but it really works 100%. Thank you a lot
best description of this process I have seen! it is not difficult!
Thanks. This was much easier than another way I saw on these internets. I did it before a long time ago but forgot all the steps. This was very easy!
Can you use this on a mac computer that is too old for later mac os? Or for a windows computer?
Finally it works! Thank you so much! The best explanation available on the web...
and without any other software to make it bootable! thanks!!
In later version, we need to include
--applicationpath
in the terminal example: sudo xxxxx --volume xxxx --applicationpath xxxx
Amazing the way you explain every step! The best on this subject.
Great video. Thank you. Question, what size usb should I use? Thank you
Ok! Dude you Rock! I just finished creating mine and I came back to update as I had said I would. Thumbs up! again and wow! so time saving!
Thank you!!!!! Your instructions were so precise and clear and I have subscribed. Quick question: Can I now remove the Install MacOS Catalina from the applications drive? I am limited on space. Thank you.
Hey Jeff, I erased my old macbook air to pass to my sister. Thank you for this video it helped me. You are a legend!!! SUBSCRIBEDD
It helped me a lot in worst case. Thank you for making this kind of videos.
Like your content. To the point
THIS WAS THE ABSOLUTE BEST TUTORIAL 😊N THE NET!
This is so well produced. You're the man!
in the appstore, it only shows macos big sur, where can I download the macos catalina 10.15.4 data utility like you do to the video?
Sure I will do a clean install as I havent had a clean install OSX since High Sierra :)
Thanks for the advice and the tip that we dont even need to type all the directories just copy paste the USB stick.
Followed your instructions; it worked flawlessly. Question: Why couldn't I have simply dragged and dropped the install file onto the thumb drive from the location of the original file? Wouldn't it have worked? Just curious. Thanks.
excellent video - Jeff...outstanding guide! Making install drive as I type!
by far the best tutorial I have seen regarding this topic! clean and precise! straight to the point! cheers
Thanks for this video, it was a real help creating a os boot usb drive. Thanks!
Hey I’m already running Catalina, what do I do differently
Thank you! The copying to disk was going so SLOW! I thought it was stuck. Just need to be patient. Ughhhh.
when i press return terminal write this< zsh: killed --volume/Volumes/UNTITLED> ??? whats the wrong??? >>>>UNTITLED is the USB
I have several bootable install drives for my MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Pro…since they’re all running different versions of Mac OS.
You are awesome Jeff!
Wow this is very detailed. Will the process work for earlier versions such as 10.9? My Mac is showing that version to load into it before I can upgrade to the later versions. Thanks in advance.
Best guide, Sir
Thank you!
I used your tutorial do create a Mojave USB Flash Drive and downgrade my Mac, the Catalina doesn't work good with Windows on Bootcamp, my Audio doesn't work, now with Mojave it's all working again. Thank you.
You’re the best , sir Jeff
I used this method to make a bootable SD card with Catalina for my 2012 iMac last night. Make sure to use GUID partition map!
what does that mean?
Why
Thank you this was very helpful - got my old macbook air 2011 to work! :))
Amazing. Simply amazing. Thanks for the incredible tutorial. Liked and subbed!
I managed to do this with no issues. Thanks a lot!
Hi. A (maybe) silly question. Is it same for high sierra? I guess so... It's just to be sure. Thanks
One Question: Can i use this to install a new SSD? I have an old Mac Air 11.3" I want to up grade to a bigger SSD. Thanks in advance.
yes
Did it work for you Ed?
Excellent! thank you brother for taking the time to make the video. Totally worked for me!
Another tutorial Jeff. Would you make another one when Catalina is officially released? Also, do the second one with DiskMakerX or another app that can be used to make a USB installer. Thank you, Jeff.
Trying this to make use of Target Display Mode again
Make sure the usb drive is formatted with Mac External Journal not APFS or it wont erase.
If it’s this easy then the answer is “ HELL YEAH” 😁😁😁 thanks for such a wonderful tutorial !!!
I would love to spend a week with you to learn so many cool things on my Mac. Thanks!
Thanks guys, it's very Educative
Thanks for your kind information.. take love from Bangladesh
I did like everything u did, but when I boot up my macbook, my USB Flashdrive won't appear
Wowwww! The best video! Thank you so much brother Jeff!
Realy complete and workable walkthrough. I could make my USB drive perfectly. thanks.
This is if you are in Macos what abt if you running Linux OS or windows ??
While I waited I subscribed :) Very good video! Thanks!
26,000th upvote! :D
(it showed 2.5k before I pressed)
Really helpful video, goes over everything at a nice, easy to follow speed. :)
Very simple and informative. I had to re install Catalina because of the Kernel task issue. Thanks.
Thank you! I’m trying to downgrade big sur and I have watched about 6 videos on this and kept getting an error but yours worked! Yay!
Good tutorial Jeff, can you make a video on how to create a hackintoch usb drive
Unibeast
What should be the minimum storage capacity of a pendrive to copy the Catalina OS and making it a bootable device?
I’m on OS 10.8.5 currently. How do I upgrade to Catalina on my iMac please? Can I use the method in this video for my current OS version?
I’m stuck with error 102...
Can this be installed to an external drive with no danger to my original internal drive?
yes
If you want to test the Catalina public beta would you do a clean install or just install over the top of Mohave?
Amazing video worked like a charm i have subscribed and would love to see more on Catalina
Following using the usb to install from, can you place the os onto an external HD as part of the process?
Thank you for this video. Easy to understant 🙂
Hi, do I need to have the USB drive formatted before I do this? As I bought a brand new drive and want to make this boot drive straight out the packet? Or does this process format the drive when it makes the boot drive?
thanks for making this video, I needed this
absolutely beautiful and precise tutorial
well done. best tutorial i've seen.
What's the difference between installing Catalina the way you just describe from a USB vs not quitting the install process after it downloaded from software updates in preferences?
There's no real difference. It's just giving you the flexibility to install from USB, along with the advantages that stem from that install method.
Worked precisely 😊😊
Thank You so much 🙏
Does the flashdrive have to be formatted for Mac?