Download for free OS X Lion on Apple’s support page here or OS X Mountain Lion on Apple’s support page here.

Pay for OS X Lion and Mountain Lion $19.99 through the Apple Store.So if by any chance you have an old Mac and want to install an old version, you can choose one of the two paths: The new M1 Macs, for example, can only be restored to macOS 11 Big Sur. For example, only Macs launched before 2012 are eligible to install them and the user must factory reset their computer to be able to run these older OS X systems. Why would I install an older Mac OS X software?Īs for now, a limited number of Macs can install these old operating systems. OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.8, Lion 10.7, or Mountain Lion 10.8 already installedĪpple notes that Macs shipped with Mac OS X Mountain Lion cannot install OS X Lion while Macs shipped with Mac OS Mavericks or later cannot install Mountain Lion.Mac OS X Mountain Lion requires the following technologies: MacOS X 10.3, code named 'Panther', adds features such as Expose, fast user switching, and the Safari web browser. Use real PowerPC Mac hardware, PearPC or QEMU PPC to emulate this.

X86 emulators like VirtualBox, VMWare or Virtual PC will not work. Some features require a compatible Internet service provider fees may apply. This version of Mac OS X is for PowerPC ONLY.Some features require an Apple ID terms apply.OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later or OS X Lion 10.7 already installed.Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor.Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is available for older systems that are not compatible with the latest version of macOS and requires the following: Go to and search for Mac OS 9. Ten years ago, users needed to pay Apple $19.99 for the latest version of its OS X, and now you can finally download these two for free.Īs reported by MacWorld, through support pages, it’s possible to download them for free. A retail international English Mac OS 9.0.4 install CD image that will work can be downloaded from the Macintosh Garden site. Released in 20, Mac OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion were the last paid software updates for the Mac.

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