INSIDE YOU Mac OS
Mac OS X El Capitan 10.11.1 DMG Mac. Mac OS El Capitan was released to manufacturing on 20th September 2015, almost three and a half years ago. Its latest version 10.11.6 (15G22010) was released on 9th July 2018, almost 7 months ago. Another solution for running some Windows applications 'inside' MacOS X, without running the Windows operating system, is CodeWeavers CrossOver Mac. CrossOver Mac is not compatible with all applications, but it does not require one to purchase a copy of Windows either. Maybe you’d like to test drive OS X before switching to a Mac or building a Hackintosh, or maybe you just want to run that one killer OS X app on your Windows machine.
Inside Macintosh is the title of the developer documentation manuals published by Apple Computer, documenting the APIs and machine architecture of the Macintosh computer.
Early editions[edit]
The first Inside Macintosh documentation, for the Mac 128K, was distributed in two large binders with photocopied 3-hole-punched pages. Every few months, updated sections were distributed for insertion into the binders. Some of the original sections were written by very early members of the Macintosh group, including Chris Espinosa and Joanna Hoffman.
In July 1982, Caroline Rose was hired to take over the software documentation, while Bradley Hacker focused on documenting the hardware. In addition to being the lead writer, Rose edited Volumes I–III and was the project supervisor. In 1984, additional writers joined the effort, including Robert Anders, Mark Metzler, Kate Withey, Steve Chernicoff, Andy Averill, and Brent Davis.
Due to numerous last-minute software changes, the official version to be published by Addison-Wesley was delayed. In the meantime, a $25 Promotional Edition (known as the 'phone book edition' because it was published by phone book publisher Lakeside Press) became available in April 1985.[1]
Addison-Wesley published Volumes I–III in July 1985 in two formats: as three separate paperback books and as one hardcover book combining all three volumes. It was the official technical documentation for the original Mac 128K, the Mac 512K ('Fat Mac'), and Mac XL models.
Reception[edit]
Reactions to Volumes I–III were mixed. While many praised the documentation for its clarity, thoroughness, and consistency, others disagreed, particularly complaining about the lack of sample code.
Among the positive feedback were the following:
- In the January 27, 1986, issue of InfoWorld, columnist John C. Dvorak wrote that the highlight of the Appleworld Conference, for many, was Addison-Wesley’s publication of Inside Macintosh. “It’s $75 and worth every penny. It tells you everything you never wanted know about the Macintosh—a must for any developer.”[2]
- Also in 1986, Inside Macintosh Volumes I–III won an Award of Achievement in the Society for Technical Communication’s Northern California competition.
- In 1988, noted software developer and columnist Stan Krute wrote, “If Pulitzers had a technical writing category, Inside Mac would win a prize. [Its writers] have given us the most comprehensive insight into a complex cybernetic system yet seen.”[3]
On the negative side:
- Bruce F. Webster in BYTE of December 1985 described Inside Macintosh as 'infamous, expensive, and obscure,' but 'for anyone wanting to do much with the Mac ... the only real [printed] source of information.' He quoted Kathe Spracklen, developer of Sargon, as saying that the book 'consists of 25 chapters, each of which requires that you understand the other 24 before reading it.'[4]
- A Mac GUI article by Dog Cow quotes Robert C. Platt as saying, 'The best guide to the Mac's ROMs is Inside Macintosh. Unfortunately, Inside Macintosh is also the most incomprehensible documentation ever written.'[1]
Volumes IV–VI[edit]
These versions of Inside Macintosh were subsequently published by Addison-Wesley (with authorship attributed only to Apple Computer in general):
- Volume IV (October 1986) documented the changes to the system software in the Mac Plus, which was introduced in January 1986.
- Volume V (February 1988) documented the Mac II and Mac SE, which were introduced in 1987. It discussed Color QuickDraw, as well as the Mac II and Mac SE hardware and other new software components.
- Volume VI (April 1991) described System 7. With 32 chapters, it was thicker than the first three volumes combined.
All of these volumes were designed to be read together; no information was repeated.[1]
New approach[edit]
Shortly after Volume VI was published, Apple revamped the entire Inside Macintosh series, breaking it into volumes according to the functional area discussed, rather than specific machine models or capabilities. In this form, the series was far more coherent and a much better reference for programmers. As new functionality was added to the classic Mac OS, new volumes (below) could be written without invalidating those published earlier—in contrast to the first series, which became increasingly out of date over time.
- Communications Toolbox
- Overview
- QuickDraw GX Environment and Utilities
- QuickDraw GX Graphics
- QuickDraw GX Objects
- QuickDraw GX Printing
- QuickDraw GX Printing Extension and Drivers
- QuickDraw GX Programmer's Overview
- QuickDraw GX Typography
- QuickTime
- QuickTime Components
- PowerPC Numerics
- PowerPC System Software
- X-Ref
These related documents were also published:
- TrueType Font Format Specification
In the late 1990s, Apple stopped publishing Inside Macintosh as a printed book, instead making it available as a CD-ROM at least since 1994,[5] as well as online. Since then, the CD variant has been phased out, though Apple developers can still receive online documentation as part of the developer CDs. In its online form, the information is much easier to maintain, but some developers still prefer a printed format.
Inside Macintosh covers only the classic Mac OS; a new set of documentation was introduced for Mac OS X. Initially this documentation included only the Carbon Specification identifying the APIs that were supported in Carbon and the Cocoa documentation inherited from OpenStep. Later, the Carbon Specification was refactored into the Carbon Reference, which actually documented the APIs (taking much content from Inside Macintosh). Today, the Carbon Reference and Cocoa Reference are bundled together in the ADC Reference Library.
References[edit]
- ^ abcDog Cow (2018-02-02). 'Inside Macintosh'. Mac GUI. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^Dvorak, John C. (January 27, 1986). 'Apple's New Products Are A Yawn But Mac Is Faster'. InfoWorld: 62.
- ^Krute, John (January 1988). 'To the Macs'. Dr. Dobb's Journal: 92–93.
- ^Webster, Bruce (December 1985). 'Microcomputer Color Graphics—Observations'. BYTE: 405.
- ^Inside Macintosh CD-ROM. ISBN0201406748.
External links[edit]
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.
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”
Inside You Mac Os Download
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
Inside You Mac Os X
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.