macOS
High Sierra (10.13) can be downloaded directly from the Mac App Store.
To create an installer USB and you're in High Sierra or later, go to Terminal and type:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume
You can either rename your USB stick MyVolume to save some trouble or substitute the name of your volume for MyVolume.
For earlier versions of the macOS, here is the command you need (10.12 Sierra or lower):
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app
These commands will erase your USB stick and create a macOS High Sierra installer. Due to invoking sudo, you will need your admin password.
Some are simply not available any more from the Mac App Store. They will be listed below with links. MODS--If this is not legal within the MR forum rules, please chime in and edit this post.
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (this is just a Google search to purchase)
Mac OS X 10.7 Lion (must be purchased)
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion (must be purchased)
OS X 10.9 Mavericks
OS X 10.10 Yosemite (This is a direct link to a .dmg from Apple)
OS X 10.11 El Capitan (This is a direct link to a .dmg from Apple)
macOS 10.12 Sierra (This is a direct link to a .dmg from Apple)
NOTE: Internet Recovery cannot be done on the early Intels.
See this thread for more info on running unsupported versions of macOS.
Linux
If you feel instead you want to go down the Linux Road...
Arch
Arch for 32 bit systems
Debian
Debian for 32 bit systems
Fedora
Ubuntu
Lubuntu (Very low system requirements)
Most other i386/x86_64 distros (check DistroWatch and Distrochooser for more recommendations)
Berkeley Software Distributions
FreeBSD
NetBSD
OpenBSD
Windows
Early Intel Macs will officially support versions of Windows from Windows XP to Windows 7. They tend to not officially support 8 or 10.
About unofficial Windows 8/10 without BootCamp's Dual-Boot support:
(the easiest way to have a macOS/Windows DualBoot-machine is to install macOS and Windows 8/10 onto two separate harddrives)
First get Boot Camp 4 and Boot Camp 5 drivers from Apples support pages in order to install specific drivers after the Windows installation. (Note: The one-click BootCamp-setup-routine (= setup.exe in the main folder) is not reliable for all early intels, so better take the steps mentioned below - especially the SnowLeopard-BootCamp3 option!)
Procedure for a single-boot Windows-drive:
- boot and install Windows 8 from the installation-DVD.
- Partition and re-format the whole drive (MBR/MasterBootRecord; NTFS) / delete all existing partitions left over from GUI/HFS+ partitioning, otherwise Windows won't install.
- Install Windows onto the erased hard drive.
- Start Windows, go to the Windows "Device-Manager" to install/update drivers manually by using the BootCamp4-folder/subfolders as a source for drivers (Note: There's BootCamp3 on SL-DVD and BootCamp4&5 for download at the Apple support pages. BootCamp3 is the version, that should be run first, since it matches the then available hard- and software...)
For the BootCamp-SystemTray-AddOn go directly to the .../drivers/Apple/BootCamp(64).msi (Important: for 2008/2009 machines better try BootCamp3, located on the SnowLeopard-DVD. Copy the DVD's BootCamp-folder to your hard drive, change BootCamp(64).msi to compatibility mode for "earlier Windows-versions" and run it with admin-privileges. BootCamp4 might also work for the Books, but not for the iMacs).
Disable automatic driver-update to prevent Windows 8/10 from overwriting the driver of the graphic-card (that's most important for the "Late Early intel" early-2010 i3 21,5" iMac and similar - the Core2Duo in this respect are quite sturdy)
Windows 7/8 (as the starting point to upgrade to Win10): install flawless from DVD.
Windows 10 Upgrade: the free upgrade from Win 7/8 to Windows 10 is still working.
After Windows 10 installation/upgrade is complete check again the Windows "Device Manager" to upgrade drivers (source is either BootCamp4 or BootCamp5 folder). Don't allow automatic driver-update.
After the Win10 Upgrade is complete don't forget to save "Product Key" and "Digital Licence" (Read out and save with "ShowKeyPlus" from MS Store). Combine & save Key and Licence with your MS-account (!!!) to keep the licence active even after major changes in hardware, e.g. moving the drive into another Mac.
For earlier versions of Windows,use a Virtual Machine (e. g. VirtualBox or VMware). Speed is pretty fast and ressources are low.
