Impossible to download old Lion installer

[rdijkgraaf]

I just need an installer app for an old iMac with an erased harddisk. That is virtually impossible, because the App Store does not provide the older installers anymore and on other sources I only get an occasional pkg file. I cannot manage to transform these into a working app. Is it really so hard to just get an installer app via WeTransfer or on a cd? Then I can create a bootable installer.

No, I cannot use recovery mode because there is no system on the disk.

 

[Fishrrman]

Folks might be able to offer more help.
But you're going to have to provide more info first.

What YEAR was this Mac Made?
This is always THE MOST IMPORTANT INFO when trying to provide Mac help.

Can it boot to INTERNET RECOVERY?
This is NOT THE SAME AS "the recovery partition" (or just "recovery").

Try this and tell us what happens:
1. Power off, all the way
2. Press and hold these keys:
Command-OPTION-R
... and press the power on button.

KEEP HOLDING THOSE KEYS DOWN until you "see the spinning globe".
Ethernet works best for this.

If you're using wifi, you'll need your wifi password.
Enter it and just wait to see if you get the spinning globe.

It takes a while for the utilities to load, be patient.

Can you get the utilities loaded?

NOTE: this works only on 2011-later Macs, and on SOME 2010 Macs.
If it's 2009 and earlier, no go.
You need an external USB bootable flash drive instead.

 

[ifrit05]

Mac OS X Lion Installer - Apple Support

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is available for older systems that are not compatible with the latest version of macOS

support.apple.com

 

[rpmurray]

How to download and install macOS

The link above will let you download any Mac OS since Lion (10.7).

 

[Hrududu]

How to download and install macOS

The link above will let you download any Mac OS since Lion (10.7).

Always found it curious how Mavericks just didn't make the list. Still on the App Store if you bought it, but completely skipped on that page.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Always found it curious how Mavericks just didn't make the list. Still on the App Store if you bought it, but completely skipped on that page.

This has bothered me for years

 

[rpmurray]

Always found it curious how Mavericks just didn't make the list. Still on the App Store if you bought it, but completely skipped on that page.

Hmm. Didn't notice that. It is odd.

 

[rdijkgraaf]

How to download and install macOS

The link above will let you download any Mac OS since Lion (10.7).

No, that does not work, try it. As I said, the App Store does not provide old installer apps and the other links only yield pig-files, unusable for a bootable installer disk.

 

[rdijkgraaf]

Always found it curious how Mavericks just didn't make the list. Still on the App Store if you bought it, but completely skipped on that page.

No, that does not work, try it. As I said, the App Store does not provide old installer apps and the other links only yield pkg-files, unusable for a bootable installer disk.

 

[rdijkgraaf]

Folks might be able to offer more help.
But you're going to have to provide more info first.

What YEAR was this Mac Made?
This is always THE MOST IMPORTANT INFO when trying to provide Mac help.

Can it boot to INTERNET RECOVERY?
This is NOT THE SAME AS "the recovery partition" (or just "recovery").

Try this and tell us what happens:
1. Power off, all the way
2. Press and hold these keys:
Command-OPTION-R
... and press the power on button.

KEEP HOLDING THOSE KEYS DOWN until you "see the spinning globe".
Ethernet works best for this.

If you're using wifi, you'll need your wifi password.
Enter it and just wait to see if you get the spinning globe.

It takes a while for the utilities to load, be patient.

Can you get the utilities loaded?

NOTE: this works only on 2011-later Macs, and on SOME 2010 Macs.
If it's 2009 and earlier, no go.
You need an external USB bootable flash drive instead.

Thanks for your help.
Summary: I totally erased the harddisk of my late 2009 iMac. Now I need to install an old system, High Sierra was the last one used. I could indeed start up in recovery mode, which yielded 'the recovery server could not be contacted' (with wifi as well as via ethernet). I tried cmd-option-R and cmd-option-shift-R. It does not work via the Terminal either.The date is okay. So I need to create a bootable installer. Is it really that difficult for anyone to send me a working(!) link to an installer app, not being a pkg? I really only have one simple question: please send me an installer app, High Sierra or earlier.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

No, that does not work, try it. As I said, the App Store does not provide old installer apps and the other links only yield pig-files, unusable for a bootable installer disk.

