Install OS X Lion + go to factory settings

Hi. I have an iMac with OS X Snow Leopard.
I am going to give it away, but want to give a clean manchine, with OS X Lion Installed.
If I update the OS X to Lion, it does not give me the option to restart to factory settings (I have done this in another machine).
Can anyone suggest how I can do those two operations?
... in case it is relevant, I do not think I have the disk the iMac came with...
Thanks!
I.

If you iMac is currently running Snow Leopard and you purchased Lion from the App Store, you should be able to log into the App Store with your Apple ID and download Lion. You will need SL 10.6.8 to do this. Your signature shows 10.6.7. After you download Lion, don't continue on with the install. Instead, quit the install by right clicking the Lion download icon in the Dock and choosing Quit. The Lion install is in your Applications folder. Copy it to another folder (Downloads, for example) so you have a copy of it. Follow the instructions at this link to create a Lion installer USB thumb drive from the copy you created. After creating the thumb drive, test it by booting into it and see if you can see the OS X Utilities menu. If so, and you're ready to wipe the iMac, go into Disk Utilities and erase the entire internal drive. Then close Disk Utilities and select Reinstall Mac OS X from the OS X Utilities menu. This will install Lion on your internal drive. After the install has completed and your system reboots, you will see the configuration start screen. Just shutdown your system and it's ready for the next user.
The above should get you what you want. However, the next recipient of the iMac will have YOUR purchased copy of Lion installed. This means, the new owner will need YOUR Apple ID to reinstall Lion in the future. The best and correct way to set a system to the factory OS is to reinstall the OS that came with the system. In your case, your best solution is to find your iMac Snow Leopard disks and reinstall SL. Then, it's ready to be given away along with the disks that came with it. The new owner would then use their Apple ID to purchase Mountain Lion as Lion is no longer sold on the App Store. Or, if the new owner wants Lion or your iMac does not support Mountain Lion they would have to call Apple Sales (1-800-692-7753) and order Lion.
Good luck!

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How do I reset MacBook pro with lion back to factory settings without disk?

Good evening everyone,
I recently purchased a MacBook pro with lion installed and I need to reset it to factory settings without a disk. anyone know how to do this?

Restart it... and hold down command+R
then choose disk utility and format your disk
then choose reinstall lion
and it's back to default.
source of info: http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_boot_lion%E2%80%99s_recovery_mode
apple way is most slam.
how u like me now?
i just did this right now and my system so so fresh and pure.

OSX Mtn. Lion/ Reset to factory settings/ secure HD wipe?

All-
I have a late-2011 MacBook Pro i7, 2.5GhZ that has, through terrible file management on my part, become so cluttered and disorganized to the point where I would literally need to spend upwards of 36 hours to organize, clean, re-file, re-organize, and what not my file libraries.
Specifically, as a DJ/Music producer, my sample libraries are -terribly- organized (read: not organized at all). I tried to work through it all day today but I've literally managed to get through maybe 150 files, which does not even scratch the surface of the files that start with the letter "A" on my Macbook Pro- see what I mean?
Anyhow, I recently upgraded to Mtn Lion, and love it, and I bought my computer with Snow Leopard on it, so, a restore to factory settings I think would wipe my OS back to Snow Leopard, which I really don't want to do...
I'm wondering if, since I back up my hard drive with Time Machine constantly, if it would just be worth it to wipe the hard drive completely clean and start over with a clean, empty MBP with just OSX Mtn. Lion on it, and go from there, and select files that I want from my external hard drive as needed to build up my file libraries again.
I just want it all to be neat and organized, and I've been unable to (read: too lazy to) keep up with it so far, and now, it's beyond manageable for me to re-organize everything. (Unless someone has tips to make this a more manageable process?)
How would I go about doing this and/or does this sound like a feasible plan?
Thanks-
Andy

