Imac Maintenance and Clean Up

general question
in the past at the terminal i have used
sudo periodic daily weekly monthly
and I have gone into console to delete logs
as well as kept my drive in order (scan/repair/check) via disk utility
are there any other terminal commands that could be used to clear out caches or other temorary areas
that will help me keep my imac running in tip top form at all times (mountain lion user)

If a log gets very large I delete it, it does no harm and the logs load a bit faster when I need them (rarely), other than that it just uses a little time.
Onyx can be useful, but I don't recommend it as it is possible to mess things up with it. OSX can take care of itself very well, the most reliable machines I use are the ones with no 3rd party utilities on them.

Similar Messages

System maintenance and clean up

From all the reading I have done, the way I understand the Mac is you should not have to do any system maintenance or clean up.
I was doing a spotlight search and several times tons of Entourage emails would show up. When I first got the Mac I gave Entourage a try before realizing I liked Outlook much better... so I deleted my exchange information from Entourage and discontinued using it.
I finally got curious as to why all these email files were showing up even though they had been removed from Entourage. I went traced down the folder and there was thousands of these Entourage email files in the cache folder!!
I deleted them all manually as they were taking a lot of space up.
What steps should I take to get rid of files like this, that the Mac obviously doesn't do automatically, so that I don't end up with Gigs of space being wasted in the long term??

I recommend first off, migrating away from Entourage*:
http://www.macmaps.com/entouragemigration.html
For cleaning up Mac OS X, see my FAQs*:
http://www.macmaps.com/diskfull.html
and:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1772235
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

Computer maintenance and clean up

Ive had my mbp since 8/07 and i have yet to run any cleanups or maintenance on my computer. this is my 1st mac and dont really know the basics of keeping os 10.4 clean and healthy. thanks in adavnce

Kappy's Personal Suggestions for OS X Maintenance
For disk repairs use Disk Utility. For situations DU cannot handle the best third-party utilities are: Disk Warrior; DW only fixes problems with the disk directory, but most disk problems are caused by directory corruption; Disk Warrior 4.0 is now Intel Mac compatible. TechTool Pro provides additional repair options including file repair and recovery, system diagnostics, and disk defragmentation. TechTool Pro 4.6.1 is Leopard compatible; Drive Genius is similar to TechTool Pro in terms of the various repair services provided. The current version, 1.5.1, is Intel Mac compatible.
OS X performs certain maintenance functions that are scheduled to occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly period. The maintenance scripts run in the early AM only if the computer is turned on 24/7 (no sleep.) If this isn't the case, then an excellent solution is to download and install a shareware utility such as Macaroni, JAW PseudoAnacron, or Anacron that will automate the maintenance activity regardless of whether the computer is turned off or asleep.
OS X automatically defrags files less than 20 MBs in size, so unless you have a disk full of very large files there's little need for defragmenting the hard drive. As for virus protection there are few if any such animals affecting OS X. You can protect the computer easily using the freeware Open Source virus protection software ClamXAV. Personally I would avoid most commercial anti-virus software because of their potential for causing problems.
I would also recommend downloading the shareware utility TinkerTool System that you can use for periodic maintenance such as removing old logfiles and archives, clearing caches, etc.
For emergency repairs install the freeware utility Applejack. If you cannot start up in OS X, you may be able to start in single-user mode from which you can run Applejack to do a whole set of repair and maintenance routines from the commandline. Note that presently AppleJack is not compatible with Leopard.
When you install any new system software or updates be sure to repair the hard drive and permissions beforehand. I also recommend booting into safe mode before doing system software updates.
Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Retrospect Desktop (Commercial - not yet universal binary)
2. Synchronize! Pro X (Commercial)
3. Synk (Backup, Standard, or Pro)
4. Deja Vu (Shareware)
5. PsynchX 2.1.1 and RsyncX 2.1 (Freeware)
6. Carbon Copy Cloner (Freeware - 3.0 is a Universal Binary)
7. SuperDuper! (Commercial)
8. Data Backup (Commercial)
The following utilities can also be used for backup, but cannot create bootable clones:
1. Backup (requires a .Mac account with Apple both to get the software and to use it.)
2. Toast
3. Impression
4. arRSync
Apple's Backup is a full backup tool capable of also backing up across multiple media such as CD/DVD. However, it cannot create bootable backups. It is primarily an "archiving" utility as are the other two.
Impression and Toast are disk image based backups, only. Particularly useful if you need to backup to CD/DVD across multiple media.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance, optimization, virus protection, and backup and restore.
Additional suggestions will be found in Mac Maintenance Quick Assist.
Referenced software can be found at www.versiontracker.com and www.macupdate.com.

