Select OS X 10.11 in Diskmaker X, and the app should automatically find the copy you've downloaded to your Applications folder. If you're comfortable with the command line, it's still possible to create a disk manually using a Terminal command, which we'll cover momentarily. Diskmaker X is free to download, but the creator accepts donations if you want to support his efforts.ĭiskmaker X has actually been around since the days of OS X 10.7 (it was previously known as Lion Diskmaker), and it's still the easiest GUI-based way to go without intimidating newbies.Version 5 is the one with official El Capitan support. If you want a GUI, you need the latest version of Diskmaker X app.The installer will delete itself when you install the operating system, but it can be re-downloaded if necessary.

The OS X 10.11 El Capitan installer from the Mac App Store in your Applications folder.

For newer Macs, use a USB 3.0 drive-it makes things significantly faster.

An 8GB or larger USB flash drive or an 8GB or larger partition on some other kind of external drive.

We've created El Capitan USB stick from both Yosemite and El Capitan, but your experience with other versions may vary.

A Mac that you have administrator access to, duh.

There's the super easy way with the graphical user interface and the only slightly less easy way that requires some light Terminal use. Whatever the reason, you're in luck, because it's not hard to make one.Īs with last year, there are two ways to get it done. Or maybe you need a recovery disk for older Macs that don't support the Internet Recovery feature.

For instance, if you find yourself doing multiple installs, a USB drive may be faster than multiple downloads (especially if you use a USB 3.0 drive). Things have proceeded remarkably smoothly since version 10.7 switched to download-only installers, but there are still good reasons to want an old, reliable USB stick. It was 2009 when Apple last released a new operating system on physical media.

Further Reading OS X 10.11 El Capitan: The Ars Technica Review

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