interested about refresh your Mac to the in style rendering of macOS ? Perhaps you are n’t sure about running macOS Sequoia quite yet , or possibly you desire to test the beta but do n’t desire to risk messing up your system . You might be concerned aboutincompatible softwareor you might just be guess that you might hate it and not be able to go back to the macOS you are familiar with .

Luckily you do n’t have to deploy the OS update on your Mac at all . you’re able to put in it on an external cause rather .

set up the Mac operating arrangement on an external driving force is the secure way to get a dear look at a new type O without change anything on your Mac . It ’ll leave your current configuration intact and appropriate you to act around with thebeta of the next version of macOS .

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The Disk Utility app in Sonoma.

In this tutorial we explain how to run macOS from an international campaign in four dim-witted steps :

What you need

If you want to run away macOS on an international cause you will necessitate a few things , including a effort with a good amount of repositing available .

you’re able to habituate an external difficult drive or SSD – and SSD offers faster thrill time than a hard driving force . It ’s also deserving clothe in a USB - C or Thunderbolt drive as this will declare oneself the fastest joining .

you may get cargo hold of a USB newsbreak stick pretty cheaply , such as this San Disk USB Type - C private road with 128 GB for$24/£16.49 . It ’s a turn laborious to encounter a Thunderbolt - powered SSD , and unfortunately , they are a lot more expensive . Take a flavor at our turn - up of thebest SSDs . If you require to employ the external installation as if you are running it on your Mac we suggest you get the biggest USB C / Thunderbolt drive you’re able to afford .

Install MacOS on a external drive

The Disk Utility app in Sonoma.

For more purchasing advice , take a look at our guide to thebest international drives for Macfor some cheaper , non - SSD alternative .

Troubleshooting problems with M-series Macs

Before we move on to how you’re able to make this outside installment of macOS , we will mention some upshot masses had when trying to create such an installment for an M - series Mac .

After the first M1 Macs launch in 2020 , it egress that there was a problem with the USB interface . As a result , some users encountered problem taste to set up macOS on and booting from SSDs connect via USB . This exit was quickly addressed in an OS update , but if you find it affect you we suggest that you do the pursual :

Another issue worth flagging is that if you were hoping to use this kick drive torun older rendering of macOS on M1 Macssadly it is n’t possible as the M1 Mac can only launch the ARM version of Big Sur .

macOS Disk Utility Sonoma

The Disk Utility app in Sonoma.

Step 1: Prepare the drive for installation

The Disk Utility app in Sonoma .

Foundry

Now you will see that your external storage has been renamed with the name you choose and it will be quick for you to set up the macOS on it – but there is something else you involve to do first .

macOS Disk Utility Sonoma format

Step 2: Get the macOS install files

This measure will count on whether you need to race a macOS beta , a full version of macOS , or even an older Mac OS X.

For this process , we urge get the download files from the Mac App Store rather than using the Software Update method acting .

Whether you want to get the macOS Sequoia or the tardy beta installation files the appendage is like to that detailed below . When the new version of macOS becomes available to download you should be able to get the installation file cabinet via Software Update or the Mac App Store .

Sonoma installer show all disks

Here ’s how to get the macOS Sequoia installer from the Mac App Store :

Remember that you just want to download the software , notinstall it , at this leg .

If it ’s a full version of an old version of macOS you are after , we explainhow to get the installation data file for macOS here .

If you are after a genus Beta of macOS , you will demand to sign up for the beta on your Mac and download the beta files . Once you have the file you ’ll desire to instal them on the extraneous drive rather than your Mac , so be careful . We have acomplete guide to let the macOS genus Beta here . The beta files will believably be around 12 gigabyte .

Step 3: Install macOS on the external drive

Now to add the beta or alternative version of the Mac operating system on your external drive .

look while the version of macOS installs on the drive . This process may take a while – it always take longer than the gauge time .

notice : This will not mould if you did n’t set your outside drive up aright as a GUID Partition as per the steps above .

Step 4: Run macOS on the external drive

There are two ways to execute the interpretation of macOS from your external drive

Either :

Or :

Once you have installed the macOS you desire on the cause it should be easy to install subsequent updates there via System Preferences .

For more advice about install macOS or Mac OS X readHow to update the Mac run systemandHow to install older versions of OS X on a Mac .