On 2023-03-07, TimS <timstreater@greenbee.net> wrote:

I need to have a temporary High Sierra system, as I have a user of an app I wrote, who is having an issue with it that I don't observe here; he is on High
Sierra, my stuff runs as expected under Mojave and Catalina.

I have a 2012 Mini kicking around (fortunately I hadn't sold it off yet) that should be able to run HS. I'd put Catalina on it as the last step prior to disposal.

Now, even though one can find links on Apple Support pages giving direct AppStore links for downloading various macOS versions, following the HS one the appStore has a nice page with a Get button to click, but it then says that
this OS version is "not available". So I think perhaps I'll get Sierra installed but the installer for that is "too old" to run under Catalina. So now I'm installing Mountain Lion in the hopes that I can upgrade to Sierra successfully and possibly even HS if I can find an installer.

(There was also the Fusion Drive rabbit hole to avoid. I thought I'd better reformat the HD and SSD inside this Mini to HFS+, but the Mountain Lion Recovery setup version of Disk Utility noticed them and very kindly made them into a Fusion Drive for me. Luckily diskutil was my friend, there)

Now, does anyone have any suggestions to to how I *should* have done this, or is able to point me at a genuine High Sierra installer?

<https://archive.org/details/macOS.High.Sierra.10.13.6>

--
Cheers, Alan

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

I need to have a temporary High Sierra system, as I have a user of an app I wrote, who is having an issue with it that I don't observe here; he is on High Sierra, my stuff runs as expected under Mojave and Catalina.

I have a 2012 Mini kicking around (fortunately I hadn't sold it off yet) that should be able to run HS. I'd put Catalina on it as the last step prior to disposal.

Now, even though one can find links on Apple Support pages giving direct AppStore links for downloading various macOS versions, following the HS one
the appStore has a nice page with a Get button to click, but it then says that this OS version is "not available". So I think perhaps I'll get Sierra installed but the installer for that is "too old" to run under Catalina. So
now I'm installing Mountain Lion in the hopes that I can upgrade to Sierra successfully and possibly even HS if I can find an installer.

(There was also the Fusion Drive rabbit hole to avoid. I thought I'd better reformat the HD and SSD inside this Mini to HFS+, but the Mountain Lion Recovery setup version of Disk Utility noticed them and very kindly made them into a Fusion Drive for me. Luckily diskutil was my friend, there)

Now, does anyone have any suggestions to to how I *should* have done this, or is able to point me at a genuine High Sierra installer?

--
Tim

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2023-03-07, Alan B <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:

On 2023-03-07, TimS <timstreater@greenbee.net> wrote:

I need to have a temporary High Sierra system, as I have a user of an app I >> wrote, who is having an issue with it that I don't observe here; he is on High
Sierra, my stuff runs as expected under Mojave and Catalina.

I have a 2012 Mini kicking around (fortunately I hadn't sold it off yet) that
should be able to run HS. I'd put Catalina on it as the last step prior to >> disposal.

Now, even though one can find links on Apple Support pages giving direct
AppStore links for downloading various macOS versions, following the HS one >> the appStore has a nice page with a Get button to click, but it then says that
this OS version is "not available". So I think perhaps I'll get Sierra
installed but the installer for that is "too old" to run under Catalina. So >> now I'm installing Mountain Lion in the hopes that I can upgrade to Sierra >> successfully and possibly even HS if I can find an installer.

(There was also the Fusion Drive rabbit hole to avoid. I thought I'd better >> reformat the HD and SSD inside this Mini to HFS+, but the Mountain Lion
Recovery setup version of Disk Utility noticed them and very kindly made them
into a Fusion Drive for me. Luckily diskutil was my friend, there)

Now, does anyone have any suggestions to to how I *should* have done this, or
is able to point me at a genuine High Sierra installer?

<https://archive.org/details/macOS.High.Sierra.10.13.6>

If you mount the dmg you will find the High Sierra installer app. You may encounter expired
certificate problems when trying to use it, typically seeing a message claiming the file is
damaged. The easiest way to work around this is to use Show Package Contents and navigate
to Contents -> SharedSupport. Now move, rename or delete InstallInfo.plist and hopefully
all will be well when you try the install again. It's explained here:

<https://osxdaily.com/2019/10/24/fix-install-macos-application-damaged-cant-be-used-error-mac/>

This worked for me when creating a HS VM using VMware Fusion on my Intel Mac running
Ventura.