I think my iMac got virus on my iMac through opening an email from Facebook on Safari, anyone knows how to do a complete erase and clean up of the iMac?

I think my iMac got virus on my iMac through opening an email from Facebook on Safari, anyone knows how to do a completely erase and clean up of the iMac?

Things You Can Do To Resolve Slow Downs
If your computer seems to be running slower here are some things you can do:
Start with a visit to: OS X Maintenance - MacAttorney.
Boot into Safe Mode then repair your hard drive and permissions:
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions Pre-Lion
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. 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 your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
Repair the Hard Drive - Lion
Boot from your Lion Recovery HD. When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Restart your computer normally and see if this has helped any. Next do some maintenance:
Suggestions for OS X Maintenance
For situations Disk Utility cannot handle the best third-party utility is Disk Warrior; DW only fixes problems with the disk directory, but most disk problems are caused by directory corruption; Disk Warrior 4.x is now Intel Mac compatible.
OS X performs certain maintenance functions that are scheduled to occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly period. The maintenance scripts run in the early AM only if the computer is turned on 24/7 (no sleep.) If this isn't the case, then an excellent solution is to download and install a shareware utility such as Macaroni, JAW PseudoAnacron, or Anacron that will automate the maintenance activity regardless of whether the computer is turned off or asleep. Dependence upon third-party utilities to run the periodic maintenance scripts was significantly reduced since Tiger. These utilities have limited or no functionality with Snow Leopard or Lion and should not be installed.
OS X automatically defragments files less than 20 MBs in size, so unless you have a disk full of very large files there's little need for defragmenting the hard drive. As for virus protection there are few if any such animals affecting OS X. You can protect the computer easily using the freeware Open Source virus protection software ClamXAV. Personally I would avoid most commercial anti-virus software because of their potential for causing problems. For more about malware see Macintosh Virus Guide.
I would also recommend downloading a utility such as TinkerTool System, OnyX 2.4.3, or Cocktail 5.1.1 that you can use for periodic maintenance such as removing old log files and archives, clearing caches, etc.
For emergency repairs install the freeware utility Applejack. If you cannot start up in OS X, you may be able to start in single-user mode from which you can run Applejack to do a whole set of repair and maintenance routines from the command line. Note that AppleJack 1.5 is required for Leopard. AppleJack 1.6 is compatible with Snow Leopard. There is no confirmation that this version also works with Lion.
When you install any new system software or updates be sure to repair the hard drive and permissions beforehand.
Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Data Backup
3. Deja Vu
4. SuperDuper!
5. SyncTwoFolders
6. Synk Pro
7. Synk Standard
8. Tri-Backup
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance, optimization, virus protection, and backup and restore.
Additional suggestions will be found in Mac maintenance Quick Assist.
Referenced software can be found at CNet Downloads or MacUpdate.
Additional Hints
Be sure you have an adequate amount of RAM installed for the number of applications you run concurrently. Be sure you leave a minimum of 10% of the hard drive's capacity as free space.
Add more RAM. If your computer has less than 2 GBs of RAM and you are using OS X Leopard or later, then you can do with more RAM. Snow Leopard and Lion work much better with 4 GBs of RAM than their system minimums. The more concurrent applications you tend to use the more RAM you should have.
Always maintain at least 15 GBs or 10% of your hard drive's capacity as free space, whichever is greater. OS X is frequently accessing your hard drive, so providing adequate free space will keep things from slowing down.
Check for applications that may be hogging the CPU:
Open Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder. Select All Processes from the Processes dropdown menu. Click twice on the CPU% column header to display in descending order. If you find a process using a large amount of CPU time, then select the process and click on the Quit icon in the toolbar. Click on the Force Quit button to kill the process. See if that helps. Be sure to note the name of the runaway process so you can track down the cause of the problem.
Often this problem occurs because of a corrupted cache or preferences file or an attempt to write to a corrupted log file.

