Where to get Yosemite 10.10 .dmg file ...

Glad you have so much time to verify such things

Actually, I have a rather busy life and don't spend all that much time here; having said that, if I do see a post outlining something like this or of possible implications, I will certainly check into it since it would not only affect me but countless others.

I contacted my local Apple store. I asked for the supervisor for next level support. He sent a message to the decision makers and he was gracious enough to contact my Apple store to setup a reservation to get Yosemite installed. I hope they give me a burned CD so I can install it on my laptop once I've tested Yosemite.

This problem has cost me unnecessary time and money ( to park downtown ). I don't get angry very easily but this has been a whole other level of stupid on Apple's part which is becoming a more common occurrence ( starting with removing local Notes syncing with mobile devices in iTunes ).

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Make absolutely sure they use YOUR Apple ID and password at the store.

I hope they give me a burned CD so I can install it on my laptop once I've tested Yosemite.

I doubt that very seriously as Apple moved away from any CD/DVD media a couple of years ago. However, what you can do is have them download it for you and, when the download is complete, dismiss the installer. The installer will be in your Applications Folder ready for you. When you get home, copy it to a safe place so you have a copy for any other machine because it will "self destruct" when the install process is finished.

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& you might as well have them put a copy on a flash drive and duplicate the file to another directory. If I recall right, it's an application in you application's folder.

Once you have the copies you need, might as well install El Cap at the store in case you run into any other problems.

R

If I recall right, it's an application in you application's folder.

You recall correctly - that is what I had said earlier. Personally, I prefer having an installer on an external hard drive rather than a flash drive which aren't all that reliable depending on the brand/format, hence my recommendation to copy the installer later. However, installing it there is a good idea - if the Genius bar folks will allow it (the normal Genius appointments are an allotted 15 minutes for a computer and 10 minutes for an iDevice, so there won't be time to do both a download and install within that time frame - they may go over the allotted time, but not if they are booked solid as it would not be fair to the people with later appointments).

I agree that the lack of backward support is a PITA, but it is also something Apple has done for many years. You will also notice that no Apple software can ever save to an earlier format. This has been a HUGE issue with both FPM (which started life as an Apple product) and FCP.

There have been ways to get installers to prior versions. When they were still using disks you could sometimes find retail versions etc. You can also find links to downloads but I wouldn't trust any that are not actually from Apple which would be at or close to zero.

The lesson is to always download copies of the OS when you can and store them for when you need them. I got into this habit because ProTools always takes awhile to get compatible and many times by the time they certify a release Apple has already moved on.

Doing a "clean install" is not really a good idea for most users. If you want to do that say because you are running weird OS altering software then the way to do it is to set up a master disk and use that to copy from to your boot drive.

Before OSX it was something that we did periodically along with defragmenting the drives. That is really a waste of time with OSX for 90% of users.

I made sure to grab a 10.10 installer when it was available because when I do move (from 10.6.8) many of the things I need to keep working will work (I hear) on 10.10 but not (probably) on 10.11. I downloaded those installers awhile ago in anticipation.

It would be fantastic if Apple acted as a responsible developer should and made older versions available for those that need them, but that would be a BIG change in policy and I wouldn't count on it. Just as I never expect Apple to support saving to earlier versions of documents, as pretty much every other developer in the world does. It's just not their culture, "never look back".

You can download Yosemite 10.10.1 from the Purchases tab of the App Store. No need to apply your update.

OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 Combo Update

In addition to John Lockwood's excellent advice, you can also use a formatted USB thumb drive or external drive and a Terminal command as outlined here.

Will this work with Unibeast?

My readings here says that you can use App Store to re-download Yosemite. Might look in download apps.

R

OK, I have a mid-2012 Air and the Mac App Store doesn't appear to have 10.10 available. Where did you find it?

Thanks, KBK

Did you download/install Yosemite previously? If yes, it should be listed under your Purchases. If not, then it won't be available at the app store. And it is not available anywhere else.

I wish they would have made it clear to users of the limited future availability in the splashy update page and tell us we must download if we want to apply at a later time.

babowa, your effort is much appreciated. You're awesome.