Yes you certainly can Erase and Install 10.8, (no need for 10.6 or 10.7)
I suggest you transfer the contents of your users folders (music, pictures, documents etc) to a external storage drive (not just TimeMachine) and disconnect, it's only these files you will be returning into the same named account later, so no TimeMachine restores and thus no corrupts.
You need to export bookmarks, email addresses, serial keys or any other information (addressbook) that are locked into programs as well. Make a note of your programs installed. Disconnect all drives.
Write down your AppleID and password.
Hook your Mac to the Ethernet cable to your router or modem, if the modem, then power it off/30 sec/on.
This process is going to take hours, so prepare yourself.
Next your going to hold the Command r keys down and boot the computer into Recovery HD, select Disk Utility and on the left side, click on Macintosh HD partition then click on the Erase tab and there should be a slider, use the middle secure erase option. And click Apply, this will zero the entire Macintosh HD partition and map off any failing sectors. Drive makers advise this whenever a OS is reinstalled.
Once this is completed, quit and then click the OS X installer and proceed with that step.
When that's finished you can reboot the machine and it's a brand new one, use the same setup name as before (important)
Software Update check just in case.
Now you won't have the free iLife that carried over from the 10.6 install, however you can use Pacifist from CharlesSoft to extract it from the black or purple (not white) 10.6 disks, or you can but it anew at AppStore.
If you have any purchases at AppsSore, hold down the option key and click on Purchases to reinstall.
You should also install as much as your third party software at this time as possible for best performance on hard drives.
Last you hook up the external storage drive and go cherry picking for what you want and leave what you don't want.
Tip: Use Activity Monitor to keep your boot drive (ideally) below 50%, never more than 80% filled.
Now once you have this "perfect" new Install, you can preserve it by using a blank external powered drive and Carbon Copy Cloner, default settings are fine for the first clone. Later you have to adjust for a "pure clone" every time it's updated.
This way if you ever have to do this painful process of resinstall, you can hold the option key down and simply boot off the clone and reverse clone!! No effort on your part required, it will take a few hours and copy everything over like new again.
Most commonly used backup methods
Good luck
note: what I do is I option boot from my clone, grab a copy of the latest files onto the clone, then erase the internal drive and reverse clone everything on.
What's good abou this, the software does all the work, the drive is bootable, and it optimizes and defragments the files too, so it's zippy.
When a hard drive gets more than 50% filled, it slows down depending what's written on the slower part of the drive, say a new OS X update or program for instance.

Vista will not boot/install after performing a restore to factory settings on satellite l305

I have a satellite l305 that i bought new thru walmart.com about a year & a half ago, and for the past few months it seems like there are more & more issues with this pc that are causing it not to work properly-everything from drivers failing-or even disappearing, in some cases-to crashing into a blue screen everytime i insert a micro sd card into the slot.. My sound drivers are gone & even after i THOUGHT i downloaded them again, they still won't install or even recognize that they are there and then yesterday it suddenly stopped being able to fully load some of my fave games that i play daily.. I have tried EVERY SINGLE SUGGESTION in EVERY article, forum, help site, etc.,that i could find & even tried to get help over the phone from a pc tech here locally, and nothing has been able to fix my issues. I have done so many system restores from so many different restore points, installed updates, uninstalled updates, tried to install new drivers, rolled back drivers, started in safe mode to do diagnostics checks, entered BIOS & checked EVERY setting, reset all settings to default, checked error logs, etc., etc., etc...I have even completely disassembled my entire laptop & checked all wiring, fuses, etc., made sure everything was working, etc., So, finally yesterday I decided that it's gotta be something to do with a tech issue-probably with my vista home premium OS that came pre-installed at purchase, so i thought it best to just go ahead & go into the back up & restore & back up all my files onto an external hd using the file transfer wizard option inside the restore center, and then proceed into restoring the pc to it's factory, or "out of box", state. And i assumed i covered my bases by saving the back up-just in case...ohhh no-not the case at all!
It did't even occur tp me to that i might need an actual BOOT disk for vista after the fact. I just assumed that "out of box" meant just how it originally came-WITH vista pre-installed & ready to set up-like it did the day i bought it! i also was under the assumption that, isnce it never asked for a product key or anyting to activate vista then, that it wouldn't need one now either. But anyway, so this is where i'm at now-after i did the factory restore & turned it back on, it said to wait while windows finishes installing-but it never finished, then finally about an hour later, it said that windows was unexpectedly interrupted during installation & did not complete, and for me to restart pc to try install again. But after i did that, it was the same thing over & over. it NEVER installs!
So then i decided to go ahead & "restore windows using back up image" that i created on my external hd prior to the factory restore, thinking that it would just kinda pu **bleep** all back, but thats not working either. it recognizes the drive, and takes me to a menu where i can actually even view all the files on the drive and even tho they are known by my pc to be back up files, it still won't associate them to being back up files to MY PC!! I even got desperate enough to find a site that claimed to offer a free vista boot disk in the form of an iso image that i burned onto cd & tried to boot from as well. That actually took me to an install screen for windows & all the way to where it asks for product key-which DID NOT come locatedon any sticker anywhere on my laptop, and because they DID NOT include any OS utility, install, or boot disks with the purchase of my laptop, i don't know what the product key is OR where else i might be able to find that info, and i WILL NOT pay for ANOTHER ONE, just because they were too lazy or cheap to send the disks with the pc! so i tried to skip this step till later, but when i skip it, it shows anpther error saying that install was terminated & could not finish install & if i wish to continue, for me to restart my pc & re-attempt install..WHAT IS GOING NE WITH THIS AND WHAT CAN I POSSIBLY DO TO JUST BE ABLE TO USE MY LAPTOP AGAIN?? HELP ME PLEASE SOMEONE!!

