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.
Global Nav Open Menu Global Nav Close Menu; Apple; Shopping Bag +. Visual Studio 2019 for Mac. Develop apps and games for iOS, Android and using.NET. Download Visual Studio for Mac. Create and deploy scalable, performant apps using.NET and C# on the Mac. Pages for OS X was updated to version 4.3 on December 4, 2012, to support Pages 1.7 for iOS, which was released on the same day. Pages for iOS 1.7.1 introduced better compatibility with Word and Pages for Mac, and version 1.7.2, released on March 7, 2013, merely added stability improvements and bugfixes.
A list of all Mac OS X versions
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.
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)
Iwork Free Download For Mac Os X
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
Download Pages For Mac Os X 10.10.5
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.
These might also interest you:
A home page is basically the start or initial page of any website. It is usually a front page or main page when you open a website or when you open your browser the first page to appear is the main page and this is defined as the home page. There are different home pages which different people use as their main page. Home page allows you to ease of access to the required search bar and you can get easily what you want. Many home pages or start pages are like My yahoo, iGoogle, MSN etc. but the top ten best home pages for mac are as follows: 10) MyHommy: MyHommy is ranked on number ten among top ten home pages for Mac. It has similar features to that of Net Vibes which is the famous home page so far. It doesn’t look so beautiful and it is not stylish. It has features with the special public page which is easy to use and effective, you can now download and use it on your mac. 09) Unlocking: Unlocking is the home page that is ranked on number nine among the top ten best home pages. Although the purpose of this is unknown that why this home page was created. Some visitors have problem unlocking their phone or tablet therefore they might use this for unlocking. This is the very beautiful and stylish home page. An amazing fact about this is that by using this home page more than 4million of phones are unlocked. 08) Inbox: it is the number eight home page among the top ten home pages so far and it is the best home page for mac. It is much smaller home pages in comparison to other home pages and it is very easy to use and look very stylish and nice. But there is cons related to this home page is that it shows more advertisements rather than the search results. 07) Microsoft Live: Microsoft has introduced its own home page named as Microsoft live and it is one of the best home page with amazing and striking features. It is easy to use and easy to understand and many users use it because this is very effective to use. It is on number seven among the top ten home pages for Mac so far, there are different tools like gallery, notepad and calendar with this home page and you will really like these features of this home page. 06) Desk.com: The home page on number six among the top ten home pages is none other than desk.com. Desk.com is simple and easy to use. User now can insert a style and design of his choice using this home page. It is very stylish and with a big product screenshot. It has striking features. 05) My Yahoo: My Yahoo is similar to that of iGoogle and many of its features resembles to that of iGoogle. It is on number five among the list of top ten home pages for mac. It allows its users to use a single page rather than different pages. It is used as a front page for any kind of search engine and thus it enables the user to get access to most searched keywords and SEO optimized words easily and quickly. Another advantage of this home page is that you have the authority to customize different features according to your choice. 04) Whitehouse.Gov: Whitehouse.Gov is the top fourth home page among the top ten home pages for Mac. It is totally government concerned website. It is a 2.0clear web version with amazing features. It is highly user friendly and it tells the user where to start and where to stop. It tells you easily what you are trying to find out and explains everything clearly to you. It is one of the top priority of many users. 03) iGoogle: iGoogle is among the top homepage and is ranked on number three among the top ten. It provides access to sports news, health, weather etc. it is one of the top most home page that provides a variety of gadgets. It is one of the best home page and is used by many users and it is the first priority of users to use it but it doesn’t look so stylish and beautiful in comparison to other home pages. It is best for those people who want to change a personalized home page to customize one or a customized home page to personalized one. 02) Fresh Book: There is a primary calls to action on the right side of this home page. It is on number two among the top ten home pages so far. It is very user friendly and a lot of users use this home page because they find it easy to use and with the striking features of fresh book make it unique. It has a unique subheading that is very useful for users because they can now do billing without any difficulty and more than 5million users are using the Fresh book for this purpose. 01) Net Vibes: The top home page so far and number one home page among the top ten home pages is none other than Net Vibes. It has very amazing customize features and user can customize its features according to their choice, it is one of the best initial or start up page. You have a lot options to add different pages or sites to your main page so that when you need them you can easily access them. It also supports all the net widgets that support HTML. Conclusion: Although these home pages all are good but their ranking is made on the reviews from users according to the stars they have rated for these home pages after using them. This list is made on the bases of reviews from variety of users who have used these pages frequently.