How do i delete and clean my iMac so i can give it to my sister?

I need to delete files and clean them so i can give my imac to my sister. want to keep the operting system

These articles and webpages explain how to restore the Mac to it's factory condition before selling of giving away:
What to do before selling or giving away your Mac
Selling your old Mac? Prepare it first - CNET
Preparing an old Mac for sale | Macworld
OT

Imac frozen at blue screen after i went into disk utilities and cleaned my free space. I tried holding down T key as it reboots and i get a message. Start up disk full empty it how can one emptie it if you cant get past the blue screen

Imac frozen at blue screen after i went into disk utilities and cleaned free space.
I tried holding down T key as it reboots
and i get a message. Start up disk full empty it how can one emptie it if you cant get past the blue screen?
to make matters worse we bought the IMAC of amazon uk on the 4/07/011 so what can we do?
please remember how frustrating it is when asking for help when the helper telling you to type something on the screen when its frozen
Tell us when you can type some instuctions to the software how do you get to the doss prompt so to speak to do this
Thanks

i tried all this thanks
i can not get past blue screen and message Your disk is full it needs to be emptied Please not I cant proceed past this message.
no matter what you tell me
Am i right ok in thinking that
when i went into disk utilities and chose to clean my free space i left it over one hour to do its stuff
i came back and there was no progress bar just the box so i quit the program and when i opened mac mail the system just froze i forced quit mail rebooted and blue screen death
Now when free space is being cleaned is it the same as windows dose the utility write lots of 0 on the hard drive then rebbot its self to free the space
basicly is my hard drive full of 00000 is this why im getting this message because the process was interupted
I need to know if i need outside help i bought the computer on line on amazon uk what dose one do next

Slow imac, how to check status and clean up disc?

slow imac, how to check status and clean up disc?

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar.
Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Then try the action that you're having trouble with again. Select any messages that appear in the Console window. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message (command-V).
When posting a log extract, be selective. In most cases, a few dozen lines are more than enough.
Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

Backup to external HD and clean reinstall of imac g5

Hi, I recently purchased an Iomega Ultramax 500gb external HD with the intention of moving my iphoto library to free up the space on my imac which only has an 80gb hard drive. The short story is that disaster struck and the iomega failed resulting in a lengthy recovery process using Data Recovery II. I now have my photos backed up to cd & dvd and Apple have replaced my Iomega.
My intention is now to use the new Iomega to create a complete backup/clone of my imac hd and then do a clean system reinstall of the imac.
Do I need to partition the new iomega?
If so is there an idiots guide to do this?
Once complete can I use the iomega as the host drive for my new iphoto library?
Are there any problems with this idea?
I am seriously considering buying a new model imac with a much bigger hd with Aperture and iphoto, will I be able to access and use files from the backup and transfer to new imac. As you might imagine my recent experience has left a fear factor, all I want is to get back to a simple and safe system.

Hi Tinbum,
any luck on a response?
I also want to completely restore / clean my new iMac but need to backup all the data to an external drive for 2 reasons. 1 to create an external bootable HD and for regular "time capsule" like regular backups once all setup.
problems are;
1. is there a way to setup an external HD on my router ethernet port to be recognized by the Mac
2. is there software to do regular backups. Time Capsule doesnt seem mature enough at this stage.
Cheers

I have 2 imac computers and here are my questions: first, how to I transfer the information from my contact directory from my old imac into my new imac and once the information is transfered how can I print it? Second: I have a large music collection in m

have 2 imac computers and here are my questions: first, how to I transfer the information from my contact directory from my old imac into my new imac? Once the information is transfered how can I print it? Second: I have a large music collection in my old Imac computer how do I transfer this information to my new computer? Also how can I share this information with other computers at home?

