Yosemite BACK to Mavericks - Step by step to downgrade.

[PhillyGuy72]

4:39am and I finished reverting back to 10.9.5 Mavericks and could not be happier. After failing to wake it up from Sleep Mode for the 2nd time today (new 'bug' that started today)...that was it. Tried to deal with 4 days of extreme sluggish behavior, CS5 especially sucking the RAM out of this. I had to do it. Lot of work tomorrow and I had to do it now.

My iMac actually feels faster compared to right before I upgrade to 10.10 on Friday.

The whole process - restoring from Time Machine - was painless. For me it took roughly 65-70 minutes.

After that, you simply need to login to your apps that use your Apple ID. Also check the App store for an important Security Update that was released over the weekend.

Anyway, again I'm happy. I'll wait until Apple releases an update...and before upgrading again I'll wait on that update as well for potential problems. Right now, I am in no rush to update at all.

For anyone who may want to do this, here are the steps.
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The following tutorial explains an easy method to downgrade from OS X Yosemite to the Mavericks version. But make sure that you have backed up all your data before following the downgrade process.

How to downgrade OS X Yosemite to Mavericks

Downgrading to OS X Mavericks is an easy method. You need to install a Time Machine Backup of your Mac on OS X Mavericks, An External Drive is the best method

**Also copy and save all your files from OS X Yosemite as you cannot restore a Yosemite Time Machine backup once you switch back to Mavericks.

With the Time machine drive plugged in or available on the network perform the following:

Click on the in the upper left and choose Restart

When Mac is restarting press the Command and R keys together until the screen turns grey **it took me roughly 3-4 minutes for the screen to turn gray, be patient, do not panic. **

On the next screen choose Restore from a Time Machine Backup and click Continue.

Click on Time Machine disk then choose the backup you want to restore. Ensure this one is with Mavericks.

**If choosing the main Macintosh HD, It will state "This will Erase your Mac HD, are you sure you wish to continue?" Prompt looks scary, but everything from your Time Machine backed up (Programs, documents, photos) will show up when restore is compete**

Once you have finished the backup, follow the on-screen prompts (Apple ID logins) to complete the installation and restore from backup.
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Note: Without backup you can still downgrade but you need a USB drive and you can manually back up all your data. But this is likely to take a little longer.

You need to create a clean install of OS X Mavericks and then move your files back to the computer. But be careful while doing so as updates like these can change file structures and libraries used in apps.

Download OS X Mavericks from Mac App Store

Open the Mac App Store, click on Purchase then find OS X Mavericks, click

Download then click Continue and wait for the download to complete

Click Install on the pop up that appears. Ensure that you have backed up all
data as the following step will delete your data

Step-1: Connect the USB drive and open Disk Utility

Step-2: Select USB drive in the sidebar and click on the Erase tab

Step-3: Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) in the Format box and name it as Untitled

Step-4: Click Erase and wait for the format to get completed

Step-5: When the format is completed, close Disk Utility and open Terminal. Enter the following command and press Enter

sudo /Applications/Install OS X Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/Untitled –applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X Mavericks.app –nointeraction

Now you should wipe your hard drive and install OS X Mavericks. You should see OS X Mavericks running on your system instead of Yosemite.

 

[x34]

while mountain lion was great, mavericks is a total failure, and yosemite is much better.

 

[mzd]

thanks for the write up! haven't felt the need to do this, still getting used to Yosemite, but it is nice to know rolling back to Mavericks isn't too painful (especially if you have Time Machine backups).

 

[Macshroomer]

Until the bugs are worked out of a new OS, going back to a proven platform is no "downgrade", time is money...

I learned the hard way when Mtn. Lion first came out, it corrupted an external drive with 10 years worth of work on it, I spent about 6 months recovering and re-organizing all the data.

Suffice to say, plowing right into a new OS is the realm of the tech enthusiast but not the power / professional user, I always wait at *least* two revisions if not three to take a new OS for a spin. But I'm glad the enthusiast crowd takes the chance, someone has to be the "Charlie" tester.

So thanks to all you fine folks!

 

[shpankey]

doing the same thing now. one of the bugs I hated was yosemite not remembering my layout in finder in list mode.

 

[mangomind]

Until the bugs are worked out of a new OS, going back to a proven platform is no "downgrade", time is money...

I learned the hard way when Mtn. Lion first came out, it corrupted an external drive with 10 years worth of work on it, I spent about 6 months recovering and re-organizing all the data.

Suffice to say, plowing right into a new OS is the realm of the tech enthusiast but not the power / professional user, I always wait at *least* two revisions if not three to take a new OS for a spin. But I'm glad the enthusiast crowd takes the chance, someone has to be the "Charlie" tester.

So thanks to all you fine folks!

Agree on every point. I always do something similar, I tend to wait at least 6 months after initial OS releases. I consider computers necessary tools that must be reliable. Snow leopard was great. Lion was slower and buggy, so did not update to that. Mountain lion was still trying to fix Lion, and was still a paid upgrade, so skipped this one. But Mavericks did in fact improve speed, so I upgraded to this 6 months after release. Might update systems to Yosemite in 6 months if performance issues and bugs are ironed out.

 

[PhillyGuy72]

while mountain lion was great, mavericks is a total failure, and yosemite is much better.

My Mac was a beast running Snow Leopard..I loved it and miss it. I didn't do Lion, but when I saw Apple was not going to support S.L. a few months ago, I went to Mavericks. Slower, yes. But I was able to deal with it. Yosemite, I know everyone is not having issues - for me this was a complete mess.

Agree on every point. I always do something similar, I tend to wait at least 6 months after initial OS releases. I consider computers necessary tools that must be reliable. Snow leopard was great. Lion was slower and buggy, so did not update to that. Mountain lion was still trying to fix Lion, and was still a paid upgrade, so skipped this one. But Mavericks did in fact improve speed, so I upgraded to this 6 months after release. Might update systems to Yosemite in 6 months if performance issues and bugs are ironed out.

My own darn fault, I ALWAYS waited for weeks, months until I finally upgraded to a new OS. I just got too excited for 10.10 and did a spur of the moment upgrade on Friday - didn't think. I figured "Ok, it's been tested since June, any bugs shouldn't be THAT bad.." Wow, was I wrong! I actually like the look...I know many hate it. Looks can only go so far, if my iMac is performing like mu slow as a slug iBook from 1999, forget it!

I'll upgrade again, at some point - I'm in no rush. Live and learn..and I already smacked myself for having no common sense in waiting.

 

[bbfc]

while mountain lion was great, mavericks is a total failure, and yosemite is much better.

Mavericks was on par with Snow Leopard for me. The new memory management gave my MBP a new lease of life. Yosemite is good, but it'll need a few point releases for it to be smooth.