I want to downgrade from Mavericks to Snow Leopard. How can I do this?

I want to downgrade my 2009 IMac from Mavericks to Snow Leopard. Please explain how I do this.

Insert the Mac OS X 10.6 DVD, restart the computer with the C key held down, and install Snow Leopard onto a blank volume. If needed, use the Disk Utility to erase or repartition the internal drive.
(113491)

Similar Messages

I'm having to many problems with Lion freezing up and want to go back to Snow Leopard,how can I do this?

I'm having to many problems with Lion freezing up and want to go back to Snow Leopard,how can I do this?

How to revert your Mac to Snow Leopard

Downgrading from Mavericks to Snow Leopard, can't boot from USB drive

I'm attempting to do a clean install of Snow Leopard on a 2010 Macbook. The MB had recently been upgraded to Mavericks, but because it was running slowly, I decided to downgrade. (If you respond to this post, please don't ask me why I'd make this decision.)
As with any other clean install I've done--all pre-Mountain Lion--I backed everything up, I created a .dmg file of the Snow Leopard, and made a perfectly good, bootable USB drive with the OS (1 partition, GUID table); I tested this USB drive on another Macbook, one currently running Snow Leopard, by holding option as I booted up. It works fine and gets to the installation screen.
I booted the Mavericks Macbook while holding command+r, and I erased the main HD. I then formatted it with 1 partition, with a GUID table. All was normal.
But here's where the problem starts. I plugged the USB drive into the formerly Mavericks computer, and held option for the bootloader. It recognizes the OS. But when I click the arrow to proceed, it inevitably has a kernel panic and tells me to restart the computer.
I re-made my bootable drive, and I tested it again on the other machine. Again, it's still fine. Plugged it into my main machine--again, a panic.
Using command+r to reach disk utility, I've now erased and repartitioned the computer's hard drive several times, even using the advanced-security erase feature. Still, the panic.
When I hold command+r at boot, it always forces me through the Internet Recovery. The only option offered to reinstall OS X is with Lion, which I didn't buy with my Apple ID.
What can I do?

Sorry, but this didn't help me. From what I gather, Mavericks (or maybe Mountain Lion) included a firmware update that, for some reason, prevents users from downgrading to anything before Lion. This makes things difficult, because I didn't buy Lion--I made the leap from SL to Mavericks.
Here's the strange part, I learned: When I enter Internet Recovery, I'm prompted to reinstall Lion, not Mavericks. And because I didn't buy Lion, my Apple ID/password, which are asked for, don't help.
Anyone else with suggestions? None of my USB-based installations are working, and I'm feeling out of luck. I don't want to spend money at the Apple store...

Downgrade from Mavericks to Snow Leopard without using Time Machine

Hello.
I upgraded from Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6.8) and upgraded to Mavericks but the Time Machine was not turned on. Is there anyway to downgrade back to Snow Leopard?
I contacted Apple Support and was told that it is not advisable to format the drive and do a clean install using Snow Leopard installation Cd's since Mavericks made changes to the hardware on the iMac. They advise using time Machine to downgrade, but this option is not available to me. Is this true?? Or can I re-install Snow Leopard with no issues?
Thanks.

Mavericks - reverting back from:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6162

How do I downgrade from Mavericks to Snow Leopard and save my new pages files?

Unfortunately, the Mavericks system isn't working for me. It's way too slow, has issues with Finder and so on. Basically it's just a pain in my *** and my
beloved Mac Book Unibody (2010) just can't handle it! After searching for hours online for a solution, I'd love to get back to the good old times.
I read that I can downgrade to Snow Leopard with my latest TM backup, using the recovery mode. Problem is that I "upgraded" sometime in October, so I have accumulated a bunch of new files. Being a teacher, I have tons of documents and Apple unfortunately changed all the old '09 files into '13 ones. Will they still work under the new old system, or do I have to find some way to export them into '09 files?
Is it fine to use the TM backup, or is it better to use ds store's method to recover the system?
Thanks

