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
Aug 11, 2021 Go to Download macOS and click on macOS Sierra 10.12. This downloads InstallOS.dmg to your Downloads folder. The next section can only be done on a mac that is capable of running Sierra, a mac that came preinstalled with an OS later than Sierra will refuse to do the next bit. When downloaded open to get InstallOS.pkg, double-click on. Looked some time back, but the only answer I could find is to download (install) the “upgrade” to High Sierra, and dig around for the.iso within the package.
Mac Os High Sierra 10.13 Iso Download. MacOS High Sierra ISO 10.13.6 (Torrent) – Here is the macOS High Sierra ISO file in Torrent.Click on the link and download it straightly. Once that’s with you, proceed with the installation. No need to take the backup of your files and documents beacuse there’s no risk in it at all. Many Mac users who are attempting to download macOS High Sierra from the Mac App Store will find that a small 19 MB version of “Install macOS High Sierra.app” downloads to the /Applications folder of the target Mac, rather than the complete 5.2 GB Installer application for macOS High Sierra. This is annoying because it prevents a single. A bunch of Sierra’s new features, including the neat Universal Clipboard and Apple Watch unlock, only work on Macs with Bluetooth 4.0, which means they need a newer Mac to use the new features.
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)
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
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”
Download Mac Os Sierra 10.12.6
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.
We talk about a lot of new version of macOS, like Big Sur or Catalina, which is now packed with many amazing features. However, they need to more advanced hardware to run the OS smoothly. If you are using an old model of Mac computer, High Sierra is still the best choice if it was not eligible for upgrading to Catalina or Big Sur.
Currently, Apple only offers High Serria Installer app from Mac App Store. This means you can only create a bootable macOS USB on Mac. It could be a problem if you are trying to build a hackintosh on Windows PC. You need macOS High Serria this way. Don't worry, we will give you the result in this article.
Hardware Requirement of macOS High Serria
Before downloading macOS High Serria DMG file, it is crucial to know what kind of hardware specification it requires. It is useless and waste of time if the model was not matched. Please check out the list of Mac models that can run macOS High Serria without any problem.
- MacBook Pro in mid 2010 or later.
- MacBook in late 2009 or later.
- MacBook Air in late 2010 or later.
- Mac mini in mid 2010 or later.
- iMac in late 2009 or later
However, if you want to run macOS High Serria from PC, the CPU should Intel Core i5 and above; RAM should be more than 4GB and free disk space should be 50GB.
Mac Os Sierra Iso Download
Direct Download Link of macOS High Serria DMG File
Below is a set of verified download links for High Serria (macOS 10.13). Click the link one by one and find the best site where gives you the fatest download speed. In addition, some of the download sites requires account login. So you may need to register a new account before download starts.
macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 DMG Download: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/5dvx88
macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 DMG Download: https://sundryfiles.com/8zr
macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 DMG Download (Torrent): https://mactorrents.io/macos-high-sierra-10-13-6-build-17g65/
macOS High Sierra 10.13 DMG Download (for Hackintosh): https://mega.nz/file/lnRQGaCA
macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 ISO Download: https://sundryfiles.com/9tz
After the installation .dmg file is downloaded, you need to burn the dmg file to USB in order to make it bootable. For Windows users, please check out this detailed guide for making bootable macOS USB from DMG. For Mac user, please visit this page instead.
More reading: DMG Download link for macOS Big Sur, Catalina and Mojave.
Download macOS High Serria Installer App from Mac App Store
You can get High Sierra dmg from the Apple Store, but you will have to recreate the dmg files as all the files will be in the scattered form and if you are lucky enough then you can get the complete version of High Sierra from the Apple store or else you will get only 19 MB files, means they are scattered and to recreate the same, you will have to perform few tasks. So, let's begin the journey.
p.s High Serria Install app won't appear in result page when you are trying to search 'High Serria' in Mac App Store.
Step 1: Open a web browser on your Mac and click this link.
Step 2: A message pops up and asks you to open the link in Mac App Store. Please grant the permission.
Step 3: Now, you will get to the details page of High Serria app and click the Get button to start downloading the installer app (5.2GB).
Step 4: Once the progress id completed, an app called Install macOS High Serria appears in Application folder.
Step 5: Now, follow steps in Part 6 of this guide to make a bootable macOS High Serria USB by using Terminal app.
Download macOS High Sierra Using Dosdude Patcher
As stated earlier, Apple does not offer the full version of High Sierra and it provides only 19MB update file and it is beneficial for you when you have High Sierra. So, to get the same, you will have to go with Mac OS High Sierra Patcher. This tool will fulfil your desire and you can easily access the OS on your Mac machine via this application. Now, follow the steps listed below to create a bootable High Sierra USB drive.
Step 1: Visit the site listed below to download macOS High Sierra Patcher: http://dosdude1.com/highsierra/
Step 2: After installing the patcher on your machine, launch it. On the home page, you will get few tabs at the top interface, click on 'Tools', and then select 'Download macOS High Sierra' from the list.
Step 3: Thereafter, a pop-up window will open and it will ask for the confirmation of the action as the file size is 5GB and to download the same, you must have a strong internet connection. Just click on the 'Yes' button.
Step 4: Now, select the location where you want to download the High Sierra app. Soon, the download will start and once it is completed, you will get the confirmation message.
Step 5: After the completion of the download process, a pop-up window will open asking you to create a patch of the file, click on the 'Not now' button. That's it; you are all done and now, you can locate your downloaded file and can install macOS High Serria on your mac.
The macOS High Sierra Patcher, is designed for all the mac users. The file accessed by this tool is directly from Apple server, so you will get a valid macOS installer for sure. Moreover, the tool is completely free and no ads or adware within the app..
Summary
We have list a couple of ways to help you download macOS High Sierra DMG file as well as how to create a bootable USB from it. All of them are still working till the time we are writing this post. And we recommend downloading dmg file as it works on Windows PC and Mac. The rest of methods can be only done on a Mac computer.