You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!
When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.
When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.
I have 11.6.5 currently installed and want to go back to a Time Machine copy when it was 10.12.6, but it's not able to. But if I try to reinstall 10.12.6 from a .dmg, "This copy of "Install macOS" application is too old to be opened on this version of macOS"
Is there *any* way to go back short of wiping the whole thing and starting over from an install disk? (The new version bolloxed up some apps, which I probably can't get again if I wipe it)
You could install to an external drive, the problem is that 10.12.x cannot be installed on an APFS partition/drive as is required by 11.6.5
How to get old versions of macOS - Apple Support
Then make a bootable USB installer...
How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
You could install to an external drive, the problem is that 10.12.x cannot be installed on an APFS partition/drive as is required by 11.6.5
How to get old versions of macOS - Apple Support
Then make a bootable USB installer...
How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
This method will WIPE ALL Data and there is No Recovery - Period.
To perform this action will require booting from a Bootable Installer.
This will have to be performed from a Qualifying Computer to run the version of macOS to be made on the Bootable Installer.
Only as Example : Bootable Installer of Big Sur would have to be done on a computer that Qualifies to run Big Sur.
Notation: If the computer being used to perform this action is Too New or Too Old to qualify to run the version of macOS - this computer can not be used.
Alternative is, to gain access to a Qualifying Apple Computer from a family member, friend or associate.
Once that is done read on for preparing the Destination computer >> Only works on Intel Based Apple Computers.
1 - Shutdown computer and disconnect all external drive Except the newly created Bootable Installer.
2- Restart and immediately hold the OPTION key until the Startup Manager appears and choose the USB Drive.
3 - It will present options >> Disk Utilities >> View >> View ALL attached Drives.
4 - Choose the Upper Most Drive ( not the volumes indented and list below ).
5 - The drive normally is called Apple Media or Apple SSD - that is the drive to Erase and format as APFS with the GUID Partition Map. This applies to macOS 10.14 Mojave and above.
5A - Formatting for macOS 10.13 High Sierra and below requires HFS Journaled with the GUID Partition Map
6 - Once that is done >> backup out of Disk Utilities and choose install macOS.
7 - Follow the prompts and it may automatically reboot several time.
8 - Upon a final reboot - Setup Assist will present with the newer version of macOS.
BDAqua - have used this for Sierra years and years ago.
But, have seen some having issue with Path in the command.
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app --nointeraction &&say Done
Well, made it through. I just kept trying things until it worked. Had to eventually install it (Sierra) to a device/drive called "UPDATE" and that was the only one that would work. Of course, now I have three devices in Finder called "Macintosh HD -- Data" for whatever reason. . . . .
Thank you all!
Abject failure so far. I can't get the bootable installer created -- none of the command line entries I put in have worked -- and any other method I try only lets me reinstall Big Sur.
Can you show us the exact terminal command you used?
Aha, the last try got it. . . . . .I made a clean install of Big Sur on it. It is currently Copying installer files to disk. . . . .
Am at the "The operation couldn't be completed. (com.apple.osinstall error -3.)"
The file system?
I think you didn't format the whole drive, Catalina^ higher split the drive into Macintosh HD & Macintosh HD Data, with a reserved 1.3 MB Update Partition used durn Updates.
Backwards restore from 11.6.5 to 10.12.6
