Burn DMG to bootable macOS Install DVD in Windows
DMG is a disk image format for Mac just like an ISO file in Windows. Therefore, it is possible to mount a DMG file on a virtual disk or write it to a DVD and access its contents. A macOS installation package with DMG extension enables creating bootable installer DVDs. My first experience with burning a DMG file to DVD was actually on Windows, back in 2013, when Mountain Lion was the operating system. I accidentally formatted the hard disk of my iMac and lost the recovery partition in the process. The only option left for me was buying an OS X Lion Installer disc as the Internet Recovery required a lot of bandwidth and time. Later, I found a way to burn macOS DMG file to a bootable DVD on my Windows laptop. Eventually, I restored my iMac to OS X 10.8 using the same DVD as macOS installation disc.
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Steps to burn dmg file to bootable macOS DVD in Windows
Let’s start with the process of burning a Mac OS X installer in DMG format (InstallESD.DMG) to a DVD in a Windows environment. Here we use an old version of Mac OS, Mountain Lion, to make a bootable macOS DVD.
Since Apple has changed the file architecture of the macOS installer, this tutorial may be outdated if you plan it for the latest macOS versions. In that case, you need to download a special custom-made version of macOS DMG (bootable) from the Internet or get it converted from a macOS installer. However, from Step 4, the procedure is standard across all macOS variants from OS X Lion.
Get the installer
- Get macOS Installer in bootable DMG format.
- In the video we use OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion downloaded from the Mac app store. You could also find a copy from the Internet.
- Install the free Windows application 7-ZIP (download) to extract and locate InstallESD.DMG, which includes all files to form a bootable macOS DVD.
Install TransMac
- Now, download and install TransMac version 12 (15-day trial) for Windows 10 from official website.
- Run Transmac app as administrator, by right-clicking on its icon.
Burn the DVD
- Click on the File tab at the top, and select the option “Open Disk Image” to load macOS installer DMG file to the software.
- Find the DMG file loaded on the left side, right-click on it and choose to burn it to DVD.
Start your Mac
- Once you write InstallESD.DMG file to DVD on Windows, load it to a Mac and start it.
- Press the Option key and select the listed DVD as your installation source.
For newer macOS: prepare a bootable DMG
Create a bootable DMG on a Mac using the linked guide in Tips. Transfer it to your Windows PC before burning it.
Alternative: open BalenaEtcher
Download the macOS DMG and open BalenaEtcher on Windows.
Flash the USB disk
Add the DMG, select the target USB disk and press Flash. Confirm the correct disk before proceeding; its contents will be overwritten.
Burn a macOS DVD in Windows
Create a bootable macOS DMG
Does this method apply to the latest macOS installers?
Since Apple has changed the file architecture of the macOS installer, this tutorial may be outdated if you plan it for the latest macOS versions. In that case, you need to download a special custom-made version of macOS DMG (bootable) from the Internet or get it converted from a macOS installer. However, from Step 4, the procedure is standard across all macOS variants from OS X Lion.
What size DVD do I need?
The DMG files for new macOS versions are around 5.8 and 8 GB. You need a dual-layer (8.5 GB) DVD for a file of that size. Alternatively, if your Mac doesn’t have a DVD drive, you may consider buying a portable DVD writer or making a macOS USB in Windows using the same software.
Can I use an external hard disk?
External hard disks also work well for this requirement provided the file system is in the HFS+ format with GUID partition scheme.
Since Apple has changed the file architecture of the macOS installer, this tutorial may be outdated if you plan it for the latest macOS versions. In that case, you need to download a special custom-made version of macOS DMG (bootable) from the Internet or get it converted from a macOS installer. However, from Step 4, the procedure is standard across all macOS variants from OS X Lion.
The DMG files for new macOS versions are around 5.8 and 8 GB. You need a dual-layer (8.5 GB) DVD for a file of that size. Alternatively, if your Mac doesn’t have a DVD drive, you may consider buying a portable DVD writer or making a macOS USB in Windows using the same software.
External hard disks also work well for this requirement provided the file system is in the HFS+ format with GUID partition scheme.
Make a macOS install DVD in Windows PC from DMG/ISO image
As we mentioned earlier, Apple has changed the file architecture of the macOS installer from OS X Mavericks 10.9. Hence, you cannot follow the above-given technique to directly extract InstallESD.DMG in Windows and make it a bootable DVD in newer macOS variants like High Sierra and above. It may be possible to locate an InstallESD.DMG or Basesystem.DMG from the ‘Shared Support’ folder inside macOS installation package ending with .APP extension, but still, you cannot make it bootable for a USB or DVD. That simply means, the macOS DMG file you would get from Apple.com are not supported.
However, most people searching for methods to burn macOS DVD on Windows don’t have a Mac in a working state. A workaround for this problem is to create macOS bootable DMG file on Mac itself from the official macOS installer [Download macOS offline installer [DMG and APP ]. You could also get it done from your friend’s Mac or at a service centre and mail it to your Windows PC.
Watch the following video from 2.20 to create a macOS bootable DMG file. Then Transfer it a a Windows PC online or with the help of a USB disk.
Alternative options to burn DMG in Windows 10 without DVD drive.
If you have an old iMac or MacBook Pro with a DVD slot, you may use the above method to restore macOS through a bootable DVD installer created from a DMG source. However, as you know, none of the new Macs has an optical drive. Let’s check out a few alternatives.
- Format a USB Drive to GPT partition scheme in Windows. Next, restore the macOS Mojave or High Sierra DMG using Transmac.
- Get a portable DVD writer to boot into macOS installer.
External hard disks also work well for this requirement provided the file system is in the HFS+ format with GUID partition scheme.
Burn DMG to USB for new macOS versions
Looking for a way to burn the DMG files and create new MacOS Installer on your Windows computer? Here is the simplest and universal method to write macOS files with DMG extension to USB disc on Windows.
First of all, download the macOS DMG file as discussed above. Now get BalenaEtcher app for Windows. Click on the + icon to add the downloaded DMG image and choose a target USB disk, then press the Flash button to burn the disk following the on-screen instructions.
