Create macOS Bootable USB Installer without TransMac
Apple’s laptop (MacBook Pro/Air) is one of the best selling products in the world and they are great machines that offer consistent performance and well-optimized software. However, there are times when your macOS-powered computer fails to start, which could happen for many reasons, including hardware failure, bugs, glitches, and file corruption.
To remove those annoyances, it’s a good idea to make a macOS bootable USB just in case. In fact, you can use the built-in Terminal app in macOS to create a bootable macOS USB, but the process requires a secondary Mac machine, which may not come in handy if none of your Macs are working.
Fortunately, you can create a macOS USB bootable installation media directly on a Windows PC or laptop, which is more accessible than Mac. Yeah, you read it right. With the help of a third-party program, you can make your macOS bootable USB to repair your system if something goes wrong on your Mac.
About TransMac
TransMac was the only tool available when it comes to creating macOS installer disks on Windows computer. You will see a lot of websites and blogs recommending this app when you are viewing the search result.
TransMac features a full set of functions that enable the ability to read APFS volumes, access Mac-formatted storage devices, and create DMG files on Windows-based PCs or laptops. However, it still has some flaws that may ruin your experience.
TransMac Issues (Not Working)
TransMac is a reputed software for years. However, it is not perfect yet. You might come across several errors when using the app. Some of the known ones are including:
- Could not write to disk
- Could not write to mac volume
- No mac volume found
- Could not access drive
Another major drawback lies in its poorly-optimized user interface. In fact, you will be presented with tons of things when you first launch the program, which makes the navigation more confusing to newcomers.
In addition, TransMac is not stable for burning latest macOS dmg file like Catalina and Big Sur. I experienced several crashes while trying to make a a Big Sur bootable USB.
Recommend TransMac Alternative
There are a couple of TransMac alternatives on Mac, but the only alternative for Windows is UUByte DMG Editor, a reliable and cross-platform program that supports modern macOS DMG files.
TransMac Alternative for macOS: Terminal, Disk Maker X, DOSDude macOS Patcher and UUByte DMG Editor.
TransMac Alternative for Windows: UUByte DMG Editor
In the following section, we are going to create a macOS bootable USB installer without using TransMac. Our testing app is UUByte DMG Editor because it works well on both macOS and Windows.
Preparation: Download macOS DMG file
Each macOS release has two types of installation format. One is via installer app downloaded from Mac App Store, which is an ideal for directly macOS upgrade. You can also use Terminal app to make a bootable USB after downloading macOS installer app. Please note. This option does not work with older macOS versions as Apple removes those download links when a new macOS comes out.
The other installation type is by using macOS DMG file. For those who may not know, a DMG file is Apple’s file format and is usually used for installing new applications and firmware. It is an equivalent to ISO image on Windows or Linux.
If your Mac is not working properly but on have a Windows PC for usage, then in this case, you can use DMG file to create a bootable macOS USB drive on Windows 10. Make sure you already downloaded a full copy of macOS dmg file before proceeding.
Once you have the file downloaded onto your computer, it’s time to burn it to USB drive. Let’s proceed with our step-by-step guide below.
Tutorial: How to Create Mac bootable USB without TransMac (Windows 10 PC)
In this guide, I am going to show you the steps on how to create macOS Big Sur bootable USB on a Windows 10 PC. You can repeat the process with other macOS versions as UUByte DMG Editor is compatible with all macOS firmware.
Step 1: Please download DMG Editor setup file from UUByte official website (www.uubyte.com/download/dmg-editor.exe). Once the download is complete, install it on your Windows 10 computer. Just follow the on-screen prompts to set it up.
Step 2: Now, insert your USB drive to your computer (make sure there is nothing important on the drive) and hit the Burn button from the main user interface.
Step 3: On the next window, click the Browse button to select the DMG file you downloaded earlier and your USB drive.
Step 4: Once everything is ready, hit the Burn button and the app will start burning the selected DMG file to your inserted USB drive (the process takes several minutes).
Step 5: Once it is done, eject your USB drive from your computer and you now can use it on a different Mac machine to repair your system.
Bonus: How to Install macOS on Mac from USB
You now have a bootable macOS USB installer drive that can be used to a different Mac system. No worries, you can follow our steps below.
Step 1: Insert the USB drive into your Mac and then boot your device and hold down the Option key.
Step 2: When you see the Startup Manager window, select your inserted USB drive from the list (Install macOS Big Sur). If it does not show up, simply re-plug it into your machine.
Step 3: Your Mac will boot into the Recovery mode where you can re-install your system without damaging your data and files.
Step 4: Select Install macOS Big Sur and proceed with hitting the Continue button.
Step 5: Now, macOS Big Sur will start running on your Mac and follow the prompts to complete the setup process.
The Bottom Line
With UUByte DMG Editor, you can now quickly create a bootable macOS USB without TransMac on both Windows and Mac system. The main strong point is that the program has a simple, easy-to-use interface, while one major drawback is a lack of Windows XP support.