Hi,
I do not really understand... Did you made a backup before restore to factory settings? And did you copy all backup files to an external device? If not, the data is gone!
Why? Restoryng to factory does not mean a reinstallation. It means to fill the whole harddisk with an image of the first (factory) installation. All other data will be destroyd! Other partitions are deleted and normally you find only one big partition - the whole hdd.
If you have a complete backup on external drive and it is corrupted during restore, try to open the files manually. Maybe you can restore some single files.
Good luck
kind regards
Stefan

TS1702 All of my apps keep closing even texts. I uninstalled and the re installed everything and went back to factory settings. What can I do now?

someone help me!

If you restored to factory defaults/new iPod and are still haveing the problem than an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store is in order.

Can't restore to factory settings due to encrypted Mac HD

II've really messed up. A few weeks ago I encrypted my Mac HD and received a long 24 figure passcode, which I still have. Yesterday, I was having issues with my Mac (Mountain Lion) and I went to restore to factory settings. I have no T-MOBILE back up and put all my files on and external HD.
the the issue I have is that in Disk Utility my Mac HDR is now untitled and I can't do anything with it. I can't turn off the encryption either because the long password and my usual password won't work. When I try to erase the now untitled HDR it says "are you sure you want to erase the partition "untitled" and create an encrypted partition? i do this but nothing really happens except for the HD now becomes "Encrypted Partition".
iif I try to reinstall the Mac OS X I eventually just get to a grey "stop sign" screen. I've really messed up here and I think its due to me having encrypted the drive. I've resorred to factory settings once before when I thought I was selling my Mac and there were no issues. Please help as I have to get on with my MA.

Hey,
Im a little bit confused about your posting. You wrote that you tried Ubuntu but have you installed Ubuntu and deleted Vista or was it just a Ubuntu live disk?
The Toshiba HDD recovery function is described here:
http://aps2.toshiba-tro.de/kb0/HTD9102IR0000R01.htm
But one point more: The HDD recovery works only with preinstalled Windows version from Toshiba so if you have installed another OS or did an upgrade, this option doesnt work anymore.
And youre right: The notebook doesnt come with Toshiba recovery disk because you have to create this disk yourself using Toshiba recovery media creator that is preinstalled. This tool will create a bootable disk with an image of factory settings that can be restored every time in contrast to HDD recovery that only works with original installed OS.
To cut a long story short, just order a recovery disk from Toshiba and install it. Then you have factory settings back :)
https://backupmedia.toshiba.eu/landing.aspx

Set os x to factory settings ?

hi
i want to set my os x lion partition to factory settings without re-installing the OS.
can i do that ?
and how ?

Doing that requires reinstalling the OS. If desired, you can use the Users & Groups pane of System Preferences to create a new administrator account.
(80213)

Can't restore to factory settings the Satellite L350

Hi
there i was having problems with Vista so a friend recommended i tried ubuntu.
But now i want to go back to vista but i can't seem to get my laptop to run the restore.
I've tried holding down 0 while powering on also pressing f8 but it still just boots as normal.
The Toshiba recovery disk creator isn't on my computer either. I don't have any Vista discs, but if i can remember correctly my laptop never came with them, i'm really stuck on what to do.
Satellite L350

Hey,
Im a little bit confused about your posting. You wrote that you tried Ubuntu but have you installed Ubuntu and deleted Vista or was it just a Ubuntu live disk?
The Toshiba HDD recovery function is described here:
http://aps2.toshiba-tro.de/kb0/HTD9102IR0000R01.htm
But one point more: The HDD recovery works only with preinstalled Windows version from Toshiba so if you have installed another OS or did an upgrade, this option doesnt work anymore.
And youre right: The notebook doesnt come with Toshiba recovery disk because you have to create this disk yourself using Toshiba recovery media creator that is preinstalled. This tool will create a bootable disk with an image of factory settings that can be restored every time in contrast to HDD recovery that only works with original installed OS.
To cut a long story short, just order a recovery disk from Toshiba and install it. Then you have factory settings back :)
https://backupmedia.toshiba.eu/landing.aspx

