brianfromwestmichigan

Q: How do I download OS X 10.10 on a Mac running 10.11.4?

I have an iMac currently running OS X 10.11.4. I use this computer primarily with amateur (ham) radio applications. I just learned that a problem I am having with a particular application is because OS X 10.11.__ no longer fully supports a component of that application - but OS X 10.10.__ does.

 

I would like to be able to download OS X 10.10 to that computer, ideally while retaining the current installation of 10.11.4. I have been informed that if I have both versions, I can select which version loads on boot-up by holding the option key.

 

So, my questions are

 

1) from where can I download an authentic version of OS X 10.10. (Ideally this would be somewhere on the Apple website)., and

 

2) What special steps would I need to take when downloading in order to keep OS X 10.10 and OS X 10.11.4 available on the same iMac?

 

Thanks,

 

Brian

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

Posted on Apr 15, 2016 7:18 AM

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Q: How do I download OS X 10.10 on a Mac running 10.11.4?

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  • by brianfromwestmichigan,

    brianfromwestmichigan brianfromwestmichigan Apr 16, 2016 7:20 AM in response to Acm001
    Level 1 (7 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 16, 2016 7:20 AM in response to Acm001

    Thanks again. Very helpful information.

     

    Brian

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Apr 16, 2016 2:21 PM in response to brianfromwestmichigan
    Level 9 (70,028 points)
    iTunes
    Apr 16, 2016 2:21 PM in response to brianfromwestmichigan

    You can make a bootable USB stick to install using this free program which will do all the work for you.

     

    Bootable USB Flash Drive – Diskmaker X

  • by RPMURPH,

    RPMURPH RPMURPH May 9, 2016 12:45 AM in response to JimmyCMPIT
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 9, 2016 12:45 AM in response to JimmyCMPIT

    Help I don't find this to be true.

    In fact this is the reason I am having trouble. but it shouldn't because I used the same apple id

     

    I had a laptop that I updated to Yosemite it crashed.

    I have the hardrive

    but that doesn't help me from a usb port its too slow and doesn't allow me to get

    back my install from app store.

     

    I have mountain lion, now lion*which is odd because I installed this after on another iMac same apple id

     

    And el capitan

    I installed el capitan on the iMac but now PHOTOS , IBOOKS, GARAGEBAND, NOTHING WORKS it all crashes!!!!

     

    I revert to SNOW LEOPARD. BACK To MOUNTAIN LION

    then try again to install YOSEMITE

     

    Now it is telling me I don't have a proper version it has become corrupted check the app store...

     

    There is a little bird that I think from APPLE that installed something on this computer that will not let be go to YOSEMITE....

    I need that version as it works with all my hardware and apps on this machine,

    The others EL CAPITAN are not

     

    Why is APPLE making it so difficult to find my YOSEMITE app that I bought? unless they want it to not be installed and only EL CAPITAN?

     

    oh MAVERICKS too....I hate that and will not even speak about that version....

     

    YOSEMITE PLEASE? there is no help on the GARAGEBAND , PHOTOS, IBOOKS apps all crashing.....not working.....they say reinstall....

     

    Is there a reason? or maybe this harddrive could have a hidden PARTITION that I cannot see? I tried ERASING the entire DRIVE.....nope....

     

    Still tries to RECOVER and will not allow me YOSEMITE only CLEAN INSTALL from CD ROM OPTICAL DRIVE all the way back to SNOW LEOPARD.

     

    I guess MOUTAIN LION is going to be it....I don't think I can hear another person tell me "GO TO THE APP STORE " this newer version of OSX relying on the aPP STORE are getting buggy and more buggy

  • by Acm001,

    Acm001 Acm001 May 9, 2016 5:37 AM in response to RPMURPH
    Level 3 (623 points)
    iPhone
    May 9, 2016 5:37 AM in response to RPMURPH

    Could you try to download 10.10 from another location? Try the internet somewhere else. Might have better luck downloading and not having the download be corrupt. If you can and do manage to download the installer you should do a clean install after creating a usb installer. That way you can erase the drive and start over.

