Trouble reverting to factory settings

I have a macbook pro which I would like to set back to how it was when I bought it, however when I got to Disk Utility then erase the options to errase are blocked? any ideas how to get past this?

Follow the guideline posted here:
http://www.thesafemac.com/how-to-prepare-your-mac-for-sale/
Ciao.

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Is there a way to recover old emails? I moved a few folders around on the hard disk and now my emails have reverted to Factory settings and all my old emails and address book have vanished. I am still running on 10.4.11 and Apple can not help me.

Is there a way to recover old emails? I moved a few folders around on the hard disk and now my emails have reverted to Factory settings and all my old emails and address book have vanished. I am still running on 10.4.11 and Apple can not help me. Does anyone out there have any idea on how to recover my lost emails and/or addresses?

Well, your profile info says 10.4.11, and you are posting your question in the iMac (PPC) category. If you are running Snow Leopard, it must be a fairly recent Intel iMac.
In that case, you should definitely post your question here
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/mac_os_x_v10.6_snow_leopard
where other Snow Leopard users can see your question. Restate the problem, what error messages you get, and what you have tried already (for trouble-shooting).

I updated my iPad 2 to iOS 7.06 and iTunes couldn't connect. Had to revert to factory settings. Can't install many apps and lost data. What can I do?

When I selected to update the OS on my iPad 2, it wouldn't connect with iTunes, and I had no choice other than to revert to factory settings, losing all my data, apps etc. Everything. I knew that would happen, but also that everything was backed up on iCloud.
However, when I thought I had set up my ipad again, I found none of my documents, pdf files, songs, notes, some items on my calendar, and a bunch of other stuff had gone.
If it's on iCloud, why can't I get it back?
And has anyone got a brillaint solution?
I noticed a few others have had the same issue.
And I need the lost documents for my work with clients. My next client starts on Monday and some of his material is now lost. I am unable to open it on my iMac, as I have a newer update of Pages on my ipad. So most of these missing documents, while on my imac via icloud, are inaccessible.
HELP!!!!

Also my drop box is empty. A much bigger problem...

AE will not revert to factory settings

I recently posted a question re purchasing the Airport Extreme. I now have the AE and for the last three days have been trying to successfully set it up. I have tried so many different settings that I am totally confused and tried to revert to factory settings. I unplug the AE and hold in the reset button while replugging in the device. When it restarts the old settings are still showing on Airport Utility.

Valerie, welcome to the discussion area!
Try the following:
Pull the power plug from the back of the AirPort Extreme
Leave it off for 10-15 minutes
Hold in the reset button +and keep holding the reset button in while you plug the power back in.+
+Keep holding the reset button+ until you see the amber light begin to blink more quickly
Hold another 4-5 seconds when you see this and then release the reset button.
In other words, once you hold in the reset button, do not release it when you plug the power back in, keep holding it until you see the amber light blink quickly for 4-5 seconds. Then release the reset button.

Need to revert to Factory Settings without disk.

Hi,
I have a friend (isn't that how they all start?) who has a new macbook pro and needs to reset to factory settings as she wants rid of the user IDs and names on the accounts. She has Snow Leopard but no disks (none were in her box).
How would I be able to revert to factory settings so she could access the computer as if it was new, without disks. Is there anywhere I can download such software?
Thank you
Jo
p.s. I would use my macbook pro and try to burn off a reset disk but I'm using Lion and thought this would cause even more issues. Thanks.

"She has Snow Leopard but no disks (none were in her box)."
Not probable. She either misplaced or lost the disks. She should get a replacement set by calling AppleCare. Then she can do what she intends and provide the disks to the new owner (which she is required to do). She can't use your disks.

HT1222 i am having trouble restoring the factory settings on my ipod touch...any suggestions?

i am having trouble restoring my ipod touch to factory settings...i am connected to the pc, pc is recognizing unit in restore mode, but will not do anything else...any suggestions?

Try:
- Reset the iOS device. Nothing will be lost
Reset iOS device: Hold down the On/Off button and the Home button at the same time for at
least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.
- Unsync all media and resync
- Reset all settings
Go to Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset All Settings.
All your preferences and settings are reset. Information (such as contacts and calendars) and media (such as songs and videos) aren’t affected.
- Restore from backup. See:
iOS: How to back up
- Restore to factory settings/new iOS device.

Applications reverting to factory settings?

