Go from El Capitan to Yosemite (Mac came with El Capitan)

[JohnWalkins]

Hello,

i recently bought a new Mac Pro which came with El Capitan preinstalled. I need to roll back to Yosemite because of some software incompatibilities. All the guides I found in the internet were for Macs which had other OS X versions preinstalled and thus could roll back via the Mac Store. Since this Mac came with El Capitan I don't have that option.

If I have an Yosemite Image on an USB Stick, can I install it on this mac? Is there any way?

Thanks a lot!
John

 

[CoastalOR]

It should work. Here are the steps I would use.

1. I would do a complete back up your current internal drive to a external (I would use Carbon Copy Cloner, it has a 30 day free trial), test the backup by booting to it, restart normally, then disconnect the drive. This backup is in case things do not work and you want restore.

2. Verify your USB installer still works. See:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...longer-work-after-certificate-update.1959487/

3. Boot from your Yosemite USB installer, erase your internal drive, and install Yosemite.

4. Use Migration Assistant app in the Utilities folder to move old data if needed. You may not need this step since your Mac is new.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204350

 

[JohnWalkins]

Thanks for the response!
Is there some (more or less) official way to get the latest Yosemite Image? I have one from a rather untrustworthy source..

I suppose they images are all generic and not bound to your Apple ID or something?

 

[KALLT]

Thanks for the response!
Is there some (more or less) official way to get the latest Yosemite Image? I have one from a rather untrustworthy source..

I suppose they images are all generic and not bound to your Apple ID or something?

You should contact Apple. They still sell copies of Lion and Mountain Lion via redeemable codes. They might help you out if you explain the problem to them.

I would never install an OS image from an unreliable source. The images themselves are not tied to an Apple ID, only the Install.app which you download from the App Store is.

 

[Fishrrman]

Instead of "rolling back" the OS currently installed, have you thought of creating an "alternate boot volume" on a -different- drive altogether?

That way you can "boot back and forth" at will.

Might be worth trying it this way first, even if you find you want only a Yosemite boot volume. This way, you can test and experiment BEFORE you obliterate your working OS that's installed right now...

 

[CoastalOR]

Thanks for the response!
Is there some (more or less) official way to get the latest Yosemite Image? I have one from a rather untrustworthy source..
I suppose they images are all generic and not bound to your Apple ID or something?

The only "official" way to get the full Yosemite installer is from the Apple Mac App Store. Yosemite is no longer available for a new download. If you have preciously "Purchased" it under your Apple ID then it would be available for a re-download under the App Store Purchased tab.

There is the possibility of having a Mac friend re-download the full Yosemite installer for you (probably the safest). I know you can purchase Yosemite USB installers for Amazon & eBay. I do not know how they do this legally and how risky it might be.

 

[ShikariMR]

Compliments to KALLT - and what sound advice. There are some so-called free download sites which seem to provide a complimentary 'malbug' with every attenpt. No relevance to Apple Mac so far as I am concerned - those sites are a risk I would never take. Why would anyone do so?

For just one example - the number of people who seem to have bought used PCs with bogus Windows versions that were detected and 'bounced' by Microsoft as not genuine and thus not qualifyng for Windows 10 dowbnload.

Am I alone in finding it criminal that so many rogue sites try ruthlessly to act as if they are official and trustworthy, Seems to me at times that it is necessary to ignore the first page or two that come up on a search.

 

[KALLT]

There is the possibility of having a Mac friend re-download the full Yosemite installer for you (probably the safest). I know you can purchase Yosemite USB installers for Amazon & eBay. I do not know how they do this legally and how risky it might be.

Neither is strictly speaking legal. The OP never acquired a valid licence for Yosemite and Apple is the only entity that can give it to them. The prerequisite to even acquire newer versions of OS X is the licence you acquired when you purchased the Mac. To make it all perfectly sound, only Apple can help out. They do still provide redeemable codes, they just do not advertise it to push the latest versions of OS X.

For just one example - the number of people who seem to have bought used PCs with bogus Windows versions that were detected and 'bounced' by Microsoft as not genuine and thus not qualifyng for Windows 10 dowbnload.

The popular Linux distribution Linux Mint was recently compromised as well. It is not a large operating system by any numbers, but still managed to attract people who were out to cause harm. You can really never blindly believe in the kindness within the hearts of torrent seeders.

 

[CoastalOR]

Neither is strictly speaking legal. The OP never acquired a valid licence for Yosemite and Apple is the only entity that can give it to them. The prerequisite to even acquire newer versions of OS X is the licence you acquired when you purchased the Mac. To make it all perfectly sound, only Apple can help out. They do still provide redeemable codes, they just do not advertise it to push the latest versions of OS X.

I agree neither is legal.