--
Cheers, Alan

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 08 Mar 2023 at 15:42:23 GMT, "Alan B" <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:

On 2023-03-07, Alan B <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:

On 2023-03-07, TimS <timstreater@greenbee.net> wrote:

I need to have a temporary High Sierra system, as I have a user of an app I >>> wrote, who is having an issue with it that I don't observe here; he is on High
Sierra, my stuff runs as expected under Mojave and Catalina.

I have a 2012 Mini kicking around (fortunately I hadn't sold it off yet) that
should be able to run HS. I'd put Catalina on it as the last step prior to >>> disposal.

Now, even though one can find links on Apple Support pages giving direct >>> AppStore links for downloading various macOS versions, following the HS one >>> the appStore has a nice page with a Get button to click, but it then says that
this OS version is "not available". So I think perhaps I'll get Sierra
installed but the installer for that is "too old" to run under Catalina. So >>> now I'm installing Mountain Lion in the hopes that I can upgrade to Sierra >>> successfully and possibly even HS if I can find an installer.

(There was also the Fusion Drive rabbit hole to avoid. I thought I'd better >>> reformat the HD and SSD inside this Mini to HFS+, but the Mountain Lion
Recovery setup version of Disk Utility noticed them and very kindly made them
into a Fusion Drive for me. Luckily diskutil was my friend, there)

Now, does anyone have any suggestions to to how I *should* have done this, or
is able to point me at a genuine High Sierra installer?

<https://archive.org/details/macOS.High.Sierra.10.13.6>

If you mount the dmg you will find the High Sierra installer app. You may encounter expired
certificate problems when trying to use it, typically seeing a message claiming the file is
damaged. The easiest way to work around this is to use Show Package Contents and navigate
to Contents -> SharedSupport. Now move, rename or delete InstallInfo.plist and
hopefully
all will be well when you try the install again. It's explained here:

<https://osxdaily.com/2019/10/24/fix-install-macos-application-damaged-cant-be-used-error-mac/>

This worked for me when creating a HS VM using VMware Fusion on my Intel Mac running
Ventura.

Thanks, I was eventually able to get through and now have an updated HS
running on the Mini in question. Off for pizza now, so details later.

--
Tim

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 08 Mar 2023 at 15:42:23 GMT, "Alan B" <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:

On 2023-03-07, Alan B <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:

On 2023-03-07, TimS <timstreater@greenbee.net> wrote:

I need to have a temporary High Sierra system, as I have a user of an app I >>> wrote, who is having an issue with it that I don't observe here; he is on High
Sierra, my stuff runs as expected under Mojave and Catalina.

I have a 2012 Mini kicking around (fortunately I hadn't sold it off yet) that
should be able to run HS. I'd put Catalina on it as the last step prior to >>> disposal.

Now, even though one can find links on Apple Support pages giving direct >>> AppStore links for downloading various macOS versions, following the HS one >>> the appStore has a nice page with a Get button to click, but it then says that
this OS version is "not available". So I think perhaps I'll get Sierra
installed but the installer for that is "too old" to run under Catalina. So >>> now I'm installing Mountain Lion in the hopes that I can upgrade to Sierra >>> successfully and possibly even HS if I can find an installer.

(There was also the Fusion Drive rabbit hole to avoid. I thought I'd better >>> reformat the HD and SSD inside this Mini to HFS+, but the Mountain Lion
Recovery setup version of Disk Utility noticed them and very kindly made them
into a Fusion Drive for me. Luckily diskutil was my friend, there)

Now, does anyone have any suggestions to to how I *should* have done this, or
is able to point me at a genuine High Sierra installer?

<https://archive.org/details/macOS.High.Sierra.10.13.6>

If you mount the dmg you will find the High Sierra installer app. You may encounter expired
certificate problems when trying to use it, typically seeing a message claiming the file is
damaged. The easiest way to work around this is to use Show Package Contents and navigate
to Contents -> SharedSupport. Now move, rename or delete InstallInfo.plist and
hopefully
all will be well when you try the install again. It's explained here:

<https://osxdaily.com/2019/10/24/fix-install-macos-application-damaged-cant-be-used-error-mac/>

This worked for me when creating a HS VM using VMware Fusion on my Intel Mac running
Ventura.

It seems that the safest way is to follow the same sequence that I might originally have done before the 2012 Mini was retired. That is, it might have come with Snow Leopard, and over time (some years) I would have updated it through various OS versions until I ended up with High Sierra. This process avoids the "broken" installers; I didn't know about this certificate business, I just assumed these were broken in some not-understood (by me, anyway) fashion.

