Second hand iMac 20" A1224 issue

as above, i have bought a second hand iMac. i have used disk utilities to erase any previous data but have an issue reinstalling. if i use my apple ID i get the error message regarding my Id having not purchased Lion before. now i just have a large paperweight unless i can get past this step. i fully intend on installing mountain lion, having bought an itunes card specifically for this. i was going to buy it on my mac mini and then use my ID to set up the iMac but my mac mini can not support mountain lion so, help? it is obvious that the serial number is still linked to a previous owner as i cant add to my products in apple ID. what can i do? thanks in advance.

I do not think you can just install Lion or Mt. Lion from a completely erased and formatted drive .
I believe you need to purchase retail copy of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard first, install the OS from disc, then use Software Update to update it to OS X 10.6.8, then try installing OS X 10.7 Lion.
Format the drive using Disk Utility, format as HFS+ extended format (journaled) and use the GUID partition scheme.
You can purchase Snow Leopard from Apple here
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard

Similar Messages

Installation on a second hand imac

Hi
I bought a second hand IMac G4 a couple of days ago, I am having trouble installing the disc set up as it requires a password. Can anyone help me or do i have to go through the channels of contacting the seller. The seller seems to believe that there should not be a password. Help!!!!!!!
Kelle

kelle.simons
See the post by R-C-R and the others. If the disc you have IS the grey install disk for your machine you should be able to install it without the direct use of a password. If it is some other disk for OSX not so.
It is not clear if you are trying to install the correct way. That is to boot up the machine holding down the c key. That boots from the disk and a sort of desktop comes up, you make some menu choices and wait a while as the OS on the disk is installed. You then install third party apps and configure wireless or such.
The above pre-supposes you can get the install disk for OSX into the machine and you don't say if you can even boot up to the desktop without the disk and so allow yourself to insert the thing. Can you? If you can that means the former owner's OS install and maybe some other things of theirs are in there and the wise move would be to clear the HD and start from fresh. That involves more than you directly ask for.
There is a way to get a disk into the machine (other things being well) even if you cannot get to the normal desktop. That involves the use of a 'Single User' start up and a couple of command line entries. 'Single User' start up has it's risks especially for a novice, but I did use it recently to get a disk into a Mac and boot from it to install the OS as you want to do, when a builder had cut the house power and nothing else was working. In that instance we had no worries about the existing user data and configurations so chose to re-install keeping the same settings and only replaced the system proper
Tell us more and we can help. Remember what Roam said about an Open Firmware Password. That would stop you getting to a Single User start up.
Your last post asked about a 'newer disk'. The first answer is yes. Get Panther but first be sure you have a functioning machine with a functioning OS before you spend money on an UPGRADE.

Deleted iPhoto and now I can't reinstall it -I'm using a second hand iMac so not using the Apple ID used to register it

I had trouble updating iPhoto so I uninstalled it but now I can't reinstall it. I'm using a second hand iMac so I'm not using the Apple ID that was used to first register it. When I go to the App Store and try to download iPhoto it just says (accept) I click this but nothing happens ?
Please help

Maybe you need to register the computer with Apple:
Register Your Apple Product
Your Support Profile for Registered Purchases

I baught second hand iMac and having trouble to reset to factory setting Help pls

I baught second hand iMac and having trouble to reset to factory setting Help pls

The previous owner left a Recovery HD partition on the drive. You cannot use it because it will only install a version of OS X that is tied to that persons Apple ID. You cannot use his/her Apple ID nor reinstall his/her copy of OS X. You must start, literally, from scratch.
You can purchase Snow Leopard through the Apple Store: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.). The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will be sent physical media by mail after placing your order.
After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store. Access to the App Store enables you to download Mavericks if your computer meets the requirements.
     Snow Leopard General Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel processor
       2. 1GB of memory
       3. 5GB of available disk space
       4. DVD drive for installation
       5. Some features require a compatible Internet service provider;
           fees may apply.
       6. Some features require Apple’s iCloud services; fees and
           terms apply.
Clean Install of Snow Leopard
Be sure to make a backup first because the following procedure will erase
the drive and everything on it.
     1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came
         with your computer. Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.
         After the chime press and hold down the "C" key. Release the key when you see
         a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
     2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue
         button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
         After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive
         size.) Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the number of
         partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button
         and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended
         (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.
     3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed
         with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
     4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup
         Assistant. Be sure you configure your initial admin account with the exact same
         username and password that you used on your old drive. After you finish Setup
         Assistant will complete the installation after which you will be running a fresh
         install of OS X. You can now begin the update process by opening Software
         Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your installation current.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

Hi i did buy second hand imac. 10.6.8 there is not iphoto. what iphoto is right to dawnload for use?

hi i did buy second hand imac. 10.6.8 there is not iphoto. what iphoto is right to download for use?

