In this article we will cover how to get old versions of Mac OS X including El Capitan, Sierra, Yosemite and more - or rather how to get hold of the installer so that you can install the software. Whether you want to install High Sierra or reinstall it because the first installation wasn’t successful or if you want to install macOS High Sierra on many Macs, you’ll definitely need a bootable USB. Here’s how to Create macOS High Sierra Bootable USB Installer on Windows. After you download, install the.
Make your Mac invincible
Normally when you install a new version of macOS, you just install it over the previous version. It’s quick, easy and means we can be back up and running in no time, with all your apps and data ready to use. Your data remains but your software and file junk remains as well.
That’s why, sometimes, it makes more sense to run a clean install. Whether it’s because your Mac has accumulated so many junk files that it’s performance is badly affected or because you’re passing your Mac onto someone else and want to make sure all your data is removed. Or maybe you just want that fresh out of the box Mac experience again. Whatever your reasons, here is how to clean install macOS High Sierra.
How to prepare your Mac for the clean install
Before you do anything, check that your Mac is able to run Apple's new operating system.
To complete the clean install procedure described below, you'll need:
- macOS High Sierra Installer,available from the Mac App Store.
- a 16GB or larger USB flash drive
Notice: USB drive is needed for a clean install on your Mac’s startup drive. If you plan to clean install macOS on a non-startup drive, you don't need it. - go for a system cleanup and backup your data - this will allow you to easily return your Mac to the condition it was in before you installed macOS.
- and an hour or two to spare.
Choose the right way to clean install macOS High Sierra
Before you proceed, you need to make a choice how to run a clean install. If you only have one drive and it’s not partitioned and this is where you have all your files and your OS, your choice is to clean install on the startup drive. This way entails one important fact: all your files and data will be deleted during the process.
If you have another drive or volume other than your startup drive, use the second way which is clean installing on a non-startup drive. It’s a more lenient and less intrusive way because your Mac doesn’t get wiped clean, only your system.
If you don’t know which one you have, go with the first option, startup drive.
How to clean install macOS on a startup drive
Once you have everything that's needed, let's begin. Don’t worry, this step-by-step guide will walk you through all you need to do.
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The process of performing a clean install involves wiping your Mac’s main drive clean so it’s essential that you back it up immediately before you start. You might not want to backup the files you don’t need and system junk, so make sure to clean that up beforehand. An easy way to go about this is to get a Mac cleaning app like CleanMyMac. It will save to hours of manual file cleanup and polish your system before the backup.
Start with a system cleanup
Delete everything you don't need - large and old files and archives, useless apps, cache data and other junk, duplicate files - all these files silently eat up the disk space, duplicate images are especially hard to find out.
You can always use CleanMyMac to cleanup macOS system junk, large and old files, and remove unwanted apps. You could do it manually, but CleanMyMac only all it takes is a few clicks.
Then you can use Gemini to easily find duplicate files and folders on your hard drive, so you can delete them and save precious storage space.
Backup your data
Now, for the backup itself use Get Backup Pro. It’s more powerful than Apple’s own Time Machine. It’s also a good idea to create a bootable clone, so if anything goes wrong you can go back to where you started easily. Also, a cloned drive makes copying files back to your newly-updated system very easy. And move your images and documents into the cloud or to an external drive, just to be on the safe side.
As well as backing up your Mac, you should also take screenshots of settings in any apps you’ve customized so that you can set them up again quickly later. And make sure you have a record of license codes for apps and passwords for websites.
Clean install macOS, securely
Your Mac deserves a fresh start. Get the right tools for clean installing Apple's operating system.
Create a bootable macOS installer
- Download macOS High Sierra from the App Store. Here is a link to find it on apple.com.
- When it’s finished, the installer will launch. As soon as it does, select File and Quit (or keyboard shortcut Command-Q) so it doesn’t install. The installer will remain in your Applications folder.
- Plug in the USB stick and launch Disk Utilities.
It’s a good idea to use a USB stick to put the bootable installer onto. It will need to be at least 8GB in size. - Click the Erase tab and make sure Mac OS Extended (Journaled) is selected in the format tab.
- Give the USB stick a name, then click Erase.
