Triggering new Mac setup

I just bought a new 24" iMac (love it!), and am cleaning my old iMac in order to sell it. I've done a fresh install of the OS (Jaguar and then the Panther upgrade that came shortly after I bought it) and the apps it came with. And, I've used Software Update to update the OS (to 10.3.9) and the apps.
At this point, I'd like to arrange for my old iMac, when it boots, to welcome the new person (who's going to have bought it) and walk them through setting up an account, setting up networking, etc., just like the Mac does when you first buy one new.
Is there a way that I can set it up to do this?

Hi Dale
The solutions is simple. All you have to do is to delete the hidden file called .AppleSetupDone in located in /var/db. You can do this by opening up Terminal and typing "sudo rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone"
After removing this file, the Apple Setup Assistant will launch the next time you restart the computer

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Post-Install New Mac Setup

After netinstalling our 10.5 macs, we're seeing the startup screen (registration, new admin accounts, etc), even though we've suppressed this in the base image, and added it again to the System Image Utility Workflow (out of desperation to get this to go away).
Here is what we've executed on the base image (which works fine if we do a local restore, like ASR or block restore):
touch /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
touch /Library/Receipts/.SetupRegComplete
Since we just threw the image into the netinstall workflow, it was obviously overridden, so we added the scripts to the netinstall workflow as post-install items. It still doesn't work, and properly suppress the registration/accounts setup process.
What could we be missing here?
Thanks,
j

Brian,
+So (to reiterate), you've installed, configured, and booted into this system (to insure that the system has had an opportunity to do whatever it needs to do). Then you imaged the volume, presumably in TDM, and when you restore this, it wants to create a new user?+
Yep!
If we use the image on a mac booted into firewire disk mode (or ASR multicast), and then reboot that mac, it starts up and does not go through the registration routine - which is good.
+How was the source volume created? (Clean install, upgrade from something?)+
We used instaDMG - clean and no upgrade.
+Did you make the image using the Assistant mode (select the volume and build a "NetInstall")? Or use the workflow mode? If workflow... what other actions did you include?+
We selected the volume and chose to do a netinstall in a workflow mode.
We have:
1) Define Image Source
2) Enable Automated Installation (choose volume)
3) Create Image
4) Add Packages and postinstall scripts (script was commands i put in my first post)
The weird thing is that it works fine when we use a restore technology other than netinstall (ASR multicast, Disk Utility block copy, etc).
Thanks,
j

New Mac mini & New Wireless Keyboard - can't complete setup

I just picked up a new Mac mini, and a new Apple wireless keyboard. I'm setting up the mini for the first time and i can't complete the setup because the new wireless keyboard doesn't seem to be recognized during the initial mini setup process. Should it be?
I can use the mouse to get me to the point where it requires me to setup an account, but without the keyboard I'm unable to do so.
Is this normal? I don't have a USB keyboard or I would have just plugged it in and finished. I should be able to do this with the new wireless keyboard, right?

I had the same problem with my wife's pre 2009 Intel Mini, had to use a USB KB to do a fresh install of SL, because the BT KB wasn't picked up.
Then on my early 2009 Mini I updated it from L to SL and after SL SW update found several updates, including a bluetooth update. When it came to applying the BT update, it said turn off BT, then proceed. Next came the need for me to enter my password to proceed, but that wasn't possible as the BT KB no longer responded. Fortunately I have a USB KB handy which did the trick.
So my conclusion is you need a USB KB as well as the BT KB, to manage a BT KB Mac. (With the above two examples I used a wired mouse)

Just bought a new mac mini, wireless keyboard, and track pad. My track pad will not synch. All advise I have been given is to change items in the setting menu, but I cant because I still have to get through the setup!!

Just bought a new mac mini, wireless keyboard, and track pad. My track pad will not synch. All advise I have been given is to change items in the setting menu, but I cant because I still have to get through the setup!!

