I've some old 32 bit apps that I want to run on an older version of OSX. I've managed to download High Sierra to a DMG but the installer won't open on my Big Sur. Is there any way I can get the High Sierra DMG onto my EHD so that it will download High Sierra on the HD?
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Running old OSX on EHD
- Thread starter sunnyjohn2
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To answer my own question as information for others, essentially it can't be done.
However, should you wish to run an old OS on your EHD, you can buy an installer on a UHB drive from Amazon or Ebay for about £15. Those available seemed to be from High Sierra onwards, so it is possible to do that and run 32 bit apps.
However, should you wish to run an old OS on your EHD, you can buy an installer on a UHB drive from Amazon or Ebay for about £15. Those available seemed to be from High Sierra onwards, so it is possible to do that and run 32 bit apps.
It can be done. You need to use the
createinstallmedia command buried deep within the High Sierra installer to create a bootable USB installer drive, which can then be used to install High Sierra on any drive directly connected to the Mac.
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Indeed, doing this is fully supported and the procedures are documented by Apple. For instructions on obtaining old versions of macOS and creating a bootable USB installer that will work in almost any situation, read these pages:
support.apple.com
support.apple.com
Never purchase or download macOS from somewhere other than Apple. It is possible you are getting a hacked install from a disreputable source, which will result in a security breach of your Mac. If you already bought such an installer, cancel your order because you are asking for trouble.
How to download and install macOS - Apple Support
Download and install current or previous versions of the Mac operating system on compatible Mac computers.
Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
You can use a USB flash drive or other secondary volume as a startup disk from which to install the Mac operating system. These steps are primarily for system administrators and other experienced users.
Never purchase or download macOS from somewhere other than Apple. It is possible you are getting a hacked install from a disreputable source, which will result in a security breach of your Mac. If you already bought such an installer, cancel your order because you are asking for trouble.
Thanks for this. I've opened the installer with Pacifist. Where do I find the command?
Thanks.Indeed, doing this is fully supported and the procedures are documented by Apple. For instructions on obtaining old versions of macOS and creating a bootable USB installer that will work in almost any situation, read these pages:
How to download and install macOS - Apple Support
Download and install current or previous versions of the Mac operating system on compatible Mac computers.
Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
You can use a USB flash drive or other secondary volume as a startup disk from which to install the Mac operating system. These steps are primarily for system administrators and other experienced users.
Never purchase or download macOS from somewhere other than Apple. It is possible you are getting a hacked install from a disreputable source, which will result in a security breach of your Mac. If you already bought such an installer, cancel your order because you are asking for trouble.
It is not possible, since Mojave, to obtain installers from the Mac store.Indeed, doing this is fully supported and the procedures are documented by Apple. For instructions on obtaining old versions of macOS and creating a bootable USB installer that will work in almost any situation, read these pages:
How to download and install macOS - Apple Support
Download and install current or previous versions of the Mac operating system on compatible Mac computers.
Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
You can use a USB flash drive or other secondary volume as a startup disk from which to install the Mac operating system. These steps are primarily for system administrators and other experienced users.
Never purchase or download macOS from somewhere other than Apple. It is possible you are getting a hacked install from a disreputable source, which will result in a security breach of your Mac. If you already bought such an installer, cancel your order because you are asking for trouble.
Just to clarify. I have the installer package for High Sierra but am unable to open it as an installer on Big Sur. How do I get to open the installer so I can put it on a USB stick ?
I run my expensive old software in Mountain Lion and Sierra virtual machines with Parallels. No rebooting or external disks needed and it integrates perfectly with the newer operating system, allowing copy/paste, access to all disks, etc. The software I need works fine in a 4gb VM. Only thing is, I couldn't figure out how to create the VM's from the standard Apple installers. But I had clones of my old Macs and created the VM's that way.
I'm sure it is possible to also do this with the Apple installers, but I was obviously doing something wrong.
I'm sure it is possible to also do this with the Apple installers, but I was obviously doing something wrong.
Open a Terminal window (enter Terminal in a Spotlight window).
The following command assumes that:
1. You've put the Install macOS High Sierra application in your Applications folder.
2. Your USB stick is called USBSTICK and has nothing on it you want to preserve, because it's going to be erased.
Type/paste the following, press [Enter], enter your password and press [Enter] again.
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USBSTICK
Guessing that would also work for creating a VM. If you have a bootable version of the old OS, it's just one click to create a VM in Parallels.
No - the problem is that it is not an application, it is an installer.
and when I click on it in Big Sur I get this
How do I proceed?
I have VirtualBox and I've set it up but, of course, it still wants the installer, not the installer package!
This is just an update package to update an earlier version of High Sierra to version 10.13.2. It is not a full installer package.
You need to download a full High Sierra installer from the App Store. If this works on Big Sur, you'll have the Install macOS High Sierra application in your Applications folder afterwards and can then try the
createinstallmedia command I posted earlier.If you cannot download High Sierra from the App Store on Big Sur, there's another method.
From Mojave onward, it is no longer possible to download older OS's from the Mac store.
What is your other method, please?
Download this tool, open it and choose Tools > Download macOS High Sierra...
This tool will download an official High Sierra installer package straight from Apple's servers, so it is perfectly safe. If/when it asks you where to save the installer, choose your Applications folder. Once it's downloaded the installer, close it. Don't use this tool for anything else!
Once you have the installer, try the
createinstallmedia command.
Thanks for that. Unfortunately it failed to download: "Too many requests in a short time."
Hm. Try again some time later. By the way, is your Mac compatible with High Sierra (I assume it is, but thought I'd ask to be sure.)?
OK - thanks, I'll do that. Yes, I was running High Sierra before I upgraded to Catalina, then to Big Sur. It's a 21 inch iMac 2019.
The minimum Apple supported macOS for a 2019 21.5" iMac is 10.14.4 (Mojave). High Sierra 10.13 is too old.
High Sierra isn’t going to boot on a 2019 Mac. It doesn’t have the drivers for its hardware.
So if you were running High Sierra, it must be a 2017 model.
What I want to do is to put the High Sierra installer on my USB stick and run it on my EHD. Are you saying that I will be unable to do that?
I’m saying that if your iMac is a 2019, High Sierra won’t boot/run on it. You can try it of course.
If your Mac was running High Sierra at some point, it can’t be a 2019.
Well, I got that wrong - it was my previous Mac that was running High Sierra. I've run so many systems in the last three years that I've rather lost track of them - apologies. Your link is now working and is downloading the High Sierra patcher. So far it's taken an hour and I have to keep restarting it, but it's getting there - an hour to go!