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gibMacOS Tutorial ~ How to Download macOS Directly from Apple

trs96

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When your Mac is ineligible to download Catalina or Newer macOS versions

If your Intel Mac is from approximately 2011/12 or older (see post #2) you won't be able to download Catalina from the Mac App Store. Follow the instructions in these videos to enable the download of Catalina or newer macOS versions directly from Apple on your older Intel Core 2 Duo or 1st/2nd generation Intel Core i based Mac.

Note: gibMacOS can also be used on newer supported Macs if you are having trouble with the download via the Mac App Store. If you are running High Sierra or older versions you may see this popup when trying to get Catalina.

Screen Shot 28.jpg


Also note that Safari must be set as your default browser to download any macOS version older than Big Sur.​

The reason you'll use gibMacOS is not to upgrade your older Mac. It's purpose is to allow the download of High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina or Big Sur so that you can create a USB installer to perform the macOS install on a PC.

Note: You can also use this method on your CustoMac to download and create the complete macOS install app. This is helpful when you try to download the full installer from the MAS and only get the small 19MB "stub" installer.

Also note that Mojave and High Sierra are available for download using this method. Apple pulls those from the MAS after so many months/years and then you cannot download them any longer. The video shows a download of 10.15.4 but you'll want to get the latest 10.15.7 version of Catalina which is now available.

If you need a version of macOS such as Yosemite, El Capitan or Sierra see the following guide to get those:

Watch the complete video from beginning to end. After the download of Catalina you'll need to build the installer app and then move it to your Applications folder. Required for the use of UniBeast for Catalina later on in the process. Currently, you won't be using Unibeast or Clover if you have an AMD Ryzen CPU system. Best to use OpenCore on an AMD build. Make the USB installer with the createinstallmedia method from Apple.

For those downloading Big Sur, Monterey or Ventura, watch this video.


For High Sierra, Mojave or Catalina, watch this one.

Note that the Github page for downloading the zip has changed slightly. 1. Click the Code box. Then 2. Download ZIP.

Screen_Shot_3.jpg

Step by Step:
  1. Download the gibMacOS Master folder​
  2. Right click and open gibMacOS.command​
  3. Let all the files download (may take 20 minutes or more)​
  4. Right click and open BuildMacOSinstallapp.command​
  5. Drag & Drop the InstallESDDmg.pkg file into the Terminal Window​
  6. Press enter and let the build happen. Takes a minute​
  7. Move Install macOS Catalina App (8.23 GB) into your Applications folder​
  8. Run Unibeast for Catalina to make your installer for your desktop PC.​
  9. If you will install to a laptop, use createinstallmedia method to make the USB.​
You can view the Unibeast instructional video: Here
If you have an AMD CPU and motherboard you'll need to use createinstallmedia method and the OpenCore pkg. to make your installer. https://github.com/acidanthera/OpenCorePkg/releases -- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

Available macOS Products:
  • macOS Ventura beta 13.0
  • macOS Monterey 12.3.1 - 12.4
  • macOS Big Sur 11.6.7
  • macOS Big Sur 11.5.2
  • macOS Catalina 10.15.7 (19H2)
  • macOS Catalina 10.15.6 (19G73)
  • macOS Catalina 10.15.5 (19F2200)
  • macOS Catalina 10.15.4 (19E266)
  • macOS Catalina 10.15.3 (19D2064)
  • macOS Mojave 10.14.4 (18E2034)
  • Install macOS High Sierra Beta 10.13.5 (17F66a)
  • macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 (17G66)
  • macOS Mojave 10.14.6 (18G103)
  • macOS Mojave 10.14.5 (18F2059)
macOS Sierra - Direct download of a Sierra InstallOS.dmg from Apple.

1. Double click on the .dmg file to mount it.

2. Click through all the prompts that come up.

3. Find your Sierra installer in Applications.

Now follow the directions here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251380944
To create a Sierra USB installer. After that, copy your custom OC EFI folder to the USB's EFI partition.

Your older Mac or Hackintosh must have at least an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and be able to run OS X Snow Leopard or a newer version of OS X to use Unibeast for Catalina or other versions of macOS. Lion for example, requires a 64 bit Intel processor to install that edition of Mac OS X. You should also download the newest Chrome or Firefox browser version that works on your older Mac. Old Safari versions won't pass the security requirements for most sites.

When you create your USB installer on an older Mac expect it to take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. Using USB 2.0 ports and mechanical drives can really slow down the creation process.

If you would like to buy, borrow or rent a used Mac mini to create your installer, the 2010 models are the best choice. They all have a Core 2 Duo CPU and at least 2GB of ram which is required for Lion through the Mojave version of macOS.

If you have a 2010 Mac mini or iMac still on Snow Leopard you can upgrade it to Yosemite for free. http://updates-http.cdn-apple.com/2...3ab5-4c92-bfe2-b725447a070d/InstallMacOSX.dmg again, the minimum of 2GBs of ram applies here if using a 2007/08 Mac mini.