The power button for the Trackpad is on the right hand end of the battery case. Press that button to initiate the pairing process. On the top of the Trackpad just above the power button is a tiny green light (you probably cannot see it unless it is lighted). That light will indicate ehther or not the Trackpad is discoverable. If the Trackpad has discoverable the green light will blink on and off. If it does not pair within 3 minutes you will have to press the power button again to re-initiate the pairing process. Once your Trackpad has paired, you can just leave it on and it will pair automatically when you reboot your Mac.
If you are having problems pairing, try turning off any other Bluetooth devices within 30 or so feet of your Mac mini. That includes other Computers, iPhones, iPads, etc. that may be in the area. Once your Trackpad has pairedwith your mini, you don't have to be concerned about other Bluetooth devices.
One other hint, I find that although the Wireless Trackpad does not eat batteries as fast as the Magic Mouse it still uses more than the Wireless Keyboard. It is a good idea to keep a supply of AA batteries around. I have used Apple's Rechargable batteries, but found they did not last that long before needing to be recharged. I have had the best battery life from Duracell Quantum batteries.

New mac mini setup can't see Bluetooth keyboard

Brand new mini and in setupmit can't see Bluetooth keyboard or trackpad. Any ideas on how to complete setup? Anyone else had this problem?

After having the same issue on a new Mac Mini with 10.7, and pulling my hair out I found the following 'hack' to set up a wireless keyboard during initial setup.Please bear in mind that I had access to a USB mouse, but NOT a keyboard, so this should help if you want to pair a bluetooth keyboard during the initial setup process.
In the setup process click next until you reach the account creation screen - you can't get past this one wiothout a keyboard.
Right click on the empty "Full name" input field and select "Show spelling and grammar"
Now you should see a window. Bottom left corner, click on the "Automatic by language"
Select "Open text preferences" from the menu, toward the bottom
At this stage you should see the top menu bar, with System Preferences running
Click View from the top bar menu, then select Bluetooth
Now you are able to pair your bluetooth keyboard in the usual way, clicking on "Setup new device"
Hope this saves some time for people with the same issue.
Apple please fix this, it is not a good first impression.

HT4938 New mac-mini server setup without keyboard and mouse

Im trying to use the server app to setup my new mac mini server without mouse and keyboard, but the server is not listed. I have tried using its IP address with no username and the serial number as password but it won't connect. Any ideas?

You may have a version mismatch. If I recall, setup assistant is OS version dependent so if the refurb is 10.5 and the Mac Pro is 10.6 you will likely not be able to use setup assistant.
However, just use ARD or Screen Sharing to connect. If the mini is visible on the network and in the ready for setup mode, you can ssh into the machine using the root user and the first 8 digits of the machine serial number. Then you can use the kickstart command to startup the ARD agent on the system. Use these commands while in the SSH session.
cd /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Resources
sudo ./kickstart -activate
sudo ./kickstart -configure -access -on -privs -all -users <shortname>
For now, the user will need to be root because there is no user. Then screen share the system to complete the remainder of the initial setup.
In theory this will work. Works on Xserves, so I believe the minis work the same for initial setup.
Hope this helps

I have a new mac and wanted to bring over my Design suite CS 4. I downloaded photoshop but it says "Setup" can't be opened because it is from an unidentfied developer. Anyway to install tis? I have the serial number

Anyway, I downloaded it all but just photoshop I downloaded separtly, It is really the only one I use. Seems my old OS was to old and my new is too new?
I have a new mac and wanted to bring over my Design suite CS 4. I downloaded photoshop but it says "Setup" can't be opened because it is from an unidentfied developer. Anyway to install this? I have the serial number for my orginal CS4 design suite.
Thanks

Hi,
If you have the suite then you have to download the whole suite otherwise the Serial Number will not work, if you only download Photoshop. Once you download the suite you can choose to only install Photoshop and use the Serial number you have.
You can download from here.
Download CS4 products
If you get the message:Setup" can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer , You can follow Fix the “App can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer” Error in Mac OS X .
**You can change it to MAC App store and identified developers afterwards.

How can I get a Mac to redo the new machine setup?

