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

blotontheland wrote:

If you use the internet recovery mode then you will be back with Yosemite because you have already installed it, Apple use the last OS installation as the recovery.

Actually, that is not the way it works. From OS X: About OS X Recovery:

"If you use Internet Recovery to reinstall OS X, it installs the version of OS X that originally came with your computer."

Booting to the Recovery HD allows you to install the latest version of whatever you have currently have installed on the boot drive, in this case Yosemite.

readytorun wrote:

unfortunately none of what you said applies to me at all.

Yes it does. Reinstall Yosemite from your Recovery HD.

readytorun wrote:

safari is adding massive amounts of cache which i have to continuously throw out otherwise the whole system becomes even slower.

Cache is generally a good thing when you visit the same sites all the time, but if you want to try going without it Open Safari Preferences->Advanced and check the box at the bottom for "Show Develop menu in menu bar". Now select "Disable Caches" from the Develop menu.

To all with Yosemite and/or Wifi Issues... I don't doubt that Yosemite might have a couple bugs but to say that it's riddled with bugs and Yosemite is Trash is quite self centered and untrue.... I have a Non-Retina Mid 2012 MacBook Pro and Upgraded to Yosemite with ZERO problems but I also did a little homework FIRST before the Bi-Polar Mac User Took over.... Here's what I did..

Ran CleanMyMac First in Mavericks... then Rebooted.... then Installed Yosemite... and all App Updates - One at a Time....not all at once...

Then Rebooted into Recovery Mode and Ran Disk Utility to Repair Permissions then launched into Yosemite

Finally I set DNS Settings in Network Preferences to Google DNS's because they are faster then the Default Time Warner Cable DNS address supplied with my Router.... added "8.8.8.8" and "8.8.4.4" to DNS Tab.

Been running YOSEMITE Very Noticeably Faster and Snappier than Mavericks with ZERO problems. I'd be willing to bet all the people with problems here did no prep work, hadn't rebooted or cleaned their systems in months and just drove off that cliff like Thelma & Louise.

I have read this solution below is working for the vast Majority of people....

Creating a New Wi-Fi Service (this solution worked for me!)

you've lost me. I just did that (reinstall yosemite), remember? that was my whole experience that I've been writing about the past week or so. should i type it all over again?

what good would reinstalling yosemite for a 3rd time do me at all? i think you're just forgetting what I've written you already, but considering you've got a real life and business too, not a problem. if the etrecheck looks clean then i think it benefits me in the long run to start from there: clean report.

and what you say about cache doesn't really pertain to my situation yeah generally its a good thing but not the way I'm having to deal with it. yes i know the disable cache menu but this again has nothing to do with the problem. I'm following 3 other threads regarding safari issues.

I cleaned my system completely before installing Yosemite, but I still had issues with WiFi and even the user interface which became a bit of a distraction.

Shame some of the above you suggested actually fixed or it did, but the issues returned 1 hour later.

Your Mac automatically uses this feature when the Recovery System on the startup drive isn't available."

Thanks - I'd forgotten about that part. Would you have the link to that available? The search function here doesn't seem to be working too well this morning....

babowa wrote:

Would you have the link to that available?

Sure it's in OS X: About OS X Recovery towards the bottom under Which version of OS X is installed by OS X Recovery?.

readytorun wrote:

you've lost me. I just did that (reinstall yosemite), remember? that was my whole experience that I've been writing about the past week or so. should i type it all over again?

No, actually I must have missed that step. All I remember reading about was your first attempt to restore from Time Machine that never seemed to get anywhere. I didn't realize you had then done a Yosemite Reinstall.

I guess I never fully understood what you call your BlueTooth problem was, but having read some of your other discussions I understand it's your BT headset audio delay that's the issue. I spent part of the day going back to my Yosemite troubleshooting group to see what I could find about BlueTooth problems and could only find one that came close to what you and others are seeing and the conclusion there was that it was a larger audio issue with Yosemite and not specifically tied to BlueTooth. A couple of users were seeing the same thing on a second monitor with a wired connection. Nobody claimed that it was fixed later on, so I would have to guess that it remains an issue. Your best bet now would be to get feedback through AppleCare about it to make sure it's in the system. If you don't have that available then you'll have to rely on Apple Feedback. It's a bit more work, but you can get a free developer account which will give you access to the Apple Bug Reporter which gives you direct access to engineering.

yes you are correct about the "bluetooth" problem. most people didnt mention it because maybe it was strictly a bluetooth problem in their case but after a few tests i found that even with headphones plugged in i still had the audio delay problem as well as a ghost image of VLC after i quit the program . like this screen capture. it stays on the screen a good 2 second after i quit the program, exactly like the audio ends up unsyncing with the picture causing a delay.

I've heard several people say that had success when they did a clean install of Yosemite. I'm guessing, but am not sure that that would require me too first wipe my machine completely clean, then reinstall from DVD-Rom every app that didn't come wt my mac, then only restore the files I want from time machine (photos, music, word files, mail files, plus ???) including my snow leopard operating system disc, then do an update, and then, and only then, install Yosemite from the apple website. Will that work, and is their an easier way to go about a clean install, then this? Also is the way I thinking about doing a clean install, completely wrong? I mean for instance, can you just reinstall apps, from time machine, all at once w/o bringing back years of accumulated garbage, and are there any other tricks. If there isn't an easier way to go about this, considering all of the OS upgrades,why doesn't apple give us one? Also some people, who did a clean install, actually still have problems. Also for some odd reason, the problems vary. So I'm not sure if that's the way to go, or not.

If your new Mac comes with Yosemite you probably cannot downgrade to an earlier (Mavericks) OS. That is the way Apple runs their business.

Thanx tbirdvet. Not trying trying to be sarcastic, but if I have a snow leopard operating disc, my mac definitely did not come wt Mavericks preinstalled. I have upgraded from Leopard, to Snow Leopard, to Maverick, and then to Yosemite.

I understand. My comment was for Robin Johnson.

Do not neglect Time Machine. I have two for my Macbook pro, one at the office and one at home.

You can do a restore from time machine to a version prior to the installation of Yosemite. It is SLOW, but it works fine.

Apple has instructions on how to do it here:

OS X Mavericks: Revert to a previous OS X version

Because it is the biggest bag of poo ever known to man.

Internet - sporadic

Mail - not sending or receiving at all

Every app and program not working

Spotify needs a proxy server now

Evernote not syncing

The Apps Store is completely blank

Cmd R does not work

It is ruining my business so thanks Apple