MacBook Pros from late 2008/09 or newer will also work well. You can upgrade them to El Capitan for free if you have one that is still on Snow Leopard. http://updates-http.cdn-apple.com/2...cf50-4516-9011-228c78eda3d2/InstallMacOSX.dmg

What if I don't have a macOS download eligible Mac or Hackintosh yet ?

It's more difficult but you can use a PC running Windows 10 and gibMacOS to download any of these macOS versions.


If you have a laptop, follow the guide by feartech:
 
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These Macs and newer are all eligible to download Catalina through the Mac App Store:

MacBook introduced in 2015 or later

MacBook Air introduced in 2012 or later

MacBook Pro introduced in 2012 or later

Mac mini introduced in 2012 or later

iMac introduced in 2012 or later

iMac Pro (all models)

Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or the 2019 Mac Pro

If your Mac does not meet these requirements, you'll need to use the gibMacOS commands as shown in the video above. You must use an Intel based Mac (Core 2 Duo or Core i) from the 2007 through 2011/12* model years. Older G4 and G5 Macs will not work.

*The 2010 and 2012 Mac Pros are not eligible to run macOS Catalina. The MAS will not let you download it on either of these machines. They can download and run Mojave if a Metal 2 capable graphics card is installed in them.

If your older Mac is still on Lion it's best to upgrade it to Mac OS X Yosemite first before using the Unibeast application to create your installer.

Here is the link:

To create your full installer of Yosemite, El Capitan or Sierra or other older versions of OS X, follow the Legacy OS guide on the Dortania site.


1586485338899.png


2012 iMac 27" running Mac OS X Mountain Lion​
 
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Great!
Just a question about the old MacOS versions: is there a simple way to know the direct URLs for High Sierra and Mojave, such as the ones you give for Yosemite and El Capitan?
EDIT: or is it that Apple provides such links only for "very" old versions? After a bit of googling, it looks like they only offer High Sierra through the App Store...
 
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Great!
Just a question about the old MacOS versions: is there a simple way to know the direct URLs for High Sierra and Mojave, such as the ones you give for Yosemite and El Capitan?
EDIT: or is it that Apple provides such links only for "very" old versions? After a bit of googling, it looks like they only offer High Sierra through the App Store...
Yosemite:

El Capitan:

scroll down to number 4 for direct download links
 
Just a question about the old MacOS versions: is there a simple way to know the direct URLs for High Sierra and Mojave, such as the ones you give for Yosemite and El Capitan?
If you watch the video closely you'll see that there are more options than just Catalina. There are actually three different versions (.4 .5 .6) of Mojave that you can choose to download when using gibMacOS.command. High Sierra 13.6 and 13.5 Beta are also available. Where I chose 1 in the video, you would type in 3 instead to get Mojave 10.14.4. It's nearly as simple as clicking on a direct download link on a web page. Just right click, open and then type in the number 1 through 7 for the version you want. Press enter and that's it. After that you run the buildmacOSInstallApp.command to make your Mojave installer, as shown in the video guide.

Screen Shot 19.jpg

Available macOS Products:

3. macOS Mojave 10.14.4 (18E2034)

4. Install macOS High Sierra Beta 10.13.5 (17F66a)

5. macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 (17G66)

6. macOS Mojave 10.14.6 (18G103)

7. macOS Mojave 10.14.5 (18F2059)
 
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Thank you both for your answers, but I was asking for "direct URLs for High Sierra and Mojave, such as the ones you give for Yosemite and El Capitan", meaning http://updates-http.cdn-apple.com/2...3ab5-4c92-bfe2-b725447a070d/InstallMacOSX.dmg for Yosemite and http://updates-http.cdn-apple.com/2...cf50-4516-9011-228c78eda3d2/InstallMacOSX.dmg for El Capitan.
I guess you've got them from Apple Support pages (https://support.apple.com/fr-fr/HT206886) and that the ones for High Sierra will also appear there when that version of MacOS will be phased out by Apple — i.e. when 10.16 is released.
For the time being, the equivalent support page for High Sierra sends to the App Store instead (https://support.apple.com/fr-fr/HT208969).
 
I was asking for "direct URLs for High Sierra and Mojave, such as the ones you give for Yosemite and El Capitan"
When using the gibMacOS command and downloading file 6 you get the same thing as the Yosemite and El Capitan DMG files from the Apple support page. It's called InstallESDDmg.pkg instead of InstallMacOSX.dmg. ESD is just an acronym for "Electronic Software Download."

Screen Shot 19.jpg
 
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It doesn't need to be run on a Mac/Hack either. It can be run on a Windows machine as well if you have Python installed (another free download), just run the gibmacos.bat and makeinstall.bat files instead.
 
No matter how many times I am doing this, the Install macOS Catalina App is at 5.4 GB and not 8.23 GB.
WHY?
 
No matter how many times I am doing this, the Install macOS Catalina App is at 5.4 GB and not 8.23 GB.
WHY?
It's possible that you downloaded something other than 10.15.4
Post a screenshot of this folder:

Screen Shot 10.jpg
 
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