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How to Create macOS Sonoma Bootable USB for PC

The following is a guide for creating macOS Sonoma Bootable USB for your PC. The installation has been covered in another section. You can use this USB for a clean install of macOS Sonoma on your PC.

Before you start with this guide, here are a few requirements
  • A working Internet connection.
  • A 16 GB or larger USB Flash Drive.
To start with the guide, you'll also need to have access to a fully functional computer running macOS Mojave or later.

STEP 1: Download macOS Sonoma

As macOS Sonoma is not officially released for the general public, but only for developers, you would need an Apple Developer Account along with the Software Enrollment to download a copy of macOS Sonoma. However, if you've not enrolled, you can download an official copy of macOS Sonoma directly from Apple Server using the guide linked below.


NOTE:
  • If you already have an Apple Developer Account, you can directly download the Beta Access Utility and can use it to download the Installer.

If you want to download a DMG file, refer to the guide linked below.

STEP 2: Create macOS Sonoma Bootable USB
The next step is to create a bootable installation drive. Follow the steps below to create the installation media.

1. Insert your USB Flash Drive
2. Open Disk Utility. The Disk Utility is located at /Applications/Utilities.
3. Click on View and then select Show All Devices
Screenshot 2023-06-01 at 10.35.30 AM-min.png

4. Select your USB Flash Drive in the left pane and click on Erase button. At the top and a popup will appear. Use the following parameters to erase your drive.

Name: USB
Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Scheme: GUID Partition Map
Screenshot 2023-05-19 at 7.35.38 AM-min.png

5. When done, click on Done and close Disk Utility.
Screenshot 2023-05-19 at 7.36.03 AM-min.png

6. Launch terminal, located at /Applications/Utilities.
7. Execute the command given below in Terminal.

Code:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ 14\ beta.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USB

8. When prompted, enter your password.
Screenshot 2023-06-05 at 7.35.26 PM-min.png

9. Press (Y) to confirm and then press enter key. It will start erasing the disk and will create macOS Bootable USB
Screenshot 2023-06-05 at 7.36.28 PM-min.png
Screenshot 2023-06-05 at 1.31.25 PM-min.png

If you're on Big Sur or later, the Terminal may prompt for access. When prompted, click on OK to allow access.
Screenshot 2023-06-05 at 1.31.30 PM-min.png

Once the process is completed, you'll see the following screen:
Screenshot 2023-06-05 at 7.52.23 PM-min.png

10. Quit Terminal. The USB Flash Drive will be renamed as Install macOS 14 beta.

STEP 3: Prepare OpenCore EFI

At this point, you have a macOS Sonoma Bootable USB ready and you can use it to perform a clean install on a Mac, but it cannot be used to install macOS Sonoma on your PC as you'll still need a proper EFI (including Bootloader and kexts) in order to boot the installer on a PC. Depending on your system, create the OpenCore EFI using the guide linked below. See Chapter 3.


Once you're done with the EFI, you'll need to adjust some parameters which are required for booting macOS Sonoma

NOTES:
  • The bootloader must be the latest. If you're using Clover, (v5152) or later and if you're using OpenCore (v0.9.3) and later is recommended.
  • Kexts must be the latest. The essential kexts are Lilu, VirtualSMC, WhateverGreen, and AppleALC. If you're using some other kext and an update is available, you should update that too. This is mandatory for the installation, ensuring the installer boots successfully and does not run into any problems.
  • For AMD Systems, you also need to update the Kernel Patches. Do not use these Kernel Patches if you're using an Intel-based CPU.
  • As Apple has dropped the support for older Mac Models (up to Skylake), you'll need to update the SMBIOS data to 2018 and later. See Setting Up SMBIOS for more information.

STEP 4: Install OpenCore to Bootable USB
Once your EFI is ready, the next step is to install OpenCore EFI to Bootable USB. See the Chapter to install the bootloader to your USB. The guide covers both, UEFI and Legacy installation.



Now, as you have the bootable USB ready, with the right ingredients, you can perform a clean install of macOS Sonoma on your PC.
 
Last edited:
I recommend to use this command to create a Sonoma USB installer:

Code:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ 14\ beta.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USB —nointeraction —downloadassets
 
I recommend to use this command to create a Sonoma USB installer:

Code:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ 14\ beta.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USB —nointeraction —downloadassets
Could you explain the use of the -downloadassets flag and its source?
 
Could you explain the use of the -downloadassets flag and its source?

I've been using this for many years now, unsure if it's 100 percent required, but better safe than sorry.

Quoting from:

Arguments
--volume, A path to a volume that can be unmounted and erased to create the install media.
--nointeraction, Erase the disk pointed to by volume without prompting for confirmation.
--downloadassets, Download on-demand assets that may be required for installation.

The new argument [(edit by joostiphone) since Mojave] is called --downloadassets. The description is a bit sparse, but from what I gather this is download additional assets, like firmware installers and bundle them with the other installer files on the installer drive instead of downloading them on-demand during installation.

This will not remove the requirement for the Mac to be connected to the internet during the installation process but it should speed up the process quite a bit.
 
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I've been using this for many years now, unsure if it's 100 percent required, but better safe than sorry.

Quoting from:
Sounds great. Will include the info accordingly.
 
sudo: /Applications/Install macOS 14 beta.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia: command not found

can someone help me please?
 
sudo: /Applications/Install macOS 14 beta.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia: command not found

can someone help me please?
Seems like you're using Beta 2.

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma\ beta.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia -- volume /Volumes/USB
 

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