May 9, 2024

How to Create a Bootable macOS Ventura USB Installer [Video]

Posted October 26, 2022 at 3:02pm by iClarified · 69486 views
These are instructions on how to create a bootable USB installer for macOS Ventura.

A bootable installer for macOS Ventura makes it easy to install the operating system onto multiple Macs no matter their version of macOS. It's also useful to have when installing on a device with slow Internet access.




Create Ventura USB Installer



Step One


To create a bootable installer, connect a 16GB or larger USB flash drive (formatted to Mac OS Extended) to your computer, then launch the Mac App Store from your dock.




Step Two


Navigate to the macOS Ventura application page and click the Get button to download macOS Ventura.




Step Three


You may be brought to a Software Update window, click Upgrade Now or Download to begin downloading the macOS installer.



Step Four


Once the macOS Ventura installer launches, press the Command+Q keys on the keyboard to exit. Then click Quit.





Step Five
Open your Applications folder and select the 'Install macOS Ventura' app. Press Command+i on the keyboard and verify its size.


If the macOS Ventura installer app is over 10GB, skip to the next step.



If it's tiny (~20MB), you have a few options.
1. You can run it to install macOS Ventura and then redownload the installer.
2. You can delete it, upgrade to the latest version of Monterey from the Mac App Store, then redownload the installer.
3. You can delete it and use one of the direct download links found here.


Step Six


Once you've verified that you have the full installer, launch Terminal from the Applications:Utilities folder.




Step Seven


Note the name of your USB drive.



Execute the following command in the Terminal window to create a macOS Ventura installer, replacing 'Untitled' with the name of your USB key. Please note this will erase the entire USB drive.

sudo '/Applications/Install macOS Ventura.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia' --volume '/Volumes/Untitled'



You will be asked to enter your Administrative account password.



Type Y and press Enter to begin.




Step Eight


If prompted to allow Terminal to access your removable device, click OK.



After about 30 minutes the creation of your macOS Ventura USB installer will be complete.




Install macOS Ventura


If you have an Intel Mac, restart your computer and hold down the Option key after hearing the boot sound. You'll be presented with a list of bootable drives. Select the USB installer drive from the boot menu to begin.

If you have an Apple Silicon Mac, power off your device. Turn it back on and keep holding down the power button until you see the boot menu appear. You can then select the bootable install drive to begin installing macOS Ventura.




USB Stick


If you want a suggestion on which flash drive to use for your macOS Ventura bootable installer, the Samsung Fit Plus is a compact and affordable option. Most drives 16GB or larger will work; however, you'll likely want a drive that is USB 3.0 or newer for best performance. Samsung also has a new USB Type-C Flash Drive available.

If you purchase a new USB flash drive, it may need to be formatted as Mac OS Extended. You can use the Disk Utility app to do this before you attempt to make a bootable installer.

Important Notes


If you are looking to make bootable installer for macOS Monterey, you can find instructions on how to do that here:
How to Make a Bootable macOS Monterey USB Install Key [Video]


Please download the iClarified app or follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and RSS for more Apple news, videos, and tutorials.