I think you may find helpful information here:
A Basic Guide for Migrating to Intel-Macs
The Knowledgebase article Intel-based Mac: Some migrated applications may need to be updated refers to methods of dealing with migrating from PowerPC chips to Intel with the Migration Assistant safely. The authors of this tip have not had a chance to verify this works in all instances, or that it avoids the 10.6.1 and earlier Guest Account bug that caused account information to get deleted upon use of the Migration/Setup Assistant. However, a well backed up source that includes at least two backups of all the data that are not connected to your machine will help you avoid potential issues, should they arise. In event it does not work, follow the steps below.
If you are migrating a PowerPC system (G3, G4, or G5) to an Intel-Mac be careful what you migrate. Keep in mind that some items that may get transferred will not work on Intel machines and may end up causing your computer's operating system to malfunction.
Rosetta supports "software that runs on the PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor that are built for Mac OS X". This excludes the items that are not universal binaries or simply will not work in Rosetta:
Classic Environment, and subsequently any Mac OS 9 or earlier applications
Screensavers written for the PowerPC System Preference add-ons
All Unsanity Haxies Browser and other plug-ins
Contextual Menu Items
Applications which specifically require the PowerPC G5 Kernel extensions
Java applications with JNI (PowerPC) libraries
See also What Can Be Translated by Rosetta.
In addition to the above you could also have problems with migrated cache files and/or cache files containing code that is incompatible.
If you migrate a user folder that contains any of these items, you may find that your Intel-Mac is malfunctioning. It would be wise to take care when migrating your systems from a PowerPC platform to an Intel-Mac platform to assure that you do not migrate these incompatible items.
If you have problems with applications not working, then completely uninstall said application and reinstall it from scratch. Take great care with Java applications and Java-based Peer-to-Peer applications. Many Java apps will not work on Intel-Macs as they are currently compiled. As of this time Limewire, Cabos, and Acquisition are available as universal binaries. Do not install browser plug-ins such as Flash or Shockwave from downloaded installers unless they are universal binaries. The version of OS X installed on your Intel-Mac comes with special compatible versions of Flash and Shockwave plug-ins for use with your browser.
The same problem will exist for any hardware drivers such as mouse software unless the drivers have been compiled as universal binaries. For third-party mice the current choices are USB Overdrive or SteerMouse. Contact the developer or manufacturer of your third-party mouse software to find out when a universal binary version will be available.
Also be careful with some backup utilities and third-party disk repair utilities. Disk Warrior, TechTool Pro , SuperDuper , and Drive Genius work properly on Intel-Macs with Leopard. The same caution may apply to the many "maintenance" utilities that have not yet been converted to universal binaries. Leopard Cache Cleaner, Onyx, TinkerTool System, and Cocktail are now compatible with Leopard.
Before migrating or installing software on your Intel-Mac check MacFixit's Rosetta Compatibility Index.
Additional links that will be helpful to new Intel-Mac users:
Intel In Macs
Apple Guide to Universal Applications
MacInTouch List of Compatible Universal Binaries
MacInTouch List of Rosetta Compatible Applications
MacUpdate List of Intel-Compatible Software
Transferring data with Setup Assistant - Migration Assistant FAQ
Because Migration Assistant isn't the ideal way to migrate from PowerPC to Intel Macs, using Target Disk Mode, copying the critical contents to CD and DVD, an external hard drive, or networking will work better when moving from PowerPC to Intel Macs. The initial section below discusses Target Disk Mode. It is then followed by a section which discusses networking with Macs that lack Firewire.
If both computers support the use of Firewire then you can use the following instructions:
1. Repair the hard drive and permissions using Disk Utility.
2. Backup your data. This is vitally important in case you make a mistake or there's some other problem.
3. Connect a Firewire cable between your old Mac and your new Intel Mac.
4. Startup your old Mac in Transferring files between two computers using FireWire.
5. Startup your new Mac for the first time, go through the setup and registration screens, but do NOT migrate data over. Get to your desktop on the new Mac without migrating any new data over.
If you are not able to use a Firewire connection (for example you have a Late 2008 MacBook that only supports USB:)
1. Set up a local home network: Creating a small Ethernet Network.
2. If you have a MacBook Air or Late 2008 MacBook see the following:
MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) and MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)- What to do if migration is unsuccessful;
MacBook Air- Migration Tips and Tricks;
MacBook Air- Remote Disc, Migration, or Remote Install Mac OS X and wireless 802.11n networks.
Copy the following items from your old Mac to the new Mac:
In your /Home/ folder: Documents, Movies, Music, Pictures, and Sites folders.
In your /Home/Library/ folder:
/Home/Library/Application Support/AddressBook (copy the whole folder) /Home/Library/Application Support/iCal (copy the whole folder)
Also in /Home/Library/Application Support (copy whatever else you need including folders for any third-party applications)
/Home/Library/Keychains (copy the whole folder) /Home/Library/Mail (copy the whole folder) /Home/Library/Preferences/ (copy the whole folder) /Home /Library/Calendars (copy the whole folder) /Home /Library/iTunes (copy the whole folder) /Home /Library/Safari (copy the whole folder)
If you want cookies:
/Home/Library/Cookies/Cookies.plist /Home/Library/Application Support/WebFoundation/HTTPCookies.plist
For Entourage users:
Entourage is in /Home/Documents/Microsoft User Data Also in /Home/Library/Preferences/Microsoft.
Credit goes to Macjack for this information.
If you need to transfer data for other applications please ask the vendor or ask in the Discussions where specific applications store their data.
5. Once you have transferred what you need restart the new Mac and test to make sure the contents are there for each of the applications.
Written by Kappy with additional contributions from a brody.Revised 5/21/2011

