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How To Obtain And Use The macOS Install Disc Image

Article ID = 43
Article Title = How To Obtain And Use The macOS Install Disc Image
Article Author(s) = Graham Needham (BH)
Article Created On = 21st July 2011
Article Last Updated = 10th September 2014
Article URL = https://www.macstrategy.com/article.php?43

Article Brief Description:
Instructions for obtaining the OS X install disc image

How To Obtain And Use A macOS Disc Image (for OS X 10.7 or later)

What's your situation?
  • You made a backup copy of the "Install macOS / OS X" installer package before installing macOS / OS X - click here
  • You are about to purchase, download and install macOS / OS X - click here
  • You have purchased and downloaded macOS / OS X but have not installed it yet - click here
  • You have already purchased, downloaded and installed macOS / OS X - click here
  • You have already obtained the macOS / OS X disc image and want to know what to do with the macOS / OS X disc image

Obtain the macOS / OS X Installer - macOS / OS X Not Purchased Yet

  1. Go to Macintosh HD > Applications > App Store.
  2. Go to Store menu and Sign In if necessary (using the Apple ID you purchased OS X 10.7 or later with).
  3. From the 'Store' menu now select "Search" and search for "macOS".
  4. Locate the latest version of macOS / OS X e.g. macOS 14 Sonoma.
  5. Click the "Buy" button
  6. NOTE: If the buy button is not available e.g. it says "Install", "Download" or "Purchased" you have already bought macOS / OS X
  7. Purchase and download the macOS / OS X Install installer package to your hard disk (it may take a while as it is 4.3GB+ in size).
  8. At the point where the macOS / OS X installer has downloaded it will automatically launch and ask you to continue.
  9. Do not click Continue yet.
  10. Quit the macOS / OS X installer (yes, quit it).
  11. Now go to Obtain The macOS / OS X Disc Image section below

Obtain the macOS / OS X Installer - macOS / OS X Already Purchased

  1. Go to Macintosh HD > Applications > App Store.
  2. Go to Store menu and Sign In if necessary (using the Apple ID you purchased OS X 10.7 or later with).
  3. Alt-click on the Purchases icon. This will show you a list of all software previously purchased. The 'macOS / OS X' item in the list should have an "Install" or "Download" button to the right of it.
  4. NOTE: If the button is greyed out e.g. it says "Installed" or "Downloaded" go to the macOS / OS X Already Purchased And Installed section below
  5. Click the install or download button for macOS / OS X which will download the macOS / OS X Install installer package to your hard disk (it may take a while as it is 4.3GB+ in size).
  6. At the point where the macOS / OS X installer has downloaded it will automatically launch and ask you to continue.
  7. Do not click Continue yet.
  8. Quit the macOS / OS X installer (yes, quit it).
  9. Now go to Obtain The macOS / OS X Disc Image section below

Obtain the macOS / OS X Installer - macOS / OS X Already Purchased And Installed

  1. Go to Macintosh HD > Applications and check for an "Install macOS / OS X" item - if it exists go to the Obtain The macOS / OS X Disc Image section below otherwise continue with these instructions.
  2. NOTE: If you have an additional compatible Mac running Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later that does not have the version of macOS / OS X you want already installed on it you could use that to download the installer again otherwise you will need one of the following external storage devices before continuing with these instructions:
    • USB, FireWire or Thunderbolt hard disk
    • USB stick
    • SDXC card (if your Mac supports it e.g. recent MacBook Pro or Mac mini)
    NOTE: The external storage device must be at least 8GB in size and erased/empty/formatted as a GUID Partition before use.
  3. Restart your computer using the (Internet) Recovery mode
  4. When the macOS / OS X Utilities window appears select the Install macOS / OS X option
  5. Choose your external storage device as the destination
  6. Let the installation start and watch the installation process carefully (it may take a while as it is 4.3GB+ in size)
  7. When the Mac automatically restarts there will be a black screen for a moment - at this point unplug/eject/disconnect the external storage device
  8. The Mac may stall for moment but then should boot normally to your desktop or login screen
  9. Reattach the external storage device
  10. There should be a folder on it called "macOS / OS X Install Data" that contains a disk image file called "InstallESD.dmg" - if this is missing, then you probably waited too long to unplug the drive. Go back and start this section again
  11. Copy the "InstallESD.dmg" file to your desktop or preferably to another disk/storage device or even burn it to a DVD so that you have a backup of it.
  12. Now choose what you want to do with the macOS / OS X disc image

Obtain The macOS / OS X Disc Image

  1. Go to Macintosh HD > Applications and locate the "Install macOS / OS X version name here" installer package (e.g. "Install macOS High Sierra") or find your backup copy of it.
  2. Right/control click on the "Install macOS / OS X" installer package and select "Show Package Contents" from the contextual menu.
  3. Navigate to Contents > SharedSupport and locate the "InstallESD.dmg" file.
  4. Copy the "InstallESD.dmg" file to your desktop or preferably to another disk/storage device or even burn it to a DVD so that you have a backup of it.
  5. Close all the windows.
  6. You can now use the macOS / OS X disc image (InstallESD.dmg) to:

How To Create An Install DVD From The macOS / OS X Disc Image

You will need a Mac with a DVD Writer and a blank/unused, single or dual layer DVD-R or DVD+R disc (depending on the size of the disc image for the version of macOS / OS X you are burning).
  1. Obtain the macOS / OS X Disc Image (see instructions above).
  2. Go to Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
  3. Click on the "Burn" button at the top of the Disk Utility window.
  4. Navigate to the macOS / OS X disc image ("InstallESD.dmg" file)
  5. Select the disc image.
  6. Click the "Burn" button.
  7. Insert the blank/unused DVD-R or DVD+R disc.
  8. Follow the on screen instructions.


Article Keywords: OS X OSX 107 108 109 1010 1011 macOS 1012 Lion Mountain Lion Mavericks Yosemite El Capitan Sierra boot bootable DVD install disc

This article is © MacStrategy » a trading name of Burning Helix. As an Amazon Associate, employees of MacStrategy's holding company (Burning Helix sro) may earn from qualifying purchases. Apple, the Apple logo, and Mac are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.


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