How to Create a macOS Sonoma Installation USB

[tonymacx86]

Here's a quick guide to create a macOS 14 Sonoma Public Beta Installation USB. Please note, this guide is not universal, and may not work for all systems.

Note: Sonoma does not support Broadcom WiFi cards such Fenvi T919. See this thread for possible solution.

Fenvi T919 and Broadcom wifi back in Sonoma with OCLP

Note: macOS Sonoma 14.4 breaks OCLP patch Post 418 (page 42). Good morning. My wifi is Fenvi T919. I know that it is not the ideal situation that many of us want to have the system as vanilla as possible, but what the OCLP team has achieved is amazing. I have followed TO THE LETTER the...

www.tonymacx86.com

STEP 1: Download macOS Sonoma Public Beta

1. Enroll in the Free Apple Beta Software Program
2. Download Public Beta Access Utility
3. Run installer. System Preferences / Software Update will then open.
4. Choose Upgrade Now to download the 12 GB installation Application.

The Application Install macOS Sonoma Beta will appear in /Applications.

Alternative download: Download macOS Sonoma using gibMacOS

STEP 2: Prepare Bootable USB Drive
This step extracts the Installer contents, then installs Clover bootloader to the USB stick.

1. Insert the USB drive
2. Open /Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility
3. Highlight the USB drive in left column
4. Click on the Partition tab
5. Click Current and choose 1 Partition
6. Click Options...
7. Choose GUID Partition Table
8. Under Name: type USB (You can rename it later)
9. Under Format: choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
10. Click Apply then Partition
11. Open /Applications/Utilities/Terminal
12. Type the following, enter password and hit enter. This command completely erases the USB, then creates native installer media from the Install macOS Beta Application.

macOS Sonoma (Release)

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USB /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app --nointeraction

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Upon completion, the USB will be renamed Install macOS Sonoma.

macOS Sonoma (Public Beta)

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma\ beta.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USB /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma\ beta.app --nointeraction

Upon completion, the USB will be renamed Install macOS Sonoma beta.

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Option 1: OpenCore Bootloader
13. Download OpenCore Bootloader 0.9.2 or higher from the official downloads section.
14. Install OpenCore EFI using the USB's EFI partition (Install macOS Sonoma beta) as the target volume.
15. Navigate to /EFI and apply necessary kexts, SSDTs.

Option 2: Clover Bootloader
13. Download the standalone Clover Bootloader v5.0 r5152 or higher from the official downloads section.
14. Install UEFI or Legacy Clover version using the USB (Install macOS Sonoma beta) as the target.
15. Navigate to /EFI/CLOVER/kexts/Other/ and apply necessary kexts.

Your macOS Installation USB is now finished.

This thread is not a Help thread! Post your question(s) as a standalone thread in the Sonoma Desktop Support forum section.

 

[tonymacx86]

FYI: Alternative macOS downloader gibMacOS now has the beta in Public catalog.

 

[craighazan]

I don't think my Sandisk 16 GB USB sticks are big enough, the terminal command returns 'Need additional 100 MB' to install the media.

 

[scottkendall]

You may want to add a note at the top of your guide that says

"Installing Sonoma will Break your Broadcom (fenvi) WiFi"

 

[LiveSorcerer]

Is anyone having a problem installing MacOS Sonoma in this configuration:
- Gigabyte Z590M Gaming
- Intel i7 11700K
- Radeon RX6800 XT 16GB
It was working normally with OpenCore 0.9.3 and the Beta version of Sonoma, but versions 0.9.4 and 0.9.5 are not even loading the boot.
I only updated OpenCore correctly.

 

[zanthros]

Just curious... Does anyone know if this method will work on an ASUS Prime z390a? Have I9-9900k, Vega 64.
Have tried other methods and no dice as of yet.... gets stuck at first install loading screen.

 

[BenjaminR339]

Just curious... Does anyone know if this method will work on an ASUS Prime z390a? Have I9-9900k, Vega 64.
Have tried other methods and no dice as of yet.... gets stuck at first install loading screen.

My brother has a similar CPU/MB, double check that your PLIST is configured correctly

 

[BenjaminR339]

I have the USB Stick ready, did it following this guide, what's comes next? By installing Sonoma Clover will be installed as well?

What you'll want to do next is change your BIOS settings and attempt to boot the USB drive. If that does not work and you can't get to the installer, double check your config file and BIOS settings.

 

[reset2]

Use PlistEdit Pro app. Has a free trial. Open up the config.plist with PLE Pro app and go to area shown in red box.
The SystemUUID section must also be filled in or it won't boot. You can use OCAT to generate it if need be.

View attachment 574020

Done! Thank you.

 

[pisomojado]

STEP 2: Prepare Bootable USB Drive
This step extracts the Installer contents, then installs Clover bootloader to the USB stick.

1. Insert the USB drive
2. Open /Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility
3. Highlight the USB drive in left column
4. Click on the Partition tab
5. Click Current and choose 1 Partition
6. Click Options...
7. Choose GUID Partition Table
8. Under Name: type USB (You can rename it later)
9. Under Format: choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
10. Click Apply then Partition
11. Open /Applications/Utilities/Terminal
12. Type the following, enter password and hit enter. This command completely erases the USB, then creates native installer media from the Install macOS Beta Application.

These instructions don't match what I'm experiencing. I inserted the USB drive and opened Disk Utility. The Partition tab is greyed out. If I click on the Erase tab I can format as MacOS Extended (Journaled) or two other options. It also asks for a Scheme, but there is NO "GUID Partition Table". There is Guid Partition Map. Since I don't know what these things mean, multiple discrepancies in the instructions cause anxiety.

Also there's no indication of whether there is a minimum or maximum size recommended for the USB.