You set your Mac or Macbook which disk to start up from when more than one startup disk is connected. This works for USB drives including the NinjaStik
UNetbootin is an App that will let you create a bootable USB drive for Ubuntu and other Linux variations on your Mac machine. With this, the process of creating live USB is easy and by convenient from the graphics based interface and a step by step approach. Jul 14, 2020 How to Boot with macOS Catalina USB Install Drive. To boot from the MacOS Catalina boot disk, connect it to a Mac, then reboot the computer and hold down the OPTION key to boot into the boot menu, where you will be able to choose the MacOS Catalina installer drive as a boot option. Connect the macOS Catalina install drive to the target Mac.
For 2018 to 2020 Macs with the Secure Boot T2 Chip, see the 2020 Macbook Pro Boot from USB instructions.
A “startup disk” is a volume or partition of a drive that contains a bootable operating system.
You can set your Mac to automatically use a specific startup volume, or you can temporarily override this choice at startup.
- From the Apple menu choose System Preferences.
- Click the Startup Disk icon in System Preferences, or choose View > Startup Disk.
- Select your startup disk from the list of available volumes.
The next time you start up or restart your computer, your Mac starts up using the operating system on the selected volume.
Temporarily change your startup disk with Startup Manager
Startup Manager allows you to pick a volume to start from while the computer is starting up.
Use these steps to choose a startup disk with Startup Manager:
- Turn on or restart your Mac.
- Immediately press and hold the Option key. After a few seconds, the Startup Manager appears. If you don’t see the volume you want to use, wait a few moments for Startup Manager to finish scanning connected drives.
- Use your mouse or trackpad, or left and right arrow keys to select the volume you want to use.
- Double-click or press the Return key to start up your Mac from the volume you selected.
If you have an optical drive connected to your computer, you can insert an installation disc to see it in Startup Manager. You can also attach FireWire or USB external hard drives that contain an operating system to add to the list of startup volumes.
Startup Manager automatically adds bootable volumes as you connect them.
Restart in OS X from Boot Camp
If you have started up your Mac in Windows using Boot Camp, you can use the Boot Camp system tray to switch your startup disk default back to OS X.
- In Windows, click the Boot Camp icon in the system tray.
- From the menu that appears, choose Restart in OS X.
Start from OS X Recovery
You can also start your Mac from OS X Recovery or Internet Recovery if your Mac was manufactured after 2011.
To start your Mac from the Recovery System, use these steps:
- Start up or restart your computer.
- Hold down the Command and R keys on your keyboard until you see the Apple logo appear onscreen.
If you don’t see a volume listed
If you don’t see the volume you want to start your computer from, check the following:
- If you’re using an external drive, make sure it’s connected and turned on.
- Make sure you’ve installed an operating system, like OS X or Windows on the drive you’re trying to start from. Volumes that don’t contain a valid operating system aren’t listed in Startup Disk or Startup Manager.
- If you’ve installed an operating system on a drive but it isn’t listed, the volume you’re trying to start from might need repair. If the volume contains OS X, start your computer from OS X Recovery and use Disk Utility to repair the volume, or reinstall OS X on the volume using the Recovery System.
- Depending on the Mac you are using and the version of OS X that is installed, the Recovery System volume (Recovery HD) might not show up in Startup Manager. Press Command-R during startup to start your Mac from the Recovery System.
For 2018 / 2019 Macbook Pro with the Secure Boot T2 Chip, see the 2018 Macbook Pro Boot from USB instructions.
Do you need to install an operating system in your Computer? Then quickly grab a CD or DVD and burn the OS in it to install. Is that sounds good? Nah, it is an old school trick. Now we just use a pen drive to create a bootable USB for installation of OS. We do not need any CD/DVD to install Windows or Linux on our laptop or PCs. Just a simple 4Gb or 8Gb USB drive, anyone can do this with little knowledge and the right tools in possession.
How to Make a Bootable USB?
Mac Usb Boot App Installer
- Take a pen drive.
- Mount it to your computer or laptop
- Download the ISO of the operating system you want to install.
- Install any of the below-given Pen drive bootable creators.
- Select the attached USB drive and Insert ISO file.
- And start the flashing process to burn the file of the OS from the computer to your USB drive to produce a Bootable USB.
- Then simply restart the system to start the booting for OS installation.
Mac Usb Boot App Android
So, in the context of the same here are some best free or opensource software to create the bootable USB.
Rufus- Open source USB bootable creator
I just cannot ignore Rufus when we talk about the bootable software to create a bootable USB. It should be top of the list for the nature it has. The open-source availability of it makes an advantage for us to access Rufus freely and get the job done quickly. Another very useful point it brings to us is there is no need for its installation, being a portable bootable USB creator we can directly run it. The .exe file is enough to process the software. Users feel very comfortable to use the services of it and it is very easy to handle. You can use Rufus to flash Linux, FreeBSD, Windows and other OS on any USB drive or Memory Card. Download
Article: How to use Rufus to create a bootable drive.
Supported platforms to run: Windows only
Key Features
- It is an open-source program with no need to spend a penny on it.
- Rufus has the features to support verity of OS and BIOS
- While booting, the user will get a chance to customize it.
- The simplicity of it makes things easy to control.
Etcher- Free & Easy to Use
It is the new baby that created a mark in the sector of bootable USB and it made a quiet impression. It can wipe out many complicating problems while doing the task of creating the bootable USB. It just shortens the distance of the road to manage the process that needed a minimum time and effort to change it. The multi-platform acceptance is it’s one of the main USP. Download
See: How to create a bootable USB flash drive using Etcher
Supported Platforms to run: Windows, Linux, macOS
Etcher Features
- Etcher is very handy to implement.
- It has the feature of multi-platform support.
- Open-source access can make the day for you.
- It is very much new in the market so you can try this if you are looking for something new.
Universal USB Installer
Mac Usb Boot App Tutorial
This is another best bootable USB creator app with which users are familiar and many people use it when it comes to creating a bootable USB. Apart from a USB bootable drive, it is also can be used for making other drives like a rescue drive or security drive and many more. The drop-down menu option is one of the main attributes in this software that we can use to choose an OS, even downloading of the same is possible from its interface, however, it makes difficulty level less for the consumers. Just like Rufus, you can also use it flash various Linux and Windows OS. Download
Supported Platforms to run: Windows only
Key features
• It is most suitable for the users of Linux.
• It will support any OS.
• For Linux users, it will give the option to persistent storage that can be handled to view settings or backups.
• It can check bad blocks
• The customization option is available there.
Windows DVD/USB Tool
Windows DVD/USB Tool, the name is speaking clearly what it does and where it does. If you want to install OS for windows then the official tool of Microsoft is here to create a bootable USB. The functionality and operation are very friendly and you do not have to use your brain too much while working with this app. The burning process is next to nothing in terms of effort. It is just a one-click job done way after mounting the pen drive with your system. Apart from USB, it can also be used to create bootable CD/DVD drive od Windows 10/8/7/Vista. The thing to be noted, it can’t be used for Linux or other operating systems. Download.
See: How to create Bootable USB from ISO on Windows 10?
Supported Platform: Windows only
Key elements
- The first thing you should remember that it is windows only. Thus, only works on windows.
- The customization option is limited in the app.
- It does not check for any bad block in the USB drive.
RMPrepUSB
RMPrepUSB is one of the most customizable software for creating a USB bootloader. And because of the vast customizable feature, it is not easy to use for everyone apart from the people or professionals who have a good knowledge of it and know how to use it. So I strongly recommend avoiding it would be the best option for the people who do not have proper knowledge in that particular case. You can use it to convert the USB into a multiple USB bootable platform. The high customization option is very tricky and hard to learn but it also gives it some uniqueness to customize many of the things while using it. RMPrepUSB can be used to create both Linux and Windows bootable USB drives. Download
Supported Platforms to run: Windows only
Key features
- It can be used from the .exe that we can download for free.
- The software supports different OS channels
- The highly customizable option is available while creating the bootloader.
- Users have the advantage to use the QEMU Emulator to boot it quickly.
Choose wisely
I would find many more apps to create a USB bootable device. I listed the best 5 option to select consisting 4 popular apps and 1 (Etcher) horse in the market that is quite good in my knowledge. Nearly every person who uses a computer or laptop would need software like them to install an OS. We are just helping them to sort things out to save some time and energy.
Mac Usb Boot Stick
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