It installs an app named Install Version Name. Open that app from your Applications folder to begin installing the operating system. MacOS Sierra 10.12 can upgrade El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, or Lion; OS X El Capitan 10.11 can upgrade Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion, or Snow Leopard.
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.
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 |
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:
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)
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The following method allows you to download Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks.
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.
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.
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).
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.
I might ask if anyone knows how I can run the installer manually - from the command line I can cd to /Volumes and see my main hard drive and the downloaded dmg file 'Install OS X El Capitan'. If I could run the installer from the downloaded file, I'd saver about 2 hours for these tests and not download that installer file over and over. Windows Mac; Windows 7 and newer, including Windows 10: Mac OS X El Capitan and newer, including macOS Mojave (Catalina users see warning below): If using MathType with Pages (et.al.) on macOS 10.14 Mojave, please make sure that you are using Pages 7.3, Keynote 8.3, and Numbers 5.3 or later.
Reinstalling an operating system can be a frustrating and time-consuming process. Mac OS X El Capitan. Yosemite just got bigger. In order to transmit multicast flows from Dante Virtual Soundcard on OS X 10.11 (El Capitan), the IP address of the Ethernet port must be set to static, and/or the Wi-Fi port must be turned on. Dante Virtual Soundcard does not detect my network interface. Lifewire / Luyi Wang Performing a clean install of Windows 7 is also usually a better idea than upgrading from an older version of Windows.Since a clean install is a true start over from scratch, you don't risk inheriting any buggy situations from your previous installation.
Please note: There is another version of MathType, intended for 'web' applications such as blogs, LMSs, and other web apps and websites. For the integrations of MathType, please see our documentation on MathType Integrations and MathType Apps.
What you'll find on this page:
Windows | Mac |
---|---|
Windows 7 and newer, including Windows 10 | Mac OS X El Capitan and newer, including macOS Mojave (Catalina users see warning below) |
If using MathType with Pages (et.al.) on macOS 10.14 Mojave, please make sure that you are using Pages 7.3, Keynote 8.3, and Numbers 5.3 or later. If not, please update to these versions. | |
If using MathType with Microsoft Office it must be | |
Office 2007 or newer, including Office 2019 and Office 365 | Office 2011 or newer (version 15.39 or newer), including Office 2019 and Office 365. For Office 2011, please see our warning about MathType and Office 2011 |
To install MathType, exit MathType, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, then run the MathType Setup Program by double-clicking the file you downloaded. This file will be named MathType-mac-en.pkg for Mac and MathType-win-<lang>.exe for Windows, where <lang> is the 2-letter code for the language you downloaded.
To complete the installation, follow the instructions in MathType Setup dialogs.
You can Evaluate MathType for 30 days by choosing that option after installation. The full version of MathType will be installed, and you will enjoy the same functionality as the unlocked version.
When you open MathType during the trial period, a dialog will appear showing the number of days remaining in your trial:
You may also manually check the number of days remaining, by going to MathType's Help menu (only in MathType itself, not on the MathType tab in Word) and clicking About:
You can unlock MathType at any time with a valid product key, without reinstalling.
You may activate MathType either from the MathType window itself, or from the MathType tab in Word. After installation, when you first open MathType you will have the opportunity to enter your product key if you have purchased one, or to begin a 30-day trial if you don't have a product key:
If you are evaluating the product and later want to activate it with a purchased product key, choose the Unlock/Register MathType… command on MathType's Help menu (not on the MathType tab in Word, but in MathType itself) and enter the product key into the dialog that opens.
The product key is on the payment confirmation web page and also in the order confirmation email you received.
Once the evaluation period has expired, most MathType functions are deactivated. When you open MathType, you will get this notice:
If you choose to Continue in deactivated mode, your options are limited:
You'll find more information about this subject on the Using MathType page, but if your MathType license expires it will behave as if it were an expired 30-day trial. You can re-activate MathType by purchasing a new product key from the Wiris Store.
This dialog allows you to either install MathType or remove an existing MathType installation. If you're installing for the first time the Remove button will be disabled.
Click this option to install MathType to the folder shown in the Destination Folder box.
Use this area to change the folder on your hard disk where Setup will install most of MathType's files. Use the Browse button to navigate to a folder. Setup will also install fonts and system files into appropriate system folders on your hard disk.
Click OK to begin the installation process. Click Exit to terminate Setup and abort the installation.
Click this option to remove MathType from the folder shown in the Remove MathType from box.
Use this box to choose which folder on your hard disk Setup will remove MathType from. Use the Browse button to navigate to a folder. Details on the files installed by Setup are included in the MathType Administrator's Manual available in the support section of the Wiris website.
Click OK to begin the removal process. Click Exit to close Setup and abort the removal.
MathType 5/6.x and MathType 7 cannot be installed simultaneously, and MathType 7's installation process removes MathType 5/6.x. You'll still be able to exchange documents containing MathType 5/6.x equations as the equations are fully compatible.
If you're currently using an earlier version (3.x or before) you have the option of overwriting it or installing MathType 7 into another folder. The decision as to whether or not to replace your old version of MathType with a new one is one you should consider carefully.
