How to Install Applications On a Mac: Everything You Need to Know

Installing software on a Mac is  different from installing software on Windows. There isn’t just one way to install applications on a Mac, either — there are several different ways, depending on the application you want to install.

New Mac users will likely find themselves asking a number of questions: Why isn’t every application on the Mac App Store? What is a DMG file, and why do I have to drag-and-drop the app’s icon after opening it?

Format an External Hard Drive or USB Flash Drive for Mac OS X

 

If you want to insure full Mac compatibility of a new external hard drive or flash disk, you’ll want to format the drive to the Mac OS Extended filesystem. This is particularly necessary for purchases of generic PC drives, which almost always come preformatted to be Windows compatible rather than for Mac OS X.

How to Create a OS X El Capitan Boot Installer USB Flash Drive

Many Mac users like to make a bootable installer drive for installing OS X El Capitan, whether for performing a clean install, or for making it easier to install OS X 10.11 onto multiple Macs. We will walk through creating a bootable install flash drive from OS X El Capitan with the final public version. I have discussed the steps to format and create one using DiskMaker X here.

OS X El Capitan Available to Download Now for All Mac Users

Apple has released OS X El Capitan as a free update to all Mac users. The new version of system software is officially versioned as OS X 10.11, and the final build number is 15A284. Users can start the download now from the App Store using the direct link below.

How to Create a Bootable El Capitan USB Install Drive with DiskMaker X

With OS X El Capitan, Apple has built on many of the changes that were brought on by Yosemite. And as with previous OS X versions dating back to OS X 10.7, El Capitan is only available for install via download from the App Store.
So if you previously relied on DVD installs, you won’t be able to do so with this version. Luckily, DiskMaker X helps fill the void by allowing you to make a bootable OS X 10.11 El Capitan USB install drive, making a task such as installing on several different machines easier.