sConvey

Q: downgrade mavericks to 10.8 w/o clean install

Is it possible to downgrade 10.9.5 to 10.8 without a clean install?

I need to optimize my computer to run FCP studio 3 (not FCPX) and I have been told that it stops working after 10.8.

 

I really need to know how to do this quickly as I have an editor flying in from Berlin to work on this project.

I don't want to get in the FCPX / FCP7 debate.

there has already been rough cuts and over 300 hrs logged and sorted with FCP 7

X is not an option.

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

thanks!

 

27" 3.5 GHz Intel Core i7 / 32 GB RAM / 3TB Hybrid drive

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5), 27" 3.5 GHz Intel Core i7 / 32 GB R

Posted on Dec 18, 2014 11:44 AM

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Q: downgrade mavericks to 10.8 w/o clean install

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  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Dec 18, 2014 11:45 AM in response to sConvey
    Level 9 (53,581 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 18, 2014 11:45 AM in response to sConvey

    No

  • by sConvey,

    sConvey sConvey Dec 18, 2014 11:46 AM in response to Allan Eckert
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 18, 2014 11:46 AM in response to Allan Eckert

    No meaning it is not possible w/o a clean install

    or no it is not possible?

  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Dec 18, 2014 11:48 AM in response to sConvey
    Level 9 (53,581 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 18, 2014 11:48 AM in response to sConvey

    Only way to downgrade is to erase and install

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Dec 18, 2014 12:11 PM in response to sConvey
    Level 6 (13,769 points)
    iPad
    Dec 18, 2014 12:11 PM in response to sConvey

    For the time being, if you had already purchased OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion in the past, you should be able to go into your purchases section on the Mac App Store and redownload and install this on a fast, external USB 3.0, Thunderbolt or FIreWire hard drive depending on what year and model iMac you have.

    You can either install and run OS X 10.8 from this external hard drive.

    OR get the external hard drive, use a data cloning app, like CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to create a bootable clone of your entire current system to the external drive, then boot from that, use OS X Disk Utility to wipe and reformat your iMac's internal hard drive and while booted from the external drive, redownload and install OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and install it to your iMac's internal drive.

    You should be able to boot back to the internal hard drive and use the applications, that were copied to the external drive, and for the time being USs and launch them from that location until you have time to either manually transfer or manually reinstall them to your iMac's internal drive.

    This is your only other option.

  • by CellarDwellr,

    CellarDwellr CellarDwellr Dec 18, 2014 12:16 PM in response to sConvey
    Level 4 (1,212 points)
    Dec 18, 2014 12:16 PM in response to sConvey

    Hello, I am going to chime in as well.

     

    Technically, you can downgrade if you have the following:

    • Your computer must be elligible to run Mountain Lion. If your computer came with Mavericks or Yosemite out of the box, you can forget it.
    • You need an already existing Mountain Lion installer file. If you still have that somewhere, for example in your Applications folder, or anywhere else, it's usable- note that it needs to be originally downloaded with your own Apple ID and password. If you made a Mountain Lion USB installer or DVD back then that would work too. If your Time Machine back-ups go back to the days of Mountain Lion or Lion you could check your Applications folder from inside Time Machine and restore it to your computer.
    • To not have data loss you need a Time Machine back-up that goes back to when you were still running Mountain Lion. Please note that this will revert your data to exactly the date that you choose. If you installed Mavericks 2 months ago, you will loose 2 months worth of data.
  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Dec 18, 2014 1:32 PM in response to sConvey
    Level 6 (13,769 points)
    iPad
    Dec 18, 2014 1:32 PM in response to sConvey

    I wasn't t going to call you out on some things, but CellarDwellr has made some interesting points.

    Also, I was bothered by your, seemingly, desperate tone of your inquiry.

    If you are a professional or semi-professional.

    Why would you even think about upgrading to a new operating system in the middle of an important project and knowing that the client is going to show up within hours to work with you on critical project?

    Why would you upgrade your system in a middle of a critical project without researching, ahead of time, whether the applications you normally use are compatible with that new system upgrade or not?

    Why do you NOT have proper, multiple backup drives of your previous system configurations and all of your  important data?

