Boot Up Mac From Usb

Boot Up Mac From Usb

The Mac will restart and it will boot from that drive. It will now boot from any drive you connect over USB or Thunderbolt so you can keep an emergency clone ready to go at any time. The entire process of setting your Mac to boot from USB should take around half an hour at most. Install it on a fast SSD and you've got a usable dual-boot system on your hands. Or you could install macOS on a flash drive, stick it in a drawer, and keep it for emergencies. Target disk files allow you to share files between two Macs that are connected via FireWire, Thunderbolt 2, USB-C, or Thunderbolt 3. One Mac shows up as an external disk on the other Mac, so you can browse and copy files over like you would from a hard drive. How to start up in target disk mode.
How to Boot Mac from USB Media. After creating a bootable USB drive, the user simply needs to plug the created drive into the open port on the Mac. Here are the steps to boot Mac from the USB flash drive: Power on the system. Adobe reader for mac high sierra download. Press and hold the Option (Alt) key on the keyboard when the computer starts.
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.
What you need to create a bootable installerA USB flash drive or other secondary volume formatted as Mac OS Extended, with at least 14GB of available storage
A downloaded installer for macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, or El Capitan
Download macOSDownload: macOS Big Sur, macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave, or macOS High Sierra
These download to your Applications folder as an app named Install macOS [version name]. If the installer opens after downloading, quit it without continuing installation. To get the correct 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. 
Download: OS X El Capitan
This downloads as a disk image named InstallMacOSX.dmg. On a Mac that is compatible with El Capitan, open the disk image and run the installer within, named InstallMacOSX.pkg. It installs an app named Install OS X El Capitan into your Applications folder. You will create the bootable installer from this app, not from the disk image or .pkg installer.
Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in TerminalConnect the USB flash drive or other volume that you're using for the bootable installer. 
Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
Type or paste one of the following commands in Terminal. These assume that the installer is 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.
Big Sur:*
Catalina:*
Mojave:*
High Sierra:*
El Capitan:
* If your Mac is using macOS Sierra or earlier, include the --applicationpath argument and installer path, similar to the way this is done in the command for El Capitan.

After typing the command:
Press Return to enter the command.
When prompted, type your administrator password and press Return again. Terminal doesn't show any characters as you type your password.
When prompted, type Y to confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return. Terminal shows the progress as the volume is erased.
After the volume is erased, you may see an alert that Terminal would like to access files on a removable volume. Click OK to allow the copy to proceed. 
When Terminal says that it's done, the volume will have the same name as the installer you downloaded, such as Install macOS Big Sur. You can now quit Terminal and eject the volume.
Use the bootable installerDetermine whether you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, then follow the appropriate steps:
Apple siliconPlug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
Turn on your Mac and continue to hold the power button until you see the startup options window, which shows your bootable volumes and a gear icon labled Options.
Select the volume containing the bootable installer, then click Continue.
When the macOS installer opens, follow the onscreen instructions.
Intel processorPlug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
Press and hold the Option (Alt) ⌥ key immediately after turning on or restarting your Mac.
Release the Option key when you see a dark screen showing your bootable volumes.
Select the volume containing the bootable installer. Then click the up arrow or press Return. 
If you can't start up from the bootable installer, make sure that the External Boot setting in Startup Security Utility is set to allow booting from external media.
Choose your language, if prompted.
Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.
Learn moreFor 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 the appropriate path in Terminal:
Big Sur: /Applications/Install macOS Big Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia
Catalina: /Applications/Install macOS Catalina.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia
Mojave: /Applications/Install macOS Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia
High Sierra: /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia
El Capitan: /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia
A bootable installer doesn't download macOS from the internet, but it does require an internet connection to get firmware and other information specific to the Mac model.
Starting your Surface from a USB drive can be useful if you want to change firmware settings or Windows startup settings.
Booting from a USB device doesn't refresh or reset your Surface. Instead, it lets you start your Surface using Windows or another operating system that's on your USB device.
For info about recommended recovery methods, see Restore or reset Surface.
Important: This article contains advanced troubleshooting steps. You'll need to be comfortable with using a command prompt and configuring the UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, also known as the BIOS) on your Surface. For more info, see How to use Surface UEFI.
Make this Surface start from a USB driveNote: If you don't want to start your Surface from your USB drive, make sure the drive isn't inserted in the USB port on your Surface when you start it.
For all Surface models 

