Making an external system boot disk for an old Mac, on a new Mac.

I have a 5,1 Mac Pro High Sierra 10.13.6 that won't boot. I suspect a hard disk problem. I want to make an external 10.13.6 system boot disk , but the only other Mac available to me is an M2 Macbook Air running Sequoia. How to make an external 10.13.6 system boot disk on it? Is this possible?

Mac Pro, macOS 10.13

Posted on Mar 25, 2025 4:39 AM

Reply
Question marked as ⚠️ Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 25, 2025 5:26 AM

In short - Not from the M2 Macbook Air running Sequoia


To perform this action will require booting from a Bootable Installer


The Bootable Installer can Only be performed on an Apple Computer 


This will have to be performed from a Qualifying Computer to run the version of macOS to be made on the Bootable Installer.


Example : Bootable Installer of High Sierra would have to be done on a computer that Qualifies to run High Sierra


Notation: If the computer being used to perform this action is Too New or Too Old to qualify to run the version of macOS - this computer can’t be used.


Alternative is, to gain access to a Qualifying Apple Computer from a family member, friend or associate.

3 replies
Sort By: 
Question marked as ⚠️ Top-ranking reply

Mar 25, 2025 5:26 AM in response to .doc

In short - Not from the M2 Macbook Air running Sequoia


To perform this action will require booting from a Bootable Installer


The Bootable Installer can Only be performed on an Apple Computer 


This will have to be performed from a Qualifying Computer to run the version of macOS to be made on the Bootable Installer.


Example : Bootable Installer of High Sierra would have to be done on a computer that Qualifies to run High Sierra


Notation: If the computer being used to perform this action is Too New or Too Old to qualify to run the version of macOS - this computer can’t be used.


Alternative is, to gain access to a Qualifying Apple Computer from a family member, friend or associate.

Reply

Mar 25, 2025 6:23 AM in response to .doc

Boot that old Mac to Internet Recovery with the workaround below (I wish Apple finally fixes that very old flaw), and install High Sierra to an external disk (format a HDD as MacOS Extended, GUID, or a SSD as APFS).


https://mrmacintosh.com/how-to-fix-the-recovery-server-could-not-be-contacted-error-high-sierra-recovery-is-still-online-but-broken/

Reply

Making an external system boot disk for an old Mac, on a new Mac.

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.