  • by MrHoffman,

    MrHoffman MrHoffman May 9, 2016 6:57 AM in response to RPMURPH
    Level 6 (15,612 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 9, 2016 6:57 AM in response to RPMURPH

    I'd guess that the disk or the hardware here is failing.

  • by kahjot,

    kahjot kahjot May 9, 2016 8:14 AM in response to RPMURPH
    Level 4 (1,337 points)
    Desktops
    May 9, 2016 8:14 AM in response to RPMURPH

    If you are trying to use a Yosemite installer that you stored, it may not be corrupt. See if it will run after you have set Date &Time (System Prefs) to some dtae before February 2016.

  • by MrHoffman,

    MrHoffman MrHoffman May 17, 2016 8:02 AM in response to kahjot
    Level 6 (15,612 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 17, 2016 8:02 AM in response to kahjot

    kahjot wrote:

     

    If you are trying to use a Yosemite installer that you stored, it may not be corrupt. See if it will run after you have set Date &Time (System Prefs) to some dtae before February 2016.

     

    If the bandwidth is available, just re-download the package from the App Store.   Changing the system time can sometimes cause other issues, and the new download (from your previous purchases list within the Mac App Store) will get the most current certificates.

  • by dennis fromhaverhill,

    dennis fromhaverhill dennis fromhaverhill Aug 21, 2016 2:53 AM in response to brianfromwestmichigan
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 21, 2016 2:53 AM in response to brianfromwestmichigan

    help me some question

  • by dennis fromhaverhill,

    dennis fromhaverhill dennis fromhaverhill Aug 21, 2016 2:55 AM in response to dennis fromhaverhill
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 21, 2016 2:55 AM in response to dennis fromhaverhill

    i need to bring back yosemite 10.10. but now its saying i need os x   ok but i want to take out el capitan out of my system my dj stuff doesn't work wit it please help now

  • by MrHoffman,

    MrHoffman MrHoffman Aug 22, 2016 5:02 PM in response to dennis fromhaverhill
    Level 6 (15,612 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 22, 2016 5:02 PM in response to dennis fromhaverhill

    Please check with whoever is providing your DJ apps, as El Capitan has been out for some time now, and macOS Sierra — the next OS X release — is well along in its beta testing and will likely be released fairly soon.   Either there should be a software update or new version available for your DJ apps with support for El Capitan, or you're eventually headed toward a migration to other DJ software that is supported on El Capitan and (soon) Sierra, or some other hardware and software.

     

    As for your question...  There is no easy path to downgrade directly.  

     

    Here is an article which discusses the topic...

     

    In general terms — if you wish to restore your Mac to an earlier version of OS X, then the three general paths available are to restore your previous local backups made from just prior to the upgrade (if those backups are still available) (and this will cause the loss of any changes made since then, if you don't preserve those files and changes yourself, and restore those files manually yourself), or to back up your disk and create a USB installer or similar and to then wipe the disk and reinstall.   Or you can create a partition on your disk or install a virtual machine, install the earlier version of OS X and applications in that, and run your DJ App in that environment. 

     

    It is quite possible that some files and some applications will have been upgraded and will not work on the older OS X version.

     

    Always have an external backup of your complete system and all of your data, before making any changes, before attempting any downgrade, or before attempting to repartition any disk.   Your data is the most important part of these systems, and the above sequences can potentially or can explicitly involve data loss or data erasure.   Accidents and software errors can happen.   Always have a backup.   Preferably two or more external backups, too.

  • by Darosicam,

    Darosicam Darosicam Sep 10, 2016 12:29 PM in response to brianfromwestmichigan
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 10, 2016 12:29 PM in response to brianfromwestmichigan

    Hi Brian,

     

    Unless you have a Yosemite recovery partition on your hard drive,  Apple will do their best to appear to be helping you,  but it will fail for multiple reasons each time.  So here is my solution (assuming that you don't run Boot Camp) to your requirements:-

     

    1.  Use Disk Utility to partition your hard drive.  This is easy,  straightforward and almost self-explanatory.

         You should protect your data by backing it up to an external drive before doing this unless you are already fully

         familiar with Drive Utility because it is possible to make it all disappear in an instant !

