Start up VirtualBox, right-click on the virtual machine that needs access to a USB device, and click Settings. In the virtual machine’s Setting tab, click on USB to see the available USB devices. Click on the + sign to add a new device. Once USB device added, start up the virtual machine to have access to the data on the USB device. Step 1: Download and Install TransMac on a Windows virtual machine. Step 2: Insert the USB drive on the Mac and then run TransMac in administrator mode. Step 3: At the left panel of TransMac, you will get the list of drives, select USB stick and then right-click on it to choose to 'Restore with Disk Image' option.
Sometimes the user urgently needs to connect the USB flash-drive or hard disk to the virtual machine. Despite all the manual efforts, he is just not capable to do it on his own, and in this case my instruction will be especially helpful. In this note I will in detail explain, how to connect USB-device to VirtualBox. Also I will mention, how to boot from USB drive in VirtualBox, and how to do it easily and simply.
One of the main preconditions for performing this manual is prior setting up of Oracle VM VirtualBox app, VirtualBox Guest Additions package and VirtualBox Extension Pack onto your PC. I will not clarify how to install most of this software, except Extension Pack. Just make sure, that all of the defined plugins are configured and customized before continuing the basic procedure.
How to install VirtualBox Extension Pack on the VM?
Extension pack is a set of utilities designed to enhance the interaction between the user and the virtual machine. The procedure of installing the package is absolutely elementary and intuitive. One primary condition – the package should be installed in VirtualBox, i.e. when the VM is running. At first we need to surf the web in search of the extension package, visit the official VirtualBox FTP-server and download the corresponding installation distributive from there. The link goes right here: http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox. Check out the active version of your current VirtualBox installation. In order to bring this intention to life, click Help -> About VirtualBox item in the upper menu.
In the bottom part of the displayed window the build number will display. Following this information, you will have to download the appropriate package from the FTP-server.
Now, when the file is downloaded, choose the active VM instance, click File -> Preferences in the upper menu and go to “Extensions” subcategory.
After that click on the button with an arrow on the right and specify a path to the just downloaded from FTP-server package.
At last, the dialogue form appears with prompt of extension pack installing. Agree on it and click “Install” button.
Then the agreement form appears, scroll it to the very bottom and click “I Agree” button below.
Soon afterwards the confirmation message is displayed on the screen with the note regarding the installing of VirtualBox extension pack, and new line appears in the list of additions being installed.
Create Bootable Usb Drive Mac
Now the setting up routine is over and we may continue with the basic procedure.
How to use USB drives in VirtualBox guest OS?
The latest VirtualBox version supports USB 3.0 devices. In order to be capable to get the whole bonuses of using USB 3.0 speeds, you will have to install Extension Pack, as we defined it earlier. Otherwise, the maximum transfer speed of the data will be equal to 12 Mbit/s, which is valid for USB 1.0 controller. In other case, the USB-disk may not be initialized at all, so let’s not forget about such a circumstance.
At first, before running the virtual machine, address to the main menu of the VM and open the “Settings” category, appropriate for the used machine instance. When the form opens, move to the “USB” section and put on the “Enable USB Controller” and “USB 2.0 (EHCI) Controller” checkboxes. Also create a filter for the required USB-device, specifying it in the list of all available USB-drives, either external hard disks or flash-drives.
Now boot the virtual machine, and when the instance will be initiated, click Devices -> USB in the upper menu and select the proper USB-device which you want to use in the VM.
After that the USB-drive will be immediately attached and initialized.
How to boot OS from USB on VirtualBox?
Whatever weird it may seem to you, but you may boot guest OS from USB-drive on VirtualBox. Lower I will present the instruction how to do it from Windows host.
Actually, booting from USB is a hidden feature in VirtualBox, which guarantees raw access to drives. This functionality isn’t available in app basic interface, but it’s a part of the VBoxManage command.
The first step, which you should perform prior to booting the external OS from USB-drive, is to connect the appropriate USB-drive with OS installed in it, to the PC. Use Windows + R hotkey combination, type diskmgmt.msc in the Run dialog form and press Enter button. As a result, the Disk Management window will be opened.
