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PNY 16GB USB installer drives for $3.40

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Not tried this. How to do it ?

I haven't tried, but the follow should work...

1. Start with a USB flash drive large enough for multiple macOS installers. 32GB should be sufficient for four versions of macOS.
2. Plug flash drive in to your computer.
3. Launch Disk Utility.
4. Initialize the flash drive in to four partitions of equal size. (name as untitled1, untitled2, untitled3, untitled4)
5. Download the versions of macOS installer you want. (i.e., Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra)
6. Launch Terminal and enter:
For Big Sur:
Code:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big\ Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/untitled1
For Catalina:
Code:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Catalina.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/untitled2
For Mojave:
Code:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/untitled3
For High Sierra:
Code:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/untitled4
7. Copy/paste your Clover EFI to the EFI partition. (Use OEM folder so that it will work for all your different hackintosh systems.)
 
It would probably need a 64GB drive since Big Sur is over 12GB itself.

Ah. I forgot about that... But you get the general idea... It would be a much neater solution than having half a dozen USB flash drives all over the place.

Edit:
I use the same concept to keep old bootable backups of Catalina and Mojave around.
 
Have you guys tried putting multiple macOS installers on a single USB flash drive? (i.e., have a single USB flash drive with High Sierra installer, Mavericks installer, Big Sur installer, etc).

Then you can have a single Clover for multiple systems in the EFI folder and have a single USB flash drive to do it all.

I tried but misunderstood. @Leesureone mentioned it when I was installing the ASRock B560M, but I failed. Your explanation makes it very clear. I would think that would work, no problem. :thumbup:

To late for me though - I have four USB sticks and four SSDs now! :lol:
 
It would be a much neater solution than having half a dozen USB flash drives all over the place.
I had thought that createinstallmedia will format the whole USB anew each time you run the command from terminal. Specifying a separate volume for each should work. Someone will have to try this out and report back.
 
I had thought that createinstallmedia will format the whole USB anew each time you run the command from terminal.

No, I think it just re-initializes the particular partition/volume in the Terminal command.

When we update an existing USB installer with a newer version of macOS using createinstallmedia, the EFI partition remains untouched.
 
I have an old TB2 G drive that I pulled the Drive out of and put a super old 500gb SSD drive in... I have HS-BS installers all ready to go on a external drive. And if TB2 is not available the inside pulls out and can go USB. I used createinstallmedia to make it and different partitions.
 
Well as I was feeling a bit bored this evening, I thought I would try this on a spare 64GB SanDisk USB. Works a treat!

I managed to format and partition the USB so I could install eight (8) versions of OS X/macOS on the USB. Mavericks through to Big Sur.

USB partitions before anything is installed.
Screenshot 2021-05-24 at 22.57.32.png

USB partitions after all eight OS's have been installed.
Screenshot 2021-05-25 at 00.51.55.png

I will have a go at installing OpenCore on the USB, set for one of my Haswell systems and see if they all work tomorrow.

Not sure what I will do with the eight USB drives I have in my desk drawer if this does work!
 
Well as I was feeling a bit bored this evening, I thought I would try this
Thanks for reporting your results. It looks like the best deal from PNY would be to buy one of their 64GB drives for just $11.99 and then put the 8 different versions on that. The Samsung Bar Plus 64GB drives are very fast too. I've used those for USB installers.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LFV52Y6/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BPHN7LV/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

One of these multi-version installers would really come in handy for working on older Macs that their owners have failed to update for many years. Of note, don't boot Clover based installers on real Macs. That can cause firmware related booting problems as many have reported. https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/warning-clover-will-break-your-real-mac-use-with-caution.224933/

I often see old iMacs still running Snow Leopard. Once even saw one running Leopard. In those scenarios you're quite limited by which OS you can first upgrade them to. You need to upgrade them to Lion, Mt. Lion or Mavericks first before installing anything newer. So having the older versions like Lion - Mavericks around is important.
 
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Not sure what I will do with the eight USB drives I have in my desk drawer if this does work!
Keep them as backups. If the Sandisk ever fails or you lose it, then you lose all eight installers.
 
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