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How do I uninstall Yosemite?

How do I uninstall Yosemite?

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10), No app support!

Posted on Oct 17, 2014 1:56 PM

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18 replies

Oct 18, 2014 11:27 AM in response to Lanny

I've got time machine and run it on an external hard drive to back up my mac....I installed yosemite yesterday and now can't update any of my apps.....I also think I have a virus as I keep getting lots of pop ups whenever I browse the web.....How can I uninstall yosemite ? Or could you suggest another way to resolve my problems? Thanks

Oct 22, 2014 2:38 PM in response to tltaylor01

You can't install an earlier OS over a later one. The easiest way to go back is to have a backup of the previous installation that you want to go back to, either with Time Machine, or something like CarbonCopyCloner. You can boot to your recovery partition (⌘ R at restart) in Yosemite and then restore the backed up installation from Time Machine, or boot from the CCC backup (which is bootable), erase your unwanted Yosemite installation, and clone the CCC backup back to your internal HD. Without either of those backups there are other options for going back. It depends on if your Mac originally came with OS installation disks or not. If it came with the disks, you would boot from the installation disk, erase your HD, and then reinstall the OS on the installation disks, and then upgrade to the OS you want. If your Mac did not originally come with installation disks, then it is probably compatible with internet recovery, and you would boot from internet recovery and use that to erase your HD and then download Mavericks, for example, and put it on your HD. If you've lost the original installer disks, you're basically f*****, and you'll need to obtain some compatible installer disks, like the commercial disks with the OS that originally came with the machine. You can't use installer disks that came with a different model of Mac, even if it was the same OS, as they are specific for the hardware they came with. The commercial disks are more generic and should work.

Oct 23, 2014 10:24 AM in response to tltaylor01

I agree with your assessment 100%.It works but is very slow to react. The slowness is easily noticeable. Windows open and seem to be shaky as they open. When you go to the Dock it opens slowly and in steps, or as I wrote shaky movements. Every page that you open seems to have a fog or hazy presents, the content is not sharp and clear. It definitely is not an improvement. I have an iMac late 2009 and it is completely screw up. Even the fonts are changing as I typed this reply.

Oct 23, 2014 10:40 AM in response to Capt. Arty

I forgot to mention that when you click on an application in the dock that application does not open all the time. In stead you get a window with several options which is a PAIN in the butt. More clicking! Bookmarks are presented taking up 1/3 of your screen, the simple bookmark you may have had on your home page disappears and you can't use it any longer. You are now presented with every bookmark you have all at once. Scrolling with my new Mac Mouse is shaky and so is the page. The Mouse's scroll ball is not dirty. WHAT A MESS!

Nov 16, 2014 3:45 AM in response to lahznimmo

lahznimmo wrote:


My computer has basically become un-usable since installing Yosemite - so slow and unresponsive.

We can try to fix that if you want. If you want to fix it, we could use more information. Download Etrecheck http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck , which is a small free app that you can use to generate a system report on your Mac, which you can then post here. Or preferably, start a new thread and post it there, rather than threadjacking this discussion. This thread is dysfunctional enough already. If you post the report we can take a look and see what the problem is.

If I can't go back to the previous operating system I will need a new computer.

You can definitely go back to a previous operating system if you want. Which operating system depends on a few factors, like:

  1. if you made a backup before you installed Yosemite
  2. what the original OS was that came on your Mac
  3. if your Mac originally came with OS installer disks, and if you still have those disks
  4. if your Mac is capable of internet recovery.

We can guide you through this process too if you want.

You could buy a new computer if you want but that would be a bit drastic (and dramatic).

I don't understand why there was not a warning saying it is incompatible with my computer.

Yosemite is probably not incompatible with your computer. Just with some of your software. This is normal and happens with every new OS. If you have mission critical apps or hardware you are supposed to check first before you install a new OS. And you are supposed to make a backup before you install. If it was really incompatible with your computer, it wouldn't have let you download the Yosemite installer in the first place. It checks for compatibility first.

How do I uninstall Yosemite?

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