I purchased a used 2008 iMac. And although the previous owner said he deleted all of his information his iCloud account is still the primary. I don't have a clue about what to do about it. I signed him out and logged in with my info, but still no go.

I purchased a used 2008 iMac. And although the previous owner said he deleted all of his information, his iCloud account is still the primary. I don't have a clue about what to do about it. I signed him out and logged in with my info, but still no go. Is there any way to eliminate his iCloud account and make mine the primary without rebooting it back to factory settings? There was an update, I believe, that I couldn't install because i didn't have his password that is what made me aware that his acct. was still active. I don't know what to do. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Before buying a second-hand computer, you should have run Apple Diagnostics or the Apple Hardware Test, whichever is applicable.
The first thing to do after buying the computer is to erase the internal drive and install a clean copy of OS X. You—not the original owner—must do that. Changes made by Apple over the years have made this seemingly straightforward task very complex.
How you go about it depends on the model, and on whether you already own another Mac. If you're not sure of the model, enter the serial number on this page. Then find the model on this page to see what OS version was originally installed.
It's unsafe, and may be unlawful, to use a computer with software installed by a previous owner.
1. If you don't own another Mac
a. If the machine shipped with OS X 10.4 or 10.5, you need a boxed and shrink-wrapped retail Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) installation disc from the Apple Store or a reputable reseller—not from eBay or anything of the kind. If the machine is very old and has less than 1 GB of memory, you'll need to add more in order to install 10.6. Preferably, install as much memory as it can take, according to the technical specifications.
b. If the machine shipped with OS X 10.6, you need the installation media that came with it: gray installation discs, or a USB flash drive for a MacBook Air. You should have received the media from the original owner, but if you didn't, order replacements from Apple. A retail disc, or the gray discs from another model, will not work.
To start up from an optical disc or a flash drive, insert it, then restart the computer and hold down the C key at the startup chime. Release the key when you see the gray Apple logo on the screen.
c. If the machine shipped with OS X 10.7 or later, you don't need media. It should start up in Internet Recovery mode when you hold down the key combination option-command-R at the startup chime. Release the keys when you see a spinning globe.
d. Some 2010-2011 models shipped with OS X 10.6 and received a firmware update after 10.7 was released, enabling them to use Internet Recovery. If you have one of those models, you can't reinstall 10.6 even from the original media, and Internet Recovery will not work either without the original owner's Apple ID. In that case, contact Apple Support, or take the machine to an Apple Store or another authorized service provider to have the OS installed.
2. If you do own another Mac
If you already own another Mac that was upgraded in the App Store to the version of OS X that you want to install, and if the new Mac is compatible with it, then you can install it. Use Recovery Disk Assistant to prepare a USB device, then start up the new Mac from it by holding down the C key at the startup chime. Alternatively, if you have a Time Machine backup of OS X 10.7.3 or later on an external hard drive (not a Time Capsule or other network device), you can start from that by holding down the option key and selecting it from the row of icons that appears. Note that if your other Mac was never upgraded in the App Store, you can't use this method.
