carlart

Q: Sierra is a bomb, need help to go back to El Capitan

Could someone over at Apple just try for once to make sure the "new and improved" operating systems actually work before releasing them? With all the cash on hand in Cupertino, is there no money to hire testers instead of relying on Mac users? Talk about Stockholm syndrome. I'll cut to the chase, today my computer was upgraded to Sierra without my knowledge, and now several apps won't launch, not to mention I can't access my company server now. How do I go back to El Capitan - can I back up all of my work from today and use Time Machine to restore my machine? If not, do I really have to erase everything and start from scratch? Somebody please stop me from jumping off a ledge, I have artwork I need to pass on to clients. Any suggestions, help you can give would be appreciated. Carl

iMac with Retina 5K display, macOS Sierra (10.12), Intel Core i5 4 Cores, 16GB Ram

Posted on Oct 5, 2016 4:14 PM

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Q: Sierra is a bomb, need help to go back to El Capitan

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  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Oct 5, 2016 4:20 PM in response to carlart
    Level 9 (51,326 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 5, 2016 4:20 PM in response to carlart

    Restore your backup, and if you didn't upgrade your Mac, who did? Perhaps you should tell them not to do the without you knowledge or approval.

  • by trevoz,

    trevoz trevoz Oct 5, 2016 4:21 PM in response to carlart
    Level 4 (1,679 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 5, 2016 4:21 PM in response to carlart

    If you use Time Machine to back up your Mac, you can easily revert to a previous version of OS X if you experience trouble after installing an update.

    Important:    Reverting erases any changes you made to the files on your Mac since you installed the new version of OS X. To save new or revised files, copy them onto a different disk or back them up before you follow these instructions.

     

    1. Print these instructions.Click the Share button in the Help window, then choose Print.
    2. Choose Apple menu > Restart. After your Mac restarts and you hear the startup chime, hold down the Command (⌘) and R keys.When the Apple logo appears, you can release the keys.
    3. Select “Restore from a Time Machine Backup,” then click Continue.
    4. Select your Time Machine backup disk.
    5. Select the Time Machine backup you want to restore. To restore your computer to the state it was in before you installed the new version of OS X, choose the most recent backup that occurred prior to installing OS X Yosemite.
    6. Follow the onscreen instructions.

    If you backed up files as described in the Important message above, you can restore them now. If you backed them up using Time Machine, click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, choose Enter Time Machine, then retrieve your files.

  • by carlart,

    carlart carlart Oct 6, 2016 4:59 AM in response to trevoz
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 6, 2016 4:59 AM in response to trevoz

    Thank you trevor for your input.

    What do I do if I didn't back up my hard drive on Time Machine before the new OS was installed?

  • by trevoz,

    trevoz trevoz Oct 6, 2016 5:17 AM in response to carlart
    Level 4 (1,679 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 6, 2016 5:17 AM in response to carlart

    If you have no complete backup of your system before you installed macOS Sierra, then you will have to individually backup all your important files before you go any further.

     

    Now your only choice to downgrade is to reinstall the version of OS X that came with your computer when it was brand new. From there you can re-install El Capitan (assuming it didn't come with your computer) from the App Store.

     

    1. Start up from Internet Recovery by holding down Option-Command (⌘)-R immediately after turning on or restarting your Mac. Release the keys when you see the Apple logo. Startup is complete when you see the utilities window.
    2. Open Disk Utility from the utilities window, then use Disk Utility to erase your built-in hard disk using the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. Quit Disk Utility when done.
       
    3. Choose Reinstall macOS (or Reinstall OS X) from the utilities window, then follow the onscreen instructions. This installs the system that came with your Mac when it was new.
  • by Eddu Vaz,

    Eddu Vaz Eddu Vaz Oct 6, 2016 5:46 AM in response to carlart
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 6, 2016 5:46 AM in response to carlart

    I guess with u! DON UPDATE TO SIERRA (

     

    my lucky is i have Time Machine, after too many tries i put El Capitan back here!

     

    i have a macbook pro 17" 2.4ghz i7 16ram 120gb SSD and two graphic cards .

     

    and when i was going to open photo, iphoto or photoshop and the second card is on the mac crashes .. so I Wont put sierra again here. last year i made a update ( mavericks to yosemite ) and crashes the graphic card, and I had to pay more the 1500 USD to buy a new logic board to install here ¬¬

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Oct 6, 2016 5:48 AM in response to carlart
    Level 9 (50,767 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 6, 2016 5:48 AM in response to carlart

    carlart wrote:

     

    Could someone over at Apple just try for once to make sure the "new and improved" operating systems actually work before releasing them?

    I haven't seen any of it actually not work.

    So, the question is what do you have installed on your Mac that wasn't tested by the developer and is so completely incompatible that it makes the entire OS "bomb?"

    Given that you don't know who upgraded it, I imagine you also don't know what other software they have installed. That would likely make it difficult for you to sort out.

     

    As to restoring, what can you do on the Mac with Sierra?

    You will need to manually export all of your data to another hard drive. So, that would imply you can boot up and work in Finder to some degree. Starting in Safe Mode may allow you that capability. Try safe mode if your Mac doesn't finish starting up - Apple Support

     

    If you cannot get a partially usable system, then you can boot it into Target Disk Mode and connect to another Mac using a Firewire or Thunderbolt cable. You can then access the internal hard drive as if it was an external hard drive on the other Mac. Share files between two computers with target disk mode - Apple Support

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Oct 6, 2016 5:48 AM in response to Eddu Vaz
    Level 9 (51,326 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 6, 2016 5:48 AM in response to Eddu Vaz

    Can you possibly post again, in English please.