Download Hackintosh Catalina Installer: Catalina Installer is a distribution of macOS Catalina that has been made to work with PCs. You will need to use a BitTorrent client to download the disk image file containing Hackintosh Catalina, which is a little less than 6 GB in size. You must register on the website to be able to download anything. 👉How to install macOS Catalina using VMware WorkStation on Microsoft Windows 10.👉Using macOS on VMware without real Mac device.🌍VMware Unlocker: https://g. Hi there, When it shows the macOS Catalina update in the App Store, it actually downloads an application with that version on it. So what you have to do is first install that update from the App Store that you see, then once it finishes and pops up with an application, that is when you then follow the steps to create a bootable installer with that link you found from Apple. Head over to the VirtualBox download window and click on All supported platforms. The third step of how to Install macOS Catalina on VirtualBox on Windows PC is to install Extension Pack. Download VirtualBox Extension Pack. When it’s there, open it with VirtualBox and when it prompts on the VirtualBox, click Install. Once the install completes, your Mac will restart. Proceed to the next section. Post Install: Configuring macOS Catalina. Because this is a clean install, Catalina has no previous preferences to fall back on, so you’ll need to set up the Mac the way it was the first time you turned it on.
Summary: This page is about how to reinstall macOS in macOS Recovery mode. Based on if you want to keep the original data on the startup disk, you can either choose to clean reinstall macOS or to reinstall macOS without data loss.
Reinstalling macOS gives your Mac a fresh start especially when you are frequently bothered by some issues, such as Mac not turning on, Mac hanging on the beach ball, apps frozen on your Mac, slow performance, or pink screen on Mac. Most of the time, such issue results from some system-level problems, while reinstalling macOS can easily save your life.
• How to reinstall macOS on an M1 Mac?
How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery mode?
When you need to reinstall macOS on your Mac, macOS Recovery mode makes this process easy and quick. By the way, if you want to learn more about macOS Recovery mode, you can watch this video.
To reinstall macOS in macOS Recovery mode:
Step 1: Make sure your Mac is connected to a stable Internet within all the following steps.
Step 2: Identify it's an Intel or M1 Mac, and immediately do one of the followings.
- Press and hold Command + Option + R.This allows you to reinstall the latest version of macOS that is compatible with your Mac computer from the internet.
- Press and hold Shift + Command + Option + R. This option allows you to reinstall the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.
- Press and hold Command + R. This allows you to reinstall the version of macOS stored on your built-in recovery disk, including any updates that you installed.
• How to Boot into & Use M1 Mac Recovery Mode
Step 3: Release these keys when you see an Apple logo, spinning globe, or the Utilities window.
Step 4: Enter the requested password if you are prompted to enter a firmware password or the administrator's login password.
• Recover/reset your forgotten Mac password
• Mac won't accept correct password, what to do?
Step 5: Decide if you want to clean install the system, or just reinstall macOS without losing your original data.
If you want to factory reset the Mac for selling or giveaway, or the startup disk becomes corrupted, you might want to erase the startup disk before reinstallation. This guarantees a fresh and clean installation as it wipes all your personal data on the disk.
• How to factory reset your Mac?
• How to reset your M1 Mac to factory settings?
If you only want to reinstall macOS because the original operating system is not working as you expect, you might want to keep your personal data intact. In case files are deleted or lost by accident during macOS reinstallation, you should have a backup of your data or getting files off first.
• How to get files off a MacBook that won't turn on?
Step 6: Either after erasing the startup disk or getting files off the Mac, you can then go back to macOS Utilities and choose Reinstall macOS. Check this post to find all macOS versions and know which one you are going to reinstall.
Step 7: Follow the on-screen instructions and choose a disk to reinstall the OS.
- If the internal startup disk is not showing up, or the installer says that it can't install macOS on your computer or volume, you might need to back up files and then erase your disk.
- If the installer asks you to choose Macintosh HD or Macintosh HD - Data when installing macOS Catalina, choose Macintosh HD.
Other ways to install macOS
Apart from reinstalling macOS from macOS Recovery mode, you have other options according to your situations.
- Get released macOS versions or updates by App Store or Software Update preferences.
- Get macOS beta (such as macOS Monterey that might be buggy now) through Apple’s developer website.
Whatever your situation of reinstalling macOS is, you should always retrieve your data from the Mac before any further movement. After all, you can't tell if you want it back or not in the future.
Can you install macOS Catalina on an external SSD connected to your Mac? Yes, it's definitely possible. However, since Apple initiated a relatively new partition scheme (APFS) with macOS High Sierra, the process is slightly different than with older versions of macOS. This article shows you how to set up a new SSD with macOS Catalina that you can boot from.
Why Installing macOS Catalina on External SSD?
macOS can be installed on an external storage device by default, such as HDD, SSD or USB flash drive. And this priciple also applies to macOS Catalina. For permance consideration, external SSD is much better becaus of faster reading and writing speed. The good news is that external SSD is much cheaper than before and the price gap is much smaller.
Now, the big question is why you don't want to install macOS Catalina on your main hard drive. After all, if you're upgrading to macOS Catalina, you want your Mac to boot to it all the time, don't you? Not necessarily. There are several reasons why you might not want to disturb your current installation, whether it's Catalina or an older version of macOS. Here are some possible reasons.
â—Ź You might want to try macOS Catalina without having to uninstall and roll back to Mojave or High Sierra if you change your mind. Uninstalling and rolling back to an older version of macOS is time-consuming and a tedious process that is prone to errors, so you may not want the hassles that come with it.
â—Ź Your Mac (Mostly Mac Mini or iMac) is built upon on a HDD and it runs slowly. You are looking for a way to boost the performance without untouching the internal drive.
