ejetmonorail
Level 1 (8 points)
Apple Watch

Q: Downgrade Mac OS X Version without loosing data?

I kinda miss the look of Mavericks, but I'm not in the mood for a full wipe. Any way I could downgrade my operating system without loosing all my data? I run the latest version of OS X El Capitan currently.

 

Any input is greatly appreciated

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), Mid 2011 iMac

Posted on Jul 7, 2016 5:28 PM

by BobTheFisherman,Apple recommended
BobTheFisherman BobTheFisherman
Level 6 (15,398 points)
A:

OS X El Capitan: Revert to a previous OS X version

Posted on Jul 7, 2016 5:29 PM

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ejetmonorail

Q: Downgrade Mac OS X Version without loosing data?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by BobTheFisherman,Apple recommended

    BobTheFisherman BobTheFisherman Jul 7, 2016 5:29 PM in response to ejetmonorail
    Level 6 (15,398 points)
    Jul 7, 2016 5:29 PM in response to ejetmonorail

    OS X El Capitan: Revert to a previous OS X version

  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Jul 7, 2016 5:30 PM in response to ejetmonorail
    Level 10 (122,382 points)
    Apple Music
    Jul 7, 2016 5:30 PM in response to ejetmonorail

    The only way to downgrade is to erase the drive.

     

    You are much better off for security with El Capitan > About System Integrity Protection on your Mac - Apple Support

  • by ejetmonorail,

    ejetmonorail ejetmonorail Jul 7, 2016 5:30 PM in response to BobTheFisherman
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Apple Watch
    Jul 7, 2016 5:30 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

    Don't have any Time Machine backups sadly, and if I did I would still loose all my recent data. Any other way?

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Jul 8, 2016 5:22 AM in response to ejetmonorail
    Level 9 (50,267 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 8, 2016 5:22 AM in response to ejetmonorail

    You can't "downgrade." All of the OS is replaced with the new version. It isn't like they just plunked an "add-on" into the OS and you replace the new add-on with the old one. You have to erase the drive and re-install as you cannot re-install over the top of a newer OS. Even if you could, the storage for things like email, photos, music has changed from OS to OS. The old OS doesn't know how to convert the new storage structure back to the old.

     

    This will be much more painful than getting used to the new UI:

    Make a backup now.

    For things that store data in a Library, like iTunes Library, Mail, and Photos Library, export all of the files to the backup drive as you will have to re-import them to the "new" Libraries. The new storage structure is not likely compatible with the old version.

    When manually moving your data back, you can try just restoring the old Libraries, but if it fails to read them, you can just import the previously exported files into the newly created libraries. You will lose any tagging, keywords, playlists, Photos Albums, etc.