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.
Command Line The command line interface is an alternate method of interacting with macOS and Mac OS X, relying on text based command entry to execute commands and perform tasks. It is accessed on the Mac by using the Terminal application. Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition Player's Handbook.pdf. Uploaded, Size 67.14 MiB, ULed by turrillius: 2: 1: Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition Monster Manual.pdf.
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 |
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.
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:
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)
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The following method allows you to download Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks.
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.
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.
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).
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.
Mac OS X El Capitan: Being the 12th major release of macOS, Mac OS X El Capitan belongs to the Macintosh-Unix family of OS. It was majorly released for server OS for Macintosh computers and Apple Inc.’s desktop. Being the successor of OS X Yosemite, it mainly focuses on stability, performance, and security. There is a history in its name. Mac OS El Capitan was given its name behind a type of rock formation that is found in the Yosemite National Park, focusing its predefined goals towards a refined edition of Yosemite. It was the final version that was released beneath the name OS X, its successor, Sierra, was given the name under Mac OS X due to the reason that OS X is now named Mac OS.
License
Official Installer
File Size
5.7GB
Language
English
Developer
Apple Inc.
Mac OS El Capitan was released to manufacturing on 20th September 2015, almost three and a half years ago. Its latest version 10.11.6 (15G22010) was released on 9th July 2018, almost 7 months ago. It runs on the platform including x86-64. Mac OS El Capitan is preceded by OS X 10.10 Yosemite and it is succeeded by macOS 10.12 Sierra.
All Macintosh PCs that can run Mountain Lion, Mavericks, or Yosemite can run El Capitan in spite of the fact that not the majority of its highlights will take a shot at more seasoned PCs. For instance, Apple noticed that the recently accessible Metal API is accessible on “all Macs since 2012”.
The following computers can run mac OS el Capitan provided that they must have a ram of 2GB or more –
Of these PCs, the accompanying models were outfitted with 1GB RAM as the standard alternative on the base model when they were sent initially. They can possibly run OS X El Capitan in the event that they have at any rate 2GB of RAM-
The accompanying PCs bolster highlights, for example, Handoff, Instant Hotspot, AirDrop between Mac PCs and iOS gadgets, just as the new Metal API:
The redesign differs in size contingent on which Apple Mac PC it is being introduced on, in many situations, it will require around 6 GB of plate space.
DMG represents Disk picture document. It is much the same as the ISO record which keeps running on Windows yet it keeps running on Mac OS. DMG is area by a segment of optical stockpiling media. DMG record is utilized rather than an optical plate. It has .dmg augmentation. Past Disk Image File has .smi and .img augmentation which depends on New Disk Image Format (NDF). The present DMG document depends on Universal Disk Image Format (UDIF). Widespread Disk Image Format underpins Zlib, ADC, bzip2 pressure calculation. DMG record depends on figuring out however it’s documentation isn’t discharged by Apple Company. It is more secure than ISO record. Plate Image Files are distributed with a MIME kind of utilization which is known as x – apple circle picture. There are distinctive record frameworks inside circle picture.
ISO document is the copy or file record that contains every one of the information of optical plate-like CD or DVD. It represents the International Standard Organization. It is utilized to duplicate the precise record in light of the fact that in typical duplicate, it needs header document yet in an ISO record, every one of the information including the header record is The ISO name is taken from ISO9660 on the grounds that this component is utilized in circles yet ISO record has UDF(ISO/IEC 13346) document framework is utilized which is generally utilized in DVDs and Blu-beam Disks. It accompanies .iso augmentation.
The installation process of mac os el Capitan includes two methods. The first method is termed as an upgrade install, also known as the default method. The second method is known as a clean install.
Upgrade install-
Follow to below steps-
Clean install-
For a clean install, at first, you will need a bootable version of OS X El Capitan installer. After getting a bootable drive or device follow the steps to boot-
Starting the installation process-
The setup procedure is finished. After a couple of minutes, you’ll see the OS X El Capitan work area, which implies you’re prepared to begin investigating the perfect establishment of your new OS.