Need to do a Factory Reset for iMac late 2011. How do I do it with little hassle

I recently purchased a iMac (late 2011) from ebay and it did not come with a Disc. I keep seeing that it will require a disk. The Current operating system is 10.7.5
Im eligible to download Moutain Lion from the Apple Apps store but I dont know when to do it? Before or After the Factory Reset
What do you I need before I get Started? Will it just erase everything and start brand new? (what im looking for)
It seems to be running slow and Im really really new to MAC operating systems so if someone could please walk me thru this it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You !!!

Did the selller tell you what version of OS X was installed when the machine originally purchased. If it had Snow Leopard on it you have an illegal verison of OS X, as the license for Lion and ML upgrades are not trasferable, they're also pretty useless to you because they're tied to the old owner's AppleID. If you are not sure or cannot find out then call AppleCare.
However if the machine originally shipped with Lion on it, the simply restart in the Restore Partion, do and erase and install and you're set. You can start in the Restore Partition by holding down the Command + R keys when you hear the startup tone and then choosing the Restore Partition and open Disk Utility.

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Did the selller tell you what version of OS X was installed when the machine originally purchased. If it had Snow Leopard on it you have an illegal verison of OS X, as the license for Lion and ML upgrades are not trasferable, they're also pretty useless to you because they're tied to the old owner's AppleID. If you are not sure or cannot find out then call AppleCare.
However if the machine originally shipped with Lion on it, the simply restart in the Restore Partion, do and erase and install and you're set. You can start in the Restore Partition by holding down the Command + R keys when you hear the startup tone and then choosing the Restore Partition and open Disk Utility.

Factory reset MacBook Pro late 2011

Hi, long story short i want to reset my Mac, it has been freezig a lot lately, i can't be bothered taking it in to Apple waiting etc, i'd rather just do it myself, ive backed up everything i want/need to.
What im asking is how do i do it, and how do i install Mountion Lion after?

Press Command and R keys on boot, open Disk Utility, erase the disk and reinstall OS X

Factory reset - the what, why, and how for Gingerbread

I wanted to share this information regarding a Factory Reset and how it is used for Gingerbread - both the what, why, and how - in case anyone is interested in the details. If you embark on this process, this thread is worth a close read. thanks to d.harris for writing this up for the SOAK group. good luck everyone and remember, YMMV.
First, what does a "factory reset" do? The short answer is: it will return your phone to the condition it was in when you first purchased it EXCEPT the Android version will match your phone's latest update. For example, I had Android 2.2.1 (Froyo) on my phone before the "soak". My phone was updated to Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread or "GB") during the "soak". I had some trouble with video performance in the Fox News app and missing album cover art in the Google Music app. So I decided to do the factory reset. After the reset was finished, my Droid X still had Android 2.3.3 on it but all of the settings had been restored to their factory defaults. And presumably, all Android operating system (OS) caches had been flushed. All of the data that was stored in my phone's memory was cleared. So my contacts were all gone. And I had to reactivate my phone (*228 1) just like a new phone and reenter my Google account info.
Does a factory reset actually clear the entire contents of the phone's memory and re-install Android from scratch? (That's what I wish it did.) But I'm not sure that it does that because the entire process seems to go too fast for that. However, a factory reset does seem to do a better job of cleaning out the remnants of the previous OS (Froyo 2.2.1) than a standard "update" does. But that's not all.
The factory reset also clears all of the apps that were installed in the phone's memory. And it clears all of the app data that was installed in the phone's memory. So you will have to reinstall all of your apps from the Android Market (or wherever they came from). Normally, you do not have to pay for them again because the Android Market remembers your previous purchases as long as you register your phone with the same Google account.
However, the Android Market does not remember the free apps that you installed---so you should make a list of all your apps before you reset your phone so you won't forget the free ones. The reason I wrote "installed in the phone's memory" above is because a factory reset gives you a choice whether or not to clear your phone's micro SD memory card. If desired, it will leave it alone. So any apps or data will still be present on your card after the reset. However, your phone will not be aware of the apps on the memory card because all "knowledge" of them will have been erased from your phone's internal memory---you'll still have to reinstall ALL of your apps. But the data files will still be there. Regarding the "built-in" apps that come pre-installed with Android, they will also be restored to their original state and version when you do a factory reset. So you'll need to update some of them (like updating Google Maps and updating Adobe Flash from 10.1 to 10.3).
Before you do a factory reset, you should have a fully charged battery becaues you do NOT want to run out of power in the middle of a reset---that could "brick" your phone. I always take an extra precaution: in addition to a fully charged battery, I also connect my phone to AC with the Motorola AC-to-USB charging adapter that came with it. Not only does it insure that I won't run out of power, it also keeps my battery fully charged so I have a 100% charge after the factory reset (you'll have a lot of work to do afterward to reinstall your apps and restore all of your Android and app settings back to your preferences).
Here's a pre reset checklist:
• Export your contacts to your SD card so you can easily restore them later (Contacts/Dialer menu > Import/Export > Export contacts to: SD card).
• Make a list of all of the apps that you installed (Android menu > Manage Apps > Downloaded tab).
• Get a copy of your Google account login info (user name and password).
• Get a copy of your Verizon Backup Assistant PIN (if you use this service).
• Turn off your phone and pull its battery. Wait 30 seconds or more and reinstall the battery and turn the phone back on. This will make sure that there is nothing hinky in your phone's volatile memory as the factory reset begins.
• Fully charge your phone's battery and plug the AC charging adapter into the phone.
Now you're ready to do the deed. Follow these steps:
1. If it's not already on, turn on Google's "back up my data" option with Android menu > Settings > Privacy > Back up my data. This is required for the next step.
2. Turn off the "automatic restore" option with Android menu > Settings > Privacy > Automatic restore. This will prevent your phone from trying to download every paid app that was previously on your phone all at once. It is much better---especially if you have a lot of apps---to install them one at a time. Plus, you may not want some of them to be reinstalled right away if you are trying to determine if one of them is causing trouble under GB 2.3.3.
3 If you do not want to use Google's "back up my data" service to restore your wi-fi passwords and such, then return to Step 1 and turn it off.
4. Begin the factory reset with Android menu > Settings > Privacy > Factory Data Reset. You'll be asked to confirm that you really want to do a factory reset and you'll be given the opportunity to clear your micro SD memory card as a part of the process. I chose not to clear my memory card because I have a 32 GB card with "tons" of music and other files that I do not want to have to restore (it would take hours).
When should you do a factory reset? Everyone should do it before they give their phone away, sell it, or discard it. You don't want someone else to have access to your personal data! And, a factory reset can be a helpful troubleshooting tool when faced with problems.
By the way, my factory reset did not help the video problem I was having with the Fox News app nor did it enable Google's Music app to find all of the album art on my micro SD card. Both problems persisted after the reset under GB 2.3.3.
Finally, there are other things you can do to flush old data from your phone such as clearing the cache partition of your phone's built-in memory. This requires the use of its "Android system recover" menu. Even though I expect this cache data to be cleared during a factory reset, I did it after my reset just to make sure. Clearing the cache partition is usually what folks try before a factory rest so they can (hopefully) avoid the factory reset. I'll leave it to a Motorola staff person to go into that.