I installed lion from the internet, i wanted all the stuff on it erased but it didnt do it, how do i get my computer to factory settings so it is like it was new just with a fresh copy of lion on it

i installed lion from the internet, i wanted all the stuff on it erased but it didnt do it, how do i get my computer to factory settings so it is like it was new just with a fresh copy of lion on it

Music is not included in the backup (and nor are films or tv shows), only the contents of third-party apps are included. Did you not do File > Transfer Purchases when connected to your computer's iTunes to copy your iTunes purchases over, and/or have you not got a backup copy of your music somewhere e.g. on an external drive ?

I have a '13-inch, Early 2009' MacBook. I want to restore it to its factory settings (I have the 'Mac OS X Install DVD' and 'Applications Install DVD'). At this time, I am completely up-to-date with Mac OS X Lion 10.7.3. My question is:

After I restore the computer, will I also lose Lion? If so, will it be possible to get it back? Will it be possible to catch back up to the latest software without having to spend any money? I bought and installed Snow Leopard when it came out, but no longer have a physical copy of that disc.

Hi Linux,
I was about to restore my MacBook when I came upon this screen:
Is this not an indication that it intends on reinstalling it back to its "factory settings", which means OS X Leopard?
I'm simply afraid that I will be reverted back to 'Leopard', and then be forced to either stick with what I've got, or to spend unnecessary money in order to catch back up.

If you've installed the Mac OS X Mountain Lion and want to restore your MacBook to factory settings, what do you do?

Havinig a lot of problems with my MacBook since I've upgraded to the Mac OS X Mountain Lion program. Can someone tell me if it's possible to reset my computer back to factory settings?

Follow these instructions step by step to prepare a Mac for sale:
Step One - Back up your data:
       A. If you have any Virtual PCs shut them down. They cannot be in their "fast saved" state. They must be shut down from inside Windows.
       B. Clone to an external drive using using Carbon Copy Cloner.
          1. Open Carbon Copy Cloner.
          2. Select the Source volume from the Select a source drop down menu on the left side.
          3. Select the Destination volume from the Select a destination drop down menu on the right
              side.
          4. Click on the Clone button. If you are prompted about creating a clone of the Recovery HD be
              sure to opt for that.
               Destination means a freshly erased external backup drive. Source means the internal
               startup drive.
Step Two - Prepare the machine for the new buyer:
          1. De-authorize the computer in iTunes! De-authorize both iTunes and Audible accounts.
          2, Remove any Open Firmware passwords or Firmware passwords.
          3. Turn the brightness full up and volume nearly so.
          4. Turn off File Vault, if enabled.
          5. Disable iCloud, if enabled: See.What to do with iCloud before selling your computer
Step Three - Install a fresh OS:
     A. Snow Leopard and earlier versions of OS X
          1. Insert the original OS X install CD/DVD that came with your computer.
          2. Restart the computer while holding down the C key to boot from the CD/DVD.
          3. Select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu; repartition and reformat the internal hard drive.
              Optionally, click on the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
          4. Install OS X.
          5. Upon completion DO NOT restart the computer.
          6. Shutdown the computer.
     B. Lion and Mountain Lion (if pre-installed on the computer at purchase*)
         Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because
                   it is three times faster than wireless.
          1. Restart the computer while holding down the COMMAND and R keys until the Mac OS X
              Utilities window appears.
          2. Select Disk Utility from the Mac OS X Utilities window and click on the Continue button.
          3. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the left side list. Click
              on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
          4. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on the Security button
              and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
          5. Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
          6. Quit DU and return to the Mac OS X Utilities window.
          7. Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
          8. Upon completion shutdown the computer.
*If your computer came with Lion or Mountain Lion pre-installed then you are entitled to transfer your license once. If you purchased Lion or Mountain Lion from the App Store then you cannot transfer your license to another party. In the case of the latter you should install the original version of OS X that came with your computer. You need to repartition the hard drive as well as reformat it; this will assure that the Recovery HD partition is removed. See Step Three above. You may verify these requirements by reviewing your OS X Software License.