Hey gang-
Is there a way to get a Mac to redo the new machine setup dialogs the way a Mac does the first time it is started out of the box? I'm selling my iBook and it would be nice for the new owner to be presented with that. I know I could do it by erasing and reinstalling the original CDs, but I'd like to include the various incremental Software Updates that I've done to save the new user the trouble.
Is there a way to get a Mac to do this?
Thanks!
Dave

John's method may work for the most part, but there are some things to be aware of that might cause problems for you or the new owner.
First, it doesn't get rid of everything you have installed or caused to be created in /Library or any of the caches except those in the /User folder. Some of the /Library items are probably things you want to pass on to the new owner, such as plug-ins that support apps. Some aren't, such as many of the /Library/Preferences items set by an admin user. Some may even contain sensitive data.
Second, you will be passing on a lot of clutter of dubious value to the new user, like logs, & any corruption of files that an Erase & Install would get rid of.
Third, Setup Assistant may or may not be designed to work & play well with updated apps & system components. This is unchartered territory. It may "undo" some of the things you want the new owner to have, or not.
Forth, if you have set up, for example, the Apache web server or any other UNIX-based service that required root or sudo access, these files will not necessarily be in their default state.
Fifth, there may be support items in /Users/Shared for both Apple & third party apps. John's step 4 will erase them.
Sixth, you need to consider OS 9 folders if you have used Classic, particularly if you have migrated anything from an older Mac. You may have user items, preferences, etc. that need to be purged.
Seventh, I probably have forgotten other things that more knowledgeable folk can fill you in on.
So, while it is possible to do what you want, it isn't really as easy as it seems. A better approach, & one that will serve both you & the new owner better in the long run, is to completely wipe the drive with a secure erase. Consider making a "bonus" CD or DVD for the new owner with all the latest updates, as a companion to the original installer set.
Something else to consider: If the Mac that you are putting up for sale did not come with Tiger, you can't include it legally in your sale unless you include the retail DVD & license you used to install it. The same is true of any apps that you might have added to the used Mac, including shareware you payed for. Aside from the ethical implications, you do not want to run into problems because of "shared" registration codes should you need them for support or upgrades.

Does Setup Assistant delete files on the new mac?

I just got a new Macbook Pro, and I'm trying to decide how to transfer all of my files from my old computer to my new one. The problem is that I'm a little paranoid about losing any files on the new computer. I once accidentally wiped my entire system on the old one after an incorrect restore and lost several important folders required for certain applications because they weren't included on the OS reinstallation CD. I don't want that to happen again. I've been reading about Migration Assistant and Setup Assistant, and it seems like they do pretty much the same thing, but I want to make sure that any files currently on the new Mac aren't deleted if I use Setup Assistant to transfer my old files.
Any advice for this particularly paranoid Mac user would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Paranoia is understandable; however, misplaced. Just follow the steps in Pondini's Setup New Mac guide.

Stumped! Migration Assistant won't work - need to setup new mac asap!

OK, I've been trying to transfer files from my iMac to my Macbook for three days - no luck.
I did a wipe and install on the macbook first. But then Migration Assistant wouldn't work b/c it said the machine i was transferring do had an older OS than the iMac. SO, I reinstalled Leopard on the iMac - but now All my files are in the "Previous Systems" Folder - so when I try to use Migration Assistant - it calculates my transfer files at 0 KB.
Same thing happens when I try it from my latest Time Machine Back up.
I've tried migration assistant with firewire, ethernet and Time Machine. etc, but no luck.
Now, I'm just copying all my files over - but I NEED to have all my mail msgs and applications transferred!
Any suggestions I feel like I've tried everything - I've read many many articles here but I'm getting frustrated and tired.
thanks in advance!
http://discussions.apple.com/profile.jspa?userID=262360

scarchord wrote:
OK, I've been trying to transfer files from my iMac to my Macbook for three days - no luck.
I did a wipe and install on the macbook first. But then Migration Assistant wouldn't work b/c it said the machine i was transferring do had an older OS than the iMac. SO, I reinstalled Leopard on the iMac - but now All my files are in the "Previous Systems" Folder - so when I try to use Migration Assistant - it calculates my transfer files at 0 KB.
Same thing happens when I try it from my latest Time Machine Back up.
What version of OSX is that backup?
And what version is on your MacBook?
It sounds like the iMac and/or backups are on Snow Leopard, and the MacBook is on Leopard. If so, you can't transfer from a newer "major" version of OSX to an older one (but you can transfer from, say, 10.6.6 to 10.6.4, although some Apple apps may not be happy with older versions of their data files).
If the backups are Snow Leopard, update the MacBook to Snow Leopard and do the transfer from the backups, either via +Setup Assistant+ or +Migration Assistant.+ See [Setting up a new Mac from an old one or its backups|http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/Setup.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of the +Snow Leopard > Installation and Setup+ forum).
The other article is for transferring from a PPC Mac to Leopard or early versions of Snow Leopard.

