We specialize in hosting Macs in data centers. Our two data centers (Milwaukee and Phoenix) host thousands of Macs. We have high density cabinets for both the Mac mini and Mac Pro. We host Macs for customers in almost every country. Our customer service and feature packed services make us the leader in the hosted Mac niche.

A Virtual Machine (VM) is a software environment that emulates a computer system. It facilitates a substitute for a real machine. They mimic computer architectures and offer the same functionality as a physical computer. Following is a handpicked list of Top Virtual Machines Software for Windows, Mac, and Linux with Virtual Machine download links.

GBurner virtual drive is a computer program that creates virtual DVD-ROM on your computer so that you are able to handle the disk images without having to burn the file to a DVD. With this tool, you will be able to support a wide range of image formats. Download virtual dvd rw for mac for free. System Tools downloads - Virtual CD RW by BurningThumb Studios and many more programs are available for instant and free download.

Popular uses for a hosted Mac:

• Website / Email Hosting
• Jenkins/Buildkite Continuous Integration
• Xcode Development
• macOS/iOS Software and Design Testing
• Daylite Hosting
• CRM Hosting
• Offsite Storage / Backup Server
• File Server
• Filemaker / Database Hosting
• Personal VPN Server
• Plex Media Server
• VMware ESXi/Fusion Virtualization Host
• Anka Virtualization Host

Each of our demo machines comes with macOS Catalina preinstalled.

TEST DRIVE

We invite you to take one of our Mac minis for a spin. We offer 24 hour demos to test out speeds and software configurations. Give it a try!

ABOUT US

We’re a small group based outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Many of us have founded our own
hosting/web companies that were acquired by Mac Mini Vault’s parent company, CyberLynk.
We are all highly skilled engineers with various wheelhouses; macOS, VMware, Linux, Windows, Cisco, VoIP.
Our customer service and technical expertise is highly valued by our customers.

DATA CENTER FEATURES

We are the only provider of Mac mini hosting that offers two data center options. The benefits of hosting with Mac Mini Vault do not stop there. We’ve worked hard to bring the most features and capabilities to market at the most competitive price.

• 1 Gbps Ports standard
• Native IPv6 included
• SOCII Audited (Phoenix)
• Free Hands on Support*

We simply do not believe in constantly charging customers for every little thing. If you need an OS re-installed, or a video dongle hooked up to your machine you shouldn’t have to worry about charges or monthly add-on costs.

Had an excellent experience with @MacMiniVault so far. Responsive support, awesome pricing, and ridiculous fast connection. Thanks guys!

I’m impressed at @MacMiniVault support. Good to work with pros who know what they are doing!

SERVICE FEATURES

Monthly service costs can be deceptive. When choosing a host be sure to compare all the
features. What will it cost if something breaks? What if I want a faster port? Is IPv6 connectivity
available? Our goal is to deliver the best service and the most value.

Free Mac Virtual Machine

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

We’re your hands and eyes and can assist with diagnosing and repairing your issue.

FAST BANDWIDTH

All Mac minis and Mac Pros come with a 1 Gbps network uplink to a Cisco switch stack that is redundantly connected to our backbone with 10 Gbps fiber.

MAC GEEKS

We eat, breathe, and sleep Apple. We spend a lot of time with macOS.

CONTROL PANEL

Access bandwidth graphs and remote power controls within your customer portal.

NATIVE IPV6

We run a dual stack network at both our data centers with multiple IPv4 and IPv6 peers.

HARDWARE SERVERS

We only rent out dedicated hardware, no virtualized servers that run like molasses.

FAQ

Have questions? No worries. We are here to help.

HOW FAST IS YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION?

Each Mac mini has a 1 Gbps network connection a few hops away from the public internet. Each data center has multiple bandwidth providers and we make sure all of our connections have plenty of available bandwidth. To summarize, “very fast”.

WHAT CAN YOU USE A MAC MINI OR MAC PRO FOR?

