How to Make a MacOS Monterey Boot Installer Drive

Some Mac users utilize bootable USB drives to install or upgrade to macOS Monterey. If you're looking to create a bootable macOS Monterey installer drive, we’ll guide you through the steps.

This method is typically intended for advanced users who want to use a bootable installer for formatting a Mac, performing clean installations, troubleshooting, or upgrading multiple machines without re-downloading the installer each time. For most people, using the standard update process is the easiest way to install Monterey.

Requirements for Creating a Bootable macOS Monterey Installer Drive

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

• A Mac that supports macOS Monterey (to download the installer)
• The macOS Monterey installer downloaded and located in the /Applications folder as “Install macOS Monterey.app”
• A USB flash drive with at least 16GB of storage, which will be used as the bootable installer drive

The Terminal must be used carefully, as incorrect commands can cause errors or accidentally format the wrong disk. Therefore, this method is best suited for experienced users.

How to Create a Bootable macOS Monterey Installer Drive

Follow these steps to make a bootable macOS Monterey installer drive:

1. Plug the USB drive into your Mac; it will be formatted and erased, so make sure there's no important data on it

2. Rename the USB drive to something simple like “macOSMontereyUSB”

3. Download the macOS Monterey installer from the App Store if you haven’t already

4. Launch the “Terminal” app by pressing Command Spacebar, typing ‘Terminal’, then hitting Return

5. In Terminal, enter the following command, replacing “macOSMontereyUSB” with the actual name of your USB drive: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MacOSMontereyUSB --nointeraction

6. Press Return to run the command, then type your admin password and press Return again to start creating the bootable installer

Once completed, the Terminal will confirm that the installer drive has been successfully created.

After completion, you can use this drive to upgrade the current machine to macOS Monterey or eject it and use it on other Macs.

Starting Up an Apple Silicon ARM / M1 Mac Using the macOS Monterey Installer Drive

For ARM-based or M1 Macs, follow these steps:

1. Turn off the Mac if it’s currently powered on
2. Attach the USB drive, then power on the Mac by holding the power button until the startup options window appears
3. Choose the macOS Monterey installer drive from the available options

Starting Up an Intel Mac Using a macOS Monterey USB Installer Drive

For Intel-based Macs, follow these instructions:

1. Connect the USB drive to the Mac, then restart and immediately hold down the OPTION key
2. From the boot menu, select the macOS Monterey installer drive

Whether installing on an ARM or Intel Mac, the installer functions the same.

This guide focuses on the Terminal method, although there are third-party tools like MDS that can also be used to download macOS installers. However, this explanation sticks to the built-in command line approach.

Have you created a macOS Monterey bootable installer? Did you use it to upgrade your system? What purposes do you have for using a bootable installer? Share your experiences, tips, and thoughts in the comments below.

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