Installing macOS Big Sur on an External Hard Drive or USB Flash Thumb Drive

Are you a Mac enthusiast looking for a way to install macOS Big Sur on your unsupported Mac hardware? Look no further! Installing Big Sur to an external hard drive or USB flash thumb drive is a relatively fast process that requires at least 32 GB of storage. This method will also enable Airdrop and Handoff without any hacky workarounds.

To take full advantage of WiFi and Bluetooth 4, we recommend using a 802.11ac/Bluetooth 4LE Broadcom combo card, similar to the one found in the black iMac style Mac Pro models from 2009-2012. Note that if you have a 2008 Mac Pro with upgraded firmware, you won't need this additional hardware.

Before installing Big Sur, make sure to disable Bluetooth on your unsupported Mac by running the Disable Bluetooth patch or follow the instructions provided for 2008 Mac Pros.

Additionally, if you're using a Mac Pro with a Bluetooth 2 EDR card, you'll need to remove it before proceeding. Also, ensure that you have installed dosdude1's APFS ROM Patcher on your unsupported Mac, especially if you're running macOS Monterey.

If the Bigmac2 app doesn't run after installation, try resigning it using codesign -force -deep -sign /Applications/bigmac2.app.

When creating a recovery/install disk from OWC 2.5' SSD, make sure to use a 4x PCIe slot on your Mac Pro. For Mac Pro 3,1 models, we recommend using the third PCIe slot and not the first or second 16x slots.

First Time User Guide for macOS Big Sur 11.2.3

When updating to the latest version of Big Sur or Monterey, you may encounter some issues due to race conditions during boot with Mac Pros from 2008-2012. However, with current versions of these operating systems, this issue may no longer be a problem.

One user reported losing a PCIe slot after installing Bigmac2, but this can be tolerated. Another option is to use the Open Core Legacy Patcher (OCLP), which complements Bigmac2 and helps resolve issues related to race conditions during macOS boot.

For those experiencing trouble with their BCM 20702B0 card not working after Monterey Beta 1, it's worth noting that the issue may be related to USB connectivity. Experimenting with a Lenovo WiFi 802.11ac/Bluetooth 4LE PCIe card using open-source drivers that work well with Apple's may help resolve this issue.

In conclusion, installing macOS Big Sur on an external hard drive or USB flash thumb drive is a relatively straightforward process that requires minimal hardware modifications. With the right combination of software and hardware, you can enjoy Airdrop, Handoff, WiFi, and Bluetooth 4 connectivity on your unsupported Mac hardware. For more information and updates on this topic, please visit .

Installing mac big sur