OK, got it ... the Power ON Factory reset procedures might have changed with GB ...
To get to a Factory reset using the Power up method:
1. Power Off phone
2. Press & Hold the HOME Button
3. Press and Hold the Power ON button.
You come up to the Triangle with the Exclamation mark & android guy.
Press BOTH the Up and Down Buttons at the same time. This brings up the Blue menu of options.
use the Up/Down arrows to scroll thru the choices. Press the POWER Button to Select the menu item you choose.
You can harmlessly test this and just choose to Reboot without doing anything, just to see how it works in case you ever need to do this in the future.
edit: It was concluded in the test group that they changed this process to align it with the new DX2 as the camera button isn't hard-wired like it is in the DX. So likely they just wanted to make this process the same for both platforms. At least it sounds like a good reason...

I've purchased 9 songs from iTunes and a week later I decided to factory reset my iMac. How do I get the songs back?

I've purchased 9 songs from iTunes and a week later I decided to factory reset my iMac. How do I get the songs back?

If for some reason you have failed to maintain a backup copy, not good, then you can redownload some itunes purchases in some countries:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store ... - Support - Apple

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*Bump*
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How can i factory reset my iMac?

hi, i am trying to factory reset my iMac to sell (as i've bought a MacBook) and from what i've see on the internet you need to hold cmd as it boots to go into the recovery partition so you can wipe the wipe drive and make it set up as a new Mac. My problem is that i use a wireless keyboard that comes with the iMac and this doesn't connect unitl after the initial start up?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
You have to press the keys after hearing the startup chime until you see an Apple logo. The Apple Wireless Keyboard can be used during startup, but you have to press the keys after the startup chime.
After starting in Recovery, open Disk Utility and select Macintosh HD in the sidebar. Then, go to Erase tab and erase the drive. If you want that your files aren't recoverable, choose one of the secure erase options to erase the hard disk.
Finally, close Disk Utility and install OS X. When the installation finishes, turn off the computer. If you can't start up with the keyboard, buy a USB keyboard. The new owner will have to purchase the iLife apps if he/she wants to use them

HT201210 I need to restore the factory settings for my I phone

I need to restore the factory settings for my I phone

To restore your iDevice, you have two options.
1. Plug into iTunes and select your device and click restore.
2. On your iPhone, go to Settings>General>Reset, and click which one you would like to use.
If your device is locked up and you can't get into it,
1. Open iTunes
2. Power Down your Device
3 hold down your home button and plug in the device to the computer at the same time
4. Keep holding until your device shows the Plug into iTunes image.
5. On iTunes, click restore
Wait for the device to restore to factory settings and your done!