I was recently using my PowerBook G4 when, the next time I turned it on, I found that a majority of my applications -- including Mail, iTunes, and Safari -- seemed to have reverted back to factory settings. More specifically, Mail prompted me to create a new user account; iTunes erased my entire music library, including my custom playlists (and continued to do so after I repeatedly reloaded my files and playlists); and Safari erased all of my bookmarks.
The stranger thing about all this is: all my music files were still there -- they weren't erased at all. And yet, all of the widgets I had on my Dock, and many other applications seemed to have been "restarted"?
Other than this, my computer is acting fine again... But I don't know why or how this happened, and I'd like to know for future reference/prevention.
I also already searched around these forums and the closest topic I could find was this thread -- http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=414089&tstart=45 -- but I never renamed my home folder, as that thread discusses.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Try repairing permissions with Applications > Utilities ->
Disk Utility.
If you are sure your music is still in your Music folder, then it is possible, that Spotlight may need to be force reindexed by adding your hard drive to your Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Spotlight -> Privacy, restarting your Mac, and then removing it from there again, and restarting again. Let the Spotlight index reindex itself, and when done then try to reopen your applications.

Reverting to factory settings

My iphone has stopped connecting to my wireless router, airport extreme. It happened a couple of days ago. It sees the router and shows it in settigns. My wireless printer shows it getsa signal, but will not print. My wifes phone works fine as does the ipad. I can connect to other wireless systems outside the home. If I revert the router to original factory settings what is the downside?

If I revert the router to original factory settings what is the downside?
Downside.....you will have to reconfigure the AirPort Extreme again. Suggest that you change the name of the wireless network and password if you decide to do this. No guarantees that this will solve the problem.
Upside....setting up a new wireless network and password might allow all devices to connect.

IPod touch reverts to factory settings after every update.

I bought my iPod touch in March, and have never had any problems. Then about two months ago, it wiped itself after a software update (through iTunes) and reverted back to original factory settings (turn it on, get starter screen telling you to connect iPod, everything is gone, etc). I figured it was a one-time glitch and put everything back on it. However, it has happened three times now, and every time, it happens right after an update. I back it up every time I plug it into my computer, but now, it won't back up, and it won't restore from a backup. It just gives me error messages, or the only available option is system restore (factory reset). I'm getting really frustrated with it, because I have to set up every single thing over and over again.
Should I just try to send it in to replace/fix it, since I still have the one-year warranty? Or is there a way to fix this myself?

This doesn't solve the fact that your iPod goes back to factory settings, but have you tried Backing it up onto iCloud? Go to Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > (takes a few seconds to appear) Backup. You do have to be connected to internet to do this. All you have to do is to remember to do this before you update.

My desktop and dock reverted to factory settings??!!?

Good morning and please HELP!
Something very strange has happened to my PB G4 Ti. When I started up this afternoon I was stunned to see a generic desktop(not the one I've been using for months), the dock settings were changed to default? and was missing about 12 or so icons, and when I tried to open Mail or iTunes for example the start up wizards opened as if I was using for the first time. I don't know what to do. My first reaction was panic..... but after some research it seems that I haven't necessarily lost any files or folders but...it will take some time to make sure nothing is gone. I do have my home folder backed up on a portable hd. and some other important stuff on my iDisc(although this icon has reverted to just looking like a mounted drive)
About my "system" PB G4 Ti -1 GHz -1MB L3 cache- 256KB L2 cache- 768 SDRam- and running OSX 10.4.5.
I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary yesterday-updating some Palm desktop stuff, searching iTunes reading all of my mail and deleting my lovely
junk mail.
Well sorry for ramblin' on so...this is my first post and am at such a loss. I look forward to any and all suggestions on what the----is happening.
Thanks in advance,
Buck The Hoople
PowerBook G4 Titanium, G3 iMac DVD Special Edition Mac OS X (10.4.5) 2GB iPod Shuffle, 4GB Nano, 30GB VidPod

Wow, Buck, that sounds drastic. I have never heard of a reproducable solution to what you're describing. Most of the time a reset to factory settings happens when the internal battery dies and needs replacing. But an entire directory? Maybe someone created a new user account on you and you have auto-logon set? Would not be possible if you're the only user (unless you have a split personality or something).
I'd suggest a reboot, then repair permissions, then reboot and see what happens. You use the Disk Utility program to repair permissions. Don't want to talk down to you on this, you probably already tried that. After the repair routines I'd recommend running the CRON processes with either OnyX or MacJanitor (downloadable).
Let us know how you're doing with your restoration process.

