Apple has come up with new versions of operating system known as Mac OS X El Capitan, Catalina, Mojave, etc. which are the successor of Yosemite. Some people are happy with these new versions, whereas some people are unhappy as this new OS fails to reach their expectations. In such cases, they may want to downgrade back to Mac Yosemite. But the problem is how to do that? Here we are providing a detailed description of how to downgrade from El Capitan to Yosemite in simple steps. It includes all information about how to uninstall OS X El Capitan and reinstall OS X Yosemite, and also how to restore data from Time Machine after reinstalling Yosemite.
Note - Before uninstalling El Capitan, if you made a bootable OS X Yosemite install drive, then it is just a 3 step process. Plugin-> reboot-> hold down the Option key, that’s it you can able to enjoy your earlier version.
The first and foremost thing that you have to do before erasing El Capitan is to take a backup of Mac data using Time Machine.
1. Steps to uninstall El Capitan
- Check whether Mac system connected to the internet or not, if not then connect it
- From Menu, select Restart option
- Press Command + R keys soon after it restarts and release it when Apple logo appears
- In OS X Utilities selector window, press on Disk Utility and select Continue
- In Next window, you need to select Startup Disk and press Erase from top of the page
- Now, you can see a dialogue box which will ask you to enter Name and to select Format option from the list
Name- Either type Macintosh HD or other name of your choice, Format- Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) - And, Click Erase
- After removing OS X El Capitan, close Disk Utility window
2. Procedure to install Mac OS X Yosemite
- Open OS X Utilities window and select Reinstall OS X option from drop down list
- Next, click on Continue this will take you to OS X Yosemite Installer window
- In OS X Yosemite Installer window, click on Continue
- Agree to the terms and conditions
Once this process gets over, your system will restart and run with OS X Yosemite
3. Simple steps to get back data from Time Machine
You can restore data from Time Machine whenever you want. You can do this while deleting Mac OS X El Capitan or else after installation of Yosemite.
- After restarting Mac, hold down the Command + R button
- From OS X Utilities menu, select Restore from Time Machine Backup and click Continue
- In next window read “Restore Your System” page
- Select Time Machine Backup and press Continue
- In the next window, select most recent backup and tap on Continue
This process will take time depending on your internet speed. After completion of this process, you are ready to use Yosemite on your Mac system. The entire process is easy to go, but it might possible that you’ll face some issues in between the process or after installing Yosemite. You may find some of the files missing from your system, in such a situation make use of Remo Mac Data Recovery software and restore files lost after installing Yosemite.
Remo Recover Mac software scans the entire hard drive with ease to retrieve lost files during the macOS downgrading, upgrading, etc. and when the scanning gets completed, you can preview the recovered files and save them to any location of your choice. Remo Recover Mac utility also helps you to recover lost or deleted files under various data loss scenarios from Mac OS X El Capitan, High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, and many more.