I need to do a factory reset, but it says that I need to turn off "find my phone" and I can't do that because my screen is black

I would really appreciate it if someone could help me turn off "find my Phone" through the computer. My screen is black on my phone and I just need to do a factory reset.
Thank you

Hi patti273,
Welcome to the Support Communities!
The following article will show you how to remove your iPhone from "Find My Phone"
iCloud: Remove your device from Find My iPhone
http://support.apple.com/kb/ph2702
I hope this information helps ....
Happy Holidays!
- Judy

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I have a 750GB Western Digital Scorpio drive in an OWC case, sitting on a Backpack, which connects via Firewire. Western Digital Scorpio drives have 5 year warranties, the OWC (macsales.com) cases usually use the Oxford chipset which works well with macs, and the Backpack is a slick way to mount a backup drive without taking up desk space.
After you hook up whatever external drive you end up with, you'll partition and initialize it for OS X, then begin using it.
My opinion, I would not get a Western Digital pre-packaged external drive/case. While the hard drives are OK, there have been a number of people that have had issues with the electronics.

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How do you do a factory reset for the MEX-BT3100P car stereo.
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hope someone has the answer.
thanks in advance.

ok, so it seems that pressing DSPL and the BACK/MODE buttons for more than 2 seconds resets it, and it brought it back to demo mode...
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Adobe Live Chat: http://www.adobe.com/support/chat/ivrchat.html,
or as a slight short cut try http://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html?product=digital-editions&topic=using-my-product-or-ser vice
Click on 'I still need help' and then you should see 'Chat with an Agent' at the bottom of the page.
'Ask our experts' will indeed just lead you back to this forum.
Sometimes you will get ‘Sorry! All agents are busy— please check back soon.’
Don’t refresh the page, just hang on and it should eventually go to ‘Chat Now, an agent is available’.
They can reset your authorizations, and then you must reauthorize any devices you still need.
(Unfortunately, Adobe haven’t got round to an admin website for viewing and editing authorizations.)
Some of the representatives haven't been properly trained and don't know what to do (and claim there is nothing they can do);
in that case the only way seems to be to give up that chat and try another session hoping for a properly trained representative.
If your problem is with another device using Overdrive, Bluefire, Aldiko or similar third party app, it is recommended not to mention that app when on the chat, just mention that you have run out of authorizations (E_ACT_TOO_MANY_ACTIVATIONS) . Thanks to AJP_Bear for that tip.

Is factory reset for Windows 7 gonna restore my BIOS too to its original state when I bought it?

I am using Windows 8 now, I bought my laptop in JULY 2012. It came with Windows Home Premium and I have the recovery disks for Windows 7. I plan to factory reset my laptop because of my disappointment with Windows 8 and supprt for Windows 8.
I want to know that if the 'Factory Reset' will restore the laptop BIOS to its original state. I mean I have my BIOS updated to the latest. I want it to go back to its old state. Also how long does the Factory Reset takes? I own HP DV6T 7000 Quad edition with 32gb mSSD.
Intel RST doesn't work no matter what, my HDD is shown in non-RAID and there is no way I can change it to RAID. So my last option is to try the Factory Reset and see if it helps. I am pretty sure IRST will work only if my BIOS is restored to the original state along with everything so it starts detecting my HDD in RAID.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi,
A factory image recovery will not affect the BIOS version or its current settings. The amount of time that the factory image recovery takes wil depend on which type of recovery media you have. If you have usb recovery media than it will probably take perhaps thiry minutes. It you use a recovery disk set then the recovery could take a few hours to complete.
Once you start the recovery do not touch the keyboard.
Make sure that the wireless is turned on before you commit to the recovery.
Best regards,
erico
****Please click on Accept As Solution if a suggestion solves your problem. It helps others facing the same problem to find a solution easily****
2015 Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience Consumer

I did a factory reset on my late 2008 MacBook from a Snow Leopard disc. It installed fine, but as soon as I began to use the computer (safari) it froze. Couldn't even force quit. So I held down the power button to turn it off, and now it won't start up.

I did a factory reset on my late 2008 MacBook from a Snow Leopard disc. It installed fine, but as soon as I began to use the computer (safari) it froze. Couldn't even force quit. So I held down the power button to turn it off, and now it won't start up. It goes to the grey Apple screen and just sits there loud as can be. Help! Please keep in mind I've not done anything like this before and am going to need a little hand-holding. Thanks in advance.

Hi. Don't worry it's nothing serious. Insert the Instal Disc (Snow Leopard) and press the C button while turning on the computer. Once you see the desktop, go to Utility and choose Disk Utility. Select the Macintosh Partition on the left window pane and then click on Repair Disk and Repair Disk Permissions on the bottom right corner. Wait for both processes to finish. Click on the Apple icon (top left corner) and choose quit. Your computer should restart. See if it reboots normally. If not you can always reinstall the OS following the same steps. Good luck!

Need to do a Factory Reset for iMac late 2011. How do I do it with little hassle

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