3. Partition and install OS X
a. If you see a lock screen when trying to start up from installation media or in Recovery mode, then a firmware password was set by the previous owner, or the machine was remotely locked via iCloud. You'll either have to contact the owner or take the machine to an Apple Store or another service provider to be unlocked. You may be asked for proof of ownership.
b. Launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the internal drive—not any of the volume icons nested beneath it. In the Partition tab, select the default options: a GUID partition table with one data volume in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. This operation will permanently remove all existing data on the drive.
c. An unusual problem may arise if all the following conditions apply:
          OS X 10.7 or later was installed by the previous owner
          The startup volume was encrypted with FileVault
          You're booted in Recovery mode (that is, not from a 10.6 installation disc)
In that case, you won't be able to unlock the volume or partition the drive without the FileVault password. Ask for guidance or see this discussion.
d. After partitioning, quit Disk Utility and run the OS X Installer. If you're installing a version of OS X acquired from the App Store, you will need the Apple ID and password that you used. When the installation is done, the system will automatically restart into the Setup Assistant, which will prompt you to transfer the data from another Mac, its backups, or from a Windows computer. If you have any data to transfer, this is usually the best time to do it.
e. Run Software Update and install all available system updates from Apple. To upgrade to a major version of OS X newer than 10.6, get it from the Mac App Store. Note that you can't keep an upgraded version that was installed by the original owner. He or she can't legally transfer it to you, and without the Apple ID you won't be able to update it in Software Update or reinstall, if that becomes necessary. The same goes for any App Store products that the previous owner installed—you have to repurchase them.
4. Other issues
a. If the original owner "accepted" the bundled iLife applications (iPhoto, iMovie, and Garage Band) in the App Store so that he or she could update them, then they're irrevocably linked to that Apple ID and you won't be able to download them without buying them. Reportedly, Mac App Store Customer Service has sometimes issued redemption codes for these apps to second owners who asked.
b. If the previous owner didn't deauthorize the computer in the iTunes Store under his Apple ID, you wont be able to authorize it immediately under your ID. In that case, you'll either have to wait up to 90 days or contact iTunes Support.
c. When trying to create a new iCloud account, you might get a failure message: "Account limit reached." Apple imposes a lifetime limit of three iCloud account setups per device. Erasing the device does not reset the limit. You can still use an iCloud account that was created on another device, but you won't be able to create a new one. Contact iCloud Support for more information. The setup limit doesn't apply to Apple ID accounts used for other services, such as the iTunes and Mac App Stores, or iMessage. You can create as many of those accounts as you like.

How can I wipe my hard drive and clean install Mountain Lion?

Hi I have a 21.5 inch mid 2011 iMac running Mountain Lion, I want to wipe my hard drive and clean install Mountain Lion. I dont want all my stuff back, just photos and music, the rest I'll reinstall my self. I also dont have a exteranl harddrive. only two USB's one 2 GB and the other 8 GB. How do I do this? And I dont want to pay for mountain lion again. Thanks!

I made my partition and am currently reinstalling mountain lion to put on my flash drive. I'm using Lion disk maker 2 thats compatible with mountain lion. I'm doing it right, correct?

9.2 and clean HD.