It works just fine - but it requires a functioning Mac of a certain age to set it up. If you don’t have one, or don’t know how to set up a bootable installer, check with a local Apple Authorized Service Provider.

 

[Fishrrman]

First:
PRINT OUT THIS REPLY.
Save it for reference.

You are going to need another working Mac to do what follows.
Do you have one?
What is it?
What version of the OS is running on it?

Internet recovery DOES NOT WORK with a 2009 iMac. Don't bother trying.

A 2009 iMac can run OS versions up to 10.13 High Sierra. That's what we'll install.

OK, you are going to need some files and tools.
I'll tell you what you need and where to get them.

Download dosdude1's "High Sierra Patcher" tool by clicking this link:

https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/QmYTUKf6b3dg2gRwMAi6DpUDFBEGUQfgBkyuyD2AFY9Trh/macOS%20High%20Sierra%20Patcher.dmg

WE ARE NOT GOING TO PATCH ANYTHING.
We just need this tool to get High Sierra.

Hopefully the working Mac you have will run this tool.
Launch it.
IGNORE THE WARNINGS IT PRESENTS (such as "natively supported machine" or whatever).
We aren't going to need them.

Go to the "tools" menu (in the menu bar).
There should be an option to download High Sierra.
So... download it to the desktop.
Don't worry about what it downloads as (pkg, etc.) -- just download it.
When done, you should have the High Sierra installer on the desktop.

Once you have that on the desktop, you don't need the HS Patcher tool anymore.
Just quit it.

Now, we need more tools:
I'm going to present TWO utilities.
You will need only one, but DOWNLOAD BOTH OF THEM.
If one doesn't work for you, TRY THE OTHER ONE.

1. DiskMaker X:

http://diskmakerx.com/downloads/DiskMaker_X_701.dmg

2. Install Disk Creator:

Make a Bootable USB macOS Installer Download the update for Big Sur compatibility -

What’s needed for a clean install on a Mac A backup of the disk before it’s erased. Two options are to use Duplicate (a free utility which can copy and paste an entire bootable volume), or Mac Backup Guru (a paid, fully featured backup utility with unique incremental backups capability) for...

macdaddy.io

Both of these are tools which will take a USB flash drive and (using the OS installer) will create a BOOTABLE install drive.

You will need a USB flash drive, I recommend 16gb or larger.
IF ALL YOU HAVE is 8gb, try that, it may work.

Just launch either of these, the instructions are self-explanatory.
Again -- try ONE of them first.
If that doesn't work, try the other one.

Can you get the bootable USB flash drive made?
It will take a little while for the utility to create it, so be patient.

When done...
THE ACID TEST:
Plug the flashdrive into the iMac's USB port.
Hold down the option key and keep holding it down.
Press the power on button.
You should see the startup manager, select the flash drive and boot.

If it boots, that's the BIG STEP forward.

I would use disk utility to erase the internal drive AGAIN.
MAKE SURE you go to the view menu and choose "show all devices" so you can see the internal drive.

Erase to "Mac OS extended, journaling enabled, GUID partition format".

Then quit disk utility and open the OS installer.
See if you can get the OS installed.

Good luck.

 

[bobesch]

So I need to create a bootable installer. Is it really that difficult for anyone to send me a working(!) link to an installer app, not being a pkg? I really only have one simple question: please send me an installer app, High Sierra or earlier.

All necessary information has yet been provided in this thread!

There’s a download-link for any OSX/macOS from Lion to Sierra, if you follow the Link in #4 , but You’ll need another Mac to download the Installer.dmg and create the Installer-BootStick.

Then follow the instructions given on that page (it tells You especially, what to do with the .pkg-file!):

1. Use these links to download a macOS disk image (.dmg) file.
2. Double-click the .dmg file to open it and see the package (.pkg) file within.
3. Double-click the .pkg file, then follow the onscreen instructions to install the macOS installer into your Applications folder.
   (Step 3 creates e.g. the „Mac OS X Lion Installation.App“ within the Applications-Folder)
4. [Leave out step 4]

… but instead download Mac OS X USB Drive Creator.zip from http://dosdude1.com/apps/.
Use „Mac OS X USB Drive Creator.App“ to build the USB-Bootstick.
(Edit: make sure, the USB-Stick is formatted properly = GUID/MacOS Extended (journaled))