I backed up the system just prior to upgrading.
Hardware Information:
    MacBook (13-inch, Late 2009)
    MacBook - model: MacBook6,1
    1 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores
    2 GB RAM
Video Information:
    NVIDIA GeForce 9400M - VRAM: 256 MB
System Software:
    OS X 10.9.1 (13B42) - Uptime: 0 days 1:43:50
Disk Information:
    TOSHIBA MK2555GSXF disk0 : (250,06 GB)
        EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209,7 MB
        Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 249,2 GB (147,64 GB free)
        Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
    MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-898
USB Information:
    Western Digital Elements 1048 1 TB
        disk1s1 (disk1s1) <not mounted>: 32 KB
        harddrive n.hahn (disk1s3) /Volumes/harddrive n.hahn: 1 TB (878,94 GB free)
    Apple Inc. Built-in iSight
    Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
    Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600
    Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub
        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
FireWire Information:
Thunderbolt Information:
Kernel Extensions:
Startup Items:
    HWNetMgr: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HWNetMgr
    HWPortDetect: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HWPortDetect
Problem System Launch Daemons:
Problem System Launch Agents:
Launch Daemons:
    [loaded]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [loaded]    com.DesignScience.DSMTTool.plist 3rd-Party support link
Launch Agents:
    [failed]    com.promethean.activhardwareservice.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [failed]    com.promethean.activmgr.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [failed]    com.promethean.flashextension.plist 3rd-Party support link
User Launch Agents:
    [loaded]    com.divx.agent.postinstall.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [loaded]    com.spotify.webhelper.plist 3rd-Party support link
User Login Items:
    iTunesHelper
    Dropbox
    SPanel
    DaemonManager
Internet Plug-ins:
    Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 7.1 3rd-Party support link
    Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9
    Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.3.8.1 3rd-Party support link
    NP2020Player: Version: 4.5.2.0 3rd-Party support link
    OVSHelper: Version: 1.0 3rd-Party support link
    Silverlight: Version: 4.0.51204.0 3rd-Party support link
    FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
    DivXBrowserPlugin: Version: 2.2 3rd-Party support link
    Flash Player: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update
    AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin101737: Version: AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin 1.0.17 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link
    iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0
    NP_2020Player_IKEA: Version: 5.0.93.0 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
    QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
    JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.9.0 - SDK 10.7 Outdated! Update
Audio Plug-ins:
    BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9
    AirPlay: Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.9
    AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0 - SDK 10.9
    iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9
User Internet Plug-ins:
    BrowserPlus_2.9.8: Version: 2.9.8 3rd-Party support link
3rd Party Preference Panes:
    BrowserPlus 3rd-Party support link
    DivX 3rd-Party support link
    Flash Player 3rd-Party support link
    Flip4Mac WMV 3rd-Party support link
    Perian 3rd-Party support link
    SMART Board 3rd-Party support link
Bad Fonts:
    None
Old Applications:
    SMART Product Update:    Version: 5.1.125.0 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        /Applications/SMART Technologies/SMART Tools/SMART Product Update.app
    activationwizard:    Version: 3.0.118.0 - SDK 10.5
        /Library/Application Support/SMART Technologies/activationwizard.app
    LIMBO:    Version: 1.1.0 - SDK 10.0 3rd-Party support link
    Amazon MP3 Downloader:    Version: INFO_PLIST_VERSION - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link
    MathType:    Version: 6.7e 12112800 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link
        /Applications/MathType 6/MathType.app
Time Machine:
    Auto backup: YES
    Volumes being backed up:
        Macintosh HD: Disk size: 232.09 GB Disk used: 94.59 GB
    Destinations:
        harddrive n.hahn [Local] (Last used)
        Total size: 931.39 GB
        Total number of backups: 7
        Oldest backup: 2013-10-28 17:02:36 +0000
        Last backup: 2014-01-21 20:48:05 +0000
        Size of backup disk: Excellent
            Backup size 931.39 GB > (Disk size 232.09 GB X 3)
    Time Machine details may not be accurate.
    All volumes being backed up may not be listed.
Top Processes by CPU:
        24%    firefox
         4%    WindowServer
         2%    hidd
         1%    EtreCheck
         1%    sysmond
Top Processes by Memory:
    535 MB    firefox
    61 MB    Dropbox
    53 MB    mds_stores
    53 MB    mds
    47 MB    Finder
Virtual Memory Information:
    55 MB    Free RAM
    649 MB    Active RAM
    601 MB    Inactive RAM
    327 MB    Wired RAM
    669 MB    Page-ins
    15 MB    Page-outs

