So, you’ve decided to download an older version of Mac OS X. There are many reasons that could point you to this radical decision. To begin with, some of your apps may not be working properly (or simply crash) on newer operating systems. Also, you may have noticed your Mac’s performance went down right after the last update. Finally, if you want to run a parallel copy of Mac OS X on a virtual machine, you too will need a working installation file of an older Mac OS X. Further down we’ll explain where to get one and what problems you may face down the road.
The instructions I found that worked, using Disk Utility, were located at How to Make a Bootable OS X Mavericks USB Install Drive and How to Create a Bootable Install USB Drive of Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite. Download the Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite. First, download the latest Mac OS X version, which is 10.10 Yosemite.
A list of all Mac OS X versions
Aug 13, 2015 The OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 update improves the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, and is recommended for all users. This update: Improves compatibility with certain email servers when using Mail. Fixes an issue in Photos that prevented importing videos from GoPro cameras. After downloading the OS X 10.10 Yosemite instakker from the Mac App Store, just quit the installer and set the downloaded file's name to Install OS X Yosemite.app.
We’ll be repeatedly referring to these Apple OS versions below, so it’s good to know the basic macOS timeline.
| Cheetah 10.0 | Puma 10.1 | Jaguar 10.2 |
| Panther 10.3 | Tiger 10.4 | Leopard 10.5 |
| Snow Leopard 10.6 | Lion 10.7 | Mountain Lion 10.8 |
| Mavericks 10.9 | Yosemite 10.10 | El Capitan 10.11 |
| Sierra 10.12 | High Sierra 10.13 | Mojave 10.14 |
| Catalina 10.15 |
STEP 1. Prepare your Mac for installation
Given your Mac isn’t new and is filled with data, you will probably need enough free space on your Mac. This includes not just space for the OS itself but also space for other applications and your user data. One more argument is that the free space on your disk translates into virtual memory so your apps have “fuel” to operate on. The chart below tells you how much free space is needed.
- Oct 18, 2014 After downloading the OS X 10.10 Yosemite instakker from the Mac App Store, just quit the installer and set the downloaded file's name to Install OS X Yosemite.app.
- Download OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 for Mac free latest version offline setup file. OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 is a very powerful operating system for Macintosh with high-quality security and safety features, and now GetMacZone gives the free trial directly link for downloading.
Note, that it is recommended that you install OS on a clean drive. Next, you will need enough disk space available, for example, to create Recovery Partition. Here are some ideas to free up space on your drive:
- Uninstall large unused apps
- Empty Trash Bin and Downloads
- Locate the biggest files on your computer:
Go to Finder > All My Files > Arrange by size
Then you can move your space hoggers onto an external drive or a cloud storage.
If you aren’t comfortable with cleaning the Mac manually, there are some nice automatic “room cleaners”. Our favorite is CleanMyMac as it’s most simple to use of all. It deletes system junk, old broken apps, and the rest of hidden junk on your drive.
Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.4 - 10.8 (free version)
Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.9 (free version)
Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.10 - 10.14 (free version)
STEP 2. Get a copy of Mac OS X download
Normally, it is assumed that updating OS is a one-way road. That’s why going back to a past Apple OS version is problematic. The main challenge is to download the OS installation file itself, because your Mac may already be running a newer version. If you succeed in downloading the OS installation, your next step is to create a bootable USB or DVD and then reinstall the OS on your computer.
How to download older Mac OS X versions via the App Store
If you once had purchased an old version of Mac OS X from the App Store, open it and go to the Purchased tab. There you’ll find all the installers you can download. However, it doesn’t always work that way. The purchased section lists only those operating systems that you had downloaded in the past. But here is the path to check it:
- Click the App Store icon.
- Click Purchases in the top menu.
- Scroll down to find the preferred OS X version.
- Click Download.
This method allows you to download Mavericks and Yosemite by logging with your Apple ID — only if you previously downloaded them from the Mac App Store.
Without App Store: Download Mac OS version as Apple Developer
If you are signed with an Apple Developer account, you can get access to products that are no longer listed on the App Store. If you desperately need a lower OS X version build, consider creating a new Developer account among other options. The membership cost is $99/year and provides a bunch of perks unavailable to ordinary users.
Nevertheless, keep in mind that if you visit developer.apple.com/downloads, you can only find 10.3-10.6 OS X operating systems there. Newer versions are not available because starting Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.7, the App Store has become the only source of updating Apple OS versions.
Purchase an older version of Mac operating system
You can purchase a boxed or email version of past Mac OS X directly from Apple. Both will cost you around $20. For the reason of being rather antiquated, Snow Leopard and earlier Apple versions can only be installed from DVD.
Buy a boxed edition of Snow Leopard 10.6
Get an email copy of Lion 10.7
Get an email copy of Mountain Lion 10.8
The email edition comes with a special download code you can use for the Mac App Store. Note, that to install the Lion or Mountain Lion, your Mac needs to be running Snow Leopard so you can install the newer OS on top of it.