You can get iPhoto/iLife '11 so the newest one.

Hi all i have recently bought a second hand imac but didnt recieve the administrator passwords any suggestions?

hi all i have recently bought a second hand imac but didnt recieve the administrator passwords any suggestions?

If you can't get the discs, call Apple with the serial # and ask for them. They should send them to you for a reasonable charge.

If one buys pages , can i download it and run it on my desktop AND my laptop or do I have to buy it twice? its only me using one machine at any one time. (Have recently purchased a second hand iMac and secondhand Mac book pro 17")

If one buys pages , can i download it and run it on my desktop AND my laptop or do I have to buy it twice? its only me using one machine at any one time. (Have recently purchased a second hand iMac and secondhand Mac book pro 17")

I have a couple or dozen or so excel spread shheets that I use origionally created in M/s Excel v.5.0 ( yup some time ago although have run and updated them on office 2007 perfectly etc. AND numerous word files that I refer to. I have also run these files using Open Office on a small 13" mac Book Pro. successfully.
I have now decided to change my personal use computers > macs.
Ok, so in summary then i think you kind guys are saying:
(1) That if i buy Pages & Numbers or even iworks which is Apple's suite of such programs i believe, then I can download and Run these apps /programs on each my personal mac computers whether they be my second hand Imac or second hand 17" mac book pro. ( basically i have purchased these so that I am converting to the "Apple Side" and can use the Imac desktop while at home and Mac book pro when out and about) , under the one purchase and one licence.
(2) The decision as to whether to Buy M/s Office for Mac v Pages & Numbers or the iworks suite is that if I have lots of MACROs in my existing files written in M/soft that it would be better to go for M/s Office for Mac. I understand that Macros are the automated thingys ?? I have formulae obviously inthe fairly simple spread sheets but not aware of any macros. So I guess that means ~ I could purchase either product by the sounds of it. yes? Are there any other obvious things i need to consider?
Other INFO:
Also, I have snow leopard on one system and Maveric ( pretty impresive!) on the other. i am slightly reluctant to upgrade the snow leopard o/s as I would have to upgrade the paralles software and probably Windows software as well in order to run an old Kitchen, drawing program that I use occaisionally. I know that one should be able to partition / and Boot camp but I really don't want to do that. I feel at this stage its not worth payingtoi up grade all these bits of software for something I rarely use. But I am open to anyones comments / views.
Thanks.

How do i re-register a second hand imac

Hi,
i have just brought a second hand, 2008/09 intel IMAC. The issue i have is i want to wipe it and start again and register it in my name not the previous owners name?
Any help will be most appreciated

All you need is the 10.6.x disc and insert into the SuperDrive. Then reboot while holding down the C key when you hear the startup tone. Open Disk Utility - Erase and then reinstall OS X. No registration is necessary.

