1. Bootable Usb Disk Format Utility
2. Format Flash Drive For Bootable Macos
3. How To Format Bootable Usb
4. Format A Bootable Usb Drive
5. Format Flash Drive For Bootable Mac Usb
6. Format Flash Drive For Bootable Mac Os

Dec 16, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

Creating a bootable drive for your Mac certainly seems to be a wise decision to make. Even though the macOS recovery partition can take care of all your recovery requirements in times of need, it’s still worthwhile to have a bootable installer.

Fortunately, there's a great tool that you can use for free to create bootable macOS media on a USB drive in a Windows 10 environment. This article shows you how to download a macOS DMG file, format a USB drive using a GUID Partition Table, burn the DMG to the drive and boot your Mac from the USB. Choose exFAT or MS-DOS (FAT) for the format; Choose Master Boot Record for the Scheme; Click Erase; 5. When finished, the drive will be formatted and repartitioned successfully. Click the Done button. NOTE: exFAT is used on SDXC card (64GB and higher). NOTE: exFAT can be used on flash drives or memory cards to transfer files larger than 4GB.

Why Do You Need to Create A Bootable Drive For Your Mac?

• The Mac installer gets deleted as soon as you download it and use it by installing the Mac operating system. Once the installer gets deleted, it means that you can no longer use it to install the macOS on another Mac device. You will have to again download the installer on the latter Mac to install the macOS. This can take a lot of time and become inefficient if you have multiple Macs.
• Clean installs can be performed by installers which are very helpful in overwriting your start-up drive. You can also use this function for other troubleshooting issues as well.
• When you have a bootable installer, it ensures that you are well guarded in an emergency scenario by making use of some of its helpful utilities.
• A bootable installer can allow you to install an earlier version of macOS and also let you temporarily boot into the previous version of the macOS.

What Do You Need Before Creating Your Bootable Drive?

Before you begin the process, you will need the following:

• USB Stick / External Hard Drive: If you are planning to use a USB for downloading the bootable version of the installer, make sure that it is 8GB in size or larger than that. In the case of Sierra, 12GB is recommended as the minimum requirement. Ideally, 32GB to 64GB is a good size to have as it is not only cost-effective but also gives a better performance. In the case of an external drive, you can use any spare one that you are not going to use for any other work.
• Download macOS High Sierra Installer: It is important to note that once you have downloaded the installer, it will begin with the installation process on its own. You can close the installer just like you quit any Mac app. In the case of the macOS version being older than the current one, you can click on ‘ok’ once the message flashes that the version is too old to install. You can find the old installer file in your ‘Application Folder’. Don’t forget to take a backup of your Mac to be on a safe side.

Part 1. How to Create a Bootable Drive Using Terminal

There are two ways of creating a bootable copy of the installer. You can either use Terminal or get the job done through a free software like Recoverit to do it for you. First, let us look at how to create a bootable drive using Terminal.

Steps to create a macOS Siera beta boot disk:

1. The first step in the process is to connect your external hard drive to your Mac. You need to name your external drive ‘untitled’ for the Terminal command to work.
2. Launch Terminal. You can find this in the 'Utilities' folder of your Applications folder.
3. Copy the following instructions now:

1. In this step, you have to paste the copied instruction on the screen by going back to the Terminal.

1. You will be required to feed in your user password now and then hit ‘Return’.
2. Now, the Terminal will ask for your permission to erase the drive. To continue, type ‘Y’ and again hit return.

1. After the Terminal has erased your drive, your Mac will prompt you if you wish to use the drive for Time Machine. Click ‘Don’t Use’.
2. Next, the installer file will be copied by the Terminal to your drive. This might take some time, so be patient.

1. Once the copying is completed, a ‘Copy complete’ message will be displayed on your screen. You can now quit the Terminal and use your drive.

Part 2. How to Create Bootable Media for Mac with Recoverit Mac Data Recovery

Recoverit Mac data recovery software is one of the most impressive and easy-to-use data recovery software in the market, and it has lots to offer with its varied utilities and functions. With Recoverit to create bootable media, you can access your system easily without the need to reinstall the macOS to recover your lost data.

Step 1 Launch Recoverit and get to select 'Computer Crash Recovery'. Click 'Start'.

Step 2 Choose your connected external hard drive as the bootable media, and click 'Start'. You will receive a requirement of formatting the device. Before the formatting, remember to back your drive data up.

Step 3 Wait for a while, and Recoverit will format your drive and start creating the bootable media.

Step 4 Once it finishes, follow the next steps to restore data.

Part 3. How to Set the Computer Boot from the Bootable Media

Step 1 Connect your external drive to your unbootable Mac.

