Downgrade Preinstalled Yosemite to Mavericks on Mid-2012?

[wetsignal]

Posted this to the official Apple forums as well but realized I might get a better response here.

Just bought a mid-2012 Macbook Pro with Yosemite and already own a mid-2012 Mini with Mavericks. Using the two of them, I find Mavericks to be far superior in stability, speed and aesthetics. Given that my Macbook is mid-2012 and is compatible with Mavericks, can I install Mavericks on it without too much trouble? Is there anything special I would need to do? I am planning to install to a new SSD, so the current installed HD would not be in the mix except for transfer of personal files, music, etc. Apologies if this has already been answered, but all I could find was advice for people who upgraded to Yosemite and wanted to go back to Mavericks. I realize some users like Yosemite, but on my machine it has been unusually buggy and slow and I would really love to have Mavericks on both machines.

 

[CoastalOR]

Here is a internet search that show quite a few links to "revert Mac Yosemite to Mavericks". You also should download the full Mavericks installer and make a bootable USB installer, test it with a boot up, and then use it to install on your new SSD.

EDIT: Many people recommend getting an external drive enclosure, putting the new SSD in it, format it, and install the OS. This will insure that you have a good working SSD with a working OS before going through the trouble of opening the Mac.

 

[techedude]

Posted this to the official Apple forums as well but realized I might get a better response here.

Just bought a mid-2012 Macbook Pro with Yosemite and already own a mid-2012 Mini with Mavericks. Using the two of them, I find Mavericks to be far superior in stability, speed and aesthetics. Given that my Macbook is mid-2012 and is compatible with Mavericks, can I install Mavericks on it without too much trouble? Is there anything special I would need to do? I am planning to install to a new SSD, so the current installed HD would not be in the mix except for transfer of personal files, music, etc. Apologies if this has already been answered, but all I could find was advice for people who upgraded to Yosemite and wanted to go back to Mavericks. I realize some users like Yosemite, but on my machine it has been unusually buggy and slow and I would really love to have Mavericks on both machines.

It really depends if you have updated the EFI firmware. Usually when you update the EFI firmware then using an older operating system isn't allowed anymore. I have ran into this issue a few times in the past. I am a Certified Apple Technician so I do have plenty of experience on thousands of Macs.

 

[wetsignal]

Thanks for the replies. And again, nearly all of the threads I found were for people who had Macs that came with an older OS than Yosemite and upgraded and then wanted to go back to an older OS. Mine came with Yosemite preinstalled so those hundreds of links are not applicable. Checking briefly on the apple website, it seems my firmware is up to date. Is there any way to fool it by using my Mac Mini to install to the SSD and the pop into the Macbook? It's crazy that I can't put Mavericks on a computer from 2012 when it originally shipped with Lion!

 

[pcgeek12345]

Thanks for the replies. And again, nearly all of the threads I found were for people who had Macs that came with an older OS than Yosemite and upgraded and then wanted to go back to an older OS. Mine came with Yosemite preinstalled so those hundreds of links are not applicable. Checking briefly on the apple website, it seems my firmware is up to date. Is there any way to fool it by using my Mac Mini to install to the SSD and the pop into the Macbook? It's crazy that I can't put Mavericks on a computer from 2012 when it originally shipped with Lion!

Pretty sure you can reinstall Lion by using Internet recovery... Then just get a Mavericks installer and you're good.

Also, have you tried El Capitan? I find it to be better than Mavericks and Yosemite.

 

[wetsignal]

Pretty sure you can reinstall Lion by using Internet recovery... Then just get a Mavericks installer and you're good.

Also, have you tried El Capitan? I find it to be better than Mavericks and Yosemite.

I would love to try El Capitan but it breaks Adobe CS6 which I cannot go without. Also, my computer came with Yosemite preinstalled (I just bought it weeks ago) but this model came with Lion back when it was introduced, so I do not understand why this is such a crazy thing to get done. I guess if I can't go back I will be forced either to run Windows 7 under bootcamp or migrate everything but CS6 to El Cap and keep Yosemite on a separate partition for the CS6 apps only. Not happy with either MS or Apple right now in terms of OS.