High Sierra (10.13) can be downloaded directly from the Mac App Store.
To create an installer USB and you're in High Sierra or later, go to Terminal and type:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume
You can either rename your USB stick MyVolume to save some trouble or substitute the name of your volume for MyVolume.
For earlier versions of the macOS, here is the command you need (10.12 Sierra or lower):
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app
These commands will erase your USB stick and create a macOS High Sierra installer. Due to invoking sudo, you will need your admin password.
Some are simply not available any more from the Mac App Store. They will be listed below with links. MODS--If this is not legal within the MR forum rules, please chime in and edit this post.
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (this is just a Google search to purchase)
Mac OS X 10.7 Lion (must be purchased)
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion (must be purchased)
OS X 10.9 Mavericks
OS X 10.10 Yosemite (This is a direct link to a .dmg from Apple)
OS X 10.11 El Capitan (This is a direct link to a .dmg from Apple)
macOS 10.12 Sierra (This is a direct link to a .dmg from Apple)
NOTE: Internet Recovery cannot be done on the early Intels.
See this thread for more info on running unsupported versions of macOS.
Linux
If you feel instead you want to go down the Linux Road...
Arch
Arch for 32 bit systems
Debian
Debian for 32 bit systems
Fedora
Ubuntu
Lubuntu (Very low system requirements)
Most other i386/x86_64 distros (check DistroWatch and Distrochooser for more recommendations)
Berkeley Software Distributions
FreeBSD
NetBSD
OpenBSD
Windows
Early Intel Macs will officially support versions of Windows from Windows XP to Windows 7. They tend to not officially support 8 or 10.
About unofficial Windows 8/10 without BootCamp's Dual-Boot support:
(the easiest way to have a macOS/Windows DualBoot-machine is to install macOS and Windows 8/10 onto two separate harddrives)
First get Boot Camp 4 and Boot Camp 5 drivers from Apples support pages in order to install specific drivers after the Windows installation. (Note: The one-click BootCamp-setup-routine (= setup.exe in the main folder) is not reliable for all early intels, so better take the steps mentioned below - especially the SnowLeopard-BootCamp3 option!)
Procedure for a single-boot Windows-drive:
- boot and install Windows 8 from the installation-DVD.
- Partition and re-format the whole drive (MBR/MasterBootRecord; NTFS) / delete all existing partitions left over from GUI/HFS+ partitioning, otherwise Windows won't install.
- Install Windows onto the erased hard drive.
- Start Windows, go to the Windows "Device-Manager" to install/update drivers manually by using the BootCamp4-folder/subfolders as a source for drivers (Note: There's BootCamp3 on SL-DVD and BootCamp4&5 for download at the Apple support pages. BootCamp3 is the version, that should be run first, since it matches the then available hard- and software...)
For the BootCamp-SystemTray-AddOn go directly to the .../drivers/Apple/BootCamp(64).msi (Important: for 2008/2009 machines better try BootCamp3, located on the SnowLeopard-DVD. Copy the DVD's BootCamp-folder to your hard drive, change BootCamp(64).msi to compatibility mode for "earlier Windows-versions" and run it with admin-privileges. BootCamp4 might also work for the Books, but not for the iMacs).
Disable automatic driver-update to prevent Windows 8/10 from overwriting the driver of the graphic-card (that's most important for the "Late Early intel" early-2010 i3 21,5" iMac and similar - the Core2Duo in this respect are quite sturdy)
Windows 7/8 (as the starting point to upgrade to Win10): install flawless from DVD.
Windows 10 Upgrade: the free upgrade from Win 7/8 to Windows 10 is still working.
After Windows 10 installation/upgrade is complete check again the Windows "Device Manager" to upgrade drivers (source is either BootCamp4 or BootCamp5 folder). Don't allow automatic driver-update.
After the Win10 Upgrade is complete don't forget to save "Product Key" and "Digital Licence" (Read out and save with "ShowKeyPlus" from MS Store). Combine & save Key and Licence with your MS-account (!!!) to keep the licence active even after major changes in hardware, e.g. moving the drive into another Mac.
For earlier versions of Windows,use a Virtual Machine (e. g. VirtualBox or VMware). Speed is pretty fast and ressources are low.
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