Well, lucky me: I picked up in garage sale $99.00 iMac G3, Graphite version. NO DISKs. And it had 9.1 on it. Also CD burder. Great for kids.
I took advice on this board and picked up an Mac OS 9.2.1 disk (white, with the big gold '9') on it. I sucessfully upgraded to 9.2.1. Next thing, I guess, is get to highest version of 9.2.?? (which I could maybe use some help with if anyone can point me to link here).
BUT MY Q: I could not figure out how to use the 9.2.1 disk to do a complete clean resintall of the HD. Do I need something else? I wish to erase all the prev. owners stuff, and start with a minty fresh and clean HD, with 9.2.X.
how to do??
AND: if I do this, will it include a browser so I can log on? It occured to me, that a totally clean install might leave me with no applications to get on the web!
Jon

Hi, Jon -
Q: I could not figure out how to use the 9.2.1 disk to do a complete clean resintall of the HD. Do I need something else? I wish to erase all the prev. owners stuff, and start with a minty fresh and clean HD, with 9.2.X.
Provided that disk is a full-install disk (there were a few OS 9.2.1 update-only disks shipped with white labels & gold 9 - as I recall, those came with one of the early retail OSX packages, perhaps OSX 10.1) you should be able to do that.
The full-install retail OS 9.2.1 Install CD (in North American English) has an Apple part number of 691-3334-A - that number can be found underneath the text block on the left side of the label.
To do a thorough erase of the drive -
Boot to the CD (insert it, restart, immediately press the C key, keep it held down until you know it has started to boot to the CD; be patient - it takes a lot longer to boot to a CD than to a hard drive). Then run Drive Setup - it can be found in the Utilities folder on the CD. Select zero-all-data from the Initialization Options item in the Functions menu, then click the Initialize button.
This will take a while - about one hour per each 10GB of drive size.
Select Mac OS Extended as the format when asked.
Using Drive Setup
To install the OS -
After the drive has been wiped, and while still booted to the CD, run the installer program on the CD - Mac OS Install. Follow the prompts and accept the default installation.
<hr>
If you do not want to erase everything on the drive, you can do a Clean Install of just the OS instead. A Clean Install will remove nothing; it will install a brand new, 'clean' System Folder, will rename the old one to Previous System Folder, and (in this instance) will not do much else.
Article #58176 - Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9: Performing a Clean Installation

Burner not working, 8.98 GB free, can this 2003/2004 imac model be cleaned for better use or will I continue to have problems? Do I need to just buy a new one?

burner not working, 8.98 GB free, can this 2003/2004 imac model be cleaned for better use or will I continue to have problems? Do I need to just buy a new one? I remember with a PC being able to defrag.

You could buy an external dvd/cd drive.
Suggest other world computing.
You need to delete some files. Many posters to these forums state that you need much more free space: 5 gig to 10 gig or 10 percent of you hd size.
(0)
Be careful when deleting files. A lot of people have trashed their system when deleting things. Place things in trash. Reboot & run your applications. Empty trash.
Go after large files that you have created & know what they are. Do not delete small files that are in a folder you do not know what the folder is for. Anything that is less than a megabyte is a small file these days.
(1)
Run
OmniDiskSweeper
"The simple, fast way to save disk space"
OmniDiskSweeper is now free!
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnidisksweeper/download/
This will give you a list of files and folders sorted by size. Go after things you know that are big.
(2)
This will save you a gig of space.
Monolingual is a program for removing unnecessary language resources from Mac OS X,in order to reclaim several hundred megabytes of disk space. It requires at least Mac OS X 10.3.9 (Panther) and also works on Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). It worked for me on 10.4
http://monolingual.sourceforge.net/
A detailed write-up on how to use Monolingual:
http://www.jklstudios.com/misc/monolingual.html
(3)
These pages have some hints on freeing up space:
http://thexlab.com/faqs/freeingspace.html
http://www.macmaps.com/diskfull.html
(4)
Buy an external firewire harddrive.
(5)
Buy a flash card.

How do I fully and cleanly uninstall unwanted apps?

