Want to try macOS Sierra? Check out our step-by-step instructions to create a partition on your Mac and take no risks

Sort of by surprise, Apple released the first public beta of macOS Sierra and iOS 10 on Thursday afternoon, meaning that all of us, mere mortals, can test the coming systems as long as we register with the Apple Beta Software Program.

The desire to get hands on Ma's news as soon as possible is huge, but it brings a very worrying risk: a system in beta, as the name already says, is not yet finalized and brings a series of bugs, some of them potentially dangerous for the integrity of users' devices.

In the specific case of iOS, there is little way other than to go in the face and courage or get a secondary device to install the beta. In the case of Mac, however, there is a very easy way to install the macOS Sierra on your machine, keeping your current system intact and free from any risk: just have a few gigabytes free on your HDD / SSD and partition it to test the new OS.

Next, we indicate step by step the path of the stones for those who are interested in the subject and do not know very well where to start. Let's go?

You will need:

  • A Mac (no kidding!) Compatible with macOS Sierra (check the list here) and a minimum of 30GB of free space. Don't forget to make a backup on your machine before starting, in the unlikely event that something goes wrong;
  • A copy of macOS Sierra, which you download from the Mac App Store with the code you generated on the Apple Beta Software Program website.

OS X Disk Utility

Everything on point? Now time to go on Disk Utility, a native application on your Mac. It can be easily evoked by Spotlight ((Command) + space bar) or in the Finder, within Utility Applications. With the app open, select the hard drive (or solid state drive) where you want to install Sierra in my case, there is already a partition for Boot Camp and click on “Partition”.

Creating partition on the OS X Disk Utility

time, then, to create the partition itself where to install macOS Sierra. To do this, click on the “+” below the graph; In the window that opens, give your new partition a name and select its size (the minimum recommended is 30GB). That done, just click "Apply" and wait for the Mac to do its job, which can take a few minutes.

Now that you have a perfect new partition to install your infamous beta, you can close Disk Utility and open the macOS Sierra installer, which will be in your application folder named Install macOS Sierra Public Beta.

MacOS Sierra Public Beta installer splash screen

Go through the step of agreeing to the terms of service. When you reach the screen for choosing the disk to be installed, select your newly created partition. Then, click on “Install”.

Volume selector to install macOS Sierra Public Beta

Once this is done, the installer will only ask you if you want to transfer your files / data from your current system I recommend that, after all, it is not the best way to test a new system always with a clean installation.

Ready! After a few minutes (or even close to an hour, depending on your Mac), the machine will restart in its long awaited beta. Don't forget to move and check everything, sending yourfeedback for Apple whenever necessary this is the purpose of this entire program, why.

Remembering that, every time you want to change systems, you must restart your Mac and press the key (Option) on your keyboard when you hear the startup sound so that the computer starts in boot manager mode. From there, you choose the desired disk / partition to start.

And let's go to the tests! 😬