Saving the installer

Thanks. Is what's below correct?

Example: I install 10.13 and then 10.14 and 10.15 are released but I skip them. Before 10.16 is released I download 10.15 and save its installer (but do not install it). Then if I have to upgrade before 10.16 is "mature", I can use the installer I saved for 10.15 and do an upgrade to 10.15 despite the fact that the App store no longer has this release.

While "How to download OS X El Capitan - Apple Support" gives you the impression that you can download El Capitan, that's not the case if your configuration supports High Sierra. I tried and when it would not work, I called Apple about it. I was told that Apple checks the configuration and allows an El Capitan download only for those whose system doesn't support High Sierra... Otherwise, one is forced to download the latest release (if an upgrade is needed), no choice (although many other prior versions of the OS are still supported), no way to go back to a potentially more reliable version that works better than the brand new one.

Thanks, that's great. This is what I will do from now on, as I just learned this lesson about Apple not allowing you to download older (still supported) releases of their OS.

Unfortunately I do not know anyone who has a mac w. El Capitan but if I have to upgrade before High Sierra has less bugs I will try, as suggested, the Apple Retail Store or an authorized dealer. Can the installer be Emailed or loaded on a USB compatible drive?

Thanks a lot. You are correct, unlike El Capitan (which I tried to download), Sierra is still available at the link you sent me. If I download it, I assume that I do not have to install it, it will be just there on my computer until I need it.

- how do I make sure that no install is done now?

- where and what should I look for to find and then save the installer to a USB stick? Is saving a simple copy?

- does the USB stick needs to "formatted" somehow? How do I make this stick bootable?

When I went to the link it asked me for credit card info update. Is there a charge for older versions of the OS? I didn't get that far as I was concerned that it will overwrite something and create problems for me.

I started the download of Sierra and I believe it is still happening. In the app folder I see an entry called macOSSierra.appdownload which looks like in progress. It might take a while until it's done. If I cannot just sit here to watch it for hours, will it stop before it starts an install? I do not want to install it now. Thanks.

Download completed and it gave me a chance to stop it. I copied the InstallmacOSSierra.app installer to another properly formatted drive. Now I will sleep much better and I know what to do in the future. Thanks again.

Thanks again. I do not know what I would do without help from this community.... I really appreciate it.

Thanks.

Thanks for clarifying it.

Apple releases a new OS every year. I usually do not want to install go every upgrade (they do not have enough "value" for me to go through the pain of upgrading, I'd rather skip some). However, as I learned just now, Apple removes every older version of the OS from the Apple store when the latest one comes out and one has no choice but go with that, if an upgrade is needed. I still have Mavericks but I had some strange issues with formatting drives and drives temporarily not showing up in Finder (but showing up in Disk Utility, etc.) and I was told by Apple that probably I have some kind of software problem which probably will be fixed if I upgrade the OS. I am really not ready to go to High Sierra (too new, usually with bugs) but neither Sierra nor El Capitan are available in the Mac store, so if I have to upgrade I am forced to download High Sierra.

What do I need to save for potential future use to ensure that I have whatever might be needed to install an older version, if I have to upgrade just after a new release of the OS came out and I do not want to install that?