The case of the mysterious hidden content - second hand iMac

Dear people with more knowledge than me... (i.e. dear everyone...)
I have recently purchased a second hand intel iMac (late 2006 model) to replace my trusty (but noisy) Powermac G4 Mirror Door Drive. It was purchased 'wiped' with a fresh install of Lion.
I used Carbon Copy Cloner to create a backup of my old hard drive (or at least the 60GB partition of it that I was using - I had Tiger installed on it) and then used the Migration Assistant to re-create an image of Zion in the wide expanses of the new promised land (250GB capacity).
All seemed to go well (but time consuming - it took several days to port everything to/from my USB external hard-drive). A few days later, when I checked About this mac I was shocked to discover that I only had 5GB of storage remaining.
I did a little poking about and realised I had left a couple of user profiles hanging around during my pre-Migration Assistant faffing. These duplicated much of what I had later migrated over more comprehensively, so I deleted these additional user profiles and this freed up a further 58GB or so.
My system information now tells me that I have
249.2 GB Capacity
63.69 GB Available
185.5 GB Used
The used component consists of:
Audio 137.47 GB
Movies 7.03 GB
Photos 9.74 GB
Apps 3.34 GB
Backups 0
Other 27.94 GB
However, when I go through all my available files and folders using the Finder, the grand total of space that I have used comes to around 88GB:
My home folder (the only user profile I didn't delete) 42.98 GB
Desktop 4.09 GB (I know, I know, clean your room...)
Applications 2.31 GB
Documents 2.8 MB (yes MB)
Movies 0
Music 38.59 GB
Photos 385 KB (yes KB)
Total ± 80GB
Leaving aside for a moment the fact that the disk partition I Migrated over was only 60GB in total (?!), where on earth are the other 97.5 GB of files, and how can I see/delete them to free up drive space I thought I had...?
...I imagine that the audio, movies etc., that are unaccounted for actually belong(ed) to the previous owner of the iMac. What I don't know how to do is see/access/delete them to free up disk space. There are no additional users other than my own account that I can see. That's not to say they are not there.
What can I do?
Thank you in anticipation of any help or advice.
v

verdelay wrote:
the (hidden) folder _CCC Archives takes up a whopping 107 GB, much of which consists of multiple copies of the same audio files (due to poor file management and copies of copies, I think..). I'm now looking for a utility that will be able to locate and list duplicate files so I can verify that the _CCC Archives folder files are replicated elsewhere.
I use CCC, but not the "archive" feature (since my main backups are made with Time Machine).
According to it's Help, that folder contains the backup copies of files that had been changed on the "source" drive.
But this large folder is on your internal HD, right? Here's what I think happened:
When you made the original CCC clone from your old Mac, you selected the option to "archive" the copies of things that had been changed. For some period of time, it did that.
Later, when you used Migration Assistant, it copied all those old files from the clone (via the Other files and folders on <HD name> option) back on to your new internal HD.
So yes, the files there should be prior versions of things on your system.
There are various options to have CCC manage those files. You can assign a certain size to it, and it will delete the oldest files when necessary to make room for new ones; or "prune" files after a specified number of days, etc.
Click Help in the CCC menubar, then CCC help, then review the Backup and archiving settings section:

Looking for a second hand iMac - any tips please?

Hi All
Due to work I have primarily been to the dark side in the last few years, with just a Mk 1 Mac Mini for my photos and videos. Its almost crawling now, so its time for an iMac I think.
I don't want anything too crazy, but I wasn't sure what amount of RAM would be good to run Snow Leopard? I wouldn't be doing any crazy photoshop stuff, maybe a bit of HD stuff in iMovie plus the usual iTunes & iPhoto usage, but I have no idea how much Snow Leopard really needs to run smooth with a few apps open.
I run an online business and in the end I switched back to PC as I've always found Macs to be pretty slow for browsing, I'm guessing thats probably changed now?
Anyway, any help or advice would be great. I'm probably gonna look for second hand so any suggestions (eBay UK etc) would be great!
Many thanks
Mark

I'd really suggest just looking at Apple's refurb selection. Couple hundred off the top, same warranty, and you know you're going to be getting something of quality. Buy off a place like ebay, you never know what you're going to end up with. There are probably a lot of honest sellers on ebay, but it just takes one not so honest person to really ruin things for you.
And Snow Leopard actually runs pretty well on 2GB of RAM. Runs reasonably well on only 1GB actually, but 2GB gets into the fabled "butter zone". I'd suggest probably 3-4GB if you're going to be doing any kind of video editing.
So any 2009 21.5" iMac should fit the bill nicely for you.

How to reset second hand iMac without installation disc?

