Create a bootable OS X Yosemite installer USB drive

Posted on December 13, 2014 by 123myIT

Apple have made it much easier to create an OS X Yosemite installer USB drive and this same process can also be done for OS X Mavericks. In this video and article I will show you what you need to do to make this happen.

You can check out the older video 123myit.com video for the Mavericks USB here.

What do you need to get started?
* 8GB or larger USB drive, SD Card or USB hard drive
* OS X Yosemite.app or Mavericks.app (this can be downloaded from the App Store)
* An Apple computer with access to the Apple App Store
* A user account with administrator rights

Step 1. Download Yosemite, Mavericks from the App store.
Apple direct link here.
Step 2. Insert your USB into the Mac and run the Disk Utility.
Step 3. Erase the USB, so it becomes a clean USB with no data on it.
Step 4. Download OS X Yosemite App, get it from the Apple Store.
Step 5. Open Terminal and use the command below. Make sure the Yosemite App is located on your Desktop of your Mac.

NOTE: Change the USB name to MyVolume or you can change code “MyVolume” to the same name as your USB drive.

OS X Yosemite
sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app

OS X Mavericks
sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app

OS X Terminal Command

This install may take some time depending on the speed of your Mac hardware. Once the Terminal finishes copying everything across you will then be able to use the OS X Yosemite installer USB drive to do clean installs of OS X Yosemite.

If you are looking for a video on how to setup OS X Mavericks USB you can use the code above if that doesn’t work you can find the 123myIT.com video.
How to do a clean install of OS X Mavericks from USB

Good luck,
Matt

62 thoughts on “Create a bootable OS X Yosemite installer USB drive”

Michael on December 27, 2014 at 4:56 pm said:

I installed a bootcamp with windows 8.1 windows and put in half a disc that I Mool use two operating systems and two months after the new update came out to os x yosemite I stopped going os x and it’s just windows ask you what to do?
btw i have the 21,5″inch imac 2013

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on December 28, 2014 at 10:46 am said:
  
  Hi Michael
  You need to set a start-up disk in Windows. See the video below.
  Boot Camp: How to set a default Startup Disk in Windows
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
  - Riten on December 6, 2016 at 2:39 am said:
    
    hello can you give me your Apple ID to download OS X Yosemite please
    
    Reply ↓
    - 123myIT on December 12, 2016 at 11:30 am said:
      
      No but if you want I can try copying one to USB and send it to you.
      
      Reply ↓
      - Donell Morales on December 23, 2016 at 12:58 am said:
        
        Hello I did upgraded by mistake to OS Sierra, my MacBook Pro is a late 2010 model and I would like to go back to Yosemite OS but it is no longer on Apple site and I have not been able to find it, can you help??
      - 123myIT on December 24, 2016 at 11:09 pm said:
        
        Hi Donell,
        I could try making a USB for you for a fee. Otherwise you could try it yourself by downloading OS X via torrent.
        Let me know.
        Cheers
        Matt
Chris on January 15, 2015 at 1:37 am said:

Great videos.
Question … I have a mid 2009 MacBook Pro running Mavericks. I cannot boot from the USB. I would like to do a clean install of Yosemite. What is the best way to create an install CD?
Thanks.

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on January 15, 2015 at 8:06 am said:
  
  Hi Chris
  Just follow this video here.
  How to Burn an ISO or DMG file to DVD on a Mac
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
  - Chris on January 16, 2015 at 2:09 am said:
    
    Cool, Thanks.
    
    Reply ↓
Touria on January 30, 2015 at 7:29 pm said:

Hello Matt,
I have a macbook pro mid 2010 13″ and i’m still working with mountain lion 10.8.5 i wanted to upgrade it to maverick i did what you said to make it bootable in the usb and when i start the upgrade it said that my laptop can’t run under maverick i don’t know why?? can i upgrade it to yosemite without loosing any data or windows 7 i work with in bootcamp!! thank you

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on February 4, 2015 at 3:55 am said:
  
  HI Touria
  You should be able to use Windows 7.
  However you might find that upgrading to any OS X version above Mountain Lion will slow it right down. The hardware is just not good enough.
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
Tony on February 4, 2015 at 11:16 am said:

There is a mistake in the following terminal code:

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app

The mistake is an incorrect single “hyphens” in the path. They should be “–” Not “–” (Could have been caused by a Word Processor “helpfully” removing two hyphens as a mistake!)