How do i downgrade from mavericks to snow leopard

I have been having a very difficult time with mavericks and would like to do a clean factory restore on my MacBook. I have the disks that came with my device which are Mac OS X Snow Leopard DVD, MacBook Applications Install DVD and the iWorks DVD. I have tried multiple times to erase my drive and do a clean install but for some reason the Applications Install DVD will not load. It keeps giving me error messages. I have also attempted to install any updates that might be available for Mac OS X Snow Leopard and again I receive error messages telling me that the updates can not be installed.
I can get to the point to where Snow Leopard loads, but I am missing many of my programs such as App Store, GarageBand, iMovie, etc that originally came installed on my machine.
Can someone please walk me through how to do this?
All help would be appriciated.
Thanks,
Selena

I have been having a very difficult time with mavericks and would like to do a clean factory restore on my MacBook. I have the disks that came with my device which are Mac OS X Snow Leopard DVD, MacBook Applications Install DVD and the iWorks DVD. I have tried multiple times to erase my drive and do a clean install but for some reason the Applications Install DVD will not load. It keeps giving me error messages. I have also attempted to install any updates that might be available for Mac OS X Snow Leopard and again I receive error messages telling me that the updates can not be installed.
I can get to the point to where Snow Leopard loads, but I am missing many of my programs such as App Store, GarageBand, iMovie, etc that originally came installed on my machine.
Can someone please walk me through how to do this?
All help would be appriciated.
Thanks,
Selena

How do I downgrade from Lion to Snow Leopard without losing iWork 09? I upgraded my MBP from 10.5 (originally 10.4) to 10.6, then again to 10.7. Should I go back to 10.4, 10.5 or just to 10.6?

How do I downgrade from Lion to Snow Leopard without losing iWork 09? I upgraded my MBP from 10.5 (originally 10.4) to 10.6, then again to 10.7. Should I go back to 10.4, 10.5 or just to 10.6? I don't remember which system included iWork 09 and don't want to lose it. Thanks for any help.

Thanks for the information! My sister gave me the MBP for my daughter with Leopard installed. I purchased Snow Leopard and installed it, then my daughter purchased Lion. So I do have all the installers. If iWork wasn't included with any of those, I guess my sister purchased it while running Leopard. I'll have to contact her. Thanks again.

How can I downgrade from Lion to Snow Leopard?

Hello.
Yesterday, I upgraded my Mac to Mac OS X (10.7 Lion) from 10.6.8 Snow Leopard. However, I wish to downgrade.
Obviously, I would like to not lose any data at all. However, I have never downgraded before.
I still have the Snow Leopard installation disk that came with my Mac.
How should I do this? I was thinking it would be easiest to simply head on over to an Apple Store...
I did some research (aka Googling), and I read up on the subject quite a bit.
If I simply put in the disk, will I be able to downgrade from Lion to Snow Leopard as easily as the upgrade was?
Also, I have heard about holding down the "C" button to do this... how exactly?
I have never backed up my Mac, nor used Time Machine.
Also, is it possible to install Snow Leopard on a separate disk, and set it up so that I can switch between them on command?
Will all of my preferences be saved, or does this wipe everything, not just the system and libraries folders?
I realize that I have a lot of questions, and therefore I appreciate everyone's help in advance. Thanks again.
Sincerely, Zach

Backup your files.
Booting From An OS X Installer Disc
1. Insert Snow Leopard Installer Disc into the optical drive.
2. Restart the computer.
3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
5. Wait for installer to finish loading.
Erase Drive
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Upon completion quit DU and return to installer. Install Snow Leopard. Restore your files after the installation has completed.

I have to downgrade from Yosemite to Snow Leopard because of compatibility issues with some of my software. Can I use PS Elements 12 with snow leopard?

I have to downgrade from Yosemite to Snow Leopard because of compatibility issues with some of my software. Can I use PS Elements 12 with snow leopard?

PSE12 became a 64 bit app for the first time on Mac. The recommended system requirements are Mac OS X v10.7 through v10.8.
Are you not able to use lion or Mountain Lion?

I recently Downgraded from Lion to Snow Leopard 10.6. How do I update to 10.6.2 or beyond?

This is the problem... How do I fix that?

app61 wrote:
I recently Downgraded from Lion to Snow Leopard 10.6
How did you do that ?

Going from Mavericks to Snow Leopard?

I'm trying to go from Mavericks to Snow Leopard on my 2011 Macbook Air (intel i7, 1.8 Ghz, 4 GB of Ram), but it won't let me. I tried going into Disk Utility and deleting everything off the hard drive itself, then booting from the disc itself, but it won't work. I tried restoring for a Snow Leopard back-up, it would work, although it did let me boot to a Lion backup. I even tried to simply set the start-up disc to my Snow Leopard retail disc, but it wouldn't boot. I could hear the disc moving in my USB superdrive for 15-20 sec, then it just stopped and the computer stays at the Apple logo. Any suggestions?