Step 2 Press down on the ‘Option’ key after restarting your Mac.

Step 3 Once the booting has finished, your Mac will display the Startup Manager to show you the available boot drives. Select your external hard drive and hit ‘Return’.

Step 4 If you want to install Sierra but keep your data untouched, you can select 'Install OS X'. However, if you wish to delete all your data, then you can select Disk Utility to format the entire drive and wipe away all your data to reformat the internal drive first and then install macOS Sierra.

You now have a bootable copy of the macOS Sierra installer, and you can use it on multiple Macs to install the Mac OS. If you are familiar with the command line, you can opt to create a bootable drive using Terminal. For others, you can simply opt for reliable Mac hard drive recovery software like Recoverit and assist you in recovering your data as well from crashed systems in case of emergencies.

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How can I format USB drive in CMD? How to format USB using CMD to NTFS? Can I format a USB using CMD in Windows 10? Don't worry if you have the same questions in your mind.

On this page, you'll learn how to format USB using CMD or CMD alternative tool in Windows 10/8/7 successfully. Pick up the suitable USB format tool for help now:

If you prefer an easy and quick way to format USB or you need to format to Ext 4/3/2, pick up CMD alternative format tool for help.

Let's start to format your USB using CMD or its alternative tool and make the RAW, inaccessible, unreadable, and even corrupted USB flash drive, pen drive, memory stick work normally again.

Part 1. How to Format USB Flash Drive Using CMD (Command Prompt)

Applies to: Format USB to FAT32/NTFS, format RAW USB, repair corrupted USB, etc.

USB flash drive is worldwide used for storing data and transferring files. However, sometimes, USB may corrupt or become inaccessible due to RAW or invalid file system, bad sector, or other errors. Formatting USB using CMD is a quick way to resolve these problems.

The following are two detailed guides, illustrating how to format a USB flash drive using Windows Command Prompt that you should strictly follow.

Steps to Format USB (to NTFS or FAT32) Using CMD

#1. Format USB using CMD in Windows 10:

Step 1. Connect USB to your PC and press Windows + R keys.

Step 2. Type cmd in the Search box and hit Enter to bring up Command Prompt.

Step 3. Type the following command lines one by one and hit Enter each time:

• diskpart
• list disk
• select disk + number (Replace 2 with the number of your USB drive.)
• list volume
• select volume + number (Replace 10 with the volume number of your USB flash drive.)
• format fs=ntfs quick (You can also replace NTFS with FAT32 or exFAT.)
• exit

CMD also works to fix Windows was unable to complete the format error in your computer hard drive, USB, or other storage devices.

#2. Format USB Flash Drive using Command Prompt in Windows 8/7:

Step 1. Plug USB in your computer and click the Windows icon and select 'Search'.

Step 2. Type command prompt in the Search box.

Right-click on Command Prompt and choose 'Run as administrator'.

Step 3. On the Command Prompt window, type diskpart and press 'Enter'.

Step 4 Type list disk and press 'Enter'. Check the disk number of your USB flash drive. For example, disk 2.

Step 5. Now type select disk 2 and press 'Enter'. (If the USB number is not 2, replace it with the right one.)

Step 6. Type format fs=ntfs and press 'Enter'.

If you prefer other file system formats, change the command NTFS to the desired one, such as format fs=fat32.

Step 7. Type exit and hit Enter to close the window.

After this, exit DiskPart and you save data to your USB flash drive again. However, as Linux file system Ext2/3 is not compatible with Windows OS, you can refer to a UBS format tool in Part 2 for help.

Part 2. Format USB Using CMD Alternative in Windows 10/8/7

Applies to: Format corrupted USB, format USB to Ext2, Ext3, format FAT32 USB to NTFS, format USB to FAT32, etc. on all Windows OS.

Although CMD is capable of formatting USB flash drive, it's not user-friendly for most Windows beginners. Also, it requires users to remember all command lines while executing operations in Command Prompt.

Also, any importer operation may cause data loss on other storage devices. Here, we would like to recommend you try third-party CMD alternative software - EaseUS free partition manager.

EaseUS Partition Master Free Edition is a perfect CMD alternative tool for USB formatting. With an easy-to-use interface and precise operation, you can use it to format USB easily in only a few clicks.

Tutorial - 4 Steps to Format USB via CMD Alternative in Windows 10/8/7

All levels of users can apply this tool and format USB to usable again in Windows 10/8/7:

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master, right-click the partition on your external hard drive/USB/SD card which you want to format and choose the 'Format' option.

Step 2. Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click 'OK'.

Step 3. In the Warning window, click 'OK' to continue.

Step 4. Click the 'Execute Operation' button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click 'Apply' to start formatting your external hard drive/USB/SD card.