Boot from that USB-Stick (hold ALT on booting) and run the Lion-Installer.
Took me 20min to complete … (downloads and creating the BootStick)

To progress to HighSierra just follow the instructions in #4 and upgrade to HighSierra through the AppStore.
You may also install HighSierra (or officially unsupported Mojave or Catalina) through the Dosdude-patcher, as mentioned by @Fishrrman in #12 .
Any of the patchers provide download of the named macOS and are also able to build the USB-stick without the help of any other software.
If You use the patched HighSierra-Installer, You don't need to patch the system, since Your iMac still supports HighSierra (the USB-installs just the out-of-the-box HighSierra. PostInstall-procedure to patch the macOS is only necessary for unsupported Macs)
If You use the patched Mojave or Catalina-Installer, You'll have to run the PostInstall-Routine to patch the system and make it run. A detailed instruction for the patching procedure is provided on the specific dosdude1-sites.
If You use the

 

[rdijkgraaf]

Dear Bobesch,

Thank you very much for your help! Creating the bootable installer was indeed very easy, so I became optimistic. But alas, when restarting with the option key, the old Mac only sees its own recovery disk, not the installer USB stick. El Capitan: same. I tried my 2014 MacBook too, that yielded the same result: I can only choose its own harddisk. I'm lucky to have Fishrrman's option up my sleeve and there are more Terminal options to be found, so I'll manage. Thanks again, René

 

[bobesch]

Dear Bobesch,

Thank you very much for your help! Creating the bootable installer was indeed very easy, so I became optimistic. But alas, when restarting with the option key, the old Mac only sees its own recovery disk, not the installer USB stick. El Capitan: same. I tried my 2014 MacBook too, that yielded the same result: I can only choose its own harddisk. I'm lucky to have Fishrrman's option up my sleeve and there are more Terminal options to be found, so I'll manage. Thanks again, René

Did you check, wether the USB-Stick was properly formatted "GUID/MacOS Extended (journaled)"
USB-Sticks often come preformatted MBR/FAT and the MBR-partitioning system might cause the problem.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Try following MY instructions to you to the letter.
Then get back and tell us what went wrong.

 

[bobesch]

OP:

Try following MY instructions to you to the letter.
Then get back and tell us what went wrong.

I also wonder what went wrong with Dosdude1's Mac OS X USB Drive Creator.zip
Thanks to this inspiring thread I also started thinking about solving the problem and I've built a Lion-Installer and an ElCapitan-Installer for my older Macs today. (Actually this morning I didn't really have had a plan how to build an installer too ... 😅)
For Mojave-Installation I always take the same approach with the Dosdude-Patcher like You've described in #12 .
But I use the Patcher itself to create the Installer-Bootstick even for supported Macs, since the Dosdude-BootSticks first installs macOS the ordinary way and apply patches only afterwards after a reboot from BootStick and applying the PostInstall-routine. It should be the same for all the patchers.
For the unsupported Macs I don't even use a USB-stick to create the patched Installer, but build a 16GB partition at the very end of the designated hard drive that becomes the place to hold the patched macOS-installer. So I always have a kind of patcher-recovery on board and installation is much faster (FW800 to build the installer; SSD to SSD for installation of macOS) compared to USB-Stick/USB2.

 

[rdijkgraaf]

Did you check, wether the USB-Stick was properly formatted "GUID/MacOS Extended (journaled)"
USB-Sticks often come preformatted MBR/FAT and the MBR-partitioning system might cause the problem.

I used a Philips 32 GB USB stick, formatted as MacOS Extended Journaled.

 

[bobesch]

I used a Philips 32 GB USB stick, formatted as MacOS Extended Journaled.

Check wether MBR or GUID!
I ran into problems while my stick was in MBR-partition-scheme.
And then rebuild the installer-bootstick.

 

[rdijkgraaf]

GUID

 

[bogdanw]

"App Store links and mas-cli Id's for macOS Installers from Lion to Ventura"
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...acos-installers-from-lion-to-ventura.2378889/

For Lion:

open -W ~/Downloads/InstallMacOSX.dmg
pkgutil --expand /Volumes/Install\ Mac\ OS\ X/InstallMacOSX.pkg  ~/Lion
cd ~/Lion/InstallMacOSX.pkg
tar -xvf Payload
mv ~/Lion/InstallMacOSX.pkg/InstallESD.dmg ~/Lion/InstallMacOSX.pkg/Install\ Mac\ OS\ X\ Lion.app/Contents/SharedSupport
mv ~/Lion/InstallMacOSX.pkg/Install\ Mac\ OS\ X\ Lion.app /Applications
rm -rf ~/Lion

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I used a Philips 32 GB USB stick, formatted as MacOS Extended Journaled.