 

[pcgeek12345]

I would love to try El Capitan but it breaks Adobe CS6 which I cannot go without. Also, my computer came with Yosemite preinstalled (I just bought it weeks ago) but this model came with Lion back when it was introduced, so I do not understand why this is such a crazy thing to get done. I guess if I can't go back I will be forced either to run Windows 7 under bootcamp or migrate everything but CS6 to El Cap and keep Yosemite on a separate partition for the CS6 apps only. Not happy with either MS or Apple right now in terms of OS.

What issues are you having with CS6?

And, like I said, even if it came with Yosemite preinstalled, you can use Internet recovery to put it back to the original OS that it shipped with.

Did you buy the computer from apple, or used/third party?

 

[wetsignal]

What issues are you having with CS6?

And, like I said, even if it came with Yosemite preinstalled, you can use Internet recovery to put it back to the original OS that it shipped with.

Did you buy the computer from apple, or used/third party?

Wow, so you're saying that even though it shipped with Yosemite, if I do internet recovery it will go back to Lion (the OS this MODEL originally shipped with)? I had no idea, that would be great. I haven't installed El Capitan yet, but there seems to be some disagreement about whether CS6 will run on it. CS6 works fine with Yosemite but other things (like Mail, what a pain!) are pretty bad and not getting better. I bought it brand new from Best Buy. I just much prefer Mavericks and want rid of Yosemite.

 

[CoastalOR]

You just need to be able to download Mavericks installer from the App Store as stated in my previous post and make a USB installer. It should be on the Purchased tab IF you have downloaded it before. It is no longer available for download if you have not previously downloaded it from the App Store. Apple removed Mavericks from the App Store when Yosemite was released. If you have never downloaded Mavericks then that is a major problem.

You Mac Mini originally shipped with 10.8, so I'm assuming you must have downloaded it to upgrade your mini.

Another possibility is to put your new SSD in the external enclosure, connect it to your mini, format the SSD for Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using Disk Utility on the mini, use Carbon Copy Cloner 4 (30 day free trial) to clone your mini internal drive to the SSD, and then connect the external SSD to your MBP to see if you can start the MBP with it. If it works OK then open up your MBP and change drives. If you have additional files to migrate to the SSD then it can be done before you swap drives or after by putting the old HD in the external enclosure and connecting it to the MBP.

 

[pcgeek12345]

Wow, so you're saying that even though it shipped with Yosemite, if I do internet recovery it will go back to Lion (the OS this MODEL originally shipped with)? I had no idea, that would be great. I haven't installed El Capitan yet, but there seems to be some disagreement about whether CS6 will run on it. CS6 works fine with Yosemite but other things (like Mail, what a pain!) are pretty bad and not getting better. I bought it brand new from Best Buy. I just much prefer Mavericks and want rid of Yosemite.

It should work, but because you bought the 2012 model new, I'm not sure how that works with regards to Internet recovery. I don't think they would change the options for recovery, but they could have.

To see for yourself what your options are, you Boot up into Internet Recovery (press Command Option R right after you hear the start up chime). Once it boots up, you should see an option to Reinstall OS X, it should say which version. If it says Lion, you can just use a Mavericks USB installer to downgrade it, as the other poster said.

For what it's worth, I'm running CS6 Master Collection on El Capitan with no issues. I don't use mail so I can't comment on that, but the whole OS has been vastly improved.

Also, out of curiosity, why did you choose the 2012 model?

 

[wetsignal]

It should work, but because you bought the 2012 model new, I'm not sure how that works with regards to Internet recovery. I don't think they would change the options for recovery, but they could have.

To see for yourself what your options are, you Boot up into Internet Recovery (press Command Option R right after you hear the start up chime). Once it boots up, you should see an option to Reinstall OS X, it should say which version. If it says Lion, you can just use a Mavericks USB installer to downgrade it, as the other poster said.

For what it's worth, I'm running CS6 Master Collection on El Capitan with no issues. I don't use mail so I can't comment on that, but the whole OS has been vastly improved.