Why does my new Mac mini crash on setup user account ?

Brand new Mac mini i7 with fusion HD. on first time setup, I got as far as the create user account screen & it seemed to be taking along time creating the account (10-15min) so I called apple. the guy asked a few questions & then instructed me to switch off the mini & try again. same result, locks up at the create user account screen with the small wheel turning (slowly) at bottom left next to the text - creating account. after several attempts of turning off & on & trying to setup user accounts with different names & home folder names, the apple guy steped me through a download & erased the hard drive & then started to download OSx. So after a fresh install of OSx, I still have exactly the same trouble. Can get through the initial setup about languages etc but after completing the text fields in the great user account page & clicking next, it says creating account at the bottom left, the wheel turns for 5 min or so then it stops & nothing more happens.
I am very frustrated & disappointed with this. any help appreciated

update:
visit to apple store. the guy turned on the Mac mini & setup an account with apple store defaults, which does not log into the apple server for Apple ID user or password etc...
All works fine. the guy had no idea as to what was causing it to crash, can only assume that it had an issue with loging into the Mac server with the Apple ID. as this was the only thing different to when I & the apple care guys, where trying to set it up at home. happy it works but still very annoyed with the 15hours I had to mess around & the half a day trip to the apple store.

ITunes Time Capsule restore to new Mac (Odd setup)

Previously I had an iMac with its iTunes library loaded on an external hard drive connected via USB. I also had a Time Capsule that was backing the iMac up including the external iTunes hard drive.
Well I finally upgraded to a new MacBook Pro. About two days later, the iTunes external hard drive died. So now I'm trying to figure out how can I restore my iTunes library from the Time Capsule to a new external hard drive. I tried the Migration Assistant and selected the Time Capsule option but no luck.
So how can I get that TC iTunes library from an old iMac on an external drive no longer available to a new Mac with a new external drive?
I was thinking I could try to hookup the new external drive to the old Mac and try the Time Machine. Thoughts? Please help!!

Time Capsule forum: https://discussions.apple.com/community/wireless/time_capsule. Also, when you re-post in there it would be helpful to say what you mean by "trouble" and also let them know which iMac you are using and which version of OS X. You have iOS 5.0.1 listed, but that is not the operating system on your iMac, iOS is for iPads, iPods i.e. iDevices. Good luck.

Using Time Machine to setup new Mac

I have just bought a new Mac and need to take all the data for 3 users from the old one. The old Mac is backed up using Time Machine to an external 500Gb Firewire drive.
The problem is that I can't do all the data transfer in one go and due to space and time restrictions I will need to take a couple of sessions to complete all this. This is what I was thinking of doing ...
Backup old Mac using Time Machine
Create a Root account on new Mac
Log in as root and run Migration Assistant and restore user1 and user 2 and user3 from FW drive
Pack away new Mac and plug Time Machine drive back onto old Mac
Old Mac continues updating this Time Machine drive until a few days later ...
I can either just plug in the Time Machine drive to the new Mac and restore back to just after the point I was on the first installation or I could just repeat the whole thing again. There is over 300Gb of data to transfer which is why I would prefer to not have to run the whole restore again and just pick up the changes.
Thanks

