Install Catalina 10.15.3 instead of 10.15.4

[velvia]

Hi,

I have some issues with Catalina 10.15.3 such as crashes of the Finder. I would like to reinstall from scratch 10.15.3 on my machine. I have a USB key with 10.15.3 on it. Unfortunately, when I install Catalina, the installer asks for an internet connection and installs 10.15.4 instead of 10.15.3 without asking my opinion. Is there a way to install 10.15.3 from scratch ?

François

 

[wellander1]

You can not unless you already have a copy of the older version.
It downloads the latest version.

 

[velvia]

Sorry. I was not clear. It is Catalina 10.15.4 that keeps crashing on me.

I do have a copy of the 10.15.3 installer that I put on my USB key. But when I use it, the installer downloads 10.15.4 without asking anything which is really annoying.

 

[wellander1]

It sounds like you have a stub installer then.
How large is the file?

 

[bogdanw]

You can still download 10.15.3 with

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.15.3

or with gibMacOS https://github.com/corpnewt/gibMacOS
See this thread for how to use it https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...led-on-me-several-times.2215873/post-28073346

 

[velvia]

I already do have the 10.15.3 installer. This is not my problem. The installer is 8.2 GB so it should be the full installer. The problem is the following :

- I create an USB install key with it
- I reboot my computer and start with the USB key
- Once the installer is launched, I format my hard drive and choose to reinstall MacOS. But when I do that, the installer asks me to setup the WiFi connection and it seems to download something for 20 minutes which is about the time it takes to download a full installer. I have the feeling that it downloads 10.15.4 without asking.
- Once the installation is finished, I have macOS 10.15.4 on my computer :-(

It is really annoying as 10.15.4 is a huge pain on my MacBook Pro 16' : Finder crashes, whole system crashes, etc.

 

[bogdanw]

Turn Wi-Fi off https://support.apple.com/guide/macbook-pro/set-up-apd831707cb3/mac

 

[velvia]

You can't turn WiFi off. As the following Apple web page says: "A bootable installer doesn't download macOS from the Internet, but it does require the Internet to get information specific to your Mac model, such as firmware updates."

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support (VN)

Use an external drive or secondary volume as a startup disk from which to install macOS.

support.apple.com

 

[velvia]

I have finally managed to install macOS 10.15.3. I don't know exactly what solved the problem but I :

- Turned off the security from StartUp Disk : Boot into the recovery partition and launch the Startup Disk Security utility and allow to boot from a USB drive. Then, turn off the security mode.
- I have wiped out my entire hard drive and the rebooted on the USB key
- The USB installer now allowed me to install macOS with the WiFi turned Off.

Most likely, the problem was with the Startup Disk Security which was not allowing to boot on the USB key and it was booting from the recovery partition without telling me anything about it.

I am now a happy macOS 10.15.3 user. An OS that works, not like this crappy 10.15.4 which is the worst macOS version I have ever seen.

 

[tommiy]

I've stayed at 10.15.1 because of that reason. The minor updates kill so many hours of your time that it is best not to move. I'll consider changing when there are far fewer reports of failures. It may mean that i never update my MAC again but in reality i'm ok with that because i know i have manual work arounds to my 10.15.1 issues.