If you choose to overwrite the older version of MathType, any equations you created with the old version will be automatically updated to the new version of MathType whenever you edit them. Normally, this is what you want as it lets you use the features of the new version of MathType when editing your equations.
If you send documents containing equations to your friends and associates, converting equations to the new version is not a problem unless:
If both of the above are true, leave the old version of MathType installed. This way, when you edit old equations the old version of MathType will be invoked. When you create new equations, you will have your choice of using the old or new version of MathType.
To remove MathType, do one of the following:
Windows:
Mac:
Applications/MathType
and run the Uninstall MathType application.This will run MathType Setup with the Remove option pre-selected. Follow the instructions presented in Setup's dialogs.
MathType supports both automatic and manual checking to find out if a newer version of MathType is available. The checks access the latest MathType version information via your Internet connection. After checking the version, a dialog will be displayed letting you know the results of the comparison.
MathType will normally perform this check once a month. If you want to check more often, manually choose the Check for Latest Version Now… command whenever you want to check for a newer version. This command is in MathType's Help menu, under MathType on the Web. Note this is not on the MathType tab in Word; it is in MathType itself.
If there isn't a newer version of MathType available, the version check may occasionally display information about other Wiris products that have been released. If you'd prefer not to see these, either click the Don't show me this again checkbox in the message, or uncheck the Show Tips command on the MathType on the Web sub-menu of the Help menu. Note this is not on the MathType tab in Word; it is in MathType itself. Screen shot below is from Windows, but it's the same in Mac.
Reinstalling macOS is usually the last option when fixing an error on Mac. Installing a fresh copy of the Mac operating system should resolve all problems that your computer is experiencing, even those that are normally difficult to get rid of.
You can re-install macOS via the Recovery menu, which can be accessed by holding down Command + R during startup. You can choose to re-install using a bootable USB drive or using Internet Recovery. Most users prefer the latter because it is faster and more convenient.
However, Internet Recovery is not always a good option, especially if your internet connection is not stable. One of the issues that could occur is error code -2003f. Some Mac users reported trying to reinstall macOS Sierra, but error code -2003f appeared, causing the installation to fail. This error can also happen when re-installing other versions of macOS.
Error code -2003f happens when users try to re-install macOS using Internet Recovery after reformatting the drive. The error may cause your Mac to freeze and the installation of the operating system to fail. Aside from an unresponsive machine, you might also see a spinning globe or a blank screen that means the reinstallation process got stuck. You might even lose all access to your computer because of the bug.
Some users who were trying to install macOS Sierra but got error code -2003f reported seeing a flashing folder with a question mark before the error appeared. The flashing folder with a question mark means that your Mac cannot find its system software, making it impossible to proceed with the installation.
Poor internet connection is the leading cause of this error. Negative error codes in this range are usually associated with Wi-Fi problems. This means that your internet connection is not sufficient to successfully complete the process. The error often happens when you’re doing internet recovery over Wi-Fi connection.
Aside from poor unstable internet connection, other factors that could lead to error code -2003f include virus infection, hard disk errors, and incomplete installation of macOS. We’ve listed here several ways to resolve this problem and get rid of this error code.
Fixing error code -2003f is simple, especially once you’ve narrowed down the real cause of the problem. Getting rid of the junk files on your Mac with the help of Outbyte MacRepair can help rule out other factors that might be causing the error. Scan your Mac with your antivirus software as well before doing any troubleshooting to make sure that viruses are not wreaking havoc on your computer.
Once you’ve completed these steps, you can then proceed with the fixes below.
Since the main reason behind this error is a poor internet connection, switching to wired connection should be your first course of action. Disconnect your Wi-Fi connection first, then restart your router. Next, use an ethernet cable to connect your Mac to your router, then try running Internet Recovery again to see if the error has been fixed.
Another way to fix error code -2003f is to reset the Parameter RAM (PRAM) or Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM). NVRAM, which is the modern version of PRAM, stores system settings, including serial port configuration and definition.
To reset your Mac’s PRAM/NVRAM, follow the steps below:
Try reinstalling via Internet Recovery again to see if you can complete the process successfully.
A damaged or defective hard drive can cause several problems for your Mac, including error code -2003f. You can use macOS’ built-in disk utility to repair a damaged or defective hard drive.
Follow these instructions to run the disk tool to restore your drive:
Once the hard drive has been repaired, check if you are able to re-install macOS without encountering error code -2003f.
If reinstalling via Internet Recovery doesn’t work, you can use a bootable installer instead to install the Mac operating system. This allows you to install macOS even with poor internet connection.
To create your bootable installer, follow the steps below:
To use the bootable installer to reinstall macOS, edit your startup preferences using Startup Manager and choose your USB or hard drive as the startup disk. Your computer will then start up to macOS Recovery. Just click the Install macOS button and follow the on-screen instructions from there.
Getting error code -2003f while reinstalling macOS via Internet Recovery can be irritating because it compounds whatever problem you are experiencing instead of fixing it. Fortunately, the methods above should help resolve this error and allow you to finish the installation process successfully.