- When it’s finished, click Done and close Disk Utility.
- Launch Terminal either by searching for it in Spotlight or navigating to the Utilities folder in Applications.
- Type, or paste, the following command into Terminal, where [YOUR DRIVE NAME] is the name you gave the installer drive when you formatted it:
sudo /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/[YOUR DRIVE NAME] --applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app
Notice: Remember to replace [YOUR DRIVE NAME] with the name of your installer disk. - Hit Return.
- Type in your admin password and wait.
- When the process is finished, the word Done will appear in the Terminal window.
- You can then quit Terminal
Install macOS on your startup disk drive
Make sure you backup your Mac to keep your important files, before taking next step, that erase your Mac’s Startup drive.
To erase your Mac’s main drive:
- Go to System Preferences
- Сlick Startup disk and choose the installer you just created.
- Restart your Mac and hold down Command-R to boot into recovery mode.
- Take your bootable USB and connect it to your Mac.
When the macOS Utilities screen appears, follow these steps:
- Select Reinstall a new copy of macOS.
- Click Continue, then click Continue again when the next window appears.
- Agree to the terms and conditions, then select your Mac’s internal drive.
- Click Install.
- Wait for macOS High Sierra to install and your Mac to restart.
When your Mac has restarted, you’ll need to follow the process of setting it up as if it was a brand new Mac. So, you’ll need to connect to your wifi router and type in the password. Then you’ll need to type in the details for your iCloud account. Then you’ll have to set up a new admin user account.
Once you’ve done that, you can start installing apps. In order to re-install Setapp apps, go to setapp.com to get Setapp installer or download Setapp here. You’ll need your username and password.
It’s a good idea to only download those apps you need to use straight away. Other apps can be downloaded as and when you need them. That way you avoid cluttering up your brand new macOS.
If you use a cloud service like Dropbox, now is the time to re-connect. And you can copy any documents, photos or other files you need from the backup you made at the start.
Find more information about Apple Mac update
Clean Install macOS High Sierra on a non-startup drive
You don’t need a backup for this option, it’s safer and faster than the previous way but only available to you if you have an extra drive or your drive is broken down into volumes.
Here’s how to instal your new macOS on the non-startup disk.
Step 1. Erase your non-startup drive
Before you install the new OS on it, you need to erase all data on the drive you’ve chosen for it. To do it, use Disk Utility. Choose the volume you’d like to clean up and click Erase.
If you still need some info from that drive, you can use an app like ChronoSync Express to sync it with another drive and keep the files.
Step 2. Download the macOS High Sierra Installer from the Mac App Store
To download it, open the Mac App Store and go to the Updates tab (Here is a link.) When your installer is downloaded it will launch automatically but you need to quit it.
Fortunately, for this option you don’t need to create a specific bootable drive and you can simply use the installer from your startup drive and install the macOS onto the other one.
Step 3. Install macOS High Sierra to your non-startup drive
Launch the Installer from the Applications folder and press Continue. Change the target drive for installation. macOS will offer you startup drive by default so you need to click Show All Disks button and choose your non-startup disk volume. From then on simply follow the installation guide and after that you’ll have to set up your Mac as a new one. That entails creating a new user account, setting up date and time zone etc.
Now that you have the latest macOS, you can enjoy its superior features and top performance. Clean install (when performed on a startup drive) does remove your apps so if you don’t feel like looking for every app and their licenses again, get Setapp. More than 100 apps in one suite available by subscription. Saves you time and money on looking for apps for your daily tasks.
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The macOS High Sierra is the newer version of Apple’s operating system which is still vastly used and loved by users. macOS High Sierra was launched and put out back in 2017 WWDC. But even with the newer versions, there are still lots of users who wants to install High Sierra. Because most users whose Mac aren’t compatible with can download and install in their old Mac. Users can install macOS High Sierra on their old Macs and make use of it. Here’s how to Create macOS High Sierra Bootable USB installer on Windows.
You can install macOS High Sierra on Mac, iMac, MacBook, and even Windows, Linux, and more. But for the most part, you’d need a bootable USB installer. Now sometimes you’ve access to Windows while your Mac isn’t working or have some problem. In this case, you’d probably want to create macOS High Sierra Bootable USB Installer on Windows. For those who doesn’t know, creating a macOS bootable USB installer on Windows is definitely possible and can be done with really simple steps with software like TransMac.
