EMERGENCY BOOT DRIVE

IS IT POSSIBLE TO BOOT UP MY MAC IN RECOVERY MODE TO REINSTALL MACOS IF MY HARD DRIVE FAILS COMPLETELY? You can create your own emergency boot drive. All you need is a USB flash drive with at least 8GB of free space, plus your Mac’s Disk Utility and Terminal apps. Here’s how to set it up…

1

FORMAT YOUR DRIVE

Launch Disk Utility and select your drive in the “External” section. Click “Erase.” From the Format menu pick “Mac OS Extended (Journaled).”

2

NAME AND ERASE

Give your boot drive a name and click “Erase” again. It’ll be wiped and set up as new. Eject the disk and mount it again to ensure it works.

3

DOWNLOAD INSTALLER On the App Store, search for the macOS you’re using (eg Catalina)to find its installer. Download it, and when it launches press Cmd-Q to quit.

4

LAUNCH TERMINAL

The Install macOS Catalina app will be in your Applications folder. Double-check it, and while you’re there launch your Mac’s Terminal app.

5

ENTER THE COMMAND

Type: sudo /Applications/ Install\ macOS/ Catalina.app/ Contents/Resources/ createinstallmedia –volume / Volumes/[name of your disk].

6

ALL DONE

Press Return after typing in the command and when Terminal informs you that the installation has finished, you can eject the flash drive.