Search the USB drive in the Disk Management form and remember the disk number, corresponding to it. For instance, in my case, the USB drive is Disk 1.
Now, close any opened VBox application forms.
After that, open a Command Prompt with Administrator permissions. On Windows 10, use Windows + X combination on the keyboard and select Command Prompt (Admin) item from the menu.
Enter the mentioned command into the command line and press Enter button. This command is dedicated to changing the active path to the VirtualBox default installed path. If you set up the app into the different folder, you will have to specify your own directory instead of mentioned in the example.cd %programfiles%OracleVirtualBox
Enter the defined command in the command line, replacing # sign with the number of the disk you noted earlier in the Disk Management form, and then press Enter button.
VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk –filename C:usbdisk.vmdk -rawdisk .PhysicalDrive#
Instead of C:usbdisk.vmdk you can specify any path you desire. As a result of this command, the VMDK-file will be created, which points to the physical drive you select. After you load the VMDK-object as a drive in VirtualBox, actually the VM will get access to the physical disk of your HDD.
After this iteration is completed, open VirtualBox as administrator. Make a right click on the app shortcut and choose Run as administrator in the context menu. The virtual machine may get access to raw disk drives only with admin rights.
Generate a new VM instance by clicking the New button and process the wizard steps. Choose the OS on the USB-drive when the prompt appears.
When the request is standing visible on the screen to define a hard disk, choose Use an existing virtual hard drive file option, make a click on the button to select a file on the hard disk, and search it – that will be C:usbdisk.vmdk if you didn’t specify your unique path.
Load the VM and as a consequence the OS from your USB-device should load, in the same way as if you were loading it on a standard PC.
Pay attention to the following fact: the USB device should be the first hard disk in your VM settings, otherwise VirtualBox won’t load from it. Talking in another words, you are not able just to generate a default VM and attach a USB-drive afterwards.
If you are willing to install an OS from the USB, you would require to attach a hard drive later from the VM’s settings form. Make sure that USB logical device is the first drive in the list.
As you can see, beforehand I precisely described, how to use USB devices in VirtualBox. This article will surely come in hand, if you decide to boot from USB in VirtualBox or to attach an external USB drive to the VM.
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macOS Big Sur is one of the most advanced operating systems existing in the world so far. macOS is getting popularity due to having a lot of new features such as custom browsing layout, cross-browser compatible extensions and elegant tab designs. But you might be wondering, how to create a bootable macOS Big Sur USB so you can test it out.
Usb Drive Mac Format
Here is the solution to make your task easier to access the new macOS Big Sur. You can follow the process given to create macOS Big Sur bootable USB installer on Mac. All you need a 16GB USB drive and downloaded file of macOS Big Sur. Since after the launch of Mavericks, the creation of bootable USB on Mac has become easier, and here you will get the best 3 ways to create bootable USB for Big Sur.
Now, you are well aware of the requirements you need for creating macOS Big Sur bootable USB on Mac. So, before moving to the process, you must be confirmed whether Big Sur will support your Mac or not, and for that, you can check the supported list that is available on the Apple site.
#1: Use Terminal App to Create a Bootable macOS Big Sur USB Drive
In this method, we will perform this task via commands in Terminal app, which is the equivalent of Command Prompt in Windows. Before proceeding to the actual steps, you should be very careful when executing the commands. If you did this wrong, the internal disk will be damaged and break the Mac. Initially, you will go through the USB drive erasing process and then you can create macOS Big Sur bootable USB installer via a single but long command.
Virtual Machine Usb Drive
Step 1: Insert USB drive on your Mac and make sure the minimum storage capacity of USB should be 16GB.
Step 2: Open Disk Utility app and here you need to make a few changes. First select the USB drive then move to the Erase section at the top menu. Now, select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the drop-down menu. After that, go to the Scheme section and select GUID Partition Map.
Step 3: After making all the changes mentioned above, click on the Erase button and then close the Disk Utility window.
