# Create a bootable installer for macOS - Issue?



## VNJ85 (Feb 24, 2006)

I'm in the process of doing a fresh install of Monterey. In past years I would grab my external drive that is half partitioned and used as a backup, and the other is empty and used for whatever OSX version I want to install fresh. One side with my back up files, another side with the bootable drive with whatever OSX. I would run the software DiskMaker X and it would easily allow me to select the empty partitioned portion and format/create it into a bootable partition with the operating system that allowed me to do a fresh install. 

It seems with recent updates to OSX there's a native feature that allows users to do this, 'createinstallmedia'. I've been reading the method and documentation and I'm nervous to use it. In some documentation it says use Disk Utility will erase the "root" drive, and not the specific 'volume". 

I don't want to erase from the root, it would kill all my back up files. 

Any advice?


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## phil_4007 (Nov 22, 2021)

Hi there, I have no advice, but I have generally the same question. 

I successfully made a USB stick installer for High Sierra. I then booted from the stick, selected a drive to install on, and started the process. It looks like it's working for awhile, but fails in the end, providing no useful information.

I did get a "rebooting because of a problem" message. And at the end there was a little circle with a line through it, whatever that means.

I'm attempting to install from the USB stick, to a partition on an external drive. 

I think you are wise to be cautious with OSX installers. Horror stories are regrettably pretty common.


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## pm-r (May 17, 2009)

I'm coming in here a little bit late, but I just thought I would mention that this topic has come up several times you may want to search through some of their forums as to how to do things with the latest mac os versions.

Head over to their forums list which you can find here:




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PS: don't be surprised to see some old x-ehMac members quite active there... 😜

PPS: use this google search method if needed if you find their search doesn't work for you:








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Learn how to search within a website using Google. It's more efficient to use with a key phrase and specify that you only want results from a given website.




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PPS 3: regarding working with mac os Monterey, have a read of some of the articles at bombich.com Carbon Copy Cloner.app site:




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- Patrick
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## phil_4007 (Nov 22, 2021)

pm-r said:


> I'm coming in here a little bit late, but I just thought I would mention that this topic has come up several times you may want to search through some of their forums as to how to do things with the latest mac os versions.
> 
> Head over to their forums list which you can find here:
> 
> ...


That's a good suggestion, thanks. I found this thread using your ideas, where the first post describes my experience.






Problem Installing High Sierra


Trying to install High Sierra on my mid-2010 iMac currently running 10.12.1 and having problems getting the whole thing to complete. After the agreement acknowledgement, I click continue and will get a message saying "In order to continue installing macOS High Seierra, you need to log in as...



www.mac-forums.com





As you can see, it's like most OSX threads, mostly a bunch of inconclusive quesses, the usual mess. Apple was founded in 1976. You'd think they might have figured out how to make reliable "it just works" installers by now...

If the installer gave you usable information about the nature of the failure that would be different. Then you'd know what the obstacle is and you could address it. But having to guess which one of a thousand possible problems it might be, maybe OSX just isn't worth all the bother?


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## phil_4007 (Nov 22, 2021)

Making progress here! I was able to get High Sierra installed on a different external disk, and it booted successfully there. Let's call this Disk 2.

I then tried to SuperDuper the High Sierra install to a partition on another disk (Disk 1), the location where I had originally tried and failed to install HS. HS won't boot from that location.

Sierra will boot from Disk 1 without difficulty. 

I've checked Disk 1 with Disk Utility, no problems found. 

The only difference between Disk 1 and Disk 2 seems to be that Disk 1 is divided in to two partitions, whereas Disk 2 is a single partition. HS will install and run on the disk that is NOT divided in to partitions.

Is this a clue that I may be missing some required information?


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## pm-r (May 17, 2009)

phil_4007 said:


> The only difference between Disk 1 and Disk 2 seems to be that Disk 1 is divided in to two partitions, whereas Disk 2 is a single partition. HS will install and run on the disk that is NOT divided in to partitions.
> 
> Is this a clue that I may be missing some required information?


I am sorry, but I am not very knowledgeable on the installation of the most recent macOS versions and if no one supplies a proper answer here you might want to join up and get a proper answer at mac-forums.com

But I do know that even earlier OS X installations can be a pain in the ***, as it took me tree different tries to get El Capitan installed on a partition for my 2011 iMac, and two of the installs failed saying I could not use el capitan on this mac which is complete bs.

I can't help thinking there may be a problem with the formatting of the drive that won't boot and whether it is a spinner or a solid state drive which apparently can make a difference.

I know you will get a correct answer at mac-forums.com and if you provide the information regarding each of the drives you have that you are using and the format etc. they are using, I believe it can make a difference but I am not positive on that.

Drop them a line or call Apple tech support for some advice. Maybe one day some of the good apple tech that are up on current stuff will return to the ehMac help forums, as many seem to have left when the **** was hitting the fans and being flung everywhere.

I would have thought that apple's installer would have given proper directions and guidelines to get a bootable volume. 


EDIT:
Is there any info here that might have been overlooked to get HS to boot???:


https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/How+to+Install+macOS+High+Sierra/751




- Patrick
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## unblocktheplanet (Feb 5, 2008)

Will one of youse please tell me why I need a bootable clone in addition to Time Machine > CCC > SuperDuper! Thx.


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## pm-r (May 17, 2009)

unblocktheplanet said:


> Will one of youse please tell me why I need a bootable clone in addition to Time Machine > CCC > SuperDuper! Thx.


I can think of two reasons right off the bat:

1. Speed, just a restart is needed to select the clone volume and be up and running

2. A fast bootable source of one's data for if and when Time Machine happens to not work, which for a lot of people it seems to be quite often.

BTW: CCC and SuperDuper! backups are normally clones and usually bootable.


- Patrick
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## unblocktheplanet (Feb 5, 2008)

Thanks, Patrick. Yes, i had assumed CCC & SuperDuper created bootable clones.

MacDoc got me nervous about SSDs bricking, HDDs Emmental and so on!


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## dtaylor (Apr 4, 2005)

I recently updated a friend's 2015 MBA from 10.13 to Monterey -- I created a Monterey USB installer, and did a clean install onto a single partition.

I first made an external bootable clone of the outgoing 10.13, which was used to manually migrate her docs, photos and music from. It also provided a roll back point if Monterey didn't pan out.

It all went very smoothly, and Monterey is working a treat.


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