EdisonW

Q: Cannot create bootable El Capitan USB media using "createinstallmedia" or Diskmaker X

Hello all,

 

So far (knock on wood) El Capitan has been fantastic on my 2011 MBP 13" i7, and has actually improved everything, especially performance. Some minor glitches here and there but I was expecting it.

 

However, one BIG thing I've come across is this... Whenever I go to try and create a bootable USB installer using either the embedded "createinstallmedia" command found within the El Capitan package, or using Diskmaker X v5.0, both methods successfully create the USB installer, but neither method generates a USB device that I can select as a Source Disk in System Preferences, nor will it recognize as a bootable device when I hold down the Option key starting my Mac.

 

I've tried using 4 different, reputable brands of USB sticks, ranging in size from 8GB USB 2.0's to 32GB USB 3.0's, no effect, and I've tried them on 4 different models of Mac's, all on the certified El Capitan compatibility list. Each machine won't recognize it as a bootable source.

 

My first attempts at making the USB's were actually while the Mac was still on Yosemite, so I don't think this is a El Capitan bug. It almost seems like the image created from the package doesn't contain the boot components.

 

Has anyone else here experienced this issue, or possibly found a way to fix this and make it work? I have three Mac's with blank drives I'd like to put onto El Capitan, but can't until I manage to create a bootable USB.

 

Thanks in advance!

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2), 16GB RAM / Samsung 840 Pro SSD

Posted on Oct 2, 2015 11:00 AM

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Q: Cannot create bootable El Capitan USB media using "createinstallmedia" or Diskmaker X

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  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Oct 2, 2015 11:05 AM in response to EdisonW
    Level 10 (271,052 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 2, 2015 11:05 AM in response to EdisonW

    DiskMaker has been updated to fix this problem, so download it and try again. Or you can try the command line tool again being sure you used it correctly.

     

    Make your own El Capitan flash drive installer using the El Capitan tool:

     

    You can create a El Capitan flash drive installer via the Terminal. El Capitan has its own built-in installer maker you use via the Terminal:

     

    You will need a freshly partitioned and formatted USB flash drive with at least 8GBs. Leave the name of the flash drive at the system default, "Untitled." Do not change this name. Wait for the process to complete which will take quite some time.

     

    Open the Terminal in the Utilities folder. Copy and paste the following command line in its entirety into the Terminal window.

     

    sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applcations/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app --nointeraction

     

    Press RETURN, enter admin password (will not echo to the window) then press RETURN again.

     

    You need to have the installer in your Applications folder or change the paths in the above command line.

  • by EdisonW,

    EdisonW EdisonW Oct 2, 2015 11:11 AM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (20 points)
    iPad
    Oct 2, 2015 11:11 AM in response to Kappy

    I've just downloaded the new Diskmaker X 5.0.1 and am making a fresh copy, will report back on how that goes.

     

    Also, the terminal command you posted is exactly what I've been using, and it hasn't yielded a bootable USB device yet.

     

    Cheers

  • by EdisonW,

    EdisonW EdisonW Oct 2, 2015 11:52 AM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (20 points)
    iPad
    Oct 2, 2015 11:52 AM in response to Kappy

    Just finished creating the USB media with Diskmaker X 5.0.1, still the same result; the device cannot be recognized as a bootable source volume by the Mac's either in System Preferences, or when holding down Option during boot up.

  • by FatMac>MacPro,

    FatMac>MacPro FatMac>MacPro Oct 2, 2015 11:57 AM in response to EdisonW
    Level 5 (4,815 points)
    Oct 2, 2015 11:57 AM in response to EdisonW

    Given the trouble you're having, why not simply install El Capitan on a USB Flash drive so that you can boot from it, then put the El Capitan installer in the Flash drive's Application folder and run it from there against the target of your choice?

  • by Ghost_Rider,

    Ghost_Rider Ghost_Rider Oct 3, 2015 12:20 PM in response to EdisonW
    Level 1 (97 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 3, 2015 12:20 PM in response to EdisonW

    Try this command line (note: the name of the USB drive

     

    sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/ElCapInstaller --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app --nointeraction

  • by PPSTBClub,

    PPSTBClub PPSTBClub Oct 3, 2015 9:01 PM in response to EdisonW
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 3, 2015 9:01 PM in response to EdisonW

    I used the "createmediainstaller" command and have the exact same issue.

     

    I have used the same drive that was used to create a Yosemite installer, so I know it's not the drive.  The command line reports a successful install for El Capitan, but System Preferences does not show it as a Startup Disk.

     

    The USB drive for Yosemite created the same way immediately shows up as a startup disk option in System Preferences.

