Parallels Support team guest authors: Swati Swaroop
WinWorld from the past, to the present, for the future. WinWorld is an online museum dedicated to the preservation and sharing of vintage, abandoned, and pre-release software. We offer information, media and downloads for a wide variety of computers and operating systems. The Best Free Operating Systems & Updates app downloads for Mac: Apple Mac OS X Mavericks Apple Mac OS X El Capitan macOS Catalina Apple Mac OS X Snow.
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Hey folks, do you have trouble launching a third-party application on macOS Sierra? Chances are, this app is simply not compatible with the latest Mac operating system. Check your program system requirements to see if that is the case.
Jul 22, 2017 Just remember to never torrent to find old Mac OS X downloads. Apple may offer macOS and OS X for free, but that does not give you the right to pirate it. Also, you will not know if the files you get are safe and do not contain virus or other malicious additions. How to Install Your Legacy Mac OS X. Mac OS EL Capitan is the twelfth major release of Mac OS X, that now named as Mac OS X, the latest version is 10.11 for Apple Inc, desktop. Mac OS X EL Capitan is one of the most famous operating systems for Macintosh computers. It is a successor to Mac OS Yosemite and forms on performance, and security more following in northern California, the final version and latest version of Mac OS X El. Dec 21, 2015 If you’re in that boat and are wanting to move your Mac to an older version of OS X, here’s how to download older OS X versions. OS X Yosemite. The only old version of OS X that’s available for free and as a digital download is OS X Yosemite, which is the previous version before OS X El Capitan.
Alright, let’s assume you found out it’s not compatible. But you’ve already upgraded, so you are back to square one, right? Apple made the downgrade process very tricky, so I personally would not recommend going this route unless you have a Time Machine backup.
Luckily, there is a perfect alternative. You can simply set up your older macOS in a Parallels Desktop virtual machine; this way, you will be able to install and use an app(s) that is only compatible with older macOS versions. And most importantly, you will be able to do that seamlessly with your latest macOS, like any other VM.
In this blog, I will walk you through installing OS X El Capitan in a Parallels Desktop VM running on macOS Sierra. (The process would be similar for Mavericks and Yosemite.)
I am going to explain the steps you need to follow to install Mac OS X as a VM, assuming you already have Parallels Desktop for Mac installed. If not, you can visit this page to get your free trial.
Basically, there are three main things we need to do:
1.Download the El Capitan installer app.
2.Create a new VM.
3.Install El Capitan.
Let’s get down to business…
Download the El Capitan installer app.
https://iqehts.weebly.com/blog/mac-os-x-high-sierra-dmg. You need to be registered as a developer, or you have to join the free beta software program to download older versions of macOS.
Create a new OS X El Capitan Parallels Desktop VM.
Once you have your older macOS installer, you can proceed with the VM setup:
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It’s a piece of cake, isn’t it? Hope this will be helpful for you. Share your thoughts with us in a comment below, or reach out to us on Facebook or Twitter.
Mac OS X is clearly not the only operating system you can install in a VM. Visit this blog to learn more about free OS types you can install from within Parallels Desktop.
Try Parallels Desktop for free for 14 days!
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.
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:
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”. Mac cleaner reddit. 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 StoreIf 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.
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. Os x yosemite dmg file download.
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.
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.
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 Download Old Mac Os X Versions
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).
Download Old Versions Of Mac OsVisit 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.
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