#How to download yosemite on mac for free mac os#
#How to download yosemite on mac for free install#

#How to download yosemite on mac for free install#

We’ve used 8GB drives in the past to install Catalina and earlier, so your mileage might vary.

#How to download yosemite on mac for free mac os#

Prepare Your USB DriveĪpple recommends a USB drive that’s formatted as Mac OS Extended, with 14GB of free space for the latest versions of macOS.

You can use this drive multiple times in different machines, throw it in a drawer for next time, or erase it when you’re done and make a new one when it’s time to reinstall again. Reinstalling an Older Version of macOSĬreating a bootable USB stick is necessary to install an older version of macOS. If you can, you might not be able to legally use BitTorrent to download it, as your BitTorrent client will be uploading parts of OS X to other people during the download process. Even if you own a license, you might not be able to legally download it in your jurisdiction. Second, there are legal concerns: OS X is still copyrighted software. First, the installer might contain malware.

Some websites might offer old versions of OS X for download, but we recommend avoiding them. There might be old copies of Lion, Mountain Lion, and even Snow Leopard for sale on sites like eBay. Non-developers can buy OS X Mountain Lion ($19.99) and OS X Lion ($19.99) from Apple directly. Apple will email you an unlock code, which you can redeem in the Mac App Store. If you have a valid Apple Developer account, you might be able to download older versions from /downloads. This will put an installation app in your Applications folder, which you should leave there. Once any of these downloads are complete, mount the. Leave the installation app in your Applications folder.ĭirect Disk Image Links for Older macOS Downloads Once any of these downloads finishes, do not open the installer to begin the installation. Mac App Store Links for Older macOS Downloads Note: If you have trouble getting these links to work, first, make sure that you’re using Safari, and then try closing the Mac App Store and clicking on the link again. To get them, you’ll need to follow direct links, which we’ve listed below. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t index the Mac App Store entries so that you can search for them in the app. You can download most older versions of macOS using the Mac App Store or direct links to Apple’s website. Where to Download Older Versions of macOS We’d recommend test-driving any experimental macOS installations for a while before you commit. As a last resort, you could manually back up your important documents, libraries, and so on to an external drive. You can get around this by using a third-party backup tool like Carbon Copy Cloner or ChronoSync. For example, trying to restore a Time Machine backup made in Big Sur (released in 2020) in macOS Catalina (released in 2019) could prove difficult. Older versions of macOS might experience problems restoring from Time Machine backups made on subsequent releases. If you do decide to try a new version of macOS and you’re reliant on Time Machine for your backups, resist backing up with Time Machine until you’re sure that it’s where you want to stay. This guide can help you roll back to almost any version of macOS. After trying this, you might come to the conclusion that newer releases perform too poorly on your hardware, at which point, you’ll need to roll back. If you’re willing, you can install newer versions of macOS than your Mac supports with tools like Patched Sur. You can find out which Mac you have by clicking on the Apple logo in the top-left corner and selecting “About This Mac” to see the name and year of release. If you’re not sure what your Mac came with, head to Apple Support and search for your exact model. Your Mac’s “earliest” supported version of macOS is the one that it came with. Older versions were written for Intel chips, which use the x86_64 instruction set, while the newer Apple Silicon chips use the ARM instruction set. It’s common knowledge that new macOS releases often drop support for older hardware, but the same is true for newer Mac models and older software, too.įor example, you cannot install any version of macOS prior to Big Sur (released in 2020) on a Mac with an Apple Silicon chip, including the M1. It’s important to understand that not all versions of macOS (or Mac OS X) work with all hardware configurations. While the process is pretty straightforward, getting your hands on older releases of macOS isn’t so easy.

Got an old Mac and want to reinstall macOS? Maybe you want to roll back your Mac to an earlier version of macOS than the one you currently have installed?