This App Can Boot Any Version of MacOS
Whether you’re setting up a virtual machine for testing or trying to restore macOS on a device that won’t boot, sometimes you need to download a specific version of the Mac operating system. Problem: Apple doesn’t allow you to do this directly.
A free program called Mist , from developer [Nindi Gill], can help with this. With it, you can download any version of macOS, or at least Lion (which debuted in 2010). Moreover, you can get these operating systems in many formats.
Mist can deliver legacy OS in multiple formats
Mist can create an application package (.app), disk image (.dmg), or boot disk image (.iso) for any version of the operating system. Any version of macOS Big Sur (from 2020) will work with both Intel Silicon Macs and Apple Silicon; older versions of macOS only work on Intel devices. Mist can also download a firmware recovery file (.ipsw) that can only be used with Apple Silicon devices. The software can also turn any USB drive into a recovery drive.
What I’m saying is that Mist has a ton of power and it can make the app a little tedious the first time you launch it. There are two main tabs: Firmware , which offers Apple Silicon-only .ipsw files for newer Macs, and Installers , which offers the other formats I noted above, as well as the ability to create a USB recovery drive.
Select the format you want, then select your operating system. Please note that when you first open the application, you will be offered operating systems that are not compatible with your Mac. You can hide them by checking the “Show only compatible versions” checkbox at the bottom of the window. If you wish, you can also enable beta versions of macOS.
If you are downloading the firmware, you just need to click the download button and you will soon get the IPWS file needed to restore your device.
If you download the installer, you can select the format you want after clicking the download button.
Use Mist to turn any USB drive into a recovery drive for your Mac
Finally, to create a USB recovery drive using Mist, click the hard drive button in the app. Please note that only Big Sur and later versions are supported and will delete everything currently on the USB drive. However, the tool will boot the operating system and reformat the drive, which is nice. In the past, when I’ve made discs like this, it’s required multiple tools, so it’s nice that everything can be done in one step.
Bottom line
Mist isn’t for all Mac users, but it’s something that anyone who regularly repairs a Mac should probably have, and it’s also great if you’re the kind of person who uses virtual machines a lot. I’m glad I found this out on App Addict . It’s pretty cool.