â—Ź Since there are bound to be bugs in early versions of any new OS, you might want to avoid the hassle of having it as your default OS. This way, you can update it as new versions are released, then install it as your main OS when you're happy with the stability of the software.
â—Ź You may want to have the SSD run macOS Catalina on more than one machine. Since your SSD is essentially an external drive that is portable, you may want to switch it between one Mac and the other. Instead of installing Catalina on both, you have the flexibility of simply connecting the SSD to one of the Macs when you want to boot from it.
â—Ź It's also possible that you want to run a different set of apps and, therefore, need more memory. If you use a larger-capacity SSD, this will allow you to load a ton of heavy apps like Photoshop and so on, which might not be possible with your current hard drive because it is already full of data.
How to Pick up the Right External SSD for Catalina
Mac computers are made different from PCs. It has its own hardware port and unique standards. So not all external SSDs are suitable for Macs. To maximize the performance of SSD, it should be USB 3.0 compatible, if you have enough budget, ThunderBolt port is more welcome as it has much faster reading and writing speed. Besides, the volume should be 128 GB or larger. Below is a list of best external SSDs for Mac:
Further reading: How to check hardware port on your Mac
- Adata SD600Q External SSD 240GB (USB 3.2, $39.16)
- SanDisk 500GB Extreme Portable External SSD (USB-C, $84.99)
- Samsung X5 Portable SSD 500GB (Thunderbolt 3, $199.99)
- LaCie Portable SSD STHK1000800 1TB (USB-C, $178.31 )
- G-Technology 0G06053 Portable External SSD 1TB (USB 3.0, $189.95)
- WD 500GB My Passport Go SSD (USB 3.0, $69.99)
- Seagate One Touch SSD External 1TB (USB 3.0, $144.99)
Notice: The SSD you are going to use or purchase should be compatible with your Mac.
Preparation before Getting Started
To instal Catalina on external SSD, there are quite a few things you should set up previously. The preparatory steps are very important because if you don't get them right, the time spent on the rest of the process will be completely wasted and you'll have to do it all over again. For that reason, make sure you follow the steps exactly as outlined. macOS Catalina is built on a different drive partition scheme, the APFS file system. This was introduced in Catalina for Mac but it's been in iOS for quite some time. In an effort to unify its desktop and mobile operating systems, Apple has now rolled out the new system to both branches of its core OS.
1. Download Catalina DMG File: For macOS installation, you have to create a bootable Catalina USB first. To do this, you need to get a copy of the Catalina dmg file.
Download link: http://www.mediafire.com/file/ /macOS_Catalina_DMG.rar
2. Format External SSD to APFS: APFS is the file system that holds macOS Catalina installation. The SSD is formatted to exFAT when it is shipped. You can format the external drive to APFS with Disk Utility app.
Connect the SSD to your Mac and launch Disk Utility. Select the external drive in the left-side panel and click Erase. In the pop-up, name your drive, select APFS, and GUID Partition Map.
3. Backup important data on your Mac: To avid data loss, it is highly recommended backing up your important data on internal SSD with Time Machine or Cloud Drive.
How to Create macOS Catalina Bootable USB Installer
After completing the above preparation, it is time to get into the part for creating a bootable Catalina USB installer. This can be done easily with the help of UUByte DMG Editor, a cross-platform program for making bootable USB drive from macOS dmg file.
Step 1: Please download UUByte DMG Editor on a PC or Mac and follow the on-screen tips to install this utility on your computer..
Step 2: Plug in an external USB flash drive and eject other USB devices at the same time. Now, open UUByte DMG Editor and click Burn tab.
Step 3: In Burn page, click Browse button to add macOS dmg file you downloaded to the program. After a few seconds, you can see the USB drive in secord field.
Step 4: Set a name for the new volume and click Burn button to start writing Catalina DMG file to USB drive. The file is around 8GB so it takes about 10 minutes to finish the task. Please be patient!
Creating macOS Big Sur install USB on Windows 10 is simple with the help of UUByte DMG Editor. It is one of the best tools for managing DMG file on a Windows PC.
How to Install Catalina on External SSD
You have done all the crucial steps in above part and the final step is how to install macOS Catalina on External SSD. This process is quite simple.
First, connect the SSD to your Mac. Then restart your Mac and hold the Option key until you see the Apple logo. In the Startup Disk, click the external drive name.
When the boot resumes, you should boot into macOS Catalina installation wizard. At this stage, you should pick up the external SSD to install Catalina.
Another way to boot Catalina is from System Preferences. Here, go to the Startup Disk section, select your external SSD, and then hit Restart. Do not hold the Option or Alt key down if you're using this method.
Troubleshooting If Catalina Installation Failed
USB not bootable: If the USB drive is not showing up in Startup Manager, this means the USB drive is not recognized as a bootable device. Please download Catalina DMG file from another source and burn it again with UUByte DMG Editor. Sometimes, the partition table is missing in corrupted or damaged dmg file.
Mac Clean Install Catalina
Can not boot into Catalina partition after installation: On latest T2 chip, Mac does not allow booting from external storage device by default. You have to enable 'Allow booting from external media' in Startup Security Utility, where you can launch it in macOS Recovery by pressing and holding Command + R immediately at startup.
Conclusion
Mac Reinstall Catalina
Once you have macOS Big Sur installer USB ready, you can insert it into any Mac and run the program to install Apple's latest desktop operating system. Big Sur is officially coming in the fall and has a ton of updated features on nearly all fronts, including the OS interface, Safari, Siri, Messages for desktop, etc. But you should also know that since the currently available DMG is only a public beta tester version, it is bound to have bugs and other issues. If you're on the beta program, you can use the feedback app to let Apple know what the issue is. Unfortunately, that also means that there's nothing you can do about it if you're not on the beta program.