Trying to mate a TM backup to a new computer is an exercise in futility, IMO. See http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1872713 for caveats upgrading a PPC (your G5) to an ICBM (Intel-chip-based Mac). SuperDuper!, Carbon Copy Cloner, Disk Utility, etc. can create a bootable backup/clone of your existing system to an external, bootable FireWire (recommended)/USB 2 external HD (usable with the new machine, but won't boot the old one, and is about 40% slower than FW). Once that's finished and tested to ensure it looks and acts as the original, just walk it over to the new machine, boot it up, and use the Migration Assistant to move your stuff, as described in the above link.
What I just did with a new 24"iMac and transfer stuff from a G4 (which was running Leopard) was to initially boot the machine, enter the same username/password combo, internet settings, and finish up. When the machine pops up the Desktop, Software Update will run an offer a host of updates. DON'T install them, but go to System Preferences, launch SU, and disable its auto-check and install option. That comes later. Then, I manually transferred my G4's user folder to the iMac's Desktop. Next, I started moving stuff from that folder into its appropriate places in the new user's folder. For instance, I replaced the current login.keychain with the former (thus bringing over all previously saved username/password combos), replaced the new Safari folder with the old (preserving all bookmarks, history, etc.), replaced the cookies.plist in Cookies, all preference files (except those in the ByHosts subfolder), merged everything in the other Library folders, mergee\d the Documents, Desktop, Music,Movies, and Pictures folders.
Launched System Preferences and opened each prefPane, checking and modifying as necessary. Note that one significant change is the mouse—the iMac ships with a Mighty Mouse, which has many new functions over the previous single-button mouse. Once that was finished, I restarted, repaired permissions, launched Safari to ensure it workedjust like the old versioni, checked e-mail (I use Eudora), and when I was satisfied everything was working as intended, I made another clone, so I could forego the previous if something went wrong. Note that many Dock icons will showup as plain files with a question mark (since you haven't installed the missing 3rd-party items—just ignore that—but they will identify what they should be pointing to.
After recloning, launched Software Update and let it install everything, except the Time Machine and Airport updates, since I don't use them, and repaired permissions. After ensuring that everything worked as expected, I updated the second clone, launched the Migration Assistant.app, only selected applications, and migrated them. Next, I replaced the ? Dock icons with their real aliases, launched each to ensrure they worked, restarted, and did one more permissions repair.
The only complication I ran across was that QuickTime lost its Pro registration information, so I had to putit back in. About the only thing that ran on my old machine under Tiger runs under Leopard, but I've been updating them for the past 20 months while beta-testing Leopard. AppleWorks 6.2.9, Quicken 2005-07, Eudoira 5.2.1, MS Office 2004, TurboTax 07, and just about everything except Unsanity's haxies (nonbetas) runs under Leopard.

Creating a clone of MBP for future transfer to new Mac

Hi
Using CCC and a 1TB external drive, I have just created a full version clone of my current 13" MBP 1TB (it boots okay, apps work fine, Parallels works fine, so all looks good). My purpose is that I want to give the MBP to a good friend and buy a new MBP at Christmas.
That being the case, will I be able to use Setup Assistant to transfer all my apps, files and settings to the new Mac from the clone on my HD? Is a bootable clone the best way to go to get my old apps and settings on the new system?
I'm not overly worried about files since I use Dropbox for data but I don't really want to have to reinstall all the applications and re-create my environment if I can help it.
Or would it be better to create a Time Machine backup to the external HD? Can you use Time Machine in conjunction with Setup Assistant for this kind of thing?
Thanks a lot
Andrew

The logical way to import all your files, apps and settings is to use Setup Assitant (not Migration Assistant) on the first boot of the new system. I don't recall whether a cloned image works with Setup Assistant , but a Time Machine backup will certainly work without a doubt. Within Setup Assistent, you chose and old Mac, its TM Backup, or a PC, and connect to it. I wonder if connecting to a clone image will be seen as another Mac. I have my doubts. But if someone here has actually done it, then there you go.

How do I use my new mac instead of old one with my iphone 4

I recently just got a new Mac and wont be able to use my old Mac because I will be leaving for college in a couple weeks. My iPhone 4 is set up with my old Mac. How do i get it to sync with my new Mac now instead of my old one? Because of space on my iPhone, I manually manage all of the music on it. When I have my iPhone connected to my new mac, it shows up in iTunes but it wont let me manage my music.

You can use Migration Assistant to migrate your old Home folder to your new computer. Or, if all you want is your iTunes Library, then copy the /Home/Music/iTunes/ folder to an external hard drive. Then move the external drive to the new computer and restore the folder to the /Home/Music/ folder on the new computer overwriting the one that's now there.
If you have never started up the new computer, then you can use the Setup Assistant instead of Migration Assistant to transfer your old Home folder to the new computer.
The two computers must be connected by Firewire cable or Thunderbolt cable depending upon what they both support. The old computer is booted into Target Disk Mode while the new computer is booted normally. In Setup or Migration Assistant you would be selecting the option to migrate from another Mac or disk drive.

Triggering new Mac setup

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