How to create a macOS Ventura bootable USB installer
In this post I’ll show you step by step how to create a macOS Ventura bootable USB installer. In today’s versions of macOS, it’s not as important to have a USB installer disk on hand like it used to be several years back, but portable installers can still come in handy. As someone who generally maintains multiple Macs, I find USB installers especially handy for installing macOS in environments with slow internet speeds.
Things you’ll need:
- A Mac.
- A USB drive with at least 14GB of free space (Apple recommended amount).
- About 15 minutes of your time.
Video tutorial: macOS Ventura boot disk
Subscribe to Cellular on YouTube for more
Guide: how to create a macOS Ventura USB installer
Note: The contents of the USB drive will be completely erased. Please verify that the drive’s contents are backed up before proceeding.
Step 1: Connect your USB drive to your Mac.
Step 2: Download macOS Ventura from the Mac App Store.
Step 3: Open Applications → Utilities → Terminal.
Step 4: In the Terminal window type: sudo followed by a space.
Step 5: Open Finder → Applications, right click on Install macOS Ventura, and select Show Package Contents.
Step 6: Open Contents → Resources and drag createinstallmedia to the Terminal window. A space will automatically be placed at the end of the path location.
Step 7: In the same Terminal window type the following with a space inserted afterward:
-- volume Step 8: Open Finder and in the menu bar click Go → Go to Folder. Type /volumes and press Return on your keyboard.
Step 9: Drag the location of the USB drive to the Terminal window and press Return on your keyboard.
Step 10: You’ll now be asked to enter your Administrator password. Once you do, you’ll be asked to verify that you wish to erase the USB volume. Type ‘Y’ and press Return on your keyboard to continue.
Step 11: Createinstallmedia will now run. First it will erase the disk, then make the disk bootable, and finally, copy the needed contents to disk to complete the macOS Ventura USB installer. The process will take about 5-10 minutes.
Step 12: Once the process is completed, Terminal will report that install media is now available at “Volumes/Install macOS Ventura”. You can now close Terminal, open Finder, and eject the Install macOS Ventura USB drive.
Booting from the macOS Ventura USB installer
Note: These following steps pertain to Macs with Apple Silicon. If you’re using an Intel Mac, hold Option (⌥) instead of the power button in step 3.
Step 1: Power down your Mac
Step 2: Connect the macOS Ventura USB installer.
Step 3: Press and hold the power button on your Mac and continue holding. You should see the Apple logo and eventually a message that says: continue holding for startup options.
Step 4: After a few seconds, you will see a message that says Loading startup options, after which you can remove your finger from the power button.
Step 5: The startup selector will appear, and Install macOS Ventura should appear as one of the options. Select Install macOS Ventura and click Continue.
Step 6: In most cases the macOS Recovery interface with your users. Click your user, and you’ll be requested to enter your administrator password. Once the password is entered, click Continue.
Step 7: You’ll now have the option to set up the installation of macOS Ventura using your desired method.
Conclusion
As I stated at the outset, not everyone will find a macOS Ventura bootable USB installer useful in 2022, but it’s nice to have on hand when needed. I find that it comes in handy when needing to upgrade a machine to Ventura that’s in an area with slow network connectivity. For that reason, I’ll always keep one close by.
What do you think? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts.