Skip to main content

Create ISO File for any macOS Release

· 4 min read
Tech Fiddle
Rudra Sen

Today we'll guide you through the setup of creating an ISO File for any macOS Release.

Table of Contents

Introduction

What is it needed for?

macOS ISO is required for Installing macOS as an Virtual Machine **/** Virtual Machine on Windows. We have already created a step by step guide on how to install macOS on VirtualBox.


Important!
  • macOS Mojave and older Releases have been marked as deprecated by Apple, no longer supported, and no longer receiving updates. Our Recommendation is to use the latest release of macOS. However, If you want, macOS Mojave Guide is provided.
  • You need to be on a Real Mac (Also Known as Macintosh) or have macOS installed as VM. If you don’t have a Real Mac, then I recommend to use the following guide and Install macOS Monterey / Big Sur / Catalina on Windows using VirtualBox. You can choose either to install macOS Monterey, Big Sur or Catalina.

Below are the options for creating an ISO File. Select the macOS release you want to install and you'll be guided for the rest of the process.

(Sorted from Newest to Oldest Release)

Create ISO for macOS Monterey

Prerequisites

Click on the Link to Download macOS Monterey. Software Update Window will open and will start downloading macOS Monterey. Download will take time depending on your Internet Speed.

When the download of macOS Monterey is finished, the Installer Window will Open. Make sure to Quit the Installer by click on Install macOS Monterey > Quit Install macOS or pressing Command + Q on your keyboard.

Next, Open Terminal

and copy the following command to create an Empty Disk Image. Type your macOS Account Password when prompted.

sudo hdiutil create -o /tmp/Monterey -size 16384m -volname Monterey -layout SPUD -fs HFS+J

Next, Mount the disk image to /Volumes/Monterey.

sudo hdiutil attach /tmp/Monterey.dmg -noverify -mountpoint /Volumes/Monterey

Now we'll use the createinstallmedia command to make the disk image bootable with macOS Monterey.

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Monterey --nointeraction

Unmount the Disk Image which is formatted from Monterey to Install macOS Monterey and bootable with macOS Monterey ISO image.

hdiutil eject -force /Volumes/Install\ macOS\ 12\ Beta

Convert and Rename the Disk Image to ISO Format

hdiutil convert /tmp/Monterey.dmg -format UDTO -o ~/Desktop/Monterey
mv -v ~/Desktop/Monterey.cdr ~/Desktop/Monterey.iso
sudo rm -fv /tmp/Monterey.dmg
note

Running the rm -rf commands will do the cleanup and remove all the unnecessary files (disk image) from the /tmp folder. Although if you don’t do it then it will be automatically be removed after a while.

After running all the commands properly you should end up with a macOS Monterey ISO image file on your Desktop.

Create ISO for macOS Big Sur

Prerequisites

Create ISO for macOS Catalina

Prerequisites

Create ISO for macOS Mojave

Prerequisites

Congratulations 🎉

Congratulations! You've now created an ISO File for your macOS Release! Now that you've created the ISO File, refer to below guides to install macOS using the ISO File on your Windows PC using VirtualBox:

Thanks for Reading this Guide! 😊

If you liked this guide, Subscribe to our YouTube Channel below and support us by sharing this post.

Share


Subscribe to our YouTube Channel:


Comments


Tags:
  • ISO File
  • macOS
  • Monterey
  • Big Sur
  • Catalina
  • Mojave
Edit this page