Many, many things. Use it as a server. Load ESXi on it and run macOS, Linux, or Windows Virtual Machines. Host Mac specific software (Filemaker, Daylite, Xcode, Jenkins, etc). Personal remote workstation. Off site backup/redundancy. Software development and testing. Plus many more use cases.

HOW RELIABLE IS A MAC MINI?

Very reliable. If you had to choose a weak point of the Mac mini, it’d be the hard drive. Performing backups to a second drive and using our Enterprise colocation plan will ensure that when the day comes that your hard drive finally stops spinning, you won’t have data loss or any unexpected bills. We’ll handle the hardware repair and data restore free of charge.

I GET THE RENT2OWN MAC MINI AFTER 12 MONTHS?

Well yes and no. We don’t automatically pack it up and ship it to you. Your colocation service keeps renewing until you cancel that. We treat the Mac mini as owned by you at that point and only invoice the colo fees.

WHAT IS COLOCATION?

Colocation (colo for short) is where a customer owns their equipment and pays a data center for rack space, bandwidth, and power. Over the long term this is a tremendous savings over leasing equipment. When you no longer need the server hosted we ship it back to you.

WHAT IF I WANT TO RUN WINDOWS, LINUX, OR VIRTUALIZATION?

We are one of the few companies that will load Windows or Linux (CentOS/Ubuntu Server LTS) on a bare metal Mac mini. We also offer ESXi which is great for virtualization. You can also virtualize inside your macOS, Windows, or Linux OS as well. You’ll most likely want an additional IP for each VM. Check out our Alternative OS page for information on Mac mini models that support Windows, Linux, and ESXi.

So, you’ve decided to download an older version of Mac OS X. There are many reasons that could point you to this radical decision. To begin with, some of your apps may not be working properly (or simply crash) on newer operating systems. Also, you may have noticed your Mac’s performance went down right after the last update. Finally, if you want to run a parallel copy of Mac OS X on a virtual machine, you too will need a working installation file of an older Mac OS X. Further down we’ll explain where to get one and what problems you may face down the road.

A list of all Mac OS X versions

We’ll be repeatedly referring to these Apple OS versions below, so it’s good to know the basic macOS timeline.

STEP 1. Prepare your Mac for installation

Virtual Drive Mac Free Download

Given your Mac isn’t new and is filled with data, you will probably need enough free space on your Mac. This includes not just space for the OS itself but also space for other applications and your user data. One more argument is that the free space on your disk translates into virtual memory so your apps have “fuel” to operate on. The chart below tells you how much free space is needed.

Note, that it is recommended that you install OS on a clean drive. Next, you will need enough disk space available, for example, to create Recovery Partition. Here are some ideas to free up space on your drive:

• Uninstall large unused apps
• Empty Trash Bin and Downloads
• Locate the biggest files on your computer:

Go to Finder > All My Files > Arrange by size
Then you can move your space hoggers onto an external drive or a cloud storage.
If you aren’t comfortable with cleaning the Mac manually, there are some nice automatic “room cleaners”. Our favorite is CleanMyMac as it’s most simple to use of all. It deletes system junk, old broken apps, and the rest of hidden junk on your drive.

Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.4 - 10.8 (free version)

Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.9 (free version)

Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.10 - 10.14 (free version)

STEP 2. Get a copy of Mac OS X download

Normally, it is assumed that updating OS is a one-way road. That’s why going back to a past Apple OS version is problematic. The main challenge is to download the OS installation file itself, because your Mac may already be running a newer version. If you succeed in downloading the OS installation, your next step is to create a bootable USB or DVD and then reinstall the OS on your computer.

How to download older Mac OS X versions via the App Store

If you once had purchased an old version of Mac OS X from the App Store, open it and go to the Purchased tab. There you’ll find all the installers you can download. However, it doesn’t always work that way. The purchased section lists only those operating systems that you had downloaded in the past. But here is the path to check it:

1. Click the App Store icon.
2. Click Purchases in the top menu.
3. Scroll down to find the preferred OS X version.
4. Click Download.

This method allows you to download Mavericks and Yosemite by logging with your Apple ID — only if you previously downloaded them from the Mac App Store.

