how to make bootable windows 10 usb on mac

How to Make a Bootable Windows 10 USB on Mac

Creating a bootable Windows 10 USB drive can be a challenging task, especially when dealing with the large install size of the wim file and the MS-DOS format of the drive itself. However, with the right steps and tools, you can successfully create a bootable Windows 10 USB drive using your Mac.

The first step is to execute the command `hdiutil attach Win11_22H2_English_64v1.iso` in the terminal window. This will mount the Windows 11 ISO file. You can use Finder to do this, but as we are doing everything in the terminal, this command is more efficient.

Next, you need to erase the USB drive using MS-DOS format. In my case, macOS assigned the identifier 'disk5' to it. To spot your USB drive easily, run the command `diskutil list external` and note down the disk identifier. The option 'external' only displays mounted volumes.

If you want to store extra drivers on the USB drive to continue the Windows install process, make sure your USB drive is large enough to contain Windows 11. I use a 64GB USB drive that can also store these extra drivers.

To split the wim file into smaller parts, you need to have Homebrew installed and then run the command `brew install wimlib`. This tool helps you to split the install.wim file as it is too large for the filesystem we use on the USB drive.

Once you have wimlib installed, open a terminal window and run the following command: `/bin/bash -c 'curl -fsSL https://github.com/wimlib/wimlib/releases/download/v17.2.0/wimlib-17.2.0.tar.gz | tar xz'`. This will install wimlib.

The next step is to mount the Windows 11 ISO and split it into smaller parts using wimlib. You can use the command `wimlib-split -s 4G -o output /path/to/install.wim` to split the file into smaller parts.

Finally, copy the split files onto your USB drive and rename them as required by the Windows installation process.

In my case, it took about 6 minutes for my recent model MacBook Pro to complete the process. With these steps and tools, you should be able to create a bootable Windows 10 USB drive using your Mac.

Creating a bootable Windows 10 USB drive on a Mac can be challenging due to the install size of the wim file and the MS-DOS format of the drive itself. However, with the right steps and tools, you can successfully create a bootable Windows 10 USB drive using your Mac. This guide has provided you with all the necessary steps and tools to make it easy for you to create a bootable Windows 10 USB drive on your Mac.

How to make bootable windows 10 usb on mac