    As a professional/semi-professional (or even as a normal computer user, for that matter) you need to have and maintain multiple backups to have some way to revert your computer system to a previous and fairly current working state in the event something goes wrong with your computer hardware or system, computer upgrade/update issues or you experience hard drives  that can and do fail over time.

    You ou need to be using both Time Machine AND data cloning apps to create multiple and bootable external hard drive backups.

  • by sConvey,

    sConvey sConvey Dec 18, 2014 1:45 PM in response to MichelPM
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 18, 2014 1:45 PM in response to MichelPM

    @ MichelPM

    it is always funny to me how these plea's for advice quickly turn into unsolicited, uninformed beat-down's from someone sitting upon a "high horse".

     

    Simply put:

    - the computer is new and shipped with Mavericks

    - the Edit was supposed to take place in Berlin in the edit suite which has all you say a pro set up shoud... but due to circumstances beyond my control the operation needs to happen at my place (in the states) and on my computer which was never the meant to  and wasn't even an outside chance of it ever being the plan.

     

    So while I am not only a professional but a professional that would not have used FCP at all but rather would have started this project with AVID..

    Sometimes circumstances are outside of ones control yet life goes on and solutions must be found which is why I came here to see what others thought my options were.

     

    I did not come here for unsolicited chastising from someone making completely uninformed assumptions about my professionalism and current predicament.

     

    Thanks to those of you  who contributed to and did not degrade this conversation.

    Cheers!

  • by CellarDwellr,

    CellarDwellr CellarDwellr Dec 18, 2014 1:51 PM in response to sConvey
    Level 4 (1,212 points)
    Dec 18, 2014 1:51 PM in response to sConvey

    Hello again.

     

    Since your computer came out of the box with Mavericks, I'm afraid any hopes of downgrading are in vain. It won't work. You'll have to find a computer with Mountain Lion, postpone the deadline or maybe figure out something else.

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Dec 18, 2014 1:51 PM in response to sConvey
    Level 7 (32,024 points)
    iPad
    Dec 18, 2014 1:51 PM in response to sConvey

    the computer is new and shipped with Mavericks

     

    Than you can't go "backwards" with or without an erase - Macs cannot boot from an OS version older than what they came with. Unless this machine has a build from right around the time that Mavericks was introduced, it may be able to boot with ML, otherwise not.

  • by sConvey,

    sConvey sConvey Dec 18, 2014 1:53 PM in response to babowa
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 18, 2014 1:53 PM in response to babowa

    @ Balbowa.

    is there any way that I can check if it can or not?
    With a serial number or something?

     

    this are my specs

    Hardware Overview:

     

      Model Name: iMac

      Model Identifier: iMac14,2

      Processor Name: Intel Core i7

      Processor Speed: 3.5 GHz

      Number of Processors: 1

      Total Number of Cores: 4

      L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

      L3 Cache: 8 MB

      Memory: 32 GB

      Boot ROM Version: IM142.0118.B02

      SMC Version (system): 2.15f2

  • by CellarDwellr,

    CellarDwellr CellarDwellr Dec 18, 2014 1:57 PM in response to sConvey
    Level 4 (1,212 points)
    Dec 18, 2014 1:57 PM in response to sConvey

    The app Mactracker would be a good way to figure out what the original OS was your model shipped with:

    https://itunes.apple.com/nl/app/mactracker/id430255202?mt=12

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Dec 18, 2014 1:57 PM in response to sConvey
    Level 7 (32,024 points)
    iPad
    Dec 18, 2014 1:57 PM in response to sConvey
  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Dec 18, 2014 1:57 PM in response to sConvey
    Level 9 (53,581 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 18, 2014 1:57 PM in response to sConvey

    iMac 14,2 is only compatible with Mountain Lion.

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Dec 18, 2014 2:01 PM in response to sConvey
    Level 7 (32,024 points)
    iPad
    Dec 18, 2014 2:01 PM in response to sConvey

    Yours is a late 2013 - looking at Apple's info, early iterations came with ML and later builds with mavericks. I'd suggest contacting Apple and asking which build yours came with originally; they should be able to tell with your serial number.

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