Nathan C. McGuire

Tag: cli

  • Create Windows Installation Media on Mac

    Prepare the ISO File

    1. Download the Windows ISO file from Microsoft’s official site.

    2. Save it to a convenient location (e.g., your Desktop).

    Insert and Identify the USB Drive

    1. Insert the USB drive into your Mac.

    2. Open Terminal and type:

    diskutil list

    3. Find the device identifier for your USB (e.g., /dev/disk2). Make sure you identify the correct disk to avoid overwriting other drives.

    Unmount the USB Drive

    Run the following command to unmount the USB (replace /dev/diskX with your USB identifier):

    diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX

    Convert the ISO to a Hybrid Format (if needed)

    macOS doesn’t always work well with ISO files, so convert it to a .img format:

    diutil convert -format UDRW -o ~/Desktop/Windows.img ~/Desktop/Windows.iso

    This creates a Windows.img.dmg file on your Desktop. Rename it to Windows.img for simplicity:

    mv ~/Desktop/Windows.img.dmg ~/Desktop/Windows.img

    Write the ISO to the USB

    1. Use dd to write the image to the USB:

    sudo dd if=~/Desktop/Windows.img of=/dev/rdiskX bs=1m status=progress

    • Replace /dev/rdiskX with your USB identifier (use rdisk for faster writing).

    • if= specifies the input file (the Windows image).

    • of= specifies the output drive (the USB).

    • status=progress displays real-time progress.

    2. Be patient. This process may take a while, and there will be no progress indicator.

    Eject the USB

    Once dd is complete, eject the USB drive:

    diskutil eject /dev/diskX

    Test the USB

    Insert the USB into your Windows PC, and boot from the USB to ensure it works as install media. You may need to change the boot order in the BIOS/UEFI.

    ⚠️ Caution: The dd command can permanently erase data if used incorrectly. Double-check your disk identifier before running the command.