Dec 16, 2019  Use Startup Manager or Startup Disk preferences to select the bootable installer as the startup disk, then start up from it. Your Mac will start up to macOS Recovery. Learn about selecting a startup disk, including what to do if your Mac doesn't start up from it. Jul 08, 2011  Solution: Re-dowload OS X Lion, Open Disk Utility, locate InstallESD.dmg file from SharedSupport folder and double click it (Automatically the InstallESD.dmg and Mac OS X Install ESD is going to mount in the Disk Utility application on the left side), Drag the Mac OS X Install ESD file to the Source and Drag your usb partition (if you have more. Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions. Learn more For more information about the createinstallmedia command and the arguments that you can use with it, make sure that the macOS installer is in your Applications folder, then enter this path in Terminal.

To create a bootable USB drive from a DMG file on Windows, you will need to have the right utility. That's because DMG is not native on Windows. It is the Mac equivalent of an ISO file that has been in use since Apple transitioned from the IMG format with Mac OS X. A DMG file, like ISO, can be used to install macOS operating system or Mac apps. If the Mac computer was broken or crashed and couln't get into the system, but you only have access to a Windows PC, there's still a way to make a bootable macOS install USB on Windows.

This article looks at three applications that you can use to create a bootable USB drive from a DMG file in Windows. All of them have their advantages and disadvantages, which we have highlighted. You can make the best choice for you based on the information provided below. They are in no particular order of preference.

TransMac - Make DMG File Bootable USB on Windows

This is a fairly robust application for creating bootable USB on Windows from a DMG file. However, there's a preparatory step to be executed before you can create the bootable USB drive. The typical disk partition used is MBR, but you will need to do a partition with GPT for this to work. You can do so by executing the diskpart command in Windows CMD. Alternatively, you can do it from within TransMac, as shown in the instructions shown below the next paragraph.

Once this is done, you can download TransMac and use the two-week free trial period to get the job done free of cost. You can always upgrade if you like the utility and want to keep using it after the trial period has ended. Once you download and install the application, insert your formatted USB drive and follow the instructions below:

Step 1: If you haven't formatted the USB, right-click on your USB drive in the left panel and select Format Disk for Mac from the contextual menu.

Step 2: Right-click again on the drive in the left panel and this time select Restore with Disk Image.

Step 3 : Select the DMG file and click on Open. Once the process is complete, you can eject the drive and use it on a Mac. To boot from this media, hold down the Option key and fire up your Mac.

Convert DMG to ISO and Create macOS Boot USB from Windows

Since ISO is a better format for Windows, you can also convert the DMG to the ISO format and then use the ISO disk image to create the bootable USB. Please note that you can't boot your Mac from bootable USB made from an ISO file, which means you'll have to convert it back to DMG prior to that. Still, it's an effective way to create bootable media for a Mac computer. Here's how it works:

Step 1: Once you have the macOS install DMG file on a Windows PC, click on Windows + R to open the run dialog box, and type in CMD, then hit Enter. When the Command Prompt opens up, use the following command to convert the file to ISO:
hdiutil convert /path/sourceimagefile.dmg -format UDTO -o /path/targetmage.iso

Step 2: Download and install UUByte ISO Editor on your PC, insert the USB drive and launch the application.

Step 3: Click Burn button on the main screen and point to the converted ISO file. The drive will be automatically detected and click on Burn icon to burn the ISO to the USB drive.

Once the ISO is burned to the file, you can insert it into a Mac and convert it back into the DMG format. Since you're converting the file twice, there's a chance that the file could get corrupted in the process. If that happens repeatedly, then try this next method.

PowerISO: Make Bootable Mac Install USB on Windows 10/8/7

This Windows utility allows you do create bootable USB from DMG on a PC. You can also edit the DMG or extract the contents, and there's also an option to copy it to a disk. For this particular exercise, we'll show you how to use PowerISO to create a bootable USB drive on Windows without having to convert the disk image into another format like ISO.

Step 1: Download and install the application on your PC.

Step 2: Insert your USB drive and launch PowerISO.

Step 3: In the Tools menu, select 'Create Bootable USB Drive… '. You will need to give admin privileges to the software. Alternatively, you can run the program as admin when you launch it.

Step 4: Select the USB drive in the section called Destination USB Drive.

Step 5: Leave all other default as they are and click on 'Start' to burn DMG to the USB drive.

You should be able to see the progress, and a new popup will appear when the bootable media is ready. You can now eject the media and use it to run the DMG on a Mac computer.

Conclusion:

All of these methods are workable, so select the right one for you based on your level of knowledge and your preference.

These advanced steps are primarily for system administrators and others who are familiar with the command line. You don't need a bootable installer to upgrade macOS or reinstall macOS, but it can be useful when you want to install on multiple computers without downloading the installer each time.

Download macOS

Find the appropriate download link in the upgrade instructions for each macOS version:

How To Install Mac Os X Dmg From Usb Drive

• macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave, and macOS High Sierra download directly to your Applications folder as an app named Install macOS Catalina, Install macOS Mojave or Install macOS High Sierra. If the installer opens after downloading, quit it without continuing installation.
  To get the required installer, download from a Mac that is using macOS Sierra 10.12.5 or later or El Capitan 10.11.6. Enterprise administrators, please download from Apple, not a locally hosted software-update server.
• macOS Sierra downloads as a disk image that contains a file named InstallOS.pkg. Open this file and follow the onscreen instructions. It installs an app named Install macOS Sierra into your Applications folder.
• OS X El Capitan downloads as a disk image that contains a file named InstallMacOSX.pkg. Open this file and follow the onscreen instructions. It installs an app named Install OS X El Capitan into your Applications folder.

Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in Terminal

1. Connect the USB flash drive or other volume that you're using for the bootable installer. Make sure that it has at least 12GB of available storage and is formatted as Mac OS Extended.
2. Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
3. Type or paste one of the following commands in Terminal. These assume that the installer is still in your Applications folder, and MyVolume is the name of the USB flash drive or other volume you're using. If it has a different name, replace MyVolume in these commands with the name of your volume.
   Catalina:*
   Mojave:*
   
   High Sierra:*
   Sierra:
   El Capitan:
   
4. Press Return after typing the command.
5. When prompted, type your administrator password and press Return again. Terminal doesn't show any characters as you type your password.
6. When prompted, type Y to confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return. Terminal shows the progress as the bootable installer is created.
7. When Terminal says that it's done, the volume will have the same name as the installer you downloaded, such as Install macOS Catalina. You can now quit Terminal and eject the volume.

Mac Os Usb Drive

* If your Mac is using macOS Sierra or earlier, include the --applicationpath argument, similar to the way this argument is used in the commands for Sierra and El Capitan.

Use the bootable installer

After creating the bootable installer, follow these steps to use it:

1. Plug the bootable installer into a compatible Mac.
2. Use Startup Manager or Startup Disk preferences to select the bootable installer as the startup disk, then start up from it. Your Mac will start up to macOS Recovery.
   Learn about selecting a startup disk, including what to do if your Mac doesn't start up from it.
3. Choose your language, if prompted.
4. A bootable installer doesn't download macOS from the Internet, but it does require the Internet to get information specific to your Mac model, such as firmware updates. If you need to connect to a Wi-Fi network, use the Wi-Fi menu in the menu bar.
5. Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.

Learn more

For more information about the createinstallmedia command and the arguments that you can use with it, make sure that the macOS installer is in your Applications folder, then enter this path in Terminal:

Install Mac Os X.dmg Usb Stick

Catalina:

Mojave:

High Sierra:

Sierra:

How To Install Mac Os X Dmg From Usb Adapter

El Capitan: