Those Without Names Mac OS

Give the command+option+r keys a shot and hold them down until you see a globe on the screen. That will work for late 2011 and newer models and wil...

If your Mac is using an earlier version of any Mac operating system, you should install the latest Apple software updates, which can include important security updates and updates for the apps that are installed by macOS, such as Safari, Books, Messages, Mail, Music, Calendar, and Photos. Oct 16, 2019 your mac is probably stolen and has the EFI locked either someone enabled it manually within the OS or someone activated “find my mac” to lock it. You’re out of luck without either passwords.

Today I got the urge to change my Mac OS X Leopard account short name (home directory) so that I would have less to type in Terminal. Here’s how I changed my short name without breaking my Time Machine backups.

A warning

This guide is meant to serve as a reference to those with systems administration experience, or those with an insatiable thirst for tinkering. There are a lot of things that could go horribly wrong, possibly even making your backups unusable. I make no claims that this method will work and I cannot provide any support.

I have not tested the final Ruby script provided below. It was originally two utility scripts that I wrote while working through things and I combined them for simplicity. Review the code, test, and then try at your own risk.

Prepare Time Machine

When you change your short name your username and possibly group will also change. In this event, Time Machine will start a new backup from scratch. This can be avoided by going through all of the Time Machine backups and performing the following actions:

  1. Change the name of the home directory to your new short name (username)
  2. Update the permissions to your new username and group

First, turn off Time Machine backups and make sure that a backup is not currently in progress. Next, disable ACLs on your Time Machine volume using the following command (making the appropriate substitution for <tm_volume>). Without this step, you will be denied access to the files, even as root.

Next, copy the Ruby script below to a file named change_username_tm.rb and then modify it to suit your changes.

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dry_run=true# Run in dry-run mode. Nothing will be changed.
account_name='Jon Stacey’s iMac'# Name of your Mac (found in Systems Preferences -> Sharing)
drive_name='Macintosh HD'# Name of your primary hard drive
new_username='jon'# Your new username that you want
old_username='jonstacey'# Your old username that you detest
old_group='jonstacey'# The old group that you used to belong to
time_machine='Time Machine Backups'# The name of your Time Machine Backup drive
# End configuration
# Create array of all backups
paths=Dir.glob('/Volumes/'+time_machine+'/Backups.backupdb/'+account_name+'/*/'+drive_name+'/Users/'+old_username)
# Rename
unless(old_path'/Volumes/'+time_machine+'/Backups.backupdb/'+account_name+'/Latest/'+drive_name+'/Users/'+old_username)
new_path=File.join(File.dirname(old_path),new_username)
# Rename folder
File.rename(old_path,new_path)unless(dry_run)
# Update permissions
command='sudo chown -R #{new_username}:#{new_group} '#{new_path}'
end

When ready, execute the script in dry-run mode and review everything. When you’re satisfied, set dry_run to false and run as root.

Note: There were a lot of files in Library that would error out when trying to change permissions. Everything seems to work, so I guess I’ll find out for sure the next time I attempt a restore (may that day never come). Worst case scenario, I have to restore my files by hand which is what I’ve been doing for years on Windows.

Finally, re-enable ACLs on the TM volume using the following command.

  • Don’t enable backups yet!

Change your short name

Follow Apple’s new instructions on changing your user short name under Leopard: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1428

Finish up

Say a little prayer and give Time Machine a try to make sure you can still see all of your backups. If everything seems to be working, go with the hail marry and try running a Time Machine Backup Now (hint: there is an option if you click on the Time Machine status button in your menu bar). If the backup works, then you may be home free and it’s safe to re-enable automatic backups.

Breath a sigh of relief and promise yourself to plan ahead the next time you reinstall Mac OS X.

Your experience

If you have had success following this or another method, let me know by posting a comment! But remember, I can’t provide any serious technical support 😉

So, you’ve decided to download an older version of Mac OS X. There are many reasons that could point you to this radical decision. To begin with, some of your apps may not be working properly (or simply crash) on newer operating systems. Also, you may have noticed your Mac’s performance went down right after the last update. Finally, if you want to run a parallel copy of Mac OS X on a virtual machine, you too will need a working installation file of an older Mac OS X. Further down we’ll explain where to get one and what problems you may face down the road.

A list of all Mac OS X versions

See Full List On Support.apple.com

We’ll be repeatedly referring to these Apple OS versions below, so it’s good to know the basic macOS timeline.

Cheetah 10.0Puma 10.1Jaguar 10.2
Panther 10.3Tiger 10.4Leopard 10.5
Snow Leopard 10.6Lion 10.7Mountain Lion 10.8
Mavericks 10.9Yosemite 10.10El Capitan 10.11
Sierra 10.12High Sierra 10.13Mojave 10.14
Catalina 10.15

STEP 1. Prepare your Mac for installation

Given your Mac isn’t new and is filled with data, you will probably need enough free space on your Mac. This includes not just space for the OS itself but also space for other applications and your user data. One more argument is that the free space on your disk translates into virtual memory so your apps have “fuel” to operate on. The chart below tells you how much free space is needed.

Note, that it is recommended that you install OS on a clean drive. Next, you will need enough disk space available, for example, to create Recovery Partition. Here are some ideas to free up space on your drive:

  • Uninstall large unused apps
  • Empty Trash Bin and Downloads
  • Locate the biggest files on your computer:

Go to Finder > All My Files > Arrange by size
Then you can move your space hoggers onto an external drive or a cloud storage.
If you aren’t comfortable with cleaning the Mac manually, there are some nice automatic “room cleaners”. Our favorite is CleanMyMac as it’s most simple to use of all. It deletes system junk, old broken apps, and the rest of hidden junk on your drive.

Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.4 - 10.8 (free version)

Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.9 (free version)

Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.10 - 10.14 (free version)

STEP 2. Get a copy of Mac OS X download

Normally, it is assumed that updating OS is a one-way road. That’s why going back to a past Apple OS version is problematic. The main challenge is to download the OS installation file itself, because your Mac may already be running a newer version. If you succeed in downloading the OS installation, your next step is to create a bootable USB or DVD and then reinstall the OS on your computer.

How to download older Mac OS X versions via the App Store


If you once had purchased an old version of Mac OS X from the App Store, open it and go to the Purchased tab. There you’ll find all the installers you can download. However, it doesn’t always work that way. The purchased section lists only those operating systems that you had downloaded in the past. But here is the path to check it:

  1. Click the App Store icon.
  2. Click Purchases in the top menu.
  3. Scroll down to find the preferred OS X version.
  4. Click Download.

This method allows you to download Mavericks and Yosemite by logging with your Apple ID — only if you previously downloaded them from the Mac App Store.

Without App Store: Download Mac OS version as Apple Developer

If you are signed with an Apple Developer account, you can get access to products that are no longer listed on the App Store. If you desperately need a lower OS X version build, consider creating a new Developer account among other options. The membership cost is $99/year and provides a bunch of perks unavailable to ordinary users.

Nevertheless, keep in mind that if you visit developer.apple.com/downloads, you can only find 10.3-10.6 OS X operating systems there. Newer versions are not available because starting Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.7, the App Store has become the only source of updating Apple OS versions.

Purchase an older version of Mac operating system

You can purchase a boxed or email version of past Mac OS X directly from Apple. Both will cost you around $20. For the reason of being rather antiquated, Snow Leopard and earlier Apple versions can only be installed from DVD.

Buy a boxed edition of Snow Leopard 10.6
Get an email copy of Lion 10.7
Get an email copy of Mountain Lion 10.8

The email edition comes with a special download code you can use for the Mac App Store. Note, that to install the Lion or Mountain Lion, your Mac needs to be running Snow Leopard so you can install the newer OS on top of it.

How to get macOS El Capitan download

If you are wondering if you can run El Capitan on an older Mac, rejoice as it’s possible too. But before your Mac can run El Capitan it has to be updated to OS X 10.6.8. So, here are main steps you should take:

Those Without Names Mac OS

1. Install Snow Leopard from install DVD.
2. Update to 10.6.8 using Software Update.
3. Download El Capitan here.

“I can’t download an old version of Mac OS X”

If you have a newer Mac, there is no physical option to install Mac OS versions older than your current Mac model. For instance, if your MacBook was released in 2014, don’t expect it to run any OS released prior of that time, because older Apple OS versions simply do not include hardware drivers for your Mac.

But as it often happens, workarounds are possible. There is still a chance to download the installation file if you have an access to a Mac (or virtual machine) running that operating system. For example, to get an installer for Lion, you may ask a friend who has Lion-operated Mac or, once again, set up a virtual machine running Lion. Then you will need to prepare an external drive to download the installation file using OS X Utilities.

After you’ve completed the download, the installer should launch automatically, but you can click Cancel and copy the file you need. Below is the detailed instruction how to do it.

STEP 3. Install older OS X onto an external drive

The following method allows you to download Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks.

Your Machine Might Have 10.7 Or 10.8 Installed By Default, So There Is A Interet Recovery Option.Hold The Command Option R And Boot The Machine On...

  1. Start your Mac holding down Command + R.
  2. Prepare a clean external drive (at least 10 GB of storage).
  3. Within OS X Utilities, choose Reinstall OS X.
  4. Select external drive as a source.
  5. Enter your Apple ID.

Now the OS should start downloading automatically onto the external drive. After the download is complete, your Mac will prompt you to do a restart, but at this point, you should completely shut it down. Now that the installation file is “captured” onto your external drive, you can reinstall the OS, this time running the file on your Mac.

  1. Boot your Mac from your standard drive.
  2. Connect the external drive.
  3. Go to external drive > OS X Install Data.

Locate InstallESD.dmg disk image file — this is the file you need to reinstall Lion OS X. The same steps are valid for Mountain Lion and Mavericks.

How to downgrade a Mac running later macOS versions

If your Mac runs macOS Sierra 10.12 or macOS High Sierra 10.13, it is possible to revert it to the previous system if you are not satisfied with the experience. You can do it either with Time Machine or by creating a bootable USB or external drive.
Instruction to downgrade from macOS Sierra

Instruction to downgrade from macOS High Sierra

Instruction to downgrade from macOS Mojave

Instruction to downgrade from macOS Catalina

Before you do it, the best advice is to back your Mac up so your most important files stay intact. In addition to that, it makes sense to clean up your Mac from old system junk files and application leftovers. The easiest way to do it is to run CleanMyMac X on your machine (download it for free here).

Visit your local Apple Store to download older OS X version

If none of the options to get older OS X worked, pay a visit to nearest local Apple Store. They should have image installations going back to OS Leopard and earlier. You can also ask their assistance to create a bootable USB drive with the installation file. So here you are. We hope this article has helped you to download an old version of Mac OS X. Below are a few more links you may find interesting.