These types of downloads can not be used to create a USB flash drive Big Sur installer. Recently, I have noticed that the Big Sur downloads from the App Store do not necessarily include all the software needed to install Big Sur. Use of of the answer from the question How do I create El Capitan installer on a Catalina (or post-El Capitan) installed Mac for use on USB boot installer? to create a Sierra, El Capitan or Yosemite USB installer.īy using this method to get back to Big Sur, you would have to update your Mac. Follow the instructions given at Apple's website Create a bootable installer for macOS to create the bootable USB flash drive installer. Transfer the application to the host Mac. Guests do not have this restriction.įrom the guest, use the softwareupdate command to download an available installer application which is compatible with your MacbookAir6,2. Hosts will only shown macOS versions compatible with the host. Note: Guests can list more versions of macOS installers than the host can.

Boot from the virtual machine guest and use the command below to list available downloads. Install the chosen version in a virtual machine guest on the host. In addition, I have included two methods which are suited to your situation.ĭownload an available version from 12.6.1 to 13.2 to the host Mac. You can now quit Terminal and eject the volume.There is the canonical QA How can I download an older version of OS X/macOS?. When Terminal says that it's done, the volume will have the same name as the installer you downloaded, such as Install macOS Monterey.After the volume is erased, you may see an alert that Terminal would like to access files on a removable volume.Terminal shows the progress as the volume is erased. When prompted, type Y to confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return.Terminal doesn't show any characters as you type. When prompted, type your administrator password.

If the volume has a different name, replace MyVolume in the command with the name of your volume. Each command assumes that the installer is in your Applications folder, and MyVolume is the name of the USB flash drive or other volume you're using.

Type or paste one of the commands below into Terminal, then press Return to enter the command.

Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.

Plug in the USB flash drive or other volume that you're using for the bootable installer.

Create bootable usb macos big sur