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# 4.2.11 Create macOS Install Disk

Once you’ve downloaded the macOS installer from the Mac App Store, this command helps you to create an installation disk. This makes it possible to re-install macOS, install it in a virtual machine, or to install it on a different Mac without having to download it again. Additionally, if there are problems with a Mac’s hard drive, you may not be able to boot it and access the installer or recovery partition, but you will still be able to reinstall from the install disk that you create here. You can also use it as an emergency disk to boot a Mac and repair or reformat its hard drive, or to restore from a Time Machine backup.

It is recommended that you create your install disk before running the OS X installer, as the installer may delete itself (which would require you to download it again).

Preparing the Install Disk

- To create an install disk using a spare hard drive, USB flash drive, or SD card, connect or insert the disk and use the Finder to rename it to `Installer`. This disk will be completely erased and replaced by the macOS installer.
- You can also create an install disk image, for use with virtualization software or for later restoration to a disk. Use DropDMG’s New Blank Disk Image… command to create a disk image in Sparse Bundle format with a DVD+R DL volume size. The name of the blank disk image should be `Installer.sparsebundle`. After using `createinstallmedia` below, you can optionally convert the sparse bundle to a compressed disk image format.

Then follow the instructions below for the version of macOS that are you are installing:

Sierra (10.12)

1. From the Finder’s Go menu, choose Utilities, then open the Terminal application.

2. Copy and paste these two commands into Terminal and press Return.

       cd /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/
       sudo ./createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Installer/ --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app --nointeraction

3. Enter your Mac’s admin password.

El Capitan (10.11)

1. From the Finder’s Go menu, choose Utilities, then open the Terminal application.

2. Copy and paste these two commands into Terminal and press Return.

       cd /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/
       sudo ./createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Installer/ --applicationpath ../../ --nointeraction

3. Enter your Mac’s admin password.

Yosemite (10.10)

1. From the Finder’s Go menu, choose Utilities, then open the Terminal application.

2. Copy and paste these two commands into Terminal and press Return.

       cd /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/
       sudo ./createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Installer/ --applicationpath ../../

3. Enter your Mac’s admin password. You may also need to type Y to confirm that you want to erase the disk.

Mavericks (10.9)

2. From the Finder’s Go menu, choose Utilities, then open the Terminal application.

3. Copy and paste these two commands into Terminal and press Return.

       cd /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/
       sudo ./createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Installer/ --applicationpath ../../

4. Enter your Mac’s admin password. You may also need to type Y to confirm that you want to erase the disk.

Mountain Lion or Lion

If you purchased Mac OS X 10.7 or 10.8 from the Mac App Store, DropDMG will help you burn an OS X install DVD. A dual-layer DVD (a.k.a. DVD+R DL) is required.

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