createinstallmedia does not work in Catalina

[A.Chakery]

Hi,

I wanna create a bootable USB for High Sierra in macOS Catalina but when I try the below command it returns with this error: command not found. Would you please tell me where I am wrong with this ?

my USB stick is named: install

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/install && say Task Finished

The last part I added it myseld

Thank you

 

[Taz Mangus]

The createinstallmedia command looks correct and the command line syntax looks correct. Just to verify, you have Install macOS High Sierra.app in the Applications folder? I would suggest opening the Console app and see why it is complaining about command not found.

 

[KALLT]

Assuming that you do have the Install macOS High Sierra app at that location, it may be a configuration problem with your command-line shell.

What is the output of echo $PATH and which say? What happens if you call just /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia?

 

[allan.nyholm]

Also,,, facepalm.. please, excuse my lack of eyesight. You're of course creating this thread in the macOS Catalina section.. carry on. Didn't mean to dumb it all down.

Depending on the Mac from where you use the command "createinstallmedia" - there might be an additional thing called:
--applicationpath

From Apple's Support documents
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

* If your Mac is using macOS Sierra or earlier, include the --applicationpath argument, similar to the way this argument is used in the command for El Capitan.

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app

 

[Andybaird]

A related question: I'm trying to create a bootable thumb-drive installer for Sierra 10.12.6. (I'm trying to rescue a friend's older MacBook.) I'm doing this on a 2019 MacBook Pro running Catalina 10.15.7. When trying to use the createinstallmedia command, I keep getting the "command not found" error.

But I suspect my problem is more basic. I downloaded the Sierra installer from this Apple page. I mounted the .dmg file and found the InstallOS.pkg within. According to the aforementioned Apple page,

"Safari downloads the following older installers as a disk image named InstallOS.dmg or InstallMacOSX.dmg. Open the disk image, then open the .pkg installer inside the disk image. It installs an app named Install [Version Name]. Open that app from your Applications folder to begin installing the operating system."

Here's where I'm stuck. When I open the .pkg, it runs the installer, checks my Mac, and then tells me Sierra is incompatible and can't be installed. In other words, I can't get Install Sierra.app placed in my Applications folder. Lacking that, I'm stymied.

Can anybody steer me in the right direction? Thanks in advance!

 

[BrianBaughn]

Here's where I'm stuck. When I open the .pkg, it runs the installer, checks my Mac, and then tells me Sierra is incompatible and can't be installed. In other words, I can't get Install Sierra.app placed in my Applications folder. Lacking that, I'm stymied.

Can anybody steer me in the right direction? Thanks in advance!

It's ridiculous the way Apple handled this. Instead of allowing a user to get the installer app (which is called "Install macOS Sierra") into the Applications folder on a newer Mac and THEN telling you it's incompatible when you try to run it…they just don't let you expand it at all…leading to the catch-22 that you are in. I guess it never occured to anyone at Apple that this scenario would occur…how stupid.

Which model MacBook is the intended destination?

 

[Andybaird]

It's a 2015 MacBook Pro 13”.

 

[Andybaird]

After a lot of head-scratching, I managed to create a Sierra 10.12.6 startup thumb drive.

First, I opened the downloaded InstallOS.pkg on an older MacBook that was running Mohave. That created the installer app in the Applications folder--something I'd been unable to do on my newer MacBook under Catalina.

But there was still a problem. Trying to create a bootable startup drive failed in various ways with two different third-party utilities, as well as with the Terminal command recommended by Apple and others. I eventually focused on the error message "not a valid volume mount point."

It turns out that message is misleading. The actual problem is a bug in Apple's latest Sierra installer. Thanks to a post by "EricFromCanada", I changed a version string from 12.6.06 to 12.6.03 and then run the Terminal script... and it worked! I now have a bootable Sierra startup thumb drive. Caveat: I haven't tested it on my friend's computer yet. I'll report back...

 

[theonlyififonly]

After a lot of head-scratching, I managed to create a Sierra 10.12.6 startup thumb drive.

First, I opened the downloaded InstallOS.pkg on an older MacBook that was running Mohave. That created the installer app in the Applications folder--something I'd been unable to do on my newer MacBook under Catalina.

But there was still a problem. Trying to create a bootable startup drive failed in various ways with two different third-party utilities, as well as with the Terminal command recommended by Apple and others. I eventually focused on the error message "not a valid volume mount point."

It turns out that message is misleading. The actual problem is a bug in Apple's latest Sierra installer. Thanks to a post by "EricFromCanada", I changed a version string from 12.6.06 to 12.6.03 and then run the Terminal script... and it worked! I now have a bootable Sierra startup thumb drive. Caveat: I haven't tested it on my friend's computer yet. I'll report back...

This worked brilliantly. Thank you. I've been trying to figure out a way around Apple's bizarre limitations for months. Couldn't figure out why createinstallmedia just didn't work. Now I've fully created a bootable Sierra and installed it on an old system. THANK YOU! And bless EricFromCanada.