Step 4: Now, launch Terminal on your Mac and then type the command listed below.
sudo /Applications/Install macOS Beta.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USB
Step 5: Press the Return key and if any pop-up window appears seeking for the admin password, then provide the same.
Step 6: Now the process will start and it will take some time, so have patience. Once, it is completed, you will get a successful message on your Mac screen. After that, remove the USB as it is ready to boot now.
Creating bootable Big Sur installer in Terminal is the conventional method being recommended by technical experts. The whole process runs through text commands and it gives the utmost result. However, this method is good for those users who are a bit familiar with commands. However, if you are not comfortable with the commands, you can follow the other methods in this post to make a bootable macOS USB drive.
#2: Create macOS Big Sur Bootable USB Installer via DMG Editor
Honestly, most of the Mac users prefer using GUI app to complete tasks on their and people get used to mouse clicks. So in this part, we will abandon commands and use a modern app to create a bootable macOS USB drive.
UUByte DMG Editor is a powerful and most demanding software because of its features. UUByte can support multiple file formats in the burning process such as DMG, ISO, BIN, ZIP, and many more. The tool can burns any image file on the USB drive in a short time and make it bootable after burning. So you can easily create bootable macOS Big Sur USB on your Mac.
Step 1 Install DMG Editor on Mac
Download and Install UUByte DMG Editor on your Mac. Next, open the installed application and also insert the USB drive on your Mac. If you received a warning message when trying to open it from Lanuchpad, please go to Application folder, locate the app name and right-click on it. After that, select 'Open' to run the app.
Step 2 Add DMG File of macOS Big Sur
On the home page, you will get the burning feature. Click on the 'Burn' button and it will direct you to the next page, where you need to upload the macOS Big Sur DMG file.
Step 3 Burn macOS DMG to USB Drive
Now, verify the location of the USB drive and if it is not showing in the DMG Editor interface, then remove USB and insert it again. If everything is fine, then click on the 'Burn' button.
The burning process is commenced and it will be completed in several minutes. Once the bootable process is completed, close the application and remove the USB drive. Now, you can use this bootable USB to install macOS Big Sur.
UUByte DMG Editor has unique burning features and a smooth interface. Apart from image burning function, it also extracts content from dmg file and enables the users to view and make changes in such file format. So, this tool is a complete package that gives full authority to create bootable macOS USB installer on Mac.
#3: Create macOS Big Sur Bootable USB via Virtual Machine
If you built a Windows virtual machine on Mac, then you can use TransMac (Windows only app) to create Big Sur bootable USB. TransMac is a software that enables the users to manage .dmg image file on Windows PC. Moreover, it has the potential to restore the DMG file of any macOS including Big Sur to USB drive. So, you can use this tool to perform the task in a Windows virtual machine.
Step 1: Download and Install TransMac on a Windows virtual machine.
Step 2: Insert the USB drive on the Mac and then run TransMac in administrator mode.
Step 3: At the left panel of TransMac, you will get the list of drives, select USB stick and then right-click on it to choose to 'Restore with Disk Image' option.
Step 4: You will get the pop-up window giving you the warning, read it carefully and further click on the Yes button.
Step 5: Now, click on the 'Browse' button and import Big Sur file on TransMac and then click on the OK button. TransMac will start the operation. In the beginning, it will erase the USB drive, and later on, it will burn the dmg file on USB drive and the entire process will take some time.
TransMac is another popular software for making bootable macOS Big Sur USB drive. However, it is a big expensive ($59.95) than UUByte DMG Editor. And you should build a virtual machine first. Although this is a working solution, it takes more time and money to finish the task.
The Bottom Line
These are the best three methods to creating macOS Big Sur bootable USB on Mac. Using UUByte DMG Editor is a lot of simple and any users can accomplish the task by his/her own. However, if you are tech-savvy, then you can go with the Terminal app. However, if you are a beginner, then you can choose UUByte DMG Editor or TransMac. So, everything is in your hands now and you can choose the method which is more convenient for you.
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