How to get macOS El Capitan download
If you are wondering if you can run El Capitan on an older Mac, rejoice as it’s possible too. But before your Mac can run El Capitan it has to be updated to OS X 10.6.8. So, here are main steps you should take:
1. Install Snow Leopard from install DVD.
2. Update to 10.6.8 using Software Update.
3. Download El Capitan here.
“I can’t download an old version of Mac OS X”
If you have a newer Mac, there is no physical option to install Mac OS versions older than your current Mac model. For instance, if your MacBook was released in 2014, don’t expect it to run any OS released prior of that time, because older Apple OS versions simply do not include hardware drivers for your Mac.
But as it often happens, workarounds are possible. There is still a chance to download the installation file if you have an access to a Mac (or virtual machine) running that operating system. For example, to get an installer for Lion, you may ask a friend who has Lion-operated Mac or, once again, set up a virtual machine running Lion. Then you will need to prepare an external drive to download the installation file using OS X Utilities.
After you’ve completed the download, the installer should launch automatically, but you can click Cancel and copy the file you need. Below is the detailed instruction how to do it.
STEP 3. Install older OS X onto an external drive
The following method allows you to download Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks.
- Start your Mac holding down Command + R.
- Prepare a clean external drive (at least 10 GB of storage).
- Within OS X Utilities, choose Reinstall OS X.
- Select external drive as a source.
- Enter your Apple ID.
Now the OS should start downloading automatically onto the external drive. After the download is complete, your Mac will prompt you to do a restart, but at this point, you should completely shut it down. Now that the installation file is “captured” onto your external drive, you can reinstall the OS, this time running the file on your Mac.
- Boot your Mac from your standard drive.
- Connect the external drive.
- Go to external drive > OS X Install Data.
Locate InstallESD.dmg disk image file — this is the file you need to reinstall Lion OS X. The same steps are valid for Mountain Lion and Mavericks.
How to downgrade a Mac running later macOS versions
If your Mac runs macOS Sierra 10.12 or macOS High Sierra 10.13, it is possible to revert it to the previous system if you are not satisfied with the experience. You can do it either with Time Machine or by creating a bootable USB or external drive.
Instruction to downgrade from macOS Sierra
Instruction to downgrade from macOS High Sierra
Instruction to downgrade from macOS Mojave
Instruction to downgrade from macOS Catalina
Before you do it, the best advice is to back your Mac up so your most important files stay intact. In addition to that, it makes sense to clean up your Mac from old system junk files and application leftovers. The easiest way to do it is to run CleanMyMac X on your machine (download it for free here).
Visit your local Apple Store to download older OS X version
If none of the options to get older OS X worked, pay a visit to nearest local Apple Store. They should have image installations going back to OS Leopard and earlier. You can also ask their assistance to create a bootable USB drive with the installation file. So here you are. We hope this article has helped you to download an old version of Mac OS X. Below are a few more links you may find interesting.
8gb or greater usb install os x yosemite zip file downloaded from mac store download from here now let s move to the actual tutorial to create bootable os x yosemite usb connect your usb drive with mac. Now click on erase.
Download And Create Usb Installer For Mac Os X Yosemite Mavericks Mountain Lion Or Lion Macbold
You will create the bootable installer from this app not from the disk image or pkg installer.
Create bootable usb mac disk utility yosemite. Now you ll have to wait a long time. How to get older macos installation files. Use the restore disk image to drive dialog box to browse for the dmg file with the installation files for mac os x yosemite in this case and click the ok button to create a bootable usb of the operating system.
Launch the mac app store on your mac. This method also works to creating usb installer for el capitan yosemite and maverick and the other previous version of mac os x as well. Look for the version of macos you want in the store if you have previously downloaded the version search under your purchased tab.
Once you attached the usb drive it will shown on the left panel of disk utility. Step 2 open the installesd disk image. If you have already installed this version of macos you.
Open terminal which is in the utilities folder of your applications folder. Plug the external usb drive into mac make sure you save your stuff from it. In the warning dialog box click the yes button.
First make sure you have a usb flash drive that s at least 8 gbs in size then mount it. Today i am showing how to make a boot able usb drive for mac using a dmg file 8gb usb drive and the disk utility that comes with mac os x. Because since el capitan the disk utility of macos was different if you running el capitan and want to create bootable u sb for macos sierra you can use yosemite disk utility for el capitan just google it.
Select basesystem dmg in disk utility s sidebar and then click the restore button in the main part of the window. Create a bootable install usb drive of mac os x 10 10 yosemite step 1 reformat your usb drive. I hope this hel.
Drag the basesystem dmg icon into the source field on the right if it isn t. Click on the download button. Select usb drive from the left sidebar.
Now that your usb thumb drive is ready you ll need to open the. Prepare usb drive for os x yosemite open disk utility from applications utilities or press cmd space keys form keyboard to find disk utility. Click on erase tab from right.
Os X Yosemite Download Usb Stick
Use the createinstallmedia command in terminal connect the usb flash drive or other volume that you re using for the bootable installer.
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