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Prepare the External Driveīefore you can create the installer, you need to format the drive. The next time you upgrade, you might want to make a backup of the previous version’s installer, just in case.įor this process, you’ll need a 16GB or larger USB flash drive or external hard drive. Moving forward, it’s worth remembering that older macOS versions are now harder to download. Follow the prompts to complete the reinstallation, then restore your files from the backup you created.You’ll be able to see which version of macOS was used to create that backup. On the following screen, select the backup you want to restore from.In this case, that’s the backup drive you plugged in earlier. On the next screen, click Continue again.
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When the macOS Utilities screen appears, select Restore From Time Machine Backup and click Continue.On the next screen, select Options to launch Recovery mode. On Apple silicon Macs (M1 and M2 models), keep holding the Power button on startup until you see the Loading Startup Options message. Hold Cmd + R to enter macOS Recovery on an Intel Mac. Plug your Time Machine disk into your Mac and power it down or restart it.To downgrade using a prior Time Machine backup, follow these simple instructions: This, of course, assumes that you created the backup on an older version of macOS.
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Using a Time Machine backup is another simple way to install an older version of macOS.
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