So, the first thing was to have Recovery put back the OS it came with, via a Shift-Cmd-Opt-R restart. That gave me Snow Leopard on the machine. I think I'd been able to download a Sierra installer (or maybe I already had it). Running this gave me Sierra. But none of the HS installers I'd found by poking around, would then work under Sierra. They were all "broken". And, the App Sore
claimed not to have high Sierra at all, even if I tried it under Sierra. Further, although lots of sites had a direct link to an Apple site with the HS installer, this link repeatably fired up the App Store, which claimed to have HS, but on clicking Get all I got was "unavailable".

Eventually I tried this same link in Safari under Sierra; I'd been doing that on my main Mini (Catalina). Under Sierra, the HS Installer, which had been "unavailable" under Catalina, was suddenly "available". It downloaded and was OK.

So it seems that you can't go backwards directly. You have to go a long way backwards (only one option for that) and then work forwards, and if you dig
you can find (from Apple Support) direct links to OS installers - but do all this on that same machine.

--
Tim

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2023-03-08, TimS <timstreater@greenbee.net> wrote:

On 08 Mar 2023 at 15:42:23 GMT, "Alan B" <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid>
wrote:

On 2023-03-07, Alan B <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:

On 2023-03-07, TimS <timstreater@greenbee.net> wrote:

I need to have a temporary High Sierra system, as I have a user of an app I
wrote, who is having an issue with it that I don't observe here; he is on High
Sierra, my stuff runs as expected under Mojave and Catalina.

I have a 2012 Mini kicking around (fortunately I hadn't sold it off yet) that
should be able to run HS. I'd put Catalina on it as the last step prior to >>>> disposal.

Now, even though one can find links on Apple Support pages giving direct >>>> AppStore links for downloading various macOS versions, following the HS one
the appStore has a nice page with a Get button to click, but it then says that
this OS version is "not available". So I think perhaps I'll get Sierra >>>> installed but the installer for that is "too old" to run under Catalina. So
now I'm installing Mountain Lion in the hopes that I can upgrade to Sierra >>>> successfully and possibly even HS if I can find an installer.

(There was also the Fusion Drive rabbit hole to avoid. I thought I'd better
reformat the HD and SSD inside this Mini to HFS+, but the Mountain Lion >>>> Recovery setup version of Disk Utility noticed them and very kindly made them
into a Fusion Drive for me. Luckily diskutil was my friend, there)

Now, does anyone have any suggestions to to how I *should* have done this, or
is able to point me at a genuine High Sierra installer?

<https://archive.org/details/macOS.High.Sierra.10.13.6>

If you mount the dmg you will find the High Sierra installer app. You may
encounter expired
certificate problems when trying to use it, typically seeing a message
claiming the file is
damaged. The easiest way to work around this is to use Show Package Contents >> and navigate
to Contents -> SharedSupport. Now move, rename or delete InstallInfo.plist and
hopefully
all will be well when you try the install again. It's explained here:

<https://osxdaily.com/2019/10/24/fix-install-macos-application-damaged-cant-be-used-error-mac/>

This worked for me when creating a HS VM using VMware Fusion on my Intel Mac >> running
Ventura.

It seems that the safest way is to follow the same sequence that I might originally have done before the 2012 Mini was retired. That is, it might have come with Snow Leopard, and over time (some years) I would have updated it through various OS versions until I ended up with High Sierra. This process avoids the "broken" installers; I didn't know about this certificate business,
I just assumed these were broken in some not-understood (by me, anyway) fashion.

So, the first thing was to have Recovery put back the OS it came with, via a Shift-Cmd-Opt-R restart. That gave me Snow Leopard on the machine. I think I'd
been able to download a Sierra installer (or maybe I already had it). Running this gave me Sierra. But none of the HS installers I'd found by poking around,
would then work under Sierra. They were all "broken". And, the App Sore claimed not to have high Sierra at all, even if I tried it under Sierra. Further, although lots of sites had a direct link to an Apple site with the HS
installer, this link repeatably fired up the App Store, which claimed to have HS, but on clicking Get all I got was "unavailable".

Eventually I tried this same link in Safari under Sierra; I'd been doing that on my main Mini (Catalina). Under Sierra, the HS Installer, which had been "unavailable" under Catalina, was suddenly "available". It downloaded and was OK.

So it seems that you can't go backwards directly. You have to go a long way backwards (only one option for that) and then work forwards, and if you dig you can find (from Apple Support) direct links to OS installers - but do all this on that same machine.

What a carry-on! Still at least you got there in the end :) This Intel Mac bought
new came with HS so shouldn't be a problem (apart from expired certs?). However,
as I said , I'm running HS in a VM so no where near as much hassle. Like Mojave,
slrn and MacSOUP run exceedingly well :)

--
Cheers, Alan

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)