How to quickly create a macOS bootable USB on Windows 11

You can create a macOS bootable USB using Windows 11 or Windows 10.
TransMac lets you restore a macOS DMG file to a USB drive.
Formatting the USB with a GPT partition is critical for Mac compatibility.
This method works for macOS versions like Tahoe, Sequoia, Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, and older releases.

UPDATED 12/29/2025: Whether you’re using macOS, Windows 11 (or Windows 10), or another operating system, your device may eventually fail to start. This could be due to a range of issues, such as file corruption, hardware failure, or a problematic system update. If your Mac experiences an unexpected issue, one of the most effective ways to recover is to use a bootable USB drive containing the macOS installer.

That’s why it’s a good idea to create a macOS bootable USB while your Mac is still working properly. It gives you peace of mind and a recovery tool if your device ever fails to boot. However, what if all your Apple devices (MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Pro, or Mac Mini) are unavailable when you need them most?

The good news is that you can also use a Windows computer to create a macOS bootable USB. Whether you’re on Windows 11 or 10, you can create a macOS installation drive for versions such as Tahoe, Sequoia, Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, and Ventura. With the right tools and steps, a Windows computer can be your lifeline to get a non-booting Mac back up and running.

In this guide, I’ll outline the steps to create a macOS bootable USB installer on Windows 10 (or 11) to reinstall or upgrade macOS.

Requirements
Create macOS bootable USB installation media (option 1)
Create macOS bootable USB installation media (option 2)
Download macOS disk image (.dmg) file

Requirements

To complete this task, you’ll need the following:

Broken Mac computer running macOS (optional).
A trial copy of the TransMac software.
One high-quality USB flash drive with 16GB of storage.
Copy of macOS (DMG file).

Create macOS bootable USB installation media (option 1)

To create a bootable USB drive with macOS, follow these steps:

Download and install TransMac on Windows 11.

Quick note: This is a paid piece of software, but it gives you a 15-day trial, which is more than enough time. (If this works and you want to support the developer, purchase the full version.)
Connect the USB flash drive.

Important: If you have any data on the flash drive, remember to back it up since this process will erase everything on it.
Right-click the TransMac app and select the Run as administrator option.
Click the Run button. (If you use the trial version, wait 15 seconds.)
Right-click the USB flash drive and select the “Format Disk for Mac” option from the left pane.

Quick note: You want to perform this task before creating the bootable media because there is a good chance that the drive was formatted using a Windows device. If this is the case, the USB drive likely uses an MBR partition, and it needs a GPT partition to work on a Mac.
Click the Yes button to format the drive on the warning message.
Confirm a name for the drive. For example, “macOS bootable USB.”
Click the OK button.
Click the Yes button.
Click the OK button.
Right-click the USB flash drive and select the “Restore with Disk Image” option from the left pane.
Click the Yes button to confirm the deletion of the USB flash drive data.
Click the browse button on the right.
Select the “.dmg” file with the macOS installation files.
Click the Open button.
Click the OK button.
Click the Yes button.

Once you complete the steps, insert the USB flash drive into your Mac to install, reinstall, or upgrade the operating system to the latest macOS version (Sequoia, Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, or Mojave).

Create a GPT partition on a USB flash drive

If the USB flash drive is not recognized by TransMac, it could still be a partition issue. In this case, you may need to redo the entire process. However, this time, you should follow these steps to use the diskpart command-line utility to create the appropriate GPT partition, and then follow the above instructions.

To create a GPT partition on a removable drive, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command and press Enter:
```
diskpart
```
Type the following command to view all drives connected to your computer and press Enter:
```
list disk
```
Type the following command with the number assigned for the USB flash drive and press Enter:
```
select disk 4
```
In the command, change “4” to the number corresponding to the USB flash drive.
Type the following command to clean the drive and press Enter:
```
clean
```
Type the following command to convert the drive to the GPT style and press Enter:
```
convert gpt
```
Type the following command to create a primary partition and press Enter: create partition primary
```
create partition primary
```

Once you have formatted the USB flash drive with a GPT partition, follow the instructions above to use TransMac to create bootable media, but skip steps 5 through 10 and proceed to step 11.

After the process, which could take up to an hour, connect the USB flash drive, turn on your Mac by holding down the “Option” key, and select the USB drive to install macOS.

Create macOS bootable USB installation media (option 2)

If the above steps didn’t work, you can try an alternative process for creating a macOS bootable USB drive using these instructions:

Download and install 7-Zip on Windows 11.
Open 7-Zip File Manager.
Open the InstallMacOSX.dmg file using 7-Zip.

Open to this path inside the DMG file:

InstallMacOSX.dmg\Install OS X\InstallMacOSX.pkg\InstallMacOSX.pkg\InstallESD.dmg\OS X Install ESD

Extract the BaseSystem.dmg, BaseSystem.chunklist, and Packages (folder).

Continue navigating inside 7-Zip to the following path:

InstallMacOSX.dmg\Install OS X\InstallMacOSX.pkg\InstallMacOSX.pkg\InstallESD.dmg\OS X Install ESD\BaseSystem.dmg\OS X Base System\Install OS X El Capitan.app\Contents\Resources

Extract the InstallAssistant.icns file to the same folder as the previously extracted files.
Open File Explorer to the location of the InstallAssistant.icns file.
Right-click InstallAssistant.icns and rename it to .VolumeIcon.icns.
Download and install TransMac on Windows 11.
Insert an 8GB or larger USB flash drive into your computer.
Right-click the TransMac app and select the Run as administrator option.
Click the Run button. (If you use the trial version, wait 15 seconds.)
Right-click the USB flash drive and select the “Format Disk for Mac” option from the left pane.
Click the Yes button to confirm the deletion of the USB flash drive data.
Right-click the USB drive again and select Restore with Disk Image.
Browse and select the BaseSystem.dmg file you extracted earlier.
Click the OK button.
Enable Enlarge Volume to Drive Size.
Click the OK button.
Select the USB drive in the left pane of TransMac after the app has finished copying the files.
Open the “OS X Base System” folder.
From File Explorer, select the following files, including BaseSystem.dmg, BaseSystem.chunklist, and .VolumeIcon.icns.
Drag and drop all three files into the OS X Base System folder in TransMac.

Open the location within TransMac:

USB-Disk\OS X Base System\System\Installation

Delete the existing Packages file.
Drag and drop the Packages folder you extracted earlier into the Installation folder.

After you complete the steps, you can use the USB drive to perform an installation of Apple’s macOS operating system.

Download macOS disk image (.dmg) file

Although Apple doesn’t offer direct downloads of the latest version of its operating system, it does offer downloads of older versions, including Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, Mountain Lion, and Lion.

If you’re trying to create a bootable USB drive for one of these versions, you can find the direct download links on this official support page. You only need to right-click the link and select “Save Link As” to start the download.

Alternatively, you can find all macOS X images on the Internet Archive. The disk image (.dmg) files are available under the “Download options” pane and inside the “MAC OS X DISK IMAGE” list.

Update December 29, 2025: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.