Create Windows USB on Mac | Generated by AI

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Question: How to create a Windows installation USB on a Mac for installing Windows on Lenovo Xiaoxin?

Answer:

Since you only have a MacBook available, you can prepare the Windows USB using macOS tools. The easiest method is not Media Creation Tool (that is Windows-only), but download the ISO and write it to USB.

Method 1 (recommended): Use diskutil + wimlib on macOS

1. Download Windows ISO

Download the official ISO:

• Windows 11 ISO: Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO)

• Windows 10 ISO: Download Windows 10 Disc Image (ISO)

Choose:

• Windows 11 x64 ISO
• English or Chinese version depending on your preference

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2. Prepare USB drive

Plug in your USB (16GB recommended).

Find the disk:

diskutil list

Example:

/dev/disk2 (external, physical)

Unmount it:

diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk2

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3. Install wimlib

Windows ISO contains a file:

sources/install.wim

which is often larger than 4GB.

FAT32 cannot store files >4GB, so we need to split it.

Install:

brew install wimlib

If you don’t have Homebrew:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

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4. Format USB as FAT32 GPT

Replace disk2 with your USB:

diskutil eraseDisk MS-DOS WIN11 GPT /dev/disk2

Now mount the USB.

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5. Mount Windows ISO

Double click the ISO.

macOS will mount it, for example:

/Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9

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6. Copy Windows files

Copy everything:

cp -av /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9/* /Volumes/WIN11/

If it fails at:

install.wim too large

remove it:

rm /Volumes/WIN11/sources/install.wim

Then split it:

wimlib-imagex split \
/Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9/sources/install.wim \
/Volumes/WIN11/sources/install.swm \
3800

You will get:

install.swm
install2.swm
...

Windows installer understands this.

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7. Eject USB

diskutil eject /dev/disk2

Now the USB is ready.

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Install on Lenovo Xiaoxin

1. Insert USB into Lenovo
2. Power on
3. Press:

F12

(or sometimes Fn+F12)

1. Select:

UEFI USB Device

1. Windows installer starts.

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Lenovo Xiaoxin BIOS settings

If USB does not boot:

Enter BIOS:

F2

Check:

Boot Mode:
UEFI

Secure Boot:
Disable

Then try again.

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Alternative easier GUI method

You can use:

• balenaEtcher official website

Steps:

1. Download ISO
2. Open Etcher
3. Select ISO
4. Select USB
5. Flash

However, for modern Windows 10/11 installation USB, the wimlib method is more reliable because it handles the 4GB install.wim issue.

For a Lenovo Xiaoxin (UEFI laptop), I would use GPT + FAT32 + wimlib split, which matches Microsoft’s UEFI installation path.

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