Best Apps For Mac Os X Lion

23-04-2021

Best Apps For Mac Os X Lion

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.

Free Os X Apps
Best Apps For Mac Os X Lion 10.8
Mac Os X Lion Download

Almost four months ago, OS X Lion escaped from the Mac App Store and took up residence in Macs around the globe. And for the most part users are quite happy with their new house guest. The UI of Mac OS X Mountain Lion was very friendly and upgraded features included new versions of its web browser, game center, and iCloud services. Certain applications were replaced to make them more secure yet user-friendly while maintaining the quality that Apple Inc. Is known for so far. How To Download Mountain Lion Without App Store. Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is here. As we predicted, Apple's desktop operating system is going in the same direction as the iPad —and for good reason. Here is what is coming and why it's good for you. And a new uniform shape for app icons adds consistency while letting the personality of Mac shine through. Control Center for Mac Instantly access the controls you use most — like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth — and new controls to play music and enable Dark Mode for your display. Download Mac OS X Lion for free.iso image (OEM Version). Key features of Mac OS X Lion ISO. Mac mail version 5. Automatically saves different versions of your documents as work. Automatically saving work in background. Resumes app to where you left last. All open apps fall under a group. Full screen apps.

A list of all Mac OS X versions

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

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

Click the App Store icon.
Click Purchases in the top menu.
Scroll down to find the preferred OS X version.
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:

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.

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

Boot your Mac from your standard drive.
Connect the external drive.
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.

These might also interest you:

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is right around the corner. Is your Mac ready?

About a week and a half ago, Apple released the Golden Master version of Lion to Apple Developers. The final version is expected to hit the Mac App Store soon — perhaps in the next few days.

Mac OS X Lion will bring lots of new features to the Mac operating system, including enhanced multi-touch gesture support, the ability to swipe between fullscreen apps and a new auto-save system.

Upgrading an operating system can be a time-consuming process — no matter how easy the manufacturer tries to make it. To limit the potential headaches, we've put together this guide that should help you get your Mac ready for Lion.

Step 1: Check for System and Application Updates

Before upgrading to Lion, it's important to check for any major software updates to both your operating system and to the programs and devices you use frequently.

A few weeks ago, Apple released Mac OS X 10.6.8. This release was intended to help prepare users for Mac OS X Lion; it's a required update before you can download Lion from the Mac App Store.

To update your system, click on the Apple menu and select 'Software Update.' Go ahead and install any of the updates for your system and official Apple applications.

Next, check for available updates in your frequently used programs. A nice feature of the Mac App Store is that it makes it easy to find updates for programs you've purchased or installed. Just click on the 'Updates' button in Mac App Store's toolbar.

For other apps, lots of developers utilize various update frameworks within their applications and can alert users, when launched, that an update is available.

One of my longtime favorite Mac utilities is AppFresh. AppFresh is a free tool that scours your system for apps, compares them to the latest versions online and lets you install updates all in one convenient place.

Certain apps and utilities will need to be updated to work with Lion, so it's important to make sure you are running the latest versions.

If you are using an older printer or scanner, you might want to determine if the manufacturer has updated drivers or has a plan for Lion compatibility.

2. Clear Up Some Disk Space

Lion is about a 4GB download, and to be on the safe side, it's probably a good idea to have at least 10 - 12 GB of free disk space before installing the update.

Using a program like DaisyDisk or DiskWave is an efficient way to figure out what files and folders are taking up the most space. You can either back up some of those files to other drives or to places such as Dropbox, or delete unused apps or downloads.

3. Check App Compatibility

With Lion, Apple is making some changes to the way programs work and interact. As a result, not all programs that run in Snow Leopard are going to work flawlessly in Lion.

Fortunately, most app developers are already preparing and releasing updates and many more will have updates ready as soon as Lion ships. To get an idea of what apps will work, what apps won't and what apps might 'mostly work,' check out the community wiki, RoardingApps.

RoaringApps is a database/compatibility wiki for apps and Mac OS X Lion. Users of the Lion Developer Previews and the Golden Master can comment on how well (or how poorly) apps work with Lion.

I've found this resource to be quite helpful, especially for workarounds and potential fixes for apps that might not be fully Lion compatible.

Step 4. Say Goodbye to PowerPC Apps

A larger issue for longtime Mac users is that with Lion, Apple is officially dropping support for Rosetta. Rosetta was a technology that Apple developed to help users run older PowerPC apps on Intel Macs. Over the last five years, most major Mac apps have been updated or rewritten to work natively as Intel Mac apps or as universal binaries.

A handful of older applications (older versions of Adobe Creative Suite and Quicken 2007 are two frequently cited examples) will not work with Mac OS X Lion. Users will need to find replacement apps, upgrade to newer versions or keep a second-hard drive around to boot into Snow Leopard when needed.

Free Os X Apps

To find out if any of the apps you frequently use require Rosetta (and thus won't work with Lion), you can follow the instructions Christopher Breen wrote for Macworld. The key is to look for any PowerPC apps. If you find them, prepare for them not to work in Lion and consider looking for replacements.

Step 5. Backup, Backup, Backup

The last step in preparing your Mac for Lion is to do a serious backup of your system disk. While operating system upgrades are less error-prone than in the past, there's nothing worse than doing an update and then having a problem with accessing files or folders or installing software.

If you don't already have a hard drive dedicated to backup, pick one up before you upgrade to Lion. Drive space is inexpensive these days. I was able to pick up a 1TB FireWire 800/USB 2.0 2.5' hard drive for about $150 two weeks ago. My MacBook Pro only has a 250GB hard drive, so I can partition that drive and use it as both a Time Machine backup and with Carbon Copy Cloner to make a bootable backup, plus still have plenty of room for additional storage space.

Time Machine

Fortunately, creating a backup of your system (something you should be doing regularly anyway) is easy in Mac OS X. When Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard was released in 2007, one of the flagship features was the debut of Time Machine. Time Machine makes it easy to make continuous backups of your files, folders and applications.

To get started with Time Machine, just open up the app in your Applications folder or from its panel in System Preferences. If you have never used Time Machine before, just plug in a hard drive, and tell Time Machine that you want to use that drive (or a partition on that drive) for your backups.

Bootable Backup Disks

A Time Machine backup can be useful for restoring old files or applications after you upgrade to Lion, especially if you choose to do a clean install (yes, you can do a clean install of Lion, it just takes a tad more work. We'll have a full guide ready as soon as Lion is available in the Mac App Store.), but we recommend creating a bootable clone of your current hard drive too.

Using a program such as SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner, you can quickly make a bootable backup of your hard drive.

In a worst-case scenario, you can boot from your external backup drive and use that as your main hard drive (if needed). Mac OS X Lion will no longer support older PowerPC Mac apps using Rosetta. As a result, users who still need to access an old program or old file formats should make sure they have a bootable copy of Snow Leopard around, just in case.

SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner are both great apps. Carbon Copy Cloner is free (though if you find it valuable, please consider donating — it's a truly fantastic app), while SuperDuper is $27.95 to unlock its more advanced features.

To use Carbon Copy Cloner to create an exact replica of your current hard drive, launch the app and then select your 'Source Disk,' which is your startup volume.