If you’re not comfortable with the command line, you can also use a tool like MDS to download installers and create boot disks with. If you’re not familiar with the command line, be sure to backup the Mac first, and to follow the instructions exactly. MacOS Big Sur compatible Mac to download and create the installer, and to install ontoīe aware this requires using the command line.A USB thumb drive (16GB minimum) – this will be formatted to become the macOS Big Sur installer.The “Install macOS Big Sur.app” installer application in the /Applications/ folder ( downloaded (you can re-download it if you need to from Big Sur).Whatever the reason you want one, let’s check out the process of making a bootable installer drive for macOS Big Sur.īefore getting started, you will need the following: Check out the following tutorials to learn how to create a bootable DVD or USB Flash Drive.There are many useful reasons to have a bootable installer USB drive for macOS Big Sur, whether to perform updates, installs, clean installs, install onto multiple machines, have as a troubleshooting tool, and so much more. You can now use the Install macOS Big Sur app to upgrade your Mac’s operating system or use it to create removable media to upgrade another Mac. Wait for the progress to reach 100% and the output to say Install finished successfully, then you should see the Install macOS Big Sur app appear in Applications. All it’s doing is downloading the installer to your Applications folder. You will notice the output of the command reads Installing X%.ĭon’t worry, it’s not installing the update on your Mac.

softwareupdate -fetch-full-installer -full-installer-version 11.6 Step 2: Download Big Sur Installer with Software Update UtilityĪs of writing, the latest version of macOS Big Sur is 11.6, you can download it by running the following command (replace 11.6 with the version you want to download). Open the Terminal app by pressing Command + Space, searching for “Terminal” then pressing Return.

You can use it to upgrade macOS or create removable media to update a different Mac. This tutorial will show you how to download the macOS Big Sur installer on your Mac. Perfect for development environments and practice labs. Run Linux, macOS, vSphere and more on a single PC or Mac. Run Multiple Operating Systems on PC and Macĭownload VMware's Powerful desktop virtualization tool for Developers and IT Professionals.

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