How to restore Mac with OpenCore Legacy Patcher?

General
1

Hi, guys. I have a MacBook Pro that I purchased in 2012, and I recently upgraded to macOS Ventura. However, I’ve noticed that the system is running slowly, the response time for opening applications has significantly increased, and it even crashes sometimes. Therefore, I’ve decided to downgrade to macOS Monterey, as it ran more smoothly before.
So, I want to know if OpenCore Legacy Patcher is legal. How do I restore a Mac with OpenCore Legacy Patcher? Any help would be appreciated!

2

Overall, OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) is a tool designed to help older Mac models run newer versions of macOS that are no longer officially supported. If you only use OCLP to install macOS on an old Mac, it typically doesn’t lead to legal issues even if this may violate Apple’s End User License Agreement (EULA). However, installing macOS on non-Apple hardware (like a Windows PC) violates the EULA and could be considered illegal.

3

Generally speaking, the OpenCore Legacy Patcher is safe to use. It’s important to note that using OpenCore Legacy Patcher on unsupported Mac models carries certain risks. Additionally, Apple does not provide technical support for devices running macOS versions installed through third-party tools like OCLP. Although OCLP provides a valuable solution for extending the lifespan of older Macs, you should proceed with caution and be aware of the potential limitations and risks.

4

Here are the steps to restore a MacBook Pro to macOS Monterey using OpenCore Legacy Patcher:

  1. Back up your data. Use Time Machine for backups or manually copy important files, such as documents, photos, and other work files, to an external hard drive or cloud storage service.
  2. Create macOS Monterey boot disk. To facilitate the installation of older versions, you need to create a bootable installation disk. Download the macOS Monterey installer from the App Store. Then get a USB drive that is at least 16GB in size. After that, Open Terminal and enter the following command to create the boot disk (assuming the USB drive name is "MyUSB ").
    sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyUSB
  3. Reinstall the OpenCore Legacy Patcher. Ensure you have downloaded the latest version of OpenCore Legacy Patcher, run OCLP, and set up the necessary patches based on your Mac.
  4. Insert the created macOS Monterey boot disk. Restart your Mac, hold down the Option key while booting, and select EFI Boot or USB boot disk to go to the installation screen.
  5. Erase the disk and reinstall macOS. On the installation screen, select Disk Utility. Select the main hard drive (usually a Macintosh HD) and click Erase. For macOS High Sierra and later, select APFS; For older versions, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Once the erase is complete, return to the installation screen, select Install macOS Monterey, and follow the prompts to complete the installation.
  6. Install Post-Install Patches. After the installation is complete, you need to run OCLP, select Post Install Root Patch, and follow the prompts to proceed to ensure the system runs smoothly.

After macOS installation is complete, you can choose to restore from Time Machine. Follow the prompts to restore applications, files, and settings. Once these steps are completed, your Mac can successfully revert to the desired macOS and apply the necessary patches using OpenCore Legacy Patcher.