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2 ways to create Windows 11 bootable USB using Mac
Creating a bootable Windows 11 USB on a Mac is definitely more difficult than on a Windows PC, but it's not impossible. Let's explore a few different methods you can use to get the job done on your Mac.
What you need before you start
You will need the following items to create a Windows 11 boot installer:
- Flash drive or any other form of removable media with a capacity of 8GB or more.
- Internet connection is active.
- You'll also need the latest Windows 11 ISO file. To download it, head to Microsoft's download page and select Windows 11 from the Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices section . Choose your preferred language from Select the product language , then click Confirm and download the installer on your Mac by selecting 64-bit Download .
Warning : Both methods below will completely erase your USB, so make sure to back up any important files first.
Use a third-party application to create a Windows boot drive
The easiest way to create a Windows 11 bootable USB is to use a third-party application. We recommend WinDiskWriter because it is open source, lightweight, and has an easy-to-use interface.
Simply connect the flash drive to your Mac and follow these steps to create a Windows 11 bootable drive using WinDiskWriter.
- Visit WinDiskWriter's GitHub page and download the latest available build.
- Once you have downloaded the zip file, extract it and open the application by double-clicking on it.
- In the Target Device section , make sure the correct drive is selected. If a different drive is shown, click the drop-down menu option and select your USB.
- Click Choose in the Windows Image section to open a Finder window and locate the Windows ISO file you downloaded earlier. Then, click Open .
- Finally, click Start at the bottom to begin the process. Note that this process may take a while, so be patient.
Once the process is complete, you can safely remove your USB and use it as a boot drive on any PC.
Create Windows 11 boot drive using Terminal
If you don’t want to use a third-party app, you can create a manual installer using the Terminal app on your Mac. Before you begin, make sure you have Homebrew installed on your Mac , as you’ll need it later.
- Open Disk Utility on your Mac using Spotlight Search or find it in the Applications > Utilities folder .
- In the sidebar, select your USB, then click Erase in the upper right corner.
- Name the drive to your liking, select ExFAT as the format, then click Erase.
- Open Terminal on your Mac and enter the following command to mount the ISO file. Be sure to replace the ISO file path with where you saved the file. In most cases, it will be in your Downloads folder.
hdiutil mount ~/Downloads/Win11_23H2_English_x64v1.iso- Now you will need to install wimlib via Homebrew. You can do this by entering this command:
brew install wimlib
- Next, enter the following command to create a folder called sources in the root directory of your flash drive. Make sure to replace USB with the name you assigned to the drive when you formatted it.
mkdir sources /Volumes/USB/sources- Now, you will need to split one of the files into two parts. Otherwise, the installer may not start. Note that this process may take a while to complete, so be patient.
wimlib-imagex split /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9/sources/install.wim /Volumes/USB/sources/install.swm 3800
- Finally, you can copy all the remaining files by entering this command:
rsync -vha --exclude=sources/install.wim /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9/* /Volumes/USBNow that your Windows 11 bootable drive is ready, you can use it to install a fresh copy of Windows on your PC. Creating a bootable Windows installer on a Mac isn’t as straightforward as it is on a Windows PC, so if you’re still having trouble, it might be easier to create the installer directly on Windows.
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