Hi,
I recently purchased a second hand 24" iMac from 2007.
How is ist possible to reset it without installation disc of snow leopard?s there any possibility to reset the system having installed Mountain Lion or Mavericks.
As I own also a MacbookPro from 2009, is it possible to reset also the iMac using the disc of my Macbook,
or is it possible to restore it using my apple Id, with the purchased Mountain Lion / Mavericks via internet recovery.
Thank you for your quick answers,
YVTO92

YVTO92 wrote:
Ok, so I will call a local store to see if they have one left for me!
Thank you
Brick and mortar stores will not carry the disc, you can get it online on Apple's online store. If you are in the USA the link is:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard

Second hand phone .. syncing issues ... etc.

to replace a stolen phone - my husband bought a second hand iphone 3G; When he plugs it in it reads as that other person's phone; How does he get it to show as his phone? and access the backup saved on his itunes? I understand that he can't save anything bought on this iphone as we aren't a recognized computer but is there anything we can do short of reseting to factory settings? and will that work if we need to do that? It shows the right phone number as we purchased a new sim card and had it routed to the old number.
Thanks,

First make sure all anti-virus & firewalls are turned off. Itunes needs free access to Apple's servers during the restore process. Re-boot your computer, launch itunes:
Then see if you can force the phone into recovery mode:
Leave the USB cable connected to your computer, but NOT your phone, itunes running, press & hold the home button while connecting the USB cable to your dock connector, continue holding the home button until you see “Connect to iTunes” on the screen. You may now release the home button. iTunes should now display that it has detected your phone in recovery mode, if not quit and reopen iTunes. If you still don’t see the recovery message repeat these steps again. iTunes will give you the option to restore from a backup or set up as new. In your case, setup as "new".

Finding serial key on second hand imac

Hello
I have purchased a second hand computer with adobe design suite extended on it. I would like to know its serial key so I can re install it as there are a few bugs in photoshop that I cant resolve.
The bug is that when I paint in photoshop my cursor disapears after a few minutes into my painting and I can only get it back when I click on other programs, doing this brings it bac for a little while before it disapears again.
a solution to either of these would be great thanks

HI 777benny
Please contact Adobe Support : http://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html
Please Make Sure you capture all the details from the User like Order Number , Email id and Everything ... It would be great if he can provide you the Serial key

Second hand iMac - Reinstall Lion

I have a friend who purchased a 2010 iMac that was originally shipped with Snow Leopard but was later upgraded to Lion by the original owner.
He would like to wipe this system clean and reinstall Lion, but I believe he will have to download his own copy of Lion from the Mac App Store using his Apple ID and PW so that he "owns" this new copy, as opposed to trying to use Lion Recovery with the exsisting copy of Lion purchased by the original owner. Is that correct?
Secondly, the original owner partitioned the HD and installed Windows which the new owner does not want. Am i correct in assuming that when he reinstalls the fresh copy of Lion that will reformat the HDD thus erasing the partition and eliminating the Windows partition? Or are there aditional steps he needs to take to erase the partition?
Thanks

Joseph Albanese2 wrote:
I have a friend who purchased a 2010 iMac that was originally shipped with Snow Leopard but was later upgraded to Lion by the original owner.
He would like to wipe this system clean and reinstall Lion, but I believe he will have to download his own copy of Lion from the Mac App Store using his Apple ID and PW so that he "owns" this new copy, as opposed to trying to use Lion Recovery with the exsisting copy of Lion purchased by the original owner. Is that correct?
Yes, he will have to purchase his own version of Lion from the App Store using his Apple ID/PW. But I believe he will need to install SL (10.6.8) after wiping the drive then purchase Lion.
Secondly, the original owner partitioned the HD and installed Windows which the new owner does not want. Am i correct in assuming that when he reinstalls the fresh copy of Lion that will reformat the HDD thus erasing the partition and eliminating the Windows partition? Or are there aditional steps he needs to take to erase the partition?
Thanks
Reinstalling Lion will not erase any partitions. That will need to be done via Disk Utilities. What I would do is reboot with the original machine's SL DVD, go into Disk Utilities and wipe the entire drive and repartition to just one partition. Then install SL on that partition and purchase Lion from the App Store using his Apple ID.

How do i delete the old users account on my second hand imac g5 without the origonal disc

im new to imacs and not sure how to delete the old users account without the origonal disc

First of all, you need to make sure your current user account (the one you intend to keep) is an administrator account (not standard).
Go to System Preferences Accounts pane. Click the lock, if it's locked, and enter your authorization, to unlock.
In the sidebar, you will see the list of user accounts. To delete a user account, select it on the list and click the minus sign.

Second hand iMac 20" A1224 issue

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