These advanced steps are primarily for system administrators and others who are familiar with the command line. You don't need a bootable installer to upgrade macOS or reinstall macOS, but it can be useful when you want to install on multiple computers without downloading the installer each time.
What you need to create a bootable installer
Sep 29, 2015 Download Apple Mac OS X El Capitan for Mac to oS X El Capitan features new options for managing windows, smarter Spotlight search, app enhancements, and faster performance. GAME CAPTURE HD. Cam Link Pro works out of the box with. And many more apps. Cam Link 4K works out of the box with. And many more apps. El Capitan is composed almost entirely of a pale, coarse-grained granite approximately 100 MYA (million years old). In addition to El Capitan, this granite forms most of the rock features of the western portions of Yosemite Valley.A separate intrusion of igneous rock, the Taft Granite, forms the uppermost portions of the cliff face. A third igneous rock, diorite, is present as dark-veined. El Cap looks to transform both people and the planet through climbing, yoga, and fitness - a giving community that brings out the best in its members.
- A USB flash drive or other secondary volume formatted as Mac OS Extended, with at least 14GB of available storage
- A downloaded installer for macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, or El Capitan
Download macOS
- Download: macOS Big Sur, macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave, or macOS High Sierra
These download to your Applications folder as an app named Install macOS [version name]. If the installer opens after downloading, quit it without continuing installation. To get the correct installer, download from a Mac that is using macOS Sierra 10.12.5 or later, or El Capitan 10.11.6. Enterprise administrators, please download from Apple, not a locally hosted software-update server. - Download: OS X El Capitan
This downloads as a disk image named InstallMacOSX.dmg. On a Mac that is compatible with El Capitan, open the disk image and run the installer within, named InstallMacOSX.pkg. It installs an app named Install OS X El Capitan into your Applications folder. You will create the bootable installer from this app, not from the disk image or .pkg installer.
Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in Terminal
- Connect the USB flash drive or other volume that you're using for the bootable installer.
- Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
- Type or paste one of the following commands in Terminal. These assume that the installer is in your Applications folder, and MyVolume is the name of the USB flash drive or other volume you're using. If it has a different name, replace
MyVolumein these commands with the name of your volume.
Big Sur:*
Catalina:*
Mojave:*
High Sierra:*
El Capitan:
* If your Mac is using macOS Sierra or earlier, include the --applicationpath argument and installer path, similar to the way this is done in the command for El Capitan.
After typing the command:
- Press Return to enter the command.
- When prompted, type your administrator password and press Return again. Terminal doesn't show any characters as you type your password.
- When prompted, type
Yto confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return. Terminal shows the progress as the volume is erased. - After the volume is erased, you may see an alert that Terminal would like to access files on a removable volume. Click OK to allow the copy to proceed.
- When Terminal says that it's done, the volume will have the same name as the installer you downloaded, such as Install macOS Big Sur. You can now quit Terminal and eject the volume.
Use the bootable installer
Determine whether you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, then follow the appropriate steps:
Apple silicon
- Plug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
- Turn on your Mac and continue to hold the power button until you see the startup options window, which shows your bootable volumes.
- Select the volume containing the bootable installer, then click Continue.
- When the macOS installer opens, follow the onscreen instructions.
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- Plug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
- Press and hold the Option (Alt) ⌥ key immediately after turning on or restarting your Mac.
- Release the Option key when you see a dark screen showing your bootable volumes.
- Select the volume containing the bootable installer. Then click the up arrow or press Return.
If you can't start up from the bootable installer, make sure that the External Boot setting in Startup Security Utility is set to allow booting from external media. - Choose your language, if prompted.
- Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.
Learn more
A bootable installer doesn't download macOS from the internet, but it does require an internet connection to get firmware and other information specific to the Mac model.
For information about the createinstallmedia command and the arguments you can use with it, make sure that the macOS installer is in your Applications folder, then enter the appropriate path in Terminal:
El Capitan’s iconic granite walls dominate the west end of Yosemite Valley. At more than 3,000 feet (900+ m) above the valley floor, it is 2.5 times as tall as the Empire State Building, or more than 3 times as high as the tip of the Eiffel Tower. Coming around the corner and having El Capitan suddenly fill your field of vision sometimes moves people to tears. It is a beacon for visitors, a muse for photographers and one of the world’s ultimate challenges for climbers.
