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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.

Apple released the new Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite in the Mac App Store for everyone to download and install for free on October 16th, 2014, but downloading a 5+ GB file for each of your computers will take some serious time. The best thing to do is download it once and create a bootable install USB drive from the file for all of your Macs. An empty USB drive (8 GB or larger): In this guide, you will write Mac OS X Yosemite Installer onto a USB drive, and boot your computer from that drive to install OS X Yosemite. The USB drive must be at least 6 GB in size.

Download Hackintosh Yosemite Intel + AMD Support. Hackintosh Yosemite Installer can be used to install OS X Yosemite On PC without the need of a Mac. HP Processors with Insyde Bios. Use the DMG for Flash drive installation and use ISO for DVD Installation or Installing on a Virtual Machines. Many Improvements from 10.10.

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.

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)

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:

1. Click the App Store icon.
2. Click Purchases in the top menu.
3. Scroll down to find the preferred OS X version.
4. 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.

1. Start your Mac holding down Command + R.
2. Prepare a clean external drive (at least 10 GB of storage).
3. Within OS X Utilities, choose Reinstall OS X.
4. Select external drive as a source.
5. 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.

1. Boot your Mac from your standard drive.
2. Connect the external drive.
3. 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.

Mac OS users who are already running Mavericks on their desktop computers are now eligible for free upgrade to OS X 10.10 – Yosemite.

Those who are facing performance issues with direct upgrade via App store or installing OS X for the first time on their Macs can follow a simple step-by-step guide to perform a clean install of Yosemite using Disk Utility.

Before we delve into the detailed process of clean installing OS X Yosemite on Macs, there are a few things that need to be taken care of.

Mac Os X Yosemite Bootable Usb Download Free

Prerequisites

a) Ensure your Mac is compatible with OS X Yosemite. These are the supported devices:

• iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
• MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminium, or Early 2009 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
• Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
• Xserve (Early 2009)

b) Back up important data and settings (photos, videos, music files, documents and the like) on your Mac to an external hard drive. You can do this by using the Time Machine feature in Mac OS X, or third-party software such as Carbon Copy Cloner.

c) Create a bootable USB flash drive with a storage size of at least 8GB.

d) Download OS X 10.10 Yosemite Final from the Mac App Store and save it to the Applications folder – its default location.

How to Create Bootable USB Flash Drive

First, create bootable USB flash drive. Here is how you do it, courtesy of Redmond Pie:

• Plug in your USB drive into the computer and open Disk Utility (in Applications).
• Select the USB drive from the left sidebar and click on Erase tab.
• Choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) in the format box and let the name be Untitled (default).
• Now click on Erase button and wait until the format process completes.
• Then choose Partition tab and select 1 Partition from Partition Layout dropdown menu. Click on Option and ensure GUID Partition Table is selected as the partition scheme, with its name set to Untitled.
• 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.
• Launch the Terminal app (in Applications/Utilities) and type or paste the following command in, and then hit Enter:

sudo /Applications/Install OS X Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/Untitled –applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X Yosemite.app –nointeraction

• This will create the bootable USB flash drive. This takes between 10-20 minutes. Do not interrupt the Terminal or eject the flash drive during the process. Once the process completes, you will see the message 'Copy Complete. Done.'

Make Yosemite Install Usb

The OS X Yosemite bootable USB flash drive will be ready for use and you can start the clean installation process.

How to Clean Install OS X Yosemite on Your Mac

Step 1: Ensure the bootable USB flash drive is plugged into your Mac and restart the computer. As soon as the start-up chime plays, press the Option key (Alt).

Step 2: Choose the USB drive on the start-up drive selection screen and hit Enter/Return on the keyboard.

Mac Os X Yosemite Iso

Step 3: Wait until the Yosemite installer appears on screen. This could take a few seconds or minutes.

Mac Os X Yosemite Bootable Usb Download Software

Step 4: Click on Disk Utility and then hit Continue.

Step 5: Click on Macintosh HD from the left hand-side pane and then hit Erase tab on the top-right portion of the window. Leave all the settings at their default values and then hit Erase button at the bottom right. This will wipe all files stored on your startup hard drive.

Step 6: When the erasing process is complete, return to the first screen where you selected Disk Utility. Now click on Install OS X and then hit Continue.

Step 7: Choose the Macintosh HD partition you erased in step 5 and then click Install.

If you have followed all the steps correctly, your computer should now boot right into the newly installed operating system, OS X Yosemite, and you could cherish its stunning new UI.

(Source: Redmond Pie)

How to Clean Install OS X Yosemite via Bootable USB Flash Drive