- Related:How to Create macOS Catalina USB Installer on Windows
A bootable USB is required for quite lots of things like installing macOS High Sierra on PC via Hackintosh, or installing High Sierra on Mac or Macs. Hackintosh is an act that allows users to install and use macOS on PC. A bootable USB is required for installing any operating system. Not only macOS High Sierra but you’ll also need a bootable USB drive to install new versions of macOS Mojave, macOS Catalina, and updated versions.
A bootable flash drive is an external hard drive or optical disk that is created with a computer operating system and can be used to boot a desktop computer or laptop instead of the Windows installation DVD. The USB drive has replaced bootable disks. Before USB drives were on-trend people used to use bootable disks instead of bootable USB drives.
What is The Need of USB
A USB flash drive is a portable storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. It is probably removable, rewritable, and much smaller than an optical disc. You can store any information, file, or any other file in a USB drive.
You can write, erase, or enter any information files and similar files or videos like that. You can find many USB flash drives with different storage space. USB flash drives are frequently used for storage, data back-up, and transfer of computer files. The primary need of USB is to store, transfer and send files from one place to another better and quicker.
- Related:How to Create macOS Mojave USB Installer on Windows
Beside it, you can create a bootable USB for installation purposes. If you want to install one operating system or dual boot that would be to work both of them like; macOS and Windows. Another reason why you need a USB is, installing an operating system with USB is much easier and quicker.
These are also some other common reasons why do we need a USB. Some of them are, transferring a file or a bunch of files is easier with a USB. USB drives are like a backup drive of the files or documents that you have in. The plus point is that USB drives are way smaller rather than a computer or a laptop, and there are uncountable reasons why we need a USB drive.
What You’ll Need
Before we start the process of creating a bootable USB installer for macOS High Sierra we need some key items.
- Access to Mac OS X or macOS (version 10.12 or later)
- Bootable USB Maker TransMac
- A 16GB USB flash drive
Not to miss one, recheck and pick all of them. Except for others, when its there, install TransMac straightly. Click next a couple of times until the installation screen and that’s it. You’ll see the finish window. So let’s dive into how to Create macOS High Sierra Bootable USB Installer on Windows.
How to Create macOS High Sierra Bootable USB Installer on Windows
Whether you want to install High Sierra or reinstall it because the first installation wasn’t successful or if you want to install macOS High Sierra on many Macs, you’ll definitely need a bootable USB. Here’s how to Create macOS High Sierra Bootable USB Installer on Windows.
Mac High Sierra Download Usb
After you download, install the required items. Then we are gonna create macOS High Sierra bootable USB installer on Windows.
Installing TransMac
After TransMac is installed, open it and insert your USB flash drive and when it appeared there, right-click on it and select Format Disk for Mac.
Make sure to select the USB drive to format as others are the Windows drivers so be careful.
First, take a backup and then follow here. Now enter a name for the USB and click OK. This part will remove everything from the device. If you haven’t take a backup of your files don’t follow this step.
Name Drive for Mac Volume
Right-click on the USB drive and select Restore with Disk Image.
It will ask you to choose a disk image to restore so you should click on the three dots and select macOS High Sierra DMG.
Browse DMG
After you clicked on macOS DMG it will open up a screen with macOS High Sierra DMG file. Click on the DMG file and press Open.
Wait for a little bit for the process to write the DMG file to USB drive.
Restoring image to Disk
After the process ends, your bootable USB for macOS High Sierra is ready. The process was simple and quick. Now you can install High Sierra typically as you’d do.
Download And Install Mac Os Sierra From Usb Drive
If you want to install macOS High Sierra on Windows, you can check out the article. You can also check out our similar articles to this like Create macOS Catalina USB installer on Windows, Create macOS Mojave USB Installer on Windows.
Download Mac Os X Sierra
That was how to Create macOS High Sierra Bootable USB Installer on Windows. We hope it was informative and useful. If you have any suggestions or questions related to this topic, you’re open to make comments below.