Also, out of curiosity, why did you choose the 2012 model?

Well, Internet Recovery won't work...it wanted to reinstall Yosemite. The Mavericks installer won't run on the internal or USB external drive. Some people are running CS6 with El Cap just fine, but there are threads devoted to many people having problems and I can't risk having a major problem with it. I chose the 2012 model because I couldn't accept the tiny storage options, non-upgradability, and extreme price of the retina models. This little machine with an SSD would pretty much fly and that is enough for me.

 

[wetsignal]

Well, Internet Recovery won't work...it wanted to reinstall Yosemite. The Mavericks installer won't run on the internal or USB external drive. Some people are running CS6 with El Cap just fine, but there are threads devoted to many people having problems and I can't risk having a major problem with it. I chose the 2012 model because I couldn't accept the tiny storage options, non-upgradability, and extreme price of the retina models. This little machine with an SSD would pretty much fly and that is enough for me.

I guess I could go to the trouble of installing El Capitan to a separate partition and then CS6 and see if it is functional, maybe I'll get lucky.

 

[DeltaMac]

Well, Internet Recovery won't work...it wanted to reinstall Yosemite. The Mavericks installer won't run on the internal or USB external drive.
...

Could you be trying to install Mavericks from a DVD?
That almost never works for me.

Best plan is to create a Mavericks installer on a separate partition on an external USB drive. Or, use an 8GB USB flash drive. The good utility DiskMakerX does a great job of making a useful bootable installer.

However, the fact that Apple offers Yosemite, rather than something older, is a sign that Apple has possibly modified the logic board, so that older systems can't install, let alone boot.
I would suggest that you try installing a full Mavericks system on an external hard drive. You could split partitions on an external to give you 30 or 40 GB partition, more than enough for a basic install of OS X. Use your mini to install that Mavericks system on that partition.
And, then test out on your MBPro to see if it will boot to that Mavericks system!
If you either get a kernel panic, or a prohibited sign (circle with a diagonal line), then that may be proof that what you want is not going to happen (backgrading to Mavericks)

 

[hotmetal]

I can't answer the Mavericks/EFI question but on the subject of CS6: I have a late 2011 17" MBP that came with Lion and I've been running Mountain lion for ages. I've put an SSD in it and it is super fast. I recently put El Capitan on it with a view to going to Creative Cloud in the near future. First thing I found with CS6 is that you need to install Java. I did that (but disabled it from being active in Web browsers in the Java console). As long as java is installed CS6 will work with el cap. It just sucks to have to install Java which is known for vulnerability.

 

[pcgeek12345]

I can't answer the Mavericks/EFI question but on the subject of CS6: I have a late 2011 17" MBP that came with Lion and I've been running Mountain lion for ages. I've put an SSD in it and it is super fast. I recently put El Capitan on it with a view to going to Creative Cloud in the near future. First thing I found with CS6 is that you need to install Java. I did that (but disabled it from being active in Web browsers in the Java console). As long as java is installed CS6 will work with el cap. It just sucks to have to install Java which is known for vulnerability.

You needed to do this with Yosemite as well.

 

[simonsi]

Read Post #3

Internet Recovery will attempt to install the OS your machine shipped with.

If you haven't updated the firmware then you can manually install the earliest OS the model shipped with.

If you have updated the firmware as part of an update then the minimum OS will roll forward from the model minimum OS to a point depending on the firmware update(s) applied.

 

[chipchen]

Can't believe no one has mentioned this yet... but get a FireWire 800 cable (or Thunderbolt) and boot your mini into Target Disk Mode (hold down "T" on boot). Basically turns it into an external hard drive. Connect it to your MBP and boot holding down the Option key. That will let you choose the mini as the external drive to boot from. If it boots fine, you're good to go!

 

[simonsi]

Can't believe no one has mentioned this yet... but get a FireWire 800 cable (or Thunderbolt) and boot your mini into Target Disk Mode (hold down "T" on boot). Basically turns it into an external hard drive. Connect it to your MBP and boot holding down the Option key. That will let you choose the mini as the external drive to boot from. If it boots fine, you're good to go!