  • by Dave Lang (the other one),

    Dave Lang (the other one) Dave Lang (the other one) Oct 4, 2015 8:47 AM in response to EdisonW
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 4, 2015 8:47 AM in response to EdisonW

    I have the same problem. I can run the "createmediainstaller" app no problem and can create bootable install images for Mavericks & Yosemite on two seperate USB flash drives.

     

    But El Capitan doesn't work. It doesn't throw any error messages, but the drive is not bootable after.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Oct 4, 2015 9:23 AM in response to EdisonW
    Level 10 (271,052 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 4, 2015 9:23 AM in response to EdisonW

    Give this a try. I've tried it and it works.

     

    Make your own El Capitan flash drive installer using the El Capitan tool:

     

    You can create a El Capitan flash drive installer via the Terminal. El Capitan has its own built-in installer maker you use via the Terminal:

     

    You will need a freshly partitioned and formatted USB flash drive with at least 8GBs. Leave the name of the flash drive at the system default, "Untitled." Do not change this name. Wait for the process to complete which will take quite some time.

     

    Open the Terminal in the Utilities folder. Copy and paste the following command line in its entirety into the Terminal window.

     

    sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath "/Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app"

     

    Press RETURN, enter admin password (will not echo to the window) then press RETURN again.

     

    You need to have the installer in your Applications folder or change the paths in the above command line.

  • by Dave Lang (the other one),

    Dave Lang (the other one) Dave Lang (the other one) Oct 4, 2015 9:27 AM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 4, 2015 9:27 AM in response to Kappy

    Hey Kappy - I don't want to upset you, but you should read the thread more carefully. We are discussing what happens when the method you describe doesn't create a bootable drive.


    It would be helpful if you edited or deleted your response.

  • by DaneWeasel,

    DaneWeasel DaneWeasel Oct 4, 2015 9:31 AM in response to Dave Lang (the other one)
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 4, 2015 9:31 AM in response to Dave Lang (the other one)

    I second Dave on this. Please dont take it personal. Thank you for trying to help, but your doing it wrong...

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Oct 4, 2015 9:41 AM in response to Dave Lang (the other one)
    Level 10 (271,052 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 4, 2015 9:41 AM in response to Dave Lang (the other one)

    Insofar as this topic belongs to another user and you have threadjacked it doesn't offend me. Furthermore, I responded originally to this topic with a command that wasn't working. I addressed my reply to the OP in the hope it would help him. Frankly, I don't care what you two think. You don't even belong here.

     

    i''m not going to edit or remove my reply. But I will report yours to the mods.

  • by leroydouglas,

    leroydouglas leroydouglas Oct 4, 2015 9:45 AM in response to EdisonW
    Level 7 (23,520 points)
    Notebooks
    Oct 4, 2015 9:45 AM in response to EdisonW

    I just ran: diskutil list

     

    /dev/disk0 (internal, physical):

       #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

       0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *500.1 GB   disk0

       1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1

       2:          Apple_CoreStorage Macintosh HD            499.2 GB   disk0s2

       3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk0s3

    /dev/disk1 (internal, virtual):

       #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

       0:                  Apple_HFS Macintosh HD           +498.9 GB   disk1

                                     Logical Volume on disk0s2

                                     445E0E9F-C461-4940-870C-07FF309A1CDD

                                     Unencrypted

     

     

    /dev/disk2 (internal, physical):

       #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

       0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *8.0 GB     disk2

       1:                       EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk2s1

       2:                 Apple_HFS Install OS X El Capitan 7.7 GB     disk2s2

     

     

    Seeing the  EFI 209.7MB  is this telling me the installer is bootable?

     

    Is there a way of verifying in terminal if it is bootable with having to resstart my computer??

  • by Dave Lang (the other one),

    Dave Lang (the other one) Dave Lang (the other one) Oct 4, 2015 9:54 AM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 4, 2015 9:54 AM in response to Kappy

    Hi Kappy - it seems like you're more concerned with being "right" than with helping, but arguing about it here is unlikely to change your behaviour.

     

    The original poster, and several others on this thread, are trying to figure out why the method you described, which we have all used successfully, does not create a bootable USB drive for us.

     

    As part of the troubleshooting process, some of us created bootable USB drives from other versions of OSX using the createinstallmedia utility on the same USB drives that aren't working for El Capitan.

  • by leroydouglas,

    leroydouglas leroydouglas Oct 4, 2015 10:00 AM in response to EdisonW
    Level 7 (23,520 points)
    Notebooks
    Oct 4, 2015 10:00 AM in response to EdisonW

    The older method for booting off of a DVD or USB was to hold the C key on boot up.

     

    I wonder if that works in this situation with the SDcard created via  /createinstallmedia command.

     

    It seems a step backwards

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