How to get back to Sierra from High Sierra?

[Csmac]

I've done every system upgrade from Mavericks up to High Sierra. I'm finding that I don't like High Sierra. I haven't been impressed from the beginning, but the last update turned on something that constantly is transferring data at 2 - 6 kilobytes/sec. That has done it for me. I've turned off everything I can find and it still goes on constantly. Looking on the App Store I can see all my "purchases" of OS versions from Mavericks through El Capitan, but Sierra doesn't show up. Where can I look to find it to download?

 

[pigoo3]

Looking on the App Store I can see all my "purchases" of OS versions from Mavericks through El Capitan, but Sierra doesn't show up. Where can I look to find it to download?

Did you actually ever download Sierra when it was available...or did you go from El Capitan to High Sierra (skipping Sierra)? If you never downloaded Sierra...that's why it's not in your purchases.

Also...when a new OS is released...the prior OS is removed from the server. Thus not available for download now.

- Nick

 

[chscag]

Let's cheat a bit.....

Follow this LINK to download Sierra.

Make sure that's what you really want to do and make sure you have backups just in case.

 

[ferrarr]

Did you actually ever download Sierra when it was available...or did you go from El Capitan to High Sierra (skipping Sierra)? If you never downloaded Sierra...that's why it's not in your purchases.

Also...when a new OS is released...the prior OS is removed from the server. Thus not available for download now.

- Nick

That’s weird, I don’t have Sierra in my Purchased page? I checked both of my Apple ID’s, it doesn’t show up in either Purchased page. Neither does High Sierra.

I have a feeling, this is the way Apple wants it going forward, you either make and keep the USB installer for each macOS version, or you lose it.

 

[pigoo3]

Thanks Charlie. Maybe Apple is changing the way they do things.

- Nick

p.s. Hey Bob...maybe Charlie's post explains things.

 

[Csmac]

Thanks Chscag, but that link takes me to a page that says I need MacOS greater than 10.6 and then linking from that I get a page advertising the new HS.

 

[Csmac]

Pigoo3, I was in the beta program for Sierra. Maybe if I go back to the beta program would it then show it? Or, I wonder if I go back to El Capitan would it let me then go to Sierra, probably not, but insist on HS. Grrr.

 

[Csmac]

Chscag, tried the link again and it worked. Go figure. Thanks.

 

[pigoo3]

Chscag, tried the link again and it worked. Go figure. Thanks.

Congrats!

- Nick

 

[dtravis7]

Thanks for that URL Charley. I grabbed it just in case. I probably have it somewhere but want to be safe.

 

[ferrarr]

Thanks Charlie. Maybe Apple is changing the way they do things.

- Nick

p.s. Hey Bob...maybe Charlie's post explains things.

I still have the file downloaded in my Applications folder, and I have a USB installer. I was just pointing out, the new macOS versions will not be showing on the Purchased page in the macOS App Store.

 

[ferrarr]

Let's cheat a bit.....

Follow this LINK to download Sierra.

Make sure that's what you really want to do and make sure you have backups just in case.

Charlie, thank you and how did you find this? I was looking in the App Store, and I could not find it, do you know if it will always (within reason) be available?

 

[chscag]

Charlie, thank you and how did you find this? I was looking in the App Store, and I could not find it, do you know if it will always (within reason) be available?

I believe it was posted by someone on MacRumors a while back when the same question was asked. Apple maintains the link but does not advertise it. The link is there for those folks who can not run High Sierra for one reason or another but can run Sierra. Now.. how long Apple will keep the link up is anyone's guess.

 

[ferrarr]

I believe it was posted by someone on MacRumors a while back when the same question was asked. Apple maintains the link but does not advertise it. The link is there for those folks who can not run High Sierra for one reason or another but can run Sierra. Now.. how long Apple will keep the link up is anyone's guess.

Ok, thanks.

 

[pm-r]

Thanks Charlie. Maybe Apple is changing the way they do things.

- Nick

Wouldn't that be a nice relief!!! ;D

BTW: I got the same results that Csmac got using that link as well, but it finally worked:

Thanks Chscag, but that link takes me to a page that says I need MacOS greater than 10.6 and then linking from that I get a page advertising the new HS.

- Patrick
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[Csmac]

This thread has morphed to how to find the Sierra installer download. That's been solved, thankfully.

Now the issue is how to do a backwards migration. I've done it, but it seems as if it is the hard way and was wondering if there is a better way.

This is how I did it:
- Put the installer on a USB stick.
- Backup the existing HS install to an external HD.
- Boot the external HD and reformat the internal SSD from APFS to HFS+ with Disk Utility.
- Install Sierra on the internal SSD. (had to do it from the USB stick as HS won't let me run the Sierra installer.)
- Boot to the internal SSD which now has Sierra on it.
- Attempt to Migrate the data from the external HD.
Opps - says I can't migrate backwards. No way around it I can see.
- Manually copy data and apps from the external HD.
- Install those apps that couldn't be copied back properly.

All is well except that Photos data format on HS is different than on Sierra so can't use that library directly. Export only exports any actual picture files, no links to external pictures. No answer to that I've found. Apparently can't download the new version of Photos to install on Sierra, at least I can't find info how to do that. Looks like it'll mean manually importing pictures etc. to Photos. Thankfully I kept the original pictures all external to Photos.

Is there a better way?

Cliff

 

[pm-r]

Now the issue is how to do a backwards migration. I've done it, but it seems as if it is the hard way and was wondering if there is a better way.
…
Is there a better way?

I dare say, why try re-inventing the wheel when there are hundreds of suggestions already out on the web one can use, and just use a web search to find them and to match one's situations etc.

PS: Did I read here or somewhere that Disk Utility cannot be used to delete the APFS partition???


EDIT:
Maybe some sites like this help deleting the APFS partition:
How to Delete APFS Partition on macOS Sierra
https://datarecovery.wondershare.com/apfs/how-to-deleted-apfs-partition-on-macos-sierra.html






- Patrick
======

 

[Csmac]

Yes, I did delete the APFS with Disk Utility and then formatted it to HFS+. Just go to the edit menu, not the window itself and there is an item to delete the partition. Then "show all devices" in Disk Utility and Erase the container and select the new format as HFS.

Regarding the searching for a better way, I've done that and everyone I've seen assumes that migrate will work going backwards. It doesn't! At least it wouldn't for me. Popped up a message saying I couldn't do it from HS. Also no one I saw had any help for go backwards with Photos data and apparently it's not possible to download the Photos app. If you have a better idea I'll be very glad to hear it.

Cliff

 

[MacInWin]

Photos is, I think, closely tied to the version of OS, so going back and then using updated Photos is not going to work. However, the one thing I might suggest is that if the backup was a TM backup, change that to a cloned backup from either Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper and you may be able to migrate backwards. The message you referred to, but didn't quote, sounded like a TM error message.

 

[Csmac]

Thanks for the reply MacInWin. My backup was a clone by SuperDuper. Trying to initiate a Migrate from the new Sierra OS brought up the message. The backup was on an external spinning drive formatted as HFS+ so file system shouldn't have been an issue. It does seem strange that it would yell since except for the few apps that had updated data formats everything would have worked on either system, but it explicitly said it would not migrate from HS.