Still needs to be a runnable OS on the booting system though, doesn't get around the firmware issue if it exists.

 

[chipchen]

Still needs to be a runnable OS on the booting system though, doesn't get around the firmware issue if it exists.

It's an easy test is all. If the firmware won't allow it to boot into Mavericks, it's a no go.

 

[wetsignal]

It's an easy test is all. If the firmware won't allow it to boot into Mavericks, it's a no go.

I can't answer the Mavericks/EFI question but on the subject of CS6: I have a late 2011 17" MBP that came with Lion and I've been running Mountain lion for ages. I've put an SSD in it and it is super fast. I recently put El Capitan on it with a view to going to Creative Cloud in the near future. First thing I found with CS6 is that you need to install Java. I did that (but disabled it from being active in Web browsers in the Java console). As long as java is installed CS6 will work with el cap. It just sucks to have to install Java which is known for vulnerability.

I installed Java already in Yosemite, I think for CS6. I do not foresee going to the Cloud option of Adobe within the next several years, my needs are more than fulfilled by CS6. If I can't revert to Mavericks I guess I will go ahead and try El Capitan on a separate partition. I will also admit I really do not like the aesthetic changes since Yosemite, Mavericks is just so much more comfortable, warm and friendly, not to mention more stable.

 

[wetsignal]

Read Post #3

Internet Recovery will attempt to install the OS your machine shipped with.

If you haven't updated the firmware then you can manually install the earliest OS the model shipped with.

If you have updated the firmware as part of an update then the minimum OS will roll forward from the model minimum OS to a point depending on the firmware update(s) applied.

I haven't updated the firmware, but evidently Apple did so before they shipped it out. I suppose there is absolutely no way to roll that back right?

 

[wetsignal]

Thanks for the suggestions all. I have been with OSX for about the last 5 years after many years on Win95 and then XP and have been happy with the change. But I am increasingly displeased with the grip Apple has on what should be simple operations relating to user enjoyment of their own systems. Microsoft is equally disappointing for a whole host of other reasons, so I am not sure if moving that way is better or worse. Anyway, thanks again. I will have some time later today to install Mavericks to an external drive and try to boot to it from my Macbook. I have a sinking feeling Apple has already anticipated people wanting to do this and will prevent it (but why?). For whomever may care I will report back the results.

 

[wetsignal]

Well, I WAS able to boot my Yosemite Macbook into Mavericks from an external hard disk connected via USB 3.0, what a beautiful sight! When I chose it in "Startup Disk" it asked me if I wanted to boot into Mavericks, so it seemed to know what I was doing and did not stop me. Am I to assume if I loaded Mavericks on to the internal HD or bought and SSD that it would work just fine once reinstalled? I know there are no sure answers with this stuff but I would assume it would be fine right? Also, does "Target Mode" work with USB 3.0 or just via Firewire/Thunderbolt. It would be nice to load Mavericks to the internal disk without removing it from the laptop. I don't have a Firewire 800 cable right now. Maybe it wouldn't let me format the Macbook HD anyway.

 

[CoastalOR]

I have advised in my posts # 2 & 9 to put your new SSD in an external enclosure. Next format it, install Mavericks OS, and boot the MBP to it. If it works you are good to go. Open your MBP, remove the old HD, install the SSD, and boot the MBP.

 

[wetsignal]

I am happy to report that I was able to install Mavericks to the MBP internal drive (mounted externally) via the Mac Mini and boot successfully once reinstalled. I have seen no issues thus far, but will keep an eye open since the OS was technically "set up" for the Mini during the installation process. I guess there isn't much difference between them as far as the OS is concerned. I was going to use an SSD (and will eventually), but the performance boost going back to Mavericks is quite significant even on the stock 500GB HD so I can effectively put that off for a while. I know some people like Yosemite/El Capitan but I couldn't be happier performance-wise or aesthetically to have Mavericks on my MBP. Thanks to all who helped me figure this out.