Installing Big Sur with a USB

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Level 1

8 points

Installing Big Sur with a USB

Hello, I’m having some issues installing Big Sur on my MacBook Air 2014. Since I ran out of space, I can’t install it on my internal drive without losing my information. I want to create to install MacOS using a USB stick but it says “this disk doesn’t use the GUID partitioning scheme.” I have tried with two different sticks but I’m getting the same issue. I erased the data and put it in the MacOS extended (journaled) format but I don’t get the “scheme” option.

What should I do if I want to keep all my data? Do I need to buy another USB or an external hard drive that supports GUID partitioning? If you know one that supports it, please let me know.

Thank you.

Posted on Feb 15, 2021 3:06 PM

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Answer 1

Eric--F

Community Specialist

Feb 17, 2021 5:03 PM in response to NickMas00

Hello NickMas00.

Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. We understand that you are having some trouble with making a bootable installer so that you can upgrade to Big Sur. We will be glad to assist.

Check out this resource: How to create a bootable installer for macOS

Cheers.

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Answer 2

Owl-53

Level 10

103,303 points

Feb 19, 2021 1:32 AM in response to NickMas00

One must have Minimum of 35.5 GB Free Space before Attempting.

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Answer 3

NickMas00 Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 18, 2021 8:02 PM in response to Eric--F

Hello Eric and thank you for your response. I have read the article but I still have a question:

After creating the bootable installer, in what drive should I install Big Sur? Will I be able to install it on Macintosh even if I only have 20GB of space left?

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Installing Big Sur with a USB

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