Without App Store: Download Mac OS version as Apple Developer

If you are signed with an Apple Developer account, you can get access to products that are no longer listed on the App Store. If you desperately need a lower OS X version build, consider creating a new Developer account among other options. The membership cost is $99/year and provides a bunch of perks unavailable to ordinary users.

Nevertheless, keep in mind that if you visit developer.apple.com/downloads, you can only find 10.3-10.6 OS X operating systems there. Newer versions are not available because starting Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.7, the App Store has become the only source of updating Apple OS versions.

Purchase an older version of Mac operating system

Virtual Drive Mac Free

You can purchase a boxed or email version of past Mac OS X directly from Apple. Both will cost you around $20. For the reason of being rather antiquated, Snow Leopard and earlier Apple versions can only be installed from DVD.

Buy a boxed edition of Snow Leopard 10.6
Get an email copy of Lion 10.7
Get an email copy of Mountain Lion 10.8

The email edition comes with a special download code you can use for the Mac App Store. Note, that to install the Lion or Mountain Lion, your Mac needs to be running Snow Leopard so you can install the newer OS on top of it.

How to get macOS El Capitan download

If you are wondering if you can run El Capitan on an older Mac, rejoice as it’s possible too. But before your Mac can run El Capitan it has to be updated to OS X 10.6.8. So, here are main steps you should take:

1. Install Snow Leopard from install DVD.
2. Update to 10.6.8 using Software Update.
3. Download El Capitan here.

“I can’t download an old version of Mac OS X”

If you have a newer Mac, there is no physical option to install Mac OS versions older than your current Mac model. For instance, if your MacBook was released in 2014, don’t expect it to run any OS released prior of that time, because older Apple OS versions simply do not include hardware drivers for your Mac.

But as it often happens, workarounds are possible. There is still a chance to download the installation file if you have an access to a Mac (or virtual machine) running that operating system. For example, to get an installer for Lion, you may ask a friend who has Lion-operated Mac or, once again, set up a virtual machine running Lion. Then you will need to prepare an external drive to download the installation file using OS X Utilities.

After you’ve completed the download, the installer should launch automatically, but you can click Cancel and copy the file you need. Below is the detailed instruction how to do it.

STEP 3. Install older OS X onto an external drive

The following method allows you to download Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks.

1. Start your Mac holding down Command + R.
2. Prepare a clean external drive (at least 10 GB of storage).
3. Within OS X Utilities, choose Reinstall OS X.
4. Select external drive as a source.
5. Enter your Apple ID.

Now the OS should start downloading automatically onto the external drive. After the download is complete, your Mac will prompt you to do a restart, but at this point, you should completely shut it down. Now that the installation file is “captured” onto your external drive, you can reinstall the OS, this time running the file on your Mac.

1. Boot your Mac from your standard drive.
2. Connect the external drive.
3. Go to external drive > OS X Install Data.

Locate InstallESD.dmg disk image file — this is the file you need to reinstall Lion OS X. The same steps are valid for Mountain Lion and Mavericks.

How to downgrade a Mac running later macOS versions

If your Mac runs macOS Sierra 10.12 or macOS High Sierra 10.13, it is possible to revert it to the previous system if you are not satisfied with the experience. You can do it either with Time Machine or by creating a bootable USB or external drive.
Instruction to downgrade from macOS Sierra

Instruction to downgrade from macOS High Sierra

Instruction to downgrade from macOS Mojave

Instruction to downgrade from macOS Catalina

Before you do it, the best advice is to back your Mac up so your most important files stay intact. In addition to that, it makes sense to clean up your Mac from old system junk files and application leftovers. The easiest way to do it is to run CleanMyMac X on your machine (download it for free here).

Visit your local Apple Store to download older OS X version

If none of the options to get older OS X worked, pay a visit to nearest local Apple Store. They should have image installations going back to OS Leopard and earlier. You can also ask their assistance to create a bootable USB drive with the installation file. So here you are. We hope this article has helped you to download an old version of Mac OS X. Below are a few more links you may find interesting.