Andrew Wolczyk

Q: Can I still download Mavericks?

I work in an office environment and administer over 20 macs. We've got a few machines that run Mavericks and a few that run Lion. Withe the release of Yosemite last week, I gather Lion is no longer supported, so I wanted to upgrade but as Yosemite hasn't been tested in our environment, I wanted to take all the machines to Mavericks, but it doesn't seem to be available. Is there anywhere that I can still download that installer?

Posted on Oct 20, 2014 5:01 AM

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Q: Can I still download Mavericks?

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  • by JonnyAlpha,

    JonnyAlpha JonnyAlpha Dec 26, 2014 5:36 AM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 26, 2014 5:36 AM in response to Drew Reece

    I came across this thread whilst trying to get information on upgrading my SATA HDD to a new SSD HDD with regards to doing a clean install of Mavericks or a clone transfer. I opted to use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone my old HDD and then clone it to my new SSD HDD but adding a recovery partition as this (I think would give me the option to install the OS cleanly to new HDD??

     

    Anyway to do this I needed the original Mavericks Install.app file but it (like many on here have reported is missing from my Purchase History in the app store) anyway after a little playing around I can report that I had found a way but Apple seems to have done the dirty on me!!!

     

    The purchase appears to have been hidden by Apple (don't think I hid it) but it has not been removed. What you have to do is open the App Store, sign in if not done automatically and then choose 'View My Account" from the 'Store' menu when the App Store window is active. You will then be prompted for your AppleID password again and then once you have entered it you will be taken to your accounts page.

    From here, if you have any hidden purchases, there will be a Manage Hidden purchases section or something like that (mine has disappeared because I have unhidden the only hidden purchase. Follow the instructions to un hide the Mavericks OSX Installer App purchase and then click done go back to the purchase history and low and behold Mavericks OSX will appear there, be quick though, as mine appeared and whilst I have been writing this it damm well disappeared again and I cannot get it back!!!!!

     

    I will get contact Apple but guess I will get no joy.

  • by JonnyAlpha,

    JonnyAlpha JonnyAlpha Dec 26, 2014 7:35 AM in response to JonnyAlpha
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 26, 2014 7:35 AM in response to JonnyAlpha

    Good news, I logged out and back in and the OS X Mavericks app is back in my purchased items, all 5.33GB of it :-) download in progress.

  • by DJWillis,

    DJWillis DJWillis Jan 2, 2015 8:13 AM in response to Andrew Wolczyk
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Jan 2, 2015 8:13 AM in response to Andrew Wolczyk

    Yeah, it's annoying to have to pay for it, but if you don't like being a beta tester for Apple and putting up with the endless bugs in Mavericks or Yosemite, or if they break the programs you need to make a living -- there's your solution.  Mountain Lion is the last solid OS X version made so far -- and that's what I use on my Mac Pro. (I'm not alone, many Mac experts call Mountain Lion the best Mac OS available.)  All my video and audio software runs great under it.  And no bugs.  No crashes.  No Mavericks/Yosemite insanity with it breaking my apps.

     

    Yes, there are some programs I cannot use on Mountain Lion, but I don't need them.  And many developers keep older versions of programs around, so the millions who have better sense than to upgrade our OS can still be customers.

     

    It's very sad indeed that Apple has devolved into a company that cares about iPads and not computers.  All the latest OSs are designed around those useless little devices rather than for us computer users.  I will never get an ipad, because I don't have time to play games.  I got work to do.  And that sure isn't built for work.  If you drag around a full sized keyboard to get work done, then why have an iPad -- just bring your laptop.  Alas, I see a future in which a frikkin' Windows machine will be the only computer that's powerful enough to do anything because they keep dumbing down Macs. *shiver*  What a hideous fate for us Apple computer users.  Hideous indeed.  I've been using Macs since the first one, and I remember how a new OS version meant great things!  I always upgraded quickly. It was always an improvement.  But since OS X was ushered in, I never upgraded till at least two years after it had been out.  I'll let the other suckers be the beta test victims.

     

    It's the same reason I searched far and wide recently to buy an iPhone 4s with iOS 6 on it, so I wouldn't have to deal with iOS 7 and 8 bugs and slowdown and massive storage usage.  The scales have dropped from my eyes -- Apple is no longer a Good Thing.  And they're getting less good all the time.

     

    -- written on a MacBook Pro 2009 with system 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard).  When this machine is irreparably broken, I'll buy the latest Macbook Pro model (used, of course) that can run Mountain Lion.  Perhaps in 4-5 years, the latest MAc OS will have become useable.  I'm not holding my breath.

     

    <Edited By Host>

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Jan 2, 2015 8:11 AM in response to DJWillis
    Level 7 (32,168 points)
    iPad
    Jan 2, 2015 8:11 AM in response to DJWillis

    The only legal way to obtain Mac OS X (unless it is on the original Apple install disks) is to download it from the app store. All other copies are pirated software. And, you can easily create your own bootable installer after downloading it once.

  • by ryanfromoklahoma city,

    ryanfromoklahoma city ryanfromoklahoma city Jan 2, 2015 1:04 PM in response to babowa
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 2, 2015 1:04 PM in response to babowa

    I just wish I could download it once. I'm not ready for Yosemite, but after upgrading my (full) HDD to a SSD, I now want Mavericks. Sorry you're getting drug into nontechnical SLA talks, I think they're petty as well. Except I also think it's petty that I can't download the formerly free upgrade to Mavericks, especially since anyone who did download it before Yosemite came out can still download it.

