On procuring a backup of Yosemite 10.10.5,

[cmonokay]

since I was a lazy git and didn't make one myself...

How good of an idea is it to buy it off Amazon, in bootable USB form? I don't know much, if anything, about trying to do this sort of thing, but I've no doubt I can muddle through. I just don't want to muck it up, is all.. actually, any tips are appreciated. But here's a link to what I was speaking of.

http://www.amazon.com/Mac-Yosemite-...d=1463149887&sr=8-1&keywords=yosemite+10.10.5

 

[Weaselboy]

It is risky. You have no good way of knowing what that seller has placed on the USB key along with the installer.

 

[KALLT]

It is also likely a copyright violation.

 

[cmonokay]

It is also likely a copyright violation.

I'm not sure I think of it that way. I bought their product. They failed to keep it up to snuff when they updated it, and so I'm going back to what I rightfully purchased. The fact that they haven't made it easy for me to do so is not my concern - not beyond the annoyance of the extra work. I suppose that's just rephrasing it, but my points are fair.

Also, considering that the items are readily available on Amazon, without the sellers being told to take them down, would it not be safe to say that probably guarantees there is no copyright violation?

It is risky. You have no good way of knowing what that seller has placed on the USB key along with the installer.

That's a good point, but there's also the seller's reputation to consider - which can be a reasonable way to judge that sort of thing. And I reckon I could always scan the USB key before transferring any files.

 

[chrfr]

I'm not sure I think of it that way. I bought their product. They failed to keep it up to snuff when they updated it, and so I'm going back to what I rightfully purchased. I suppose that's just rephrasing it, but my points are fair.

Also, considering that the items are readily available on Amazon, without the sellers being told to take them down, would it not be safe to say that probably guarantees there is no copyright violation?

That absolutely is a copyright violation. Apple didn't grant the eBay seller a license to distribute OS X that way. That said, it is free, so Apple is unlikely to aggressively pursue someone doing this.
Do you not have Yosemite available in your "Purchases" section of the App Store? If you've downloaded it from the App Store before, you can easily do so again, and create your own USB installer. Alternatively, if you have an Apple Store local to you, you can likely bring a USB drive there and get them to give you a copy of the Yosemite installer and avoid paying someone extra, and be assured you aren't getting any sort of malware.

 

[AZhappyjack]

Just download it from the Purchases tab of the Mac App Store and make your own bootable USB drive.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

 

[flowrider]

See this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/safe-place-to-download-yosemite.1923749/

Just download it from the Purchases tab of the Mac App Store and make your own bootable USB drive.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

It's not available from the App Store if it's not already installed on the host machine.

Lou

 

[KALLT]

They failed to keep it up to snuff when they updated it, and so I'm going back to what I rightfully purchased.

You can always install the OS X release that your Mac came with. If that was Yosemite, then all you have to do is boot into Internet Recovery and download it from Apple directly.

See here: https://support.apple.com/HT201314.

Also, considering that the items are readily available on Amazon, without the sellers being told to take them down, would it not be safe to say that probably guarantees there is no copyright violation?

It just means that Apple is seemingly not going after sellers who do so, but it is likely a copyright violation nonetheless. When you buy it from them, you never actually obtain a valid licence from Apple to run it. You are only allowed to run the software that came with your Mac or the software that Apple licences to you elsewhere, which is nowadays almost always the App Store.

 

[AZhappyjack]

See this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/safe-place-to-download-yosemite.1923749/



It's not available from the App Store if it's not already installed on the host machine.

Lou

That is absolutely not true. If you've ever installed it on any Mac with that AppleID, it will appear on your Purchased tab. I can see/download all the way back to Lion on my Purchased tab, even on my 2015 5k iMac.

Of course being able to install an older version of OS X on a newer machine would not be possible, but you can still download it from the MAS.

 

[cmonokay]

You can always install the OS X release that your Mac came with. If that was Yosemite, then all you have to do is boot into Internet Recovery and download it from Apple directly.

See here: https://support.apple.com/HT201314.

It just means that Apple is seemingly not going after sellers who do so, but it is likely a copyright violation nonetheless. When you buy it from them, you never actually obtain a valid licence from Apple to run it. You are only allowed to run the software that came with your Mac or the software that Apple licences to you elsewhere, which is nowadays almost always the App Store.

Mkay, yeah I can see where you're going with that. But it came with whatever OS X was around late 2011, and while you can update to newer OS X versions you purchased in the Mac App Store, that option doesn't include the versions that came as casual updates. And I'm a little concerned about reverting to a platform that old, if I don't have the option to update it to Yosemite. Thank you though!

And fair enough, I guess I wouldn't have used the phrase "copyright violation" unless someone was going to get into trouble or run into copyright related snags later.

That absolutely is a copyright violation. Apple didn't grant the eBay seller a license to distribute OS X that way. That said, it is free, so Apple is unlikely to aggressively pursue someone doing this.
Do you not have Yosemite available in your "Purchases" section of the App Store? If you've downloaded it from the App Store before, you can easily do so again, and create your own USB installer. Alternatively, if you have an Apple Store local to you, you can likely bring a USB drive there and get them to give you a copy of the Yosemite installer and avoid paying someone extra, and be assured you aren't getting any sort of malware.

Well, technically, I suppose. I meant it more as in I doubt Amazon would allow anything obviously illegal, and if Amazon will allow that to be sold and purchased on its site, then I'm sure there are no repercussions for seller or buyer. After that, it's up to our individual consciences to struggle over whether or not we can live with ourselves in light of our actions. I can do that.

No, Yosemite came as an update. So that option is out. But I like your idea of going to the Apple Store though. I'll check into it, thanks chrfr!

 

[chrfr]

Yosemite came as an update.

I'm not sure what you mean by this but if you updated a computer to Yosemite, it's available for you to download from the Purchases section of the App Store. Have you checked to see if it's there?