How to download a specific version of Big Sur?

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Level 1

4 points

How to download a specific version of Big Sur?

My late 2013 Mac BookPro had the known AppleThunderbolt unexpected shutdowns issues, which a managed very well with the Terminal commands published here and elsewhere to deactivate/rename these drivers. I have been without any crashes for 2 years running Big Sur 11.6.3.

Unfortunately, 2 weeks ago I made a big mistake and updated to the latest version of Big Sur (11.10.7). This version does not let me deactivate/rename these AppleThunderbolt drivers and it crashed my MBP repeatedly in a few minutes.

I decided to go back with the Time Machine backup I made the day before the upgrade, but it says I just have to download Big Sur from Apple and then migrate my data from Time Machine. The downloaded Big Sur is the latest (11-10.7), so it does not solve the crashes.

I found an Installer with Big Sur 11.0.1, which I was able to install and migrated some data from Time Machine, but this version is much older than the one I was running (11.6.3), and it causes several issues with the apps I had, including Safari, Office for Mac and Parallels.

I just want to go back to Big Sur 11.6.3, in which I know for a fact I will be able to deactive/rename the AppleThunderbolt drivers, avoid the crashes and run my apps without problems.

I tried in terminal:

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 11.6.3

but it says:

Scanning for 11.6.3 installer

Install failed with error: Update not found

Any suggestions how to get this version of Big Sur?

MacBook Pro 15″

Posted on Dec 3, 2023 9:18 AM

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Answer 1

dialabrain

Level 10

136,355 points

Dec 3, 2023 9:42 AM in response to mediclips

Try running this command in the Terminal to see which versions of Big Sur may still be available…

softwareupdate --list

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Answer 2

dialabrain

Level 10

136,355 points

Dec 3, 2023 9:55 AM in response to mediclips

Sorry. I gave you the wrong command. Try…

softwareupdate --list-full-installers

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Answer 3

dialabrain

Level 10

136,355 points

Dec 3, 2023 1:48 PM in response to mediclips

It's no bother. From running the same command I gave you.

* Title: macOS Monterey, Version: 12.7.2, Size: 12112474KiB, Build: 21G1971

* Title: macOS Monterey, Version: 12.7.2, Size: 12111442KiB, Build: 21G1925

* Title: macOS Monterey, Version: 12.7.1, Size: 12110635KiB, Build: 21G920

* Title: macOS Monterey, Version: 12.7, Size: 12107687KiB, Build: 21G816

* Title: macOS Monterey, Version: 12.6.9, Size: 12111110KiB, Build: 21G726

* Title: macOS Monterey, Version: 12.6.8, Size: 12119078KiB, Build: 21G725

* Title: macOS Monterey, Version: 12.6.7, Size: 12115649KiB, Build: 21G651

* Title: macOS Big Sur, Version: 11.7.10, Size: 12125478KiB, Build: 20G1427

* Title: macOS Big Sur, Version: 11.7.9, Size: 12125714KiB, Build: 20G1426

* Title: macOS Big Sur, Version: 11.7.8, Size: 12120994KiB, Build: 20G1351

* Title: macOS Catalina, Version: 10.15.7, Size: 8055650KiB, Build: 19H15

* Title: macOS Catalina, Version: 10.15.7, Size: 8055522KiB, Build: 19H2

* Title: macOS Catalina, Version: 10.15.6, Size: 8055450KiB, Build: 19G2021

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Answer 4

dialabrain

Level 10

136,355 points

Dec 3, 2023 9:56 AM in response to mediclips

It looks like 11.7.8 is the earliest available.

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Answer 5

mediclips Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 3, 2023 9:48 AM in response to dialabrain

Hi. Thanks for your reply. Looks like the only one available is the latest, the one that caused the crashes and does not let me fix it with known Terminal commands.

Finding available software

Software Update found the following new or updated software:

* Label: macOS Big Sur 11.7.10-20G1427

Title: macOS Big Sur 11.7.10, Version: 11.7.10, Size: 11226520K, Recommended: YES, Action: restart,

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Answer 6

mediclips Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 3, 2023 10:26 AM in response to dialabrain

That command gave me this:

% softwareupdate --list-full-installers

softwareupdate: unrecognized option `--list-full-installers'

usage: softwareupdate <cmd> [<args> ...]

** Manage Updates:

-l | --list List all appropriate update labels (options: --no-scan, --product-types)

-d | --download Download Only

-i | --install Install

<label> ... specific updates

-a | --all All appropriate updates

-R | --restart Automatically restart (or shut down) if required to complete installation.

-r | --recommended Only recommended updates

--fetch-full-installer Install the latest macOS Installer

--full-installer-version The version of macOS to install. Ex: --full-installer-version 10.15

--install-rosetta Install Rosetta 2

--background Trigger a background scan and update operation

** Other Tools:

--dump-state Log the internal state of the SU daemon to /var/log/install.log

--evaluate-products Evaluate a list of product keys specified by the --products option

--history Show the install history. By default, only displays updates installed by softwareupdate.

--all Include all processes in history (including App installs)

** Options:

--no-scan Do not scan when listing or installing updates (use available updates previously scanned)

--product-types <type> Limit a scan to a particular product type only - ignoring all others

Ex: --product-types macOS || --product-types macOS,Safari

--products A comma-separated (no spaces) list of product keys to operate on.

--force Force an operation to complete. Use with --background to trigger a background scan regardless of "Automatically check" pref

--agree-to-license Agree to the software license agreement without user interaction.

--verbose Enable verbose output

--help Print this help

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Answer 7

dialabrain

Level 10

136,355 points

Dec 3, 2023 11:00 AM in response to mediclips

Sorry. I have no idea what's wrong with your Mac. You certainly shouldn't have that result.

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Answer 8

mediclips Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 3, 2023 12:57 PM in response to dialabrain

Sorry to bother you again bit where did you get that info about the only one available is 11.7.8?

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How to download a specific version of Big Sur?

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