Burn Windows 10 ISO to USB on Mac M4 but it is not bootable

FYI, "dd" has never ever been able to make a bootable USB stick for a Windows ISO installer. While there are some manual options involving the use of the command line, I was not able to successfully make them work (no idea why, I'm usually pretty good at such things).

You can install the Windows ARM version into a Parallels' Virtual Machine (paid app) where you can use Rufus or select the download option on Microsoft's website which I think will automatically create the bootable Windows USB installer for you as it downloads the installer instead of the ISO image.

Or just use a Windows PC to create a bootable Windows USB installer.

The only third party app I know which can create a bootable Windows USB installer from a Windows ISO image file is the Windows only app Rufus....maybe you can get Rufus to run on a Mac by using Codeweavers' CrossoverMac. I've seen some reports that it may work, but many more reports saying Rufus won't work using WINE/CrossoverMac.

Unetbootin says it can make a bootable Windows USB installer, but I don't know if that is only for the Windows version or if it can be done with the Mac version. I've never tried either app to create a bootable Windows USB installer, although I have used Unetbootin for creating bootable Linux USB installer (I no longer use it because it tends to modify the installer).

Ignore any suggestions to use "dd", or Etcher, or most other third party apps. Most of the replies on this thread (and this forum in general) tend to be take from AI hallucinations. @Servant of Cats so far is the only one who is asking the correct questions and also will post factual information (in addition my post ;-) At least I have clearly marked several of my suggestions as questionable and only provided them as possible options requiring more research & experimentation on your part).

Good luck and report back if you find a successful solution.

To burn Windows 10 ISO to USB on Mac, you can use built-in tools or third-party software. Here's a straightforward method using Terminal and a tool called diskutil, along with wimlib-imagex or a simple command line process.

Such as Terminal with diskutil and dd. Note: This method works best if the Windows ISO is a bootable ISO designed for USB creation.

Step-by-step:

1. Download the Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft's official website.
2. Insert your USB drive (at least 8GB recommended) into your Mac.
3. Open Terminal (found in Applications > Utilities).
4. Identify your USB drive: diskutil list
5. Find your USB drive (e.g., /dev/disk2).
6. Unmount the USB drive: diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk2
7. Write the ISO to the USB:

• sudo dd if=/path/to/your/windows10.iso of=/dev/rdisk2 bs=4m status=progress
• Replace /path/to/your/windows10.iso with the actual path.
• Replace /dev/rdisk2 with your USB's raw disk identifier (use r for faster writes).

8. Wait for the process to burn Windows 10 ISO to USB on Mac. It may take several minutes.

9. Eject your USB: diskutil eject /dev/disk2

Burning Windows 10 ISO to USB on Mac requires creating a bootable USB drive properly—simply copying the ISO or using dd may not produce a bootable installer, especially for Windows.

Why your current approach may not work:

• dd copies raw data, but Windows ISOs often need special bootloader configurations.
• FAT32 formatting alone isn't enough; the drive must be made bootable with the right boot files and structure..

Recommended method to burn Windows 10 ISO to USB on Mac. Use a dedicated tool designed for creating bootable Windows USBs. Like Boot Camp Assistant.

Steps:

• Open Boot Camp Assistant (Applications > Utilities > Boot Camp Assistant).
• Check "Create a Windows 10 or later install disk" (if available).
• Follow prompts to select your ISO and USB drive.
• Let it finish; it will make the USB bootable for Windows installation.

IdrisSeabright wrote:

Servant of Cats wrote:

Re: “Like Boot Camp Assistant.”

Which isn’t available on Apple Silicon Macs.

This thread is attracting a lot of AI slop.

I'm even questioning whether the thread itself is AI since there are so many of these Windows installer questions recently and they all attract the AI non-sense since the OP's never respond back to any of them that I can recall.

I'm even questioning whether the thread itself is AI since there are so many of these Windows installer questions recently and they all attract the AI non-sense since the OP's never respond back to any of them that I can recall.

I've seen a couple lately as well.

Re: “but the USB is not seen as a bootable device when booting from my PC.”

Are you referring to a second computer - an Intel-based or AMD-based PC? Or to the M4 Mac Mini?

Re: “Like Boot Camp Assistant.”

Which isn’t available on Apple Silicon Macs.

Servant of Cats wrote:

Re: “Like Boot Camp Assistant.”

Which isn’t available on Apple Silicon Macs.

This thread is attracting a lot of AI slop.