Apple forces people to violate EULA when they pulled Mavericks & Yosemite. If you can still "purchase" Lion & Mountain Lion from Apple then they, IMO, should still allow "purchase" of Mavericks & Yosemite. After all Mavericks & Yosemite are still available for download if previously purchased.

I procrastinated in not installing Mavericks on my 2011 MBP running Mountain Lion waiting for most of the bugs to be worked out of Mavericks. A week after Yosemite was released I tried to download/install Mavericks. Of course, it was already gone. I called Apple, explained Yosemite was too new and there were many complaints to feel comfortable using it yet. I then asked them to allow me to "purchase" Mavericks. The only answer they would give me was it was no longer available.

 

[Fishrrman]

If you need Yosemite and Apple won't permit you to download through "official" channels, well... you just have to go outside of those channels.

When I've needed older versions of Apple software, I was able to find them, and that was that. I've -never- had a virus, trojan, etc., in 29 years of being a Mac owner/user, as a result of such.

So long as Apple refuses to make older versions of its software available, I have no qualms about doing this.

My opinion only.
Others will disagree.
Some will disagree vehemently.

 

[fisherking]

is there no way to update your software? seems like a simpler, more obvious path than replacing the OS...and, down the line, you may want to be 'up-to-date'. just a thought...

 

[beebarb]

Even if you got your hands on a Yosemite installer, I highly doubt it'd allow you to install it on a Mac that came with El Capitan.

Some drivers might not even exist for the newer hardware under Yosemite, and Macs have historically had a minimum OS version, and a maximum OS version.

Short of violating the EULA and hacking the installer, you can't really do what you want, and even then it might not even work properly.

 

[Shirasaki]

Looks like we have received a mixed opinion set, although some members in discussion doesn't really think it is possible to receive Yosemite officially from Apple.
My idea is: if you desperately need it, try it out on an alternative disk. Do not just replace your existing one. The source of this installation does matter, but for testing purpose, and you have bought a new machine, that should be OK. Just don't log into your Apple ID, and don't do any work on it.
Driver issue is also a serious problem when installing old OS on new Mac. Unlike Windows machine, which is somewhat easier to install old system on new machine backing to Windows 7, installing driver on Mac OS X would be complex and dangerous to be done, I guess.

 

[CoastalOR]

Even if you got your hands on a Yosemite installer, I highly doubt it'd allow you to install it on a Mac that came with El Capitan.
Some drivers might not even exist for the newer hardware under Yosemite, and Macs have historically had a minimum OS version, and a maximum OS version.
Short of violating the EULA and hacking the installer, you can't really do what you want, and even then it might not even work properly.

Reread the original post again. The OP "bought a new Mac Pro". The Mac Pros have not had a hardware update since 2013 and were originally shipping with OS 10.9. Yosemite should still work (no guarantees).

 

[beebarb]

Reread the original post again. The OP "bought a new Mac Pro". The Mac Pros have not had a hardware update since 2013 and were originally shipping with OS 10.9. Yosemite should still work (no guarantees).

Ah, my bad, must've unintentionally skipped over the 'pro' bit while reading.

 

[Mcmeowmers]

Pretty sure you'll be given a nice grey screen when you try to boot from the usb stick because the OS version is too old for your hardware

 

[fisherking]

i repeat, post #11...

 

[chrfr]

Pretty sure you'll be given a nice grey screen when you try to boot from the usb stick because the OS version is too old for your hardware

The current Mac Pro runs any version of OS X back to 10.9 without issue (it's the same hardware Apple has been selling since 2013). At work I just recently reverted one that shipped with 10.11.2 to 10.9.5. Works perfectly well. 10.10.x will also work fine.

 

[ShikariMR]

Just for a moment, taking a line thrugh Windows. Some people I know used a date reset facility to restore their PCs to an earlier issue of Windows. The system then recognised them as having a valid edition of Windows (not a bootleg) and downloaded Windows 10. Is there any similar 'point in time' reset facility on an Apple?

Fascinating to see that there is a Shirasaki in the group with an Avatar many times more fascinating than anything I could devise. My use of the somewhat similar 'Shikari' comes from the name of a Royal Navy S class destroyer from the 1930s.

 

[JOSmith99]

Hello,

i recently bought a new Mac Pro which came with El Capitan preinstalled. I need to roll back to Yosemite because of some software incompatibilities. All the guides I found in the internet were for Macs which had other OS X versions preinstalled and thus could roll back via the Mac Store. Since this Mac came with El Capitan I don't have that option.

If I have an Yosemite Image on an USB Stick, can I install it on this mac? Is there any way?

Thanks a lot!
John

I would recommend using disk utility on the bootable drive to fully erase the SSD on the mac pro, and then install Yosemite. Yes, it will work completely fine. If the usb does not work (possible it will say couldn't be verified) take it to an apple store and they can install it for you.