Best Places to See/Photograph El Capitan
Honestly, it’s hard to pick a best place to view “El Cap”. Due to its size, it’s part of many of Yosemite’s iconic views. Here are just a few.
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Bridalveil Straight – As you drive into Yosemite Valley and you see El Capitan on the left, there are long pull-outs on both sides of the road for people to stop and admire the view. Please be considerate of other drivers and pull completely off the road. See if you can spot the heart on El Capitan where the granite features resemble a heart in the middle of the granite cliff. This is also a great angle to see Bridalveil Fall from fairly close, hence the name.
Tunnel View – Head south on Hwy 41 toward Glacier Point, or Wawona, to climb a short distance off the valley floor to see one of the must-stop vantage points in Yosemite, Tunnel View. El Capitan is unmistakable as the giant rock formation on the left. It’s also a great view of Bridalveil Fall on the right and Half Dome way in the back.
El Cap Meadow – On your way back out of the valley, the road passes right in front of the base of El Capitan at El Cap Straight, and there is a pull-out on the left side of the road so that you can stop and take a look from up close. This is a great place to watch climbers in action, though they can be hard to spot because many people misjudge the massive scale of El Cap
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Note: El Capitan meadow is currently under restoration, so please look from one of the viewing areas close to the road, or if you want to walk back into the meadow, use the trail on the eastern edge, close to the river and avoid trampling the center of the meadow where it is most sensitive to impact.
Best Time to See El Capitan?
Anytime, really. El Capitan is located in Yosemite Valley and is therefore accessible year-round, and majestic in all seasons.
For photography, stormy winter days often produce the most interesting light, with dramatic clouds swirling about the cliff face. This is true for many of Yosemite’s cliffs and large features.
If you’re specifically looking for climbers, there will be some in all seasons. However, there is a spring and fall “big-wall climbing season” in Yosemite when the temperatures aren’t too warm or too cold, and you’ll find most climbers on the wall during those times.
Freesolo, Dawn Wall & More El Cap Climbing Stories
El Capitan was thrust into the limelight recently through a few jaw-dropping films. Maybe you’ve heard of Alex Honnold’s bleeding-edge ascent of El Capitan without any ropes for protection in the Oscar-winning film, Freesolo. Or maybe you watched the drama of Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson’s partnership on pioneering a new free route, Dawn Wall, in the film of the same name, and wondered what your own impossible challenge, or Dawn Wall might be.
These El Capitan climbing stories were recently made into movies, but the stories of characters, adventure, teamwork, and bravery go back far beyond that. There are personal stories of triumphing over fear, or forging the kind of friendships and partnerships built out of struggling together to accomplish something hard, that play out on a regular basis on Yosemite’s steep walls.
If you want to make your own stories, go rock climbing with the Yosemite Mountaineering School. Whether it’s your first time on rock, you want to make the transition from indoor to outdoor climbing, or you’re ready to take on El Capitan itself, Yosemite Mountaineering School can connect you with a guide that can help you, and will probably have a few personal stories they would share with you as well.
El Capitan’s Firefall Light Show
In mid- to late-February, El Capitan is home to a now-famous light show of Horsetail Fall, sometimes simply called “the Firefall” or “the Horsetail Firefall”. Hundreds of people have come from all over in hopes of seeing this small ephemeral fall on El Capitan’s eastern flank turn molten gold with the setting sun.
El Cap High
Three things need to come together for a spectacular firefall.
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- The angle of the sun. During the last part of February, the angle of the sun is perfect so that if you are standing at the El Capitan Picnic Area, the light of the setting sun shines through the water turning the falls a golden red.
- Water in Horsetail Fall. Horsetail Fall is an ephemeral fall meaning that it can dry up if there isn’t enough melting snow above the fall to produce a waterfall. That means that in dry years, there may simply not be enough water in Horsetail Fall to catch the light of the evening sun.
- Clear evening. If clouds block the sun, the effect is shrouded. Though if the forecast is for clouds it may still be worth a look because a break in the clouds can lead to the most magical and unique photographs.
The classic spot for viewing the Horsetail Firefall is from El Capitan Picnic Area. However, it’s all about viewing angles so other areas that are farther away, but maintain the same angles with the waterfall and sun have also become popular in the last few years.