Long story short, I got a PowerPro G5 and it has a previous user set up as Administrator, but I do not know the password. It logs in without it but I cannot change a thing, so it'd just be easier. How do I go about formatting it back to factory ways? Thank you
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How to factory reset 10.3.9?
- Thread starter jbg123
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You're right. That was my mistake. He said "PowerPro G5" which was never the name of a real Mac and I misread the OS as 10.9.3, not the other way around.
The last version of OS X that runs on a Power Mac G5 is Leopard. He will have to find some Leopard install DVDs. I see some for sale on eBay for about $25.
My suggestion will be different from others', and will cost you about $25.
First, get ahold of something like a USB/SATA "docking station".
Then, take the SATA drive OUT of the PowerMac g5.
Put it into the dock and connect the dock to the Mini.
You should now be able to re-initialize the drive using Disk Utility.
Be aware that if you want the data ON the drive destroyed, you should use the "secure erase" function in DU. "One Pass" should be all that you need.
You'll now have a "wiped" drive.
Just wondering -- what year of production is the Mac Mini, is it PPC or Intel, and what version of the OS is on it?
First, get ahold of something like a USB/SATA "docking station".
Then, take the SATA drive OUT of the PowerMac g5.
Put it into the dock and connect the dock to the Mini.
You should now be able to re-initialize the drive using Disk Utility.
Be aware that if you want the data ON the drive destroyed, you should use the "secure erase" function in DU. "One Pass" should be all that you need.
You'll now have a "wiped" drive.
Just wondering -- what year of production is the Mac Mini, is it PPC or Intel, and what version of the OS is on it?
OP wrote above:
[[ Hmm I'm pretty sure it's a late 2009 Intel on the Mac mini, and no idea about how to go about what you said to do for the G5 at all...]]
Well, then, perhaps it's time to start learning....
I believe Apple used SATA hard drives in the PowerMac g5.
You'll have to open the case and take the drive out.
This shouldn't be very hard, I would check "ifixit.com" for an illustrated guide.
Once you have the drive "in-hand", you need a way to connect it to the Mini.
The easiest and fastest way to connect a "bare" drive to a Mac is to use a "USB/SATA docking station".
To see what these are, go to amazon.com and enter "usb sata dock" into the search box.
Many choices will pop up, some as low as $20.
Just plug the drive into the dock and plug the dock into the Mac Mini.
Turn everything on, the drive should spin up.
It may or may not "mount" on the desktop.
Now you can open "Disk Utility" and re-initialize it if you wish.
At that point, it will be time to put a new OS onto the drive....
[[ Hmm I'm pretty sure it's a late 2009 Intel on the Mac mini, and no idea about how to go about what you said to do for the G5 at all...]]
Well, then, perhaps it's time to start learning....
I believe Apple used SATA hard drives in the PowerMac g5.
You'll have to open the case and take the drive out.
This shouldn't be very hard, I would check "ifixit.com" for an illustrated guide.
Once you have the drive "in-hand", you need a way to connect it to the Mini.
The easiest and fastest way to connect a "bare" drive to a Mac is to use a "USB/SATA docking station".
To see what these are, go to amazon.com and enter "usb sata dock" into the search box.
Many choices will pop up, some as low as $20.
Just plug the drive into the dock and plug the dock into the Mac Mini.
Turn everything on, the drive should spin up.
It may or may not "mount" on the desktop.
Now you can open "Disk Utility" and re-initialize it if you wish.
At that point, it will be time to put a new OS onto the drive....
Hello, awesome info I really appreciate it. I will give that a go and see what I get; I got a few possible Admin PWs from the orig owner so I'm going to try that first. In terms of a new OS, what are some recommendations and how would I go about obtaining said version and installing at that point? I appreciate the advise to everone, thank you. Jon
Some additional thoughts...
I've never tried this myself, but both computers have firewire ports, is this correct?
If so, you might be able to connect the g5 to the Mini using "Firewire target disk mode".
You'll need a firewire cable. You -might- need a "mixed" cable -- that is, one with a firewire400 connector on one end, and a firewire800 connector on the other. No problems, this will work fine.
If the g5 previous owner gives you a bunch of passwords to try, that's obviously the thing to try first...
I've never tried this myself, but both computers have firewire ports, is this correct?
If so, you might be able to connect the g5 to the Mini using "Firewire target disk mode".
You'll need a firewire cable. You -might- need a "mixed" cable -- that is, one with a firewire400 connector on one end, and a firewire800 connector on the other. No problems, this will work fine.
If the g5 previous owner gives you a bunch of passwords to try, that's obviously the thing to try first...
Hey Fishrrman, yes I did get an old password that worked, so I changed the Admin account name to a simple "Admin" and have a basic password now I chose, but the drive name still reads the org. owners name "fox" and I don't know how to format it back to factory settings so to speak.