Before you start, make sure you don't have any other USB devices connected to your Surface, including USB mouse devices, keyboards, or other storage drives. Surface will try to boot from any other connected USB devices. Here's how to boot from a USB. 
Shut down your Surface.
Insert the bootable USB drive into the USB port on your Surface.
 For info about how to create a bootable USB drive for your Surface, see Creating and using a USB recovery drive for Surface.
Press and hold the volume-down button on the Surface. While you're doing this, press and release the power button.
The Microsoft or Surface logo appears on your screen. Continue to hold the volume-down button. Release the button once spinning dots appear beneath the logo.
Follow the on-screen instructions to boot from your USB drive.
Start from the USB through WindowsIf you're having trouble starting your Surface with the bootable USB, you can try booting through Windows. To do this:
Insert the USB drive into the USB port, and then select Start  > Settings > Update & security > Recovery.
Under Advanced startup, select Restart Now.
On the Choose an option screen, select Use a device > USB Storage.
Configure your Surface to start from a USB driveOnce your USB drive is set up as a bootable drive with an appropriate operating system on it, you'll need to set up your Surface to boot from this drive. This requires you to make changes in the UEFI so that the USB drive is the first option. Here's how:
Shut down your Surface.
Once Surface has turned off, press and hold the volume-up button.
With the volume-up button held down, press and release the power button.
Continue holding the volume-up button until the Surface or Windows logo no longer appears on the screen.
You should now see the Surface UEFI. You'll need to follow specific instructions for your Surface to proceed.
Change the boot orderYou'll need to change the boot order so that your Surface boots from a USB.
For most Surface modelsThese instructions apply to these Surface models:
Surface Pro 4, Surface Pro (5th Gen), Surface Pro 6, Surface Pro 7, Surface Pro 7+, and Surface Pro X
Surface Book, Surface Book 2, and Surface Book 3
Surface Laptop (1st Gen), Surface Laptop 2, Surface Laptop 3, Surface Laptop Go
Surface Go, Surface Go 2
To change the Surface boot configuration:
Select Boot configuration.
Select USB Storage and drag it to the top of the list. Alternatively, you can swipe left on USB Storage to boot to the device immediately. This will not affect the boot order.
Select Exit and then select Restart Now.
For Surface Pro 3 and Surface 3 Select Configure Alternate System Boot Order.
Do one of the following:
Surface Pro 3: Select USB > SSD.
Surface 3: Select Network > USB > SSD.
Select Exit Setup.
Select Yes to save the configuration and restart Surface.
For Surface Pro (1st Gen) and Surface Pro 2Note: This may affect the look of your Surface splash screen.
Select Secure Boot Control.
Select Disable. This will allow Surface to search for an alternate device to boot from instead of from your SSD.
Select Exit Setup.
Select Yes to save the configuration and restart Surface.
The USB drive doesn't workMake sure that the USB drive is formatted as FAT32. Here's how to ensure the USB device is properly formatted as a bootable drive:
Warning: Setting up the USB drive will erase everything that's stored on it. Make sure to transfer any important data on your USB drive to another storage device before continuing.
Insert a USB drive into your Surface. (The USB drive should be at least 16 GB. If you have a Surface RT or Surface 2, an 8 GB USB drive will work.)
Open a Command Prompt window as an administrator. (To do this, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.)
In the Command Prompt window, enter diskpart, and then press Enter.
To determine the drive number or letter of the USB drive, at the command prompt, enter list disk, and press Enter.
 The list disk command displays all the disks on the computer. Note the drive number or drive letter of the USB drive.
At the command prompt, enter select disk X (where X is the drive number or drive letter of the USB drive that you noted in the last step), and press Enter.
Enter clean, and press Enter. This will delete all data from the USB drive.
To create a new primary partition on the USB drive, enter create part pri, and press Enter.
To select the partition that you just created, enter select part 1, and press Enter.
To format the partition, enter format fs=fat32 quick, and press Enter.
Enter active, and press Enter.
Enter exit, and press Enter.
When you have the operating system image that you want to boot to, save it to the root of the USB drive.
If that's not the problem, check the following:
Make sure that Enable Boot from USB devices is On under Advanced options of the UEFI Boot configuration screen. To find out how to boot to the UEFI configuration, see How do I use the BIOS/UEFI? and How to use Surface UEFI.
If you have configured a boot order, check the Advanced options in the UEFI Boot configuration screen to ensure that Enable alternate boot sequence is On. To find out how to boot to the UEFI configuration, see How do I use the BIOS/UEFI? and How to use Surface UEFI.
Use another USB drive, if possible.
If you currently have a Windows Insider build installed, you may need to first turn off and then turn on Secure Boot for the USB boot drive to be recognized. For more info on how to change Secure Boot, see How do I use the BIOS/UEFI? and How to use Surface UEFI.
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