Creating OSX 10.11 Bootable USB on MBP Ventura 13.2

Hi,


I am attempting to make a bootable USB for OSX 10.11. I have downloaded the .dmg file and copied it into /Applications on my 2019 MBP running Ventura.


I run the following command (from the Support page Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support):

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


I get the following error message:

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


I also mounted the .DMG and copied the .PKG into /Applications and that did not change the result. I have not changed the filenames of the .DMG or .PKG, just copied and pasted.

MacBook Pro 15″

Posted on Feb 12, 2023 4:35 PM

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Posted on Feb 12, 2023 6:15 PM

You cannot create a bootable macOS 10.11 USB installer using Ventura unless you have already extracted the real macOS installer from the downloaded .dmg file. To actually extract the real installer requires using a Qualifying Mac which is compatible with macOS 10.11 as the .pkg extractor app will not run on any other Mac, except one compatible with macOS 10.11. Read the instructions very carefully:

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support


Apple moved the instructions for macOS 10.11 to the "Download macOS" link in the previous article:

How to download macOS - Apple Support


Step #3 in the "How to download macOS" article is the critical step you missed.

1.Double-click the .pkg file, then follow the onscreen instructions. This installs the macOS installer into your Applications folder.


FYI, a 2019 Mac is not able to run the .pkg extractor app. Generally a Qualifying Mac for macOS 10.11 is one from 2008 to 2015, but you can check which Macs are compatible with macOS 10.11 in this article:

https://eshop.macsales.com/guides/Mac_OS_X_Compatibility


At one time I did have a link to instructions for using the command line to manually extract some files from the .pkg extractor app in order to create a bootable macOS 10.11 USB installer, but later comments indicated that Apple changed something although someone did manage to modify the instructions. I have no idea if the instructions will work with the current download. Besides, the instructions were very long & complicated even for someone who is familiar with using the command line. Many average users would probably not be successful in following the instructions as there are a few steps which are a bit confusing.


Unfortunately I am not aware of any other way of creating a bootable macOS 10.11 USB installer than using Apple's official instructions and a Qualifying Mac. Now if you had an extracted copy of the real installer app, then you could use the command mentioned in your post (at least on an Intel Mac, it will not work on an Apple Silicon Mac). I don't know why Apple has to make something like this so difficult.

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4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 12, 2023 6:15 PM in response to IK_564

You cannot create a bootable macOS 10.11 USB installer using Ventura unless you have already extracted the real macOS installer from the downloaded .dmg file. To actually extract the real installer requires using a Qualifying Mac which is compatible with macOS 10.11 as the .pkg extractor app will not run on any other Mac, except one compatible with macOS 10.11. Read the instructions very carefully:

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support


Apple moved the instructions for macOS 10.11 to the "Download macOS" link in the previous article:

How to download macOS - Apple Support


Step #3 in the "How to download macOS" article is the critical step you missed.

1.Double-click the .pkg file, then follow the onscreen instructions. This installs the macOS installer into your Applications folder.


FYI, a 2019 Mac is not able to run the .pkg extractor app. Generally a Qualifying Mac for macOS 10.11 is one from 2008 to 2015, but you can check which Macs are compatible with macOS 10.11 in this article:

https://eshop.macsales.com/guides/Mac_OS_X_Compatibility


At one time I did have a link to instructions for using the command line to manually extract some files from the .pkg extractor app in order to create a bootable macOS 10.11 USB installer, but later comments indicated that Apple changed something although someone did manage to modify the instructions. I have no idea if the instructions will work with the current download. Besides, the instructions were very long & complicated even for someone who is familiar with using the command line. Many average users would probably not be successful in following the instructions as there are a few steps which are a bit confusing.


Unfortunately I am not aware of any other way of creating a bootable macOS 10.11 USB installer than using Apple's official instructions and a Qualifying Mac. Now if you had an extracted copy of the real installer app, then you could use the command mentioned in your post (at least on an Intel Mac, it will not work on an Apple Silicon Mac). I don't know why Apple has to make something like this so difficult.

Feb 12, 2023 6:19 PM in response to BDAqua

BDAqua wrote:

Using the .DMG...

http://updates-http.cdn-apple.com/2019/cert/061-41424-20191024-218af9ec-cf50-4516-9011-228c78eda3d2/InstallMacOSX.dmg

Mounting it & opening the InstallMacOSX.pkg in Pacifist, Which might work to Install to other Disk itself(, In see createinstallmedia here near the bottom...

Just cross posted with you. Interesting layout in there. I wonder if it can be manually extracted. I know the older version of the .pkg extractor file had a very convoluted packaging system, but this almost looks like the real installer app is perhaps intact within the .pkg file.

Feb 12, 2023 6:34 PM in response to HWTech

That or possibly copying the PKG to Applications folder & changing...


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


To...

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

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Creating OSX 10.11 Bootable USB on MBP Ventura 13.2

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