Correct code:

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app

Reply ↓
- Aske on March 3, 2015 at 3:11 am said:
  
  The word processor still adjusted your corrected code, but thanks it helped
  
  Reply ↓
  - 123myIT on March 4, 2015 at 5:02 am said:
    
    Hi Aske
    No problem. Thanks for the feedback.
    Cheers
    Matt
    
    Reply ↓
Tony on February 4, 2015 at 11:19 am said:

Just noticed that the hyphen in my “corrected” code appear exactly the same as the incorrect code; so I reckon the problem is your web-site unhelpfully modifying text without your knowledge

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on February 7, 2015 at 12:12 am said:
  
  HI Tony
  Works ok for me?
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
Elizabeth Wong on February 9, 2015 at 5:01 pm said:

Hi Matt, I’m in terminal following your instructions, but I’m not seeing the question in order to type yes. I’m stuck at this point. I changed untitled to MyVolume on the USB, it repastes the instructions, then I hit return but it gives me the following message again. “You must specify both the volume and install application path.” What do I need to do to get to the question? I’m still on snow leopard 10.6.8/macbookpro trying to do a clean install of Yosemite. Helpppp! 😀 ps. And thanks for making such a clear video….yours was the best of the bunch.

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on February 10, 2015 at 7:23 am said:
  
  HI Elizabeth Wong
  Because you are on such and older OS I am not 100% sure this will work. However you need to check the paths and folder structure.
  For example make sure that you actually have an /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app folder in computer.
  On the older OS it might be called /Apps/Install or something different.
  I hope that make sense.
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
Aske Brun on March 3, 2015 at 3:22 am said:

I just noticed that the following terminal code did not work for me:

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app

What I did to make it work was make myself root user using the command:

sudo su

Then I used the following command to make the install drive:

./Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath “/Applications/Install OS X Yosemite.app”

Note: remember to change the dashes to hyphens

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on March 4, 2015 at 5:01 am said:
  
  HI Aske Brun
  Yes right, It must be different version of OS X or something. Because it worked perfectly for me as per the video. Thanks for the feedback though I am sure it will help some other out.
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
luke on March 13, 2015 at 12:02 am said:

im trying to follow this and my terminal commands keep saying this sudo: ./Applications/Install OS X Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia: command not found. i have tried everyones comments on here and it says the same thing everytime, i am also running the latest yosemite which is 10.10.2

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on March 13, 2015 at 2:31 am said:
  
  Hi luke
  Bump up the res on the YouTube video and look at the code on the video. Some people say that the code on the page is not right. However is the same code I used in the video.
  So my suggestion would be to copy the code. Paste it to your terminal. Then Double check the video code to make sure you have it right and you should be good to go.
  The other thing you need to be aware of is that a fresh install of OS X Yosemite, May not be the same as an Upgraded version of OS X Yosemite. This means that the folder structure might not be the same, so a another suggestion would be to check your folders are the same as that in the code. EG /applications/blah actually try browsing to those locations and make sure they exist.
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
Muhammad asif on March 15, 2015 at 7:23 pm said:

Hi dear
currently i am using windows 7 in macbook pro so please can you tell me how to get Yosmitee back on my macbookpro.

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on March 15, 2015 at 10:10 pm said:
  
  HI Muhammad asif
  Hold down alt option key when starting up or you can use a start up disk.
  Boot Camp: How to set a default Startup Disk in Windows
  or
  Boot Camp: How to set a default Startup Disk in OS X
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
Hugo on April 9, 2015 at 5:29 pm said:

Hey Matt! I tried this and did exactly what you did in your video, but for some reason my Terminal says ”You must specify both the volume and application path.” How do i fix this?

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on April 10, 2015 at 12:52 am said:
  
  Hi Hugo
  Try browsing to the application path in finder and make sure it is there?
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
  - Hugo on April 10, 2015 at 6:08 pm said:
    
    Eehm… if what is there?
    