On a Mac of that age, I've run into trouble using USB-3 sticks for bootable installers. See if you can find a USB-2 only one.

 

[rdijkgraaf]

First:
PRINT OUT THIS REPLY.
Save it for reference.

You are going to need another working Mac to do what follows.
Do you have one?
What is it?
What version of the OS is running on it?

Internet recovery DOES NOT WORK with a 2009 iMac. Don't bother trying.

A 2009 iMac can run OS versions up to 10.13 High Sierra. That's what we'll install.

OK, you are going to need some files and tools.
I'll tell you what you need and where to get them.

Download dosdude1's "High Sierra Patcher" tool by clicking this link:

https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/QmYTUKf6b3dg2gRwMAi6DpUDFBEGUQfgBkyuyD2AFY9Trh/macOS%20High%20Sierra%20Patcher.dmg

WE ARE NOT GOING TO PATCH ANYTHING.
We just need this tool to get High Sierra.

Hopefully the working Mac you have will run this tool.
Launch it.
IGNORE THE WARNINGS IT PRESENTS (such as "natively supported machine" or whatever).
We aren't going to need them.

Go to the "tools" menu (in the menu bar).
There should be an option to download High Sierra.
So... download it to the desktop.
Don't worry about what it downloads as (pkg, etc.) -- just download it.
When done, you should have the High Sierra installer on the desktop.

Once you have that on the desktop, you don't need the HS Patcher tool anymore.
Just quit it.

Now, we need more tools:
I'm going to present TWO utilities.
You will need only one, but DOWNLOAD BOTH OF THEM.
If one doesn't work for you, TRY THE OTHER ONE.

1. DiskMaker X:

http://diskmakerx.com/downloads/DiskMaker_X_701.dmg

2. Install Disk Creator:

Make a Bootable USB macOS Installer Download the update for Big Sur compatibility -

What’s needed for a clean install on a Mac A backup of the disk before it’s erased. Two options are to use Duplicate (a free utility which can copy and paste an entire bootable volume), or Mac Backup Guru (a paid, fully featured backup utility with unique incremental backups capability) for...

macdaddy.io

Both of these are tools which will take a USB flash drive and (using the OS installer) will create a BOOTABLE install drive.

You will need a USB flash drive, I recommend 16gb or larger.
IF ALL YOU HAVE is 8gb, try that, it may work.

Just launch either of these, the instructions are self-explanatory.
Again -- try ONE of them first.
If that doesn't work, try the other one.

Can you get the bootable USB flash drive made?
It will take a little while for the utility to create it, so be patient.

When done...
THE ACID TEST:
Plug the flashdrive into the iMac's USB port.
Hold down the option key and keep holding it down.
Press the power on button.
You should see the startup manager, select the flash drive and boot.

If it boots, that's the BIG STEP forward.

I would use disk utility to erase the internal drive AGAIN.
MAKE SURE you go to the view menu and choose "show all devices" so you can see the internal drive.

Erase to "Mac OS extended, journaling enabled, GUID partition format".

Then quit disk utility and open the OS installer.
See if you can get the OS installed.

Good luck.

Dear Fishrrman,

Thank you very, very much for all your help. I have been using Macs for thirty years, solving many system problems, especially in the older days. I mistakingly thought myself to be experienced ...

Diskmaker only created installer disks that wer invisible by my machines, but Disk Creator did the trick, the old machune is up and running! Thanks again for your work and for your clear 'manual'.

 

[Fishrrman]

I've been criticized by some here in the past for "instructions" and processes that others complained were too long, and there were quicker ways to get a job done.

My pathways may take longer to walk down.
But they'll eventually get you to where you need to be, when the shortcuts don't.

 

[Star_Warsik]

Hello everyone, guys. Installed usb Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 Macbook Air 1.1 Early 2008, but the app store (cannot connect ), itunes (error code -9836). Is that all, support has been discontinued?