Can not download el Capitan

I have an older Mac computer. Apple tells me it will run OS thru El Capitan. It is currently running snow leopard 10.6.8.

When I open "http://iTunes.apple.com/app/os-x-el-capitan/id1147835433?mt=12" I go to the Apple App Store and it says this is the El Capitan download. There is a blue button on the left side of screen under the large X that says "Get". If I click on this blue button, the button changes shade of blue as long as I hold the mouse button down, but nothing happens. If I click on the down arrow on the right side of the blue button, I get two options, "copy link" and "tell a friend".

How do I download El Capitan? I called Apple tech support (tier 2) and spend several hours downloading to 10.6.8, but Apple can not tell me why I can not download El Capitan from the App Store. Any help appreciated!

Solution 1:

If neither of the "direct" App Store links (1. El Capitan 2. El Capitan) as described in other answers like this one work, you can try to trick App Store - as elaborated here: Install OS X El Capitan on Mac Direct Download.

Here a local web server with all necessary files mimics the remote but stubborn Apple server.

• Open a browser and download the following files:

  1. OS X El Capitan .pfpkg file (direct link)
  2. OS X El Capitan .pkg file (direct link)

• Open Terminal.app and enter

  sudo nano /etc/hosts
  

• add the following line at the end of the file: 127.0.0.1 osxapps.itunes.apple.com
• Hit ctrlO to write the file to disk and ctrlX to exit nano
• Enter sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder to flush the DNS cache.
• Enter cd Desktop to change your working directory to your desktop
• Create a folder mkdir osxapps_local and cd to it: cd osxapps_local

• Create to paths with:

  sudo mkdir -p ./apple-assets-us-std-000001/Purple60/v4/45/df/86/45df865d-d24d-01d6-2b2c-c003317293ac/
  sudo mkdir -p ./apple-assets-us-std-000001/Purple20/v4/dc/94/05/dc940501-f06f-2a91-555e-3dc272653af5/
  

• move the downloaded files to the respective folders:

  sudo mv ~/Downloads/signed.dcr.6112397842917719871.pfpkg ~/Desktop/osxapps_local/apple-assets-us-std-000001/Purple60/v4/45/df/86/45df865d-d24d-01d6-2b2c-c003317293a
  sudo mv ~/Downloads/izt4803713449411067066.pkg  ~/Desktop/osxapps_local/apple-assets-us-std-000001/Purple20/v4/dc/94/05/dc940501-f06f-2a91-555e-3dc272653af5
  

• Start a small web server:

  sudo python -m SimpleHTTPServer 80
  

• Now you can check if your small web server works by entering

  http://osxapps.itunes.apple.com/apple-assets-us-std-000001/Purple20/v4/dc/94/05/dc940501-f06f-2a91-555e-3dc272653af5/izt4803713449411067066.pkg 
  

  in the address field of your browser. The file should be "downloaded" with a high download speed. Delete the downloaded file afterwards.

• Launch App Store.app, go to the El Capitan page or your Purchased tab and download OS X El Capitan from there.
• The OS X El Capitan Installer.app should be "downloaded", compiled in /Applications/ and launched. Quit the OS X Installer for now. Quit App Store.app.
• Quit the http server by entering ctrlC in Terminal.app

• Revert the changes of your hosts file:

  sudo nano /etc/hosts
  

  and remove the line 127.0.0.1 osxapps.itunes.apple.com.

• Hit ctrlO to write the file to disk and ctrlX to exit nano
• Quit Terminal.app
• Open /Application/Install OS X El Capitan.app and install El Capitan