     

    For anyone else reading: Clearly we will not make any progress by arguing on these forums about whether or not it's legitimate to use someone else's Apple ID to download Mavericks. Instead I suggest we focus our efforts on submitting feedback to Apple and requesting they change their policies so we can download their software. It probably won't make a difference, but at the least it can annoy them for making what we consider to be a bad decision.

  • by Foxrock321,

    Foxrock321 Foxrock321 Jan 2, 2015 1:49 PM in response to ryanfromoklahoma city
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 2, 2015 1:49 PM in response to ryanfromoklahoma city

    Good advice my friend. I not only am a full blown apple user, I also am a stock holder! I bought before the 7 to 1 split. I will pester the **** out of apple support! My mother in law should be able to get Mavericks without all this hassle.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone

  • by MaryL42,

    MaryL42 MaryL42 Jan 3, 2015 8:57 AM in response to Ralph Landry1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 3, 2015 8:57 AM in response to Ralph Landry1

    So glad to come across this string (after much frustration in searching for a non existent download I expected to be there!) as my bf needs to upgrade from 10.6.8!
    We read the reviews of Yosemite, many of them within the last 24 hours, all negative.
    Since I've purchased Mavericks already, we're trying the transfer idea via Dropbox. Thanks for the tip!

     

    Dumb of Apple to fail to provide this most recent OS as backup. Even the best software usually needs some debug.
    Obviously Yosemite isn't anywhere up to standard. Wish they would just SIT ON these things until they're fully cooked.
    Forget the marketing. Does no good to release half-baked bs, IMHO.

     

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Jan 3, 2015 9:04 AM in response to MaryL42
    Level 7 (32,168 points)
    iPad
    Jan 3, 2015 9:04 AM in response to MaryL42

    Unfortunately that won't work as your download of Mavericks is tied to your Apple ID forever and the license is not transferable.

  • by MaryL42,

    MaryL42 MaryL42 Jan 3, 2015 9:32 AM in response to babowa
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 3, 2015 9:32 AM in response to babowa

    ohforcryingoutloud.

     

    Of course. What about previous disks? Could we use those?

    Not sure if I have Mavericks, but might have something more up to date....

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Jan 3, 2015 9:43 AM in response to MaryL42
    Level 7 (32,168 points)
    iPad
    Jan 3, 2015 9:43 AM in response to MaryL42

    There are no disks for anything past Lion and it would still violate the SLA. My guess is that Apple rolled out the new system precisely to have tight control over their software - hence the tie-in with the Apple ID. You can sell or gift your computer with older install disks, but the terms spell out that you must sell both together. You see, you are not - technically - buying the software: you are buying (or getting at no charge) a license to use it, that is all. That license is for you only.

  • by Steve M.,

    Steve M. Steve M. Jan 3, 2015 9:53 AM in response to MaryL42
    Level 5 (4,740 points)
    Jan 3, 2015 9:53 AM in response to MaryL42

    Mary, you said you purchased Mavericks. Did it actually cost you money? I thought it was a free upgrade.

  • by MaryL42,

    MaryL42 MaryL42 Jan 3, 2015 10:07 AM in response to Steve M.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 3, 2015 10:07 AM in response to Steve M.

    Sorry. I don't think so. Just a figure of speech. My bad.

     

    All I was trying to do today was help the bf get an upgraded version of Safari going on his computer.
    (he was getting some weird glitches on shopping sires, etc - thought it might be due to need to upgrade browser...)

     

    Noticed then he was several versions behind on both OS & Safari & one required the other.......

    At this point, I'm trying to get him back on previous version of Safari, as we downloaded the current, but it seems to have overwritten 5.1.7 & wont function on his OS.
    : P
    End result: trying toooooo hard to fix a little frustration. Ending up with boatloads more.

  • by jndupuis1,

    jndupuis1 jndupuis1 Jan 3, 2015 10:17 AM in response to Andrew Wolczyk
    Level 2 (470 points)
    Jan 3, 2015 10:17 AM in response to Andrew Wolczyk

    Follow this link. http://www.macworld.com/article/2056561/how-to-make-a-bootable-mavericks-install -drive.html


    Createinstallmedia is an inherent Terminal Command in OS X Mavericks and Yosemite to do exactly what you need at your office. Make sure you have one computer that has the Mavericks OS X Installer in the Apps Folder and a USB Thumb Drive 16 GB. Format Thumb Drive using Disk Utility. One single partition GUID PARTITION TABLE format Mac Extended ( Journaled ). Title it Untiltled. Copy and paste terminal command found in the web page of MacWorld. Hope this was what you were looking for. Following the steps on the macworld web page will give you a USB stick to have at your disposal for multiple office environment installs. Cheers!

  • by jndupuis1,

    jndupuis1 jndupuis1 Jan 3, 2015 10:32 AM in response to Andrew Wolczyk
    Level 2 (470 points)
    Jan 3, 2015 10:32 AM in response to Andrew Wolczyk

    By the way. Make sure on the Macs with Yosemite to:

     

    1. Start up holding Command + R and using Disk Utility, Do a full erase of the Macintosh HD.

    2. Shutdown. Wait 5 min.

    3. Plug in your new USB Bootable Mavericks Install Media. Install Mavericks, set it up. Have fun!

     

    You will be able to have all of your Macs in the office running with Mavericks in no time. Using the App Store install from Purchases only what is Mavericks compatible. Then Updates that are only for Mavericks. Hope this is what the Doctor ordered for you.

  • by jndupuis1,

    jndupuis1 jndupuis1 Jan 3, 2015 10:35 AM in response to jndupuis1
    Level 2 (470 points)
    Jan 3, 2015 10:35 AM in response to jndupuis1

    Forgot the power up part after plugging in the USB in Step 3. I think you knew that. I was thinking faster than I type.

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