You cannot run Snow Leopard on that model. You can reinstall Lion which is what came pre-installed from the factory:
Install Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion Using Internet Recovery
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
Boot to the Internet Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.
Partition and Format the hard drive:
1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your newly installed hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion. Mavericks: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.
This should restore the version of OS X originally pre-installed on the computer.

I want to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard...I'm apprehensive about Lion.

I've been hearing so many "glitch" anecdotes about Lion. Until these problems are resolved
I want to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard but I'll be buying a new Apple computer to
do that..
I presently have a a 10.4 iMAC with only 2.33 GB of memory and I'm getting a new puter
in order to have 4 GB. Is it recommended to use Lion with a new Apple computer or can I use
Snow Leopard without missing out on anything? Are the stories about Lion just the usual thing
that always happens with a new upgrade? Tiger has worked perfectly for me for 6 years but that
has been on computer that is 6 years old. (POWERPC) Does a new iMAC computer with intel
require the latest operating system to work at top efficiency? Is my apprehension about Lion
an over reaction to anecdotal info?

Some of this is answered best by knowing what model computers are involved. If you are truly getting a brand new (as opposed to a newer used) computer then it will likely come with Lion installed, unless there's some old stock (which even then would have Lion installed but could still run under Snow Leopard which you would have to buy separately). Macs will normally only run the version system that comes installed, or newer, so if you are getting a brand new Mac you won't have any choice but to run Lion (or its successors). It won't run Snow Leopard unless it is a new used computer.
As for Lion stories, those would best be answered on the Lion forum. I still run Tiger which I why I'm on this forum. There's always issues with any upgrade. For me the biggest drawback to Lion is all my software is PPC generation and Lion stopped supporting PPC completely. If I got a brand new computer I would also have to upgrade all my software which could easily run to over a thousand dollars more.

I want to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard on my 2008 MacPro. How do I avoid problems with the upgrade process?

I want to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard on my 2008 MacPro. How do I avoid problems with the upgrade process?

#1 Do a complete bootable backup of your drive before upgrading. That way should anything happen you can revert back to the start and try again.
Make sure you meet Snow Leopard 10.6 Technical Requirements - http://support.apple.com/kb/SP575
You might also want to make sure you don't have software issues with SL:
A Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Application Compatibility List - http://snowleopard.wikidot.com/

Am replacing airport extreme with Time Machine and want to upgrade from Tiger to Snow leopard. Am told I should manually back up into T Machine before OS update but set up utility won't allow anything with OS below 10.5 and I'm 10.4.11. What to do?

Am replacing airport extreme with Time Machine and want to upgrade from Tiger to Snow leopard. Am told I should manually back up into T Machine before OS update but set up utility won't allow anything with OS below 10.5 and I'm 10.4.11. What to do?

I think you mean you are replacing your Airport Extreme with a Time Capsule. Time Machine is software integrated into OS X 10.5 & 10.6 used to automatically backup a system to an external HD. Time Capsule is an Airport Extreme that has a hard disk integrated into it that can be used for storage or as a Time Machine backup drive.
Because you are currently on Tiger 10.4.x you can backup to a external HD using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. Having a backup is very wise before doing any major system update. After you have created the backup and have successfully upgraded to Snow Leopard you can still use the external HD for many things. The strategy I'd recommend is to use the new Time Capsule as your Time Machine backup and then use the external HD as backup using SuperDuper or CCC. Redundant backups is wise because backups can (and do) fail too! In addition both SD and CCC are bootable clones, this is useful in that if your internal HD crashes you can boot from a cloned drive and continue working until the internal HD is replaced.
Below are some links to some articles from MacWorld, I would recommend reading them where you find a common theme, redundant backups. Backup Plan I, Backup Plan II & Backup Plan III.
Roger

HT201269 Hi I want to back up my photos from my iPhone 5. How can I do this? I have an iPad mini but cannot sync to an iPhone as iPad does not have USB port. Can you help please x

Hi I want to back up my photos from my iPhone 5. How can I do this? I have an iPad mini but cannot sync to an iPhone as iPad does not have USB port. Can you help please

You have to back them up to a computer. You would import them either to iPhoto or to the Photos app in your PC:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4083
Cheers,
GB

I want to downgrade from Mavericks to Snow Leopard. How can I do this?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for