My G5 reverted to factory settings on its own!

In the middle of a typical day Mail got locked up... I quit it, then quit all other apps and restarted. Now my G5 restored itself to the original factory settings and my mail is nowhere to be found, it wants me to set up all my mail accounts again. All of my other applications are still installed, but none have a memory that they were ever used by my machine (Fetch which has also lost all of my shortcut settings), browsers (favorites are gone), Mail (completely empty), iTunes (completely emptied out 3,000 songs), address book (now empty), and software that I puirchased online and activated with an activation key now wants me to re-enter my activation key.
Is this a KEYCHAIN issue, or a hard drive problem? Please help!
thanks
Steve
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.9) Dual 1.8GHz

GigSalad:
It is bit late to ask, but do you have a backup of at least your data?
Have you done a simple Find File (Command + F while in Finder) and searched for any of the missing files?
Another option is to download and run What Size. It will scan your HDD and list everything by size. You can then examine the results searching for anything familiar or unfamiliar. Look especially in any Folders with names like Lost and Found, Recovered items, etc.
Good luck.
cornelius
Message was edited by: cornelius

I have an Apple TV new type and am having trouble restoring to factory settings I have it connected to my imac but cant see it in iTunes?

I can not see my Apple TV series 2 in eyetunes I have it connected throught the micro USB cable and would like to restore to factory settings?

Hi FuzzyDunlopIsMe,
Welcome to the Support Communities!
It's possible that resetting your password multiple times has triggered this security. Click on the link below for assistance with your Apple ID Account:
Apple ID: Contacting Apple for help with Apple ID account security
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5699
Here is some additional information regarding your Apple ID:
Apple ID: 'This Apple ID has been disabled for security reasons' alert appears
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2446
Frequently asked questions about Apple ID
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5622
Click on My Apple ID to access and edit your account.
Cheers,
- Judy

Trouble Restoring to Factory Settings

My iPod hasn't been working for about a week now. I have been trying to connect it to iTunes to restore the factory settings, but iTunes sometimes doesn't recognize it OR it says that I am not connected to the internet - though I am. My iPod is still connected to the computer and still says "Do Not Disconnect" though nothing productive has been happening.
Any advice would be appreciated.
20 GB iPod with Click wheel

Hi amorris!
Since you're getting error 1418 when attempting to restore, have you tried the solution in this post here? -> A possible solution to errors 1417 and 1418
-Kylene
If any post helps or solves your issue, please mark it that way accordingly. Thank you for helping the boards!

Having trouble with restoring factory settings

attempting to restore my factory settings and erase my data transfered from my old Imac G5.......tried to complete this in disk utilities, but wont allow me to erase the disk..someone mentioned installing the OS X disk....however my computer came preinstalled and i dont see a disk in the box...

All G5s came with install discs. Call AppleCare and request replacement discs. You can't repair/erase a disk's volume when booted with it.

Relaunched Finder now Desktop reverted to "factory settings"

Hi,
This is my first post so please bear with me.
Whilst transferring 14 photos to a memory stick I got the 'Beachball of Doom'. 20 mins later it was still there, I opened 'Force Quit' & Finder was (not responding). I was given option 'Relaunch' rather than 'Force Quit'. Foolishly I did and the other applications stopped working. Now the desktop settings have reverted to default. I still appear to have all my folders & files but can't access Entourage, Power Point, Skype, Help etc. Can anyone help?

Hi, and a warm welcome to the forums.
First make certain something like this didn't parti;;y hapen, which can of it's own accord...
Return to default desktop, apparent "loss" of home directory...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107854
ChangeShortName 10.4 only...
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/16620
We have more after that...
Could be many things, we should start with this...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot.
The usual reason why updates fail or mess things up, is if Permissions are not fixed before & after every update, with a reboot... you may get a partial update when the installer finds it doesn't have Permissions to change one obscure little part of the OS, leaving you with a mix of OS versions.
Some people get away without Repairing Permissions for years, some for only days.
If Permissions are wrong before applying an update, you could get mixed OS versions, if Directory is the slightest messed up, who knows!
If many Permission are repaired, or any Directory errors are found, you may need to re-apply some the latest/biggest updates.

Trouble reverting to factory settings

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