How can I uninstall OS X Yosemite and return to OS X Mavericks?

I'm aware of that. I was trying to uninstall Yosemite (because it's horrible) and recover the OS that came with my Macbook Pro. Kappy listed steps to do this and I'm getting hung up on installing OS X Lion.

I hear ya. My 2013 Mac Pro is back at 10.9.5 After many problems.

The way I did it was:

Boot to Internet Recovery then Disk Uttil, Partition the drive. If you don't do this it looks at the drive and will see 10.10.x on there and not allow it. What I did was make it two parts, then went back to 1 part. This way you know it's gone. After you make the 1 part, erase it, then exit. Reboot as before and it will install it like it came from the box.

Good Luck. 🙂

Here are the steps I've already done:

Install Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion Using Internet Recovery

Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.

Boot to the Internet Recovery HD:

Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.

Partition and Format the hard drive:

1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your newly installed hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on thePartition button and wait until the process has completed. Quit DU and return to the main menu.

Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion. Mavericks: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.

Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

This should restore the version of OS X originally pre-installed on the computer.

But when I click on "Install OS X Lion" it tries to download it from the App Store and says "This item is not available". Did you do these same steps or something different?

Robin, I am in the same situation, have you found a way to install Mavericks on a new machine that came with Yosemite?

I even don't see a point to give a reasoning to people why I want to install Mavericks, I just dont like Yosemite and want Mavericks, and I should be able to install 1-year old OS, that's it. Why do we have to keep up with all these restrictions by Apple?

Even if I replace with a new hard drive? Still I have to install Yosemite that came with the computer. No options even for Mavericks, unbelievably restrictive.

findik wrote:

have you found a way to install Mavericks on a new machine that came with Yosemite?

If the model you have originally shipped with Mavericks, then there is a good chance that you can erase the drive (backup first) and use Internet Recovery to re-install Mavericks. If it originally shipped with Yosemite then the firmware normally does not allow it to boot anything older, even if you were able to install it.

findik wrote:

Robin, I am in the same situation, have you found a way to install Mavericks on a new machine that came with Yosemite?

I even don't see a point to give a reasoning to people why I want to install Mavericks, I just dont like Yosemite and want Mavericks, and I should be able to install 1-year old OS, that's it. Why do we have to keep up with all these restrictions by Apple?

Yes.

Pete

I am having the same issue with this update. My computer runs like crap, constantly freezes up, spinning wheel, websites that I can't connect to. Using the update is a disaster - it wouldn't even allow me to restore the original OS that came with the computer. After an hour on the phone with Apple, I have to take it to an Apple Store for them to look at it. Who knows how much this is going to cost me. Just hoping I can remove this crap Yosemite.

Yes means you found the way? How?

Yes, the model shipped with Yosemite. There must be a way to by-pass that with a new hard drive install, but might be too much of work.

It is Apple policy that an older version of OS X then what the Mac shipped with is an unsupported configuration and will probably not work.

I feel like I just installed Windows ME !!!!!!!!!!!! The system which finally caused me to leave Windows and Go to OS X.

It's not the hard drive. It checks the firmware.

findik wrote:

Yes means you found the way? How?

You sell the Machine that you opted for with Yosemite and use the money to purchase a similar machine with Mavericks as it's native OSX. Then reinstall your full previous backup on it. Then next time research before you buy an expensive electrical device.

Pete

Got it, thanks.