     

         A great way to protect all of it,  including the operating system itself, is to use Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC)

         which can be used for FREE.  The 'trial' can simply be installed again and again as wanted.  There are many other

         cloning and backup applications,  but this one is great and is free.  Works right 'out of the box'.

     

         N.B. If you find it useful to the extent of using it frequently,  then pay the man for his work.

     

    2.  Find a friend running Yosemite and ask if you can clone their hard drive onto an external drive.

         Again using CCC,  clone their drive.  You can then reboot their machine from the clone and proceed to eliminate

         their private data from it.  Delete the desktop,  Downloads,  Documents,  email accounts,  browsing history etc.

         You could also uninstall any software they have added.

     

    3.  Open System Preferences and go to Users & Groups.  Add yourself as an administrator and then highlight your

         friend's name and press the minus at the lower left of the window.  It may tell you that a reboot is needed to

         complete that action.  Reboot and you should now 'own' that installation ... remember we are still on the external

         clone,  NOT the internal drive.

     

         NOTE:  In case you are unsure of how to be certain you are on the correct drive,  either,

              a.     set the external drive to be the Startup Drive (in System Preferences),  or

              b.     boot with the ALT key held down until some pictures of drives appear,  yellowish ones are external.

                      Unless you gave the clone drive a name,  it will be called Untitled.

     

    4.  Reboot the machine using the INTERNAL drive this time.  Go to System Preferences and reset the Startup

         Drive to be the internal drive.  It may already be set,  but check it rather than leave a problem.

     

    5.  Connect the clone drive to your machine.  Boot whilst holding down the ALT key as we did above.  This time you

         will see your clone drive and it's Recovery Volume.  Boot from the Recovery Volume.  This will allow you to reinstall

         Yosemite without keeping files .. i.e.,  a CLEAN install.

     

    6.  Once all of that is completed and checked,  use CCC to clone your new system to an external drive.  That covers

         you if you ever want to do it again.  Now you should delete anything that remains of the clone from your friend's

         machine ... mostly as a matter of respecting their privacy and possibly Apple's copyrights.  I assume here that you

         have or had a right to run Yosemite before you moved to El Capitan,  otherwise it might not be legitimate to do

         what I have described here.

     

    7.  Lastly,  you can use Disk Utility to shrink the volume containing your freshly made external clone so that you make

         more drive space available for making another clone on another partition after you install all your software, email

         accounts, etc.

     

    I hope this solves the problem for you and anyone else struggling with the same or similar issues.  You will be expert with Disk Utility,  Users & Groups and CCC by the time you are done.  Allow about an hour-and-a-half to clone your friend's machine and another hour to do all the cleanup and changing administrator etc.  Back on your own machine,  the time will be the install time which is as much down to Apple's servers as anything else.  The further cloning that I recommend will also take time and I suggest just letting the machine get on with it.  I set mine so that it never sleeps or runs screen savers when I run CCC and I don't use it for anything else whilst cloning.

     

    Let me know if I can help further,  or if anyone spots an error in what I have written .. it is all from memory !

     

    Good Luck,

     

    David

  • by Darosicam,

    Darosicam Darosicam Sep 10, 2016 12:39 PM in response to dennis fromhaverhill
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 10, 2016 12:39 PM in response to dennis fromhaverhill

    Hi Dennis,

     

    I responded to Brian,  but my solution will also apply to your problem

     

    David

  • by Darosicam,

    Darosicam Darosicam Sep 10, 2016 12:43 PM in response to RPMURPH
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 10, 2016 12:43 PM in response to RPMURPH

    I posted a solution for Brian,  but that solution would also solve your problem perfectly.

  • by Darosicam,

    Darosicam Darosicam Sep 10, 2016 12:46 PM in response to MrHoffman
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 10, 2016 12:46 PM in response to MrHoffman

    When Apple let you do that very slowly,  they will change the word 'DOWNLOAD'  to 'DOWNLOADED',  so you are once again screwed.  My solution to the problem is CLONE ANOTHER MACHINE.....fully details are posted here in response to Brian's original post.

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