MarkGuy
Level 1 (14 points)
Mac OS X

Q: How can I install El Capitan now that Sierra is available?

I'm not ready for Sierra. I'd like to upgrade my iMac from Yosemite to El Capitan, but that doesn't seem to be averrable in the App Store anymore?

 

How can I legally and officially download and upgrade to El Capitan?

 

Thanks in advance.

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013), OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Sep 24, 2016 5:59 PM

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MarkGuy

Q: How can I install El Capitan now that Sierra is available?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Sep 24, 2016 6:06 PM in response to MarkGuy
    Level 9 (50,322 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 24, 2016 6:06 PM in response to MarkGuy

    For the history of the free OS's from Apple, once a new one is released, all the others go away. You must download an installer before the release of the new OS.

     

    However, it may still be available: If your Mac is not Compatible with Sierra but you Have Not Upgraded to El Capitan

    As this points to a link in the iTunes Store, it may not be correct for all locations around the world. You may have to tweak the URL to find the specific one in your country if not the US.

  • by leroydouglas,

    leroydouglas leroydouglas Sep 24, 2016 6:27 PM in response to MarkGuy
    Level 7 (23,774 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 24, 2016 6:27 PM in response to MarkGuy

    You can still download it from the App Store using this link: https://itunes.apple.com/app/os-x-el-capitan/id1147835434?mt=12.

  • by stevejobsfan0123,

    stevejobsfan0123 stevejobsfan0123 Sep 24, 2016 6:56 PM in response to Barney-15E
    Level 8 (43,827 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 24, 2016 6:56 PM in response to Barney-15E

    Barney-15E wrote:

     

    As this points to a link in the iTunes Store, it may not be correct for all locations around the world. You may have to tweak the URL to find the specific one in your country if not the US.

    See K Shaffer's comment on the linked User Tip; it seems to be intermittent. It's redirected me to the App Store is intended every time I have visited it so far, but it could be something that Apple needs to sort out.

  • by MarkGuy,

    MarkGuy MarkGuy Sep 24, 2016 7:52 PM in response to leroydouglas
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 24, 2016 7:52 PM in response to leroydouglas

    Unfortunately, when I try using that link I get a message "We could not complete your purchase. This version of OS X 10.11 cannot be installed on this computer."

     

    What does that mean?

     

    BTW, I appreciate your quick replies. Thank you all.

  • by stevejobsfan0123,

    stevejobsfan0123 stevejobsfan0123 Sep 24, 2016 7:58 PM in response to MarkGuy
    Level 8 (43,827 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 24, 2016 7:58 PM in response to MarkGuy

    I just noticed you're currently running Yosemite. The current version of El Capitan available in the App Store is only for users that have Macs incompatible with Sierra, or for users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard, and need El Capitan as an intermediate upgrade before upgrading to Sierra. Since you're currently running Yosemite and have a Sierra-compatible Mac, El Capitan is no longer offered.

     

    I do not intend this as a criticism, merely to understand others' points of view: is there a particular reason you waited until after Sierra was released, given El Capitan was out for around one year, before you began looking into downloading El Capitan?

     

    Lastly, as a suggestion: I submit that there should be no concern installing macOS Sierra, but if you are hesitant, you can try partitioning your hard drive, and installing Sierra on the separate partition to see how it performs: Disk Utility for Mac: Partition a physical disk using Disk Utility.

  • by MarkGuy,

    MarkGuy MarkGuy Sep 25, 2016 8:25 AM in response to stevejobsfan0123
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 25, 2016 8:25 AM in response to stevejobsfan0123

    Thank you for your detailed reply. To use an old expression, I'd rather be on the "leading edge, not the bleeding edge". After a long experience with operating systems, from DOS to Windows to Apple's OS, I prefer to wait until the bugs are worked out before upgrading.

     

    Typically that can take a year (or more with Microsoft).

     

    Had I known that Apple closes off the previous OS from users, I would have installed El Capitan.

     

    My computer is critical for both business and personal use. I can't afford downtime, debugging system problems, booting into safe mode to figure out what's going on, etc.

     

    OS X Daily, a subscription I've found helpful and unbiased, sends updates on Apple matters regularly. The last issue convinced me that Sierra is not yet ready for prime time.

     

    Although I'm comfortable with software and hardware, my life and work are time consuming. Fixing things that are broken in a computer is something I try to avoid. I don't have the time and energy for extended workarounds, etc.

     

    If, and right now that's a big if, I install Sierra in another partition, what does that mean in terms of daily operations?

    Do I decide at boot up which OS to use? Are my files on the Yosemite partition available if I boot into Sierra? And then what happens when I want to use Sierra only? Do I have to move all my apps and files to the Sierra partition?

     

    See what I mean about creating work for myself?

     

    I moved from Microsoft to Apple because I liked the functionality, reasonable performance and, yes, the design of Apple products.

     

    Closing off the previous OS to force users to upgrade to the "latest and greatest" seems to be a corporate push. I expected more from Steve Jobs' company.

  • by stevejobsfan0123,Helpful

    stevejobsfan0123 stevejobsfan0123 Sep 25, 2016 1:05 PM in response to MarkGuy
    Level 8 (43,827 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 25, 2016 1:05 PM in response to MarkGuy

    Understandable.

     

    Going forward, I recommend downloading every OS upgrade when it first comes out. You don't even have to install it - you can just delete the installer if you want - but at least if you download it then it will be associated with your Apple ID. That way even if Apple pulls it, it will still be available in the "Purchases" section of the App Store.

     

    Now, if you do decide to install Sierra on a separate partition as a test, let me answer your questions:

    • At bootup, if you hold down the "option" key you will be presented with the option to choose which partition to boot to
    • All of the files on your main partition will still be accessible from the other partition
    • I recommend just creating a small partition to test the performance of Sierra. When you are ready, I suggest you simply delete the secondary "test" partition, and then upgrade the OS on the main partition to Sierra