If I upgraded my MacBook Pro from Snow Leopard to Lion via the web and now wish to erase the hard drive and restore it to factory settings to sell. How do I accomplish this?

I upgraded the operating system on my MacBook Pro from Snow Leopard to Lion via the web. Now I need to erase the hard drive and restore it to factory settings, so that I can pass it on. How do I accomplish this? When I insert the Mac OS X install disk, the only option is to erase the free space. Any insight would be appreciated.
Thank you

You need to boot off the original Snow Leopard DVD's that came with the system.
Once you are running off of the DVD you will be able to do a clean install of SL
To boot off the DVD with the system up running Lion insert the DVD. Open Sytem Preferences->Startup Disk and select the DVD then restart the machine.
Message was edited by: Frank Caggiano

I restored my mac to factory settings, now mac states there is no OS X installed?

I restored my mac to factory settings to erase all data.
On restarting the mac, it prompts me to sign in with my Apple ID to install the operating system OS X Mountain lion.
When I sign in, it tells me that I have not purchased OS X Mountain lion.
When I purchased the mac the operating system was pre-installed, therefore I have never purchased the operating system through the App Store.
Therefore, I have no option to continue to turn the mac on.
How do I get around this problem as the operating system does not show up as a purchase?
Thank you in advance
Hannah

Have you tried OS X Internet Recovery? http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718 restart your Mac while holding Command+Option+R

Tried unsuccessfully to restore my MBP, running the Mac OSX Lion, to factory settings. I keep getting the "can't download additional components for the Mac OSX Lion" error when reinstalling the OSX Lion. Any tips on how to resolve this problem?

Hello! Tried unsuccessfully to restore my MBP, running the Mac OSX Lion, to factory settings. I keep getting the "can't download additional components for the Mac OSX Lion" error when reinstalling the OSX Lion. Any tips on how to resolve this problem?

Hi
Given that your answer to 1. is 'pre-installed' and 3. is 'No', I think the only thing to do is to take it to an Apple store (ideally the one you bought it from) and have them reinstall it for you.
The intended solution in cases like yours is that you should be able to reboot and install even a wiped disk by using Apple's servers over the internet (you do this by restarting with 'command-r' and choosing 'reinstall Lion'). However if this isn't working for you then you need to get the store to do it. Don't let them fob you off with 'go home and try again'. Have them do it in the shop (you're still covered by Applecare warranty so it should cost you nothing save the inconvenience of the trip and possibly leaving the machine there while they fix it).
A reinstall should leave all your own personal data and programs in place.
Note for future: when you get it fixed, first thing to do is buy a cheap external drive and start keeping a backup (either Time Machine or clone with Carbon Copy Cloner).
Message was edited by: softwater

How do I erase and install iMac to factory settings using Install disk?

Once in a while I like to do an erase and install to boost performance and get rid of extra unused files/applications on my computer that are inevitably slowing things down. I have already tried disk repair and that isn't helping.
The problem is now that Lion/Mountain Lion no longer support PowerPC applications, I can't figure out how to use the Install Disk that came with my computer. My computer came with 10.4 (Tiger). I have been unable to erase and restore my computer to it's original factory settings.
I have read a bunch of threads that say to hold down the "C" key, but nothing happens when I do this. The computer just starts up like normal.
The reason I want to do this is because my computer is going slower and slower all the time. I have the "Free Memory" app and I can see my memory decreasing slowly day by day. It goes from about 3GB to less than 1GB in a few days. If I restart, I'm back up to 3GB again.

You had to use Snow Leopard to install Lion or Mountain Lion, so you can downgrade to Snow Leopard:
Downgrade Lion/Mountain Lion to Snow Leopard
1. Boot from your Snow Leopard 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.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.
This will erase the whole drive so be sure to backup your files if you don't have a backup already. If you have performed a TM backup using Lion be aware that you cannot restore from that backup in Snow Leopard (see below.) I suggest you make a separate backup using Carbon Copy Cloner 3.4.1.
If you have Snow Leopard Time Machine backups, do a full system restore per #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions. If you have subsequent backups from Lion, you can restore newer items selectively, via the "Star Wars" display, per #15 there, but be careful; some Snow Leopard apps may not work with the Lion files.
Booting From An OS X Installer Disc
1. Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.
2. Restart the computer.
3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
5. Wait for installer to finish loading.

Install OS X Lion + go to factory settings

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