    Reply ↓
    - 123myIT on April 13, 2015 at 10:15 am said:
      
      Hi Hugo
      Browse to the location so you can make sure the code is correct?
      Cheers
      Matt
      
      Reply ↓
      - Hugo on April 13, 2015 at 8:14 pm said:
        
        Well… i dont know anything about the code really 🙁 Im not interested in coding and not super into IT i just like it.
      - Hugo on April 24, 2015 at 11:01 pm said:
        
        This is not a very good service… expects me to know everything. Why do u think I’m here in the first place?!
      - 123myIT on April 25, 2015 at 3:22 am said:
        
        Hi Hugo
        Excuse me why are you being like that for? If you don’t like the FREE help that is on offer here, then feel free to go find help elsewhere.
        Look at the path of the code. Then use the “finder” to look in that folder location on your Mac computer.
        Matt
Amiri on May 7, 2015 at 5:54 am said:

hi! how would I know that the terminal command has been executed and that the OS X Yosemite has been copied into the Flash thumb drive?

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on May 8, 2015 at 1:51 am said:
  
  Hi Amiri
  Yes that is correct.
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
partha on May 7, 2015 at 12:04 pm said:

Hi! I tried using the command but i keep getting the error, also tried with “sudo su”

here’s the error

Last login: Thu May 7 19:23:56 on console
MyMac-MacBook-Pro:~ part2989$ sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app

WARNING: Improper use of the sudo command could lead to data loss
or the deletion of important system files. Please double-check your
typing when using sudo. Type “man sudo” for more information.

To proceed, enter your password, or type Ctrl-C to abort.

Password:
You must specify both the volume and install application path.
MyMac-MacBook-Pro:~ part2989$

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on May 8, 2015 at 1:47 am said:
  
  Hi partha
  Try browsing with finder to that location.
  /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\
  And see if the Yosemite.app is in that location.
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
Sonny on May 8, 2015 at 1:15 pm said:

Hey Matt! I tried this and did exactly what you did in your video, but for some reason my Terminal says ”You must specify both the volume and application path.” I also downloaded the yosemite and it is in my application folder.How do i fix this?

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on May 9, 2015 at 7:12 am said:
  
  HI Sonny
  Try browsing to the application path in finder and see if the app is there?
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
  - Sonny on May 9, 2015 at 12:57 pm said:
    
    yes Matt, the yosemite app is in the application folder
    
    Reply ↓
John on June 10, 2015 at 3:29 am said:

Hello I am having trouble doing the steps as you provided. When I go to the terminal I get the following error message:

sudo: unable to execute /Applications/Install OS X Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia: Bad CPU type in executable
unknown0016cb02defe:~ johnrivera$

I am not sure how to fix that or how to get it to work. Help is appreciated.

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on June 11, 2015 at 2:10 am said:
  
  Hi John
  Just browse to the folder location to make sure it exists and that the app is there.
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
Aamir on September 4, 2015 at 5:39 am said:

Everytime I have tried to install OS X Yosemite on my MacBook Pro, it sucks at 2 minutes remaining. In order to fix this, i have earse my HD and recover MAC from Internet. This have intstall OS X Mountain Lion on my MAC.
Please tell me how i install OS X Yosemite on my MacBook Pro as my internet speed is too slow and it takes almost 1 to 2 days to download OS X Yosemite.
Tell me if there is any img file of OS X Yosemite so that i will make a bootable USB of OS X Yosemite in order to install OS X Yosemite.

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on September 4, 2015 at 11:59 pm said:
  
  Hi Aamir
  Yes follow this video.
  Create a bootable OS X Yosemite installer USB drive
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
ricky on September 6, 2015 at 4:20 am said:

why i can’t hit password when fill complete code then enter?

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on September 7, 2015 at 1:43 am said:
  
  Hi Ricky
  Do you have the correct admin password? What stage are you getting up too ?
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
Tareq on September 9, 2015 at 4:33 am said:

Hello,
My macbook pro no admin password. When it ask password, what should I put?

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on September 9, 2015 at 11:35 pm said:
  
  Hi Tareq,
  When the Mac is setup at the beginning, normally there is an admin password set. If you never set this try just the user name and blank password.
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
Anwar on October 3, 2015 at 8:49 pm said:

Hello Sir,

Can you help me make a code on MAC to install OSX EI Capitan on flash drive ? I have already downloaded it and used this code
sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ EI Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ EI Capitan.app
However it Does not work .

