How do I burn an ISO to a flash drive on a Mac?
How do I burn an ISO to a flash drive on a Mac?
I recently downloaded an ISO file and need to create a bootable USB drive on my Mac. I’m aware that burning an ISO to a flash drive will allow me to boot from it, but I’m not quite sure how to go through the process on macOS. I’ve read about different methods involving Terminal commands, as well as using various third-party tools like Etcher. However, I’m a bit confused about the steps involved and which method would be the most reliable and straightforward for a beginner like me. I want to ensure that the USB drive is correctly formatted and that the ISO is properly transferred, as I understand that any mistakes in this process might result in a non-bootable drive. I also have concerns about compatibility and want to make sure that the process won’t harm my Mac or the USB drive. Any insights into the challenges or common pitfalls in burning an ISO to a flash drive on a Mac would be really helpful.
5 Answers
For those who prefer a graphical interface, Disk Utility might work: 1. Open Disk Utility from Applications > Utilities. 2. Insert and select your USB drive. 3. Choose ‘Erase’, then format as ‘MS-DOS (FAT)’ or ‘ExFAT’ with ‘GUID Partition Map’. 4. Use ‘Restore’ to choose the ISO as the source and your USB as the destination. It’s simple but may not support all ISOs and bootable configurations.
The easiest method is to use the Terminal on your Mac. Here’s what you need to do: 1. Plug in your USB drive and open the Terminal. 2. Type diskutil list to locate your USB drive’s identifier (e.g., /dev/disk2). 3. Unmount the USB drive using diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk2. 4. Convert the ISO to a compatible format with hdiutil convert -format UDRW -o /path/to/target.img /path/to/source.iso. Adjust the paths accordingly. 5. Write the image with sudo dd if=/path/to/target.img.dmg of=/dev/rdisk2 bs=1m. Replace the identifier as suitable. 6. Lastly, unmount it again. This method is reliable but requires some command line familiarity.
Using Etcher is straightforward and user-friendly: 1. Download Etcher from its website and install it. 2. Insert your USB drive and launch Etcher. 3. Click ‘Select Image’ to choose your ISO file. 4. Click ‘Select Drive’ to choose your USB drive. 5. Hit ‘Flash!’ and let it complete the process. Etcher simplifies the task, managing everything behind the scenes and verifying your USB afterward to ensure it’s bootable. This is great for beginners.
UNetbootin offers another simple GUI option: 1. Download and start UNetbootin. 2. Plug in your USB drive. 3. Select ‘Diskimage’ and navigate to your ISO file. 4. Choose your USB drive from the menu. 5. Click ‘OK’. UNetbootin is intuitive and ensures the USB is fully bootable, great for less technical users.
If you are comfortable with Terminal, here’s an alternate method: 1. Insert the USB and unmount it (use diskutil list to identify and diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX to unmount). 2. Execute sudo dd if=/path-to-your.iso of=/dev/your-usb-identifier bs=4m && sync and replace the paths as necessary. 3. Eject with diskutil eject /dev/diskX. This method is fast and efficient but be cautious with identifiers to avoid data loss.