Part 3. Bonus Tips to Fix Errors While Formatting USB Using CMD

According to some USB users, they reported that they encountered some errors while formatting USB in CMD.

Here, we've collected two common errors in formatting USB using CMD, if you get the same errors, don't worry. You can follow the provided solutions to resolve them:

Bootable Usb Disk Format Utility

Error 1: Diskpart format fs=ntfs stuck at 0, 10, 11, 12...

If the formatting process gets stuck in DiskPart, as the shown message, don't worry. You have two ways to go:

1. #1. Just wait for the formatting process to complete.
2. #2. Close CMD, turn to EaseUS Partition Master in Part 2 to format your drive.

Error 2: Diskpart has encountered an error: Access is denied. See the System Event Log for more information.

If you come across this issue, click the link below to get rid of the problem:

Data Recovery is not a challenge anymore. EaseUS serves as a dependable data recovery application to retrieve lost data within simple clicks.

The End Line

Due to its portability, flexibility, large storage size, and reasonable price, USB flash drive is still the No.1 external storage device around the world.

Format Flash Drive For Bootable Macos

While using USB for data transferring or storage, problems with USB flash drives also increase. Formatting USB flash drive is one of the top issues.

On this page, we included two USB formatting tools to help you format USB using CMD or CMD alternative - EaseUS Partition Master. You may pick up a suitable tool and follow the respective tutorial guide to make your USB flash drive work normally.

For an easy and free formatting resolution, take EaseUS Partition Master as your first choice. It's a perfect CMD alternative tool that can help you anytime.

People Also Ask About Format USB Using CMD

Some of you may have more questions about formatting USB. Here we collected some top concerned questions and listed answers below. If you have the same doubts, check out the answers now.

1. Why do you need to format USB flash drive?

Usually, HDDs and SSDs are widely used for OS installation and data storage and removable storage devices like USB flash drives are more used for data transferring and storage. But the USB flash drive may become inaccessible, and you'll need to format it so as to make it work again.

Here is a list of reasons why do you and other USB users need to format the flash drive:

1. 1. RAW, invalid, or unrecognized USB file system
2. 2. USB flash drive corruption
3. 3. Virus infection
4. 3. USB is write-protected
5. 3. Change USB file system to NTFS, FAT32, or Ext 2/3/4 by formatting

2. How to format bootable USB using cmd？

The process of formatting a bootable USB flash drive is almost the same as the process shown on this page. You can apply CMD to format it with the listed steps here:

1. Step 1. Connect the bootable USB drive to your PC.
2. Step 2. Open Command Prompt.
3. Step 3. Type diskpart and hit Enter.
4. Step 4. Type list disk and hit Enter.
5. Step 5.Type select disk + number and hit Enter. (Replace 2 with the number of your USB drive.)
6. Step 6. Type list volume and hit Enter.
7. Step 7. select volume + number and hit Enter. (Replace 10 with the volume number of your USB flash drive.)
8. Step 8. Type format fs=ntfs quick and hit Enter. (You can also replace NTFS with FAT32 or exFAT.)
9. Step 9. Type exit and hit Enter.

3. How to format write-protected USB using cmd?

Here are the steps that you can follow to format a write-protected (read-only) USB using the command lines below:

How To Format Bootable Usb

1. Step 1. Press 'Win + R', type cmd to open 'Command Prompt'.
2. Step 2. Type diskpart and hit Enter.
3. Step 3. Type list disk and hit Enter.
4. Step 4. Type select disk 2 and hit Enter. (Replace 2 with the write-protected device number) and hit Enter.
5. Step 5. Type attributes disk clear readonly and hit Enter.
6. Step 6. Type exit to close the diskpart window.

Once the write protection removing process completes, you can format the USB drive again. You can either apply EaseUS Partition Master, Windows File Explorer, or even the CMD command as shown in Part 2 to format the USB drive.

4. Windows was unable to complete the format, how to fix it?

Format A Bootable Usb Drive

When you use File Explorer to format the USB flash drive, it warns you that 'Windows was unable to complete the format', don't worry. Here are 7 ways that you can try to fix this error:

Format Flash Drive For Bootable Mac Usb

1. #1. Use EaseUS Partition Master
2. #2. Use Diskpart Command
3. #3. Use Disk Management
4. #4. Clear Virus and Complete the Format
5. #5. Remove Write Protection and Complete the Format
6. #6. Fix Disk Errors and Complete the Format
7. #7. Repair Bad Sectors and Complete the Format

Format Flash Drive For Bootable Mac Os

Note that you can try the above two tutorials to format your USB flash drive and resolve this issue. You can also follow this link to get rid of the Windows Was Unable to Complete the Format error immediately.