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.

Global Nav Open Menu Global Nav Close Menu; Apple; Shopping Bag +. Download and save the Mac OS X 10.4.6 combo updater (PowerPC or Intel). Startup from an alternate boot volume, such as an external FireWire drive, or use another Mac to boot the problematic system.

A list of all Mac OS X versions

We’ll be repeatedly referring to these Apple OS versions below, so it’s good to know the basic macOS timeline.

Cheetah 10.0Puma 10.1Jaguar 10.2
Panther 10.3Tiger 10.4Leopard 10.5
Snow Leopard 10.6Lion 10.7Mountain Lion 10.8
Mavericks 10.9Yosemite 10.10El Capitan 10.11
Sierra 10.12High Sierra 10.13Mojave 10.14
Catalina 10.15

STEP 1. Prepare your Mac for installation

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:

  • Uninstall large unused apps
  • Empty Trash Bin and Downloads
  • Locate the biggest files on your computer:

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)

STEP 2. Get a copy of Mac OS X download

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.

Tiger

How to download older Mac OS X versions via the App Store


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:

  1. Click the App Store icon.
  2. Click Purchases in the top menu.
  3. Scroll down to find the preferred OS X version.
  4. Click Download.

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.

Without App Store: Download Mac OS version as Apple Developer

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.

Purchase an older version of Mac operating system

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.

How to get macOS El Capitan download

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.

“I can’t download an old version of Mac OS X”

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.

STEP 3. Install older OS X onto an external drive

The following method allows you to download Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks.

  1. Start your Mac holding down Command + R.
  2. Prepare a clean external drive (at least 10 GB of storage).
  3. Within OS X Utilities, choose Reinstall OS X.
  4. Select external drive as a source.
  5. Enter your Apple ID.

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.

  1. Boot your Mac from your standard drive.
  2. Connect the external drive.
  3. Go to external drive > OS X Install Data.

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.

How to downgrade a Mac running later macOS versions

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).

Visit your local Apple Store to download older OS X version

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.

These might also interest you:

How To Download Mac Os X 10.4

Mac Operating systems are definitely by far the best-operating systems in terms of features and reliability on those features. There are a lot of aspects that make these operating systems powerful. One very feature is the smooth transition while operating the system. now you can say that all systems have a limit, but the performance of these systems comparatively is very good and the creditability of the systems is on par. Apple released an operating system series called OS X. they started releasing a range of great operating systems, of which the Mac OS X tiger holds the record of being in use the longest.

With the release of the Mac OS X Tiger, the software industry felt threatened because of the high-end performance of the system. this boosted up sales and also brought fame to the line-up of the Mac OS X series of operating systems. With all this being said and done we need to discover the various aspects that made the operating system apart from the other line up of operating systems.

License
Official Installer

File Size
2.6GB

Language
English

Developer
Apple Inc.

Why Mac OS X tiger?

The tiger OS X had a lot of copies sold making apple much happier in terms of sales and taking them to the top during the release. Apple has regarded as the launch of the Mac OS X Tiger as one of the best-Operating systems launches in the history of the company. There are a lot of aspects that made the Mac OS X tiger stand out from the rest of the operating systems. The performance of the operating systems was so elite that the information processing of the data and the graphic processing of the system gave a tough competition to windows.

Windows had been struggling to enable the same graphic settings into their systems but apple did it effortlessly. The Mac OS X Tiger was one of the record-breaking operating systems that made the cut of making the line up of Mac OS X popular among Mac users. Now with improvements in online chatting as well the tiger made a remarkable mark with its release. The various features that apple pulled off with the Mac OS X Tiger are still yet to get adapted by its competitors.

Features of Mac OS X Tiger

How To Download Mac Os X 10.9

Now that we know the widespread personality of the Mac OS X Tiger, its high time we know the features that set the Mac OS X Tiger apart from the rest of the operating system line-up.

  1. The new search system called spotlight search built-in to make your search much easier and more accessible.
  2. The dashboard was given a facelift from the dull and static interface to a more dynamic and interactive one. This improved the overall look and aesthetic appeal of the desktop.
  3. A unified theme that set the screen resolution apart and gave maximum performance to the output of the system.
  4. The support for addressing 64-bit on power mac G5s which was very much expected by the people who were avid users the Mac OS X line up.
  5. The first Mac OS to work on the Apple-Intel architecture processor.
  6. Grapher is a new graphing tool that will enable you to create 2-D and 3-D graph models like the graphing calculator existing in the previous versions.
  7. A new start-up Daemon will enable the system to boot much faster than usual called Launched.
  8. A full-time dictionary application is added based on the Oxford English dictionary is available with the update to the tiger OS.
  9. The iChat came along with the AV option that made the system much more easier and enabled the users to chat face to face.
  10. Mac Sync is one of the most improved and tweaked versions of the iSync versions of the Mac operating systems. They helped in enabling the syncing feature much more reliable and easier to use.

With all these aspects there is also some improvement in the overall haul of the system under heavy software and that’s what sets the operating system apart from the other line up of the operating systems.

Now that we are done with knowing the features of this incredible operating system from apples OS X line up, let’s get to know how to actually download the operating system and get hands-on experience on OS X tiger.

Download Mac OS X Tiger

You can download the operating system software file from https://isoriver.com/category/mac- os/mac-os-x-tiger-10-4/ and download the software file and reboot the system to actually boot the system again to get your hands on the Mac OS X Tiger and enjoy the experience.

The next line up from Mac OS X is on hold and apple is definitely taking it slow in making sure that the output of the systems much more efficient and improve the quality in terms of screen output and refinement.

The Mac OS X Tiger is by far the best OS that made the mark in the line up of OS X.

Download Mac OS X Tiger 10.4 ISO / DMG image directly - ISORIVER

Mac Operating systems are definitely by far the best-operating systems in terms of features and reliability on those features. There are a lot of aspects that make these operating systems powerful. One very feature is the smooth transition while operating the system.

Price Currency: USD

How To Download Mac Os X 10.15

Operating System: Mac OS X Tiger

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Application Category: OS