Thanks

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on October 4, 2015 at 7:32 am said:
  
  Hi Anwar,
  Where did you download OS X from El Capitan from?
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
  - Anwar on October 5, 2015 at 1:25 pm said:
    
    I downloaded the software from App Store and the file is located as an application in application menu just like how you downloaded Yosemite in your video
    
    Reply ↓
    - 123myIT on October 6, 2015 at 10:19 pm said:
      
      Hi Anwar,
      And is this a problem?
      Cheers
      Matt
      
      Reply ↓
      - Anwar on October 7, 2015 at 3:13 pm said:
        
        Mr. Matt,
        
        My problem was to create a code to copy the new version of mac osx EI Capitan to flash drive so that I can clean install OSX EI Capitan on my mac computer. I tried to use your code for Yosmite with changing the name of the downloaded OSX from Yosmite to EI Capitan as follow:
        ” sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ EI Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ EI Capitan.app”
        
        However, It did not work.
        
        Can you help me fix the code or can you make a code to copy OS X EI Capitan To a flash drive so i can use it to clean install this system?
        
        Thanks
      - 123myIT on October 8, 2015 at 10:49 pm said:
        
        Hi Anwar,
        I will update a video of the shortly. Thanks for the head up.
        Cheers
        Matt
thefire on November 24, 2015 at 9:05 pm said:

Hi.
I upgraded my mbp(mid2014) from yosemite to el capitan, but I exist very problem since el capitan.
I want to go back to yosemite, but yosemite installer not available at mac app store. Do you help me*

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on November 25, 2015 at 12:46 am said:
  
  Hi thefire,
  I already replied to your post under How to do a clean install of OS X Yosemite post.
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
Jerko on February 29, 2016 at 7:47 pm said:

Hi,

Could you please help me to go out from Terminal …
When I have followed your video I have stuck on this.. I do not have password and i have already tried with user name ..
This is a screenshot.

.Last login: Mon Feb 29 19:36:36 on console
jerkomarcelics-iMac-2:~ jerkomarcelic$ sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app

WARNING: Improper use of the sudo command could lead to data loss
or the deletion of important system files. Please double-check your
typing when using sudo. Type “man sudo” for more information.

To proceed, enter your password, or type Ctrl-C to abort.

Password:
jerkomarcelics-iMac-2:~ jerkomarcelic$
[Restored]
Last login: Mon Feb 29 20:20:15 on ttys000
jerkomarcelics-iMac-2:~ jerkomarcelic$ sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app

WARNING: Improper use of the sudo command could lead to data loss
or the deletion of important system files. Please double-check your
typing when using sudo. Type “man sudo” for more information.

To proceed, enter your password, or type Ctrl-C to abort.

Password:
Sorry, try again.
Password:
Sorry, try again.
Password:

Thank you in advance

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on March 1, 2016 at 6:28 am said:
  
  Hi Jerko
  Is that giving you an issue with your password ? you will need to type your password there but it wont look like its being typed.
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
Vivek on January 7, 2017 at 1:56 pm said:

Hello,
When i paste the command sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app to my terminal it says

sudo: /Applications/Install OS X Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia: command not found

I am currently on EI Capitan and need to downgrade to Yosimite.

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on January 9, 2017 at 4:04 am said:
  
  Hi Vivek,
  You need to make sure the OS X Yosemite.app file is in the /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume location.
  Cheers
  Matt
  
  Reply ↓
  - Vivek Patil on January 9, 2017 at 4:14 am said:
    
    Hello Maat,
    
    I have overcomed the previous error.Now when i paste the command it says me.
    
    /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app does not appear to be a valid OS X installer application.
    
    Can u please help me with this? I have a mackbook pro retina 2015 model and currently have El Capitan on it.
    
    Thanks for your quick response..
    Vivek
    
    Reply ↓
    - 123myIT on January 12, 2017 at 1:44 am said:
      
      Yes, basically what it is trying to tell you is that the Yosemite.app is not in the location that you are telling the computer.
      So you need to actually download the Yosemite.app first. My understanding is Apple doesn’t allow this any more.
      Does that make sense?
      
      Reply ↓
paul on February 10, 2018 at 7:28 am said:

hi i would like to upgrade to yosemite but it is not in the app store do you know where i maybe able to get it for free.

Reply ↓
- 123myIT on February 13, 2018 at 12:54 am said:
  
  Probably torrents site?
  
  Reply ↓