Clean Install done but still showing updates required for previous owners apps needing apple id?

Question

Hi All,
First time post and newbe to Macbooks so be gentle please... :-)
I have bought a second hand macbook pro retina, the previous owner had removed all his data but not reformatted. I was having issues that some apps updates were showing that i couldn't update, as it kept asking for the previous owners ID. I thought the best thing to do was to reformat and start again to get a frsh machine...
First issue after wiping the drive was that when i went to install the OS, it came up saying i didn't own a copy, as it was the provious owner who had installed the OS.... so after buying Mountain Lion under my account (still not sure if i needed to???) i was then able to install a new OS. Went through all the new user screens to set time and keyboard etc so i assumed i now had in effect a new machine.
Again though, when i went to update the software, the previous users apps, that no longer appear on the machine, were showing as needing an update, and again were asking for the previous owners apple id to update????
How do i get this sorted so i have a new machine without the history of a previous user, his apps and the required updates?
I was also worried that after the fresh install i seem to have lost iPhoto, garage etc... i thought these came as standard, am i going to have to buy these also?
Hope someone can help, desperate to get myself properly up and running and enjoying my new toy!
Rob

Answer 1

Selling Macs has become rather messy what with the different license requirements.....
if the Mac had ML preinstalled, then the owner is allowed to make a one time transfer of the OS license; however, he needs to wipe the drive and use internet recovery to reinstall the system without using an Apple ID
If, however, the Mac came with something other than ML (SL or Lion), then the seller needs to wipe the drive and reinstall the original system because any license obtained from MAS is NOT transferable.
So, if it did come with ML originally and unless you wish to contact the seller, try internet recovery - pressing Command + Option + R while restarting ( a slightly different process than recovery) , wipe the drive in Disk Utility and download the OS. It should work - if not, I'd suggest a quick visit to the nearest Genius Bar and ask for help (reminding them that the license does allow a one time transfer).
As for any other apps, you will need to purchase them (such as iLife, iWork, etc) - none of those licenses are transferable. If you encounter a problem doing so, you might want to address that issue at the Genius Bar as well; you do need to buy them again, but in some instances, someone testing that scenario was not able to, so just be aware that there might be a glitch.
Edit: In order to do an internet recovery, you will also need to make sure that you are connected only via WiFi.