Have recently swapped from a Windows machine to a brand new and customised iMac. I've therefore had to accept that the OS is Mavericks and that pre-loaded on the machine are iPhoto and the iWork suite. I now wish to remove, if permitted, the following of these from the machine:
iPhoto
Keynote
Numbers
Games
How can I do this fully and cleanly? I gather that you can do a 'shake' test for an app you want to delete from the machine and, if it's permitted to remove the app, you then drag its icon on to the Trash. But as I understand it this doesn't necessarily remove other extraneous files associated with the app. So, how do I discover what those are, where they're located, and what exactly to do with them?
Incidentally, of the iWork suite I've decided to keep Pages.
I'm a little concerned that perhaps uninstalling these apps might remove some files that are shared with other apps on the machine, including functions built into the operating system. Will that conceivably happen? Is iPhoto, for example, required to display images in Apple Mail, and is it also required for me to be able to import RAW and other images from a camera using direct drag 'n drop (into a folder of my own choosing)? And what about Preview? Will that get removed along with iPhoto?
I only do serious work on my computer, and I want to keep this machine's contents lean and clean.

Barney and Tony,
Not sure if this reply will appear in the correct sequence in the discussion thread but I've had a look at those folders and files you mentioned, Barney. There was nothing in most of them. Library/Extensions exists as System/Library on my setup but I saw nothing in it pertaining to any of the three apps concerned.
In <System>/Applications/Numbers/Contents I found such cryptic folders as:
_Code Signature
_MAS Receipt
info.plist
MAC OS
Pkg info
etc
but, again, looking in these folders yielded nothing that appeared remotely associated with any of the three apps. In searches like this you can get right down to the very coding level if you wish, it seems. However, unless you're familiar with the coding you've no idea as to what these functions are, or how they interact with other apps and processes. And I'm certainly not.
One thing I did come across, however, happened when I was looking at one of the more hidden-away user functions of the Apple Mail client and I noticed that apps such as iPhoto and PhotoBooth are involved in importing images into the client. That being so, it might be better for me not to remove iPhoto, since I use and rely on Apple Mail quite a lot.
All in all, it's difficult for me to make an informed judgement on this. Possibly, Apple's now organised the uninstall of certain apps in a much fuller and cleaner way than before and so perhaps all I'd need to do, in reality, is to perform the 'wiggle' uninstall. But I just don't know. And there's always the danger that removing what are now some quite embedded apps could cause some other related app or utility to not function properly from hereon. So, in the end, I might have to just concede that I'm stuck with these apps.
Possibly, the only way of ridding my machine of them is for me to perform at a later date a major cleanup, completely wiping the HD, and reinstalling Mavericks from scratch.
If only Apple had never installed those apps in the first place! Why on earth did they have to be compulsory?! So much for Apple and their products being user-friendly! I'm disappointed in Apple over this.

IMac 10.1, OS X 10.7.5, 4 GB RAM, 201 GB free on 999.35 GB HD, gets slower the longer I use the Internet; very noticeable with online browser game Forge of Empires. Turning iMac off and restarting it brings it back to full speed for an hour or so.

iMac 10.1, OS X 10.7.5
4 GB RAM (2 of 4 slots used)
201 GB free on 999.35 GB HD
The iMac gets slower the longer I use the Internet - to the point that it takes several seconds for each typed character to appear. This is very noticeable with the online browser game Forge of Empires. But, it happens even if not logged on to that game.
Turning the iMac off and restarting it brings it back to what seems like full speed for an hour or so. Then, it starts to noticeably slow down again.

1st thing : from my point of view upgrade your mac os to latest version.
                (their is mac os x mavericks from apple its free for upgrade so download it and install it.)
                (https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/os-x-mavericks/id675248567?mt=12)
2nd thing : then upgrade your all browser plugins to latest version.
3rd thing : and use ccleaner to keep clean your mac from junk data or other unuseable data that are created.
                               (http://www.piriform.com/mac/ccleaner)
4th thing : verify and repair your disk permissions with the use of disk utility or ccleaner
i am sure your computer recover speed.

Imac Maintenance and Clean Up

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for