buying a used Mac software licenses, Apple Care

[expat42451]

Hello

This is my first post here in Basics and Help- I am active on the OSX Mavericks forum and to a lesser extent on the Mac Pro forum.

I am considering purchase of a used 2012 Mac Pro. According to the owner, the machine is covered under Apple Care until November. The machine currently runs Mavericks 10.9.2.

First, what can I do to determine if the machine is actually covered under Apple Care and have that transferred to my Apple identity. Second, is Apple Care transferrable to another owner?

Third question- software. I assume that there are identifier codes in OSX that tie an OS, the machine- it's serial number and an owner together and I would guess that these are all tied to ones' Apple account. What do I need to do to transfer the OS on this machine to my name if in fact it is transferrable.

If I purchase the machine I will wipe the HD and reinstall 10.9.2. Its not really possible to know what lurks on a HD and sins from a previous owner aren't something I want to live with. I am going to be using the Pro for software development. Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated.

Expat

 

[Nermal]

Mavericks is free, so all you'll need to do is go to the App Store and "buy" it with your own account so that you get a licence. You may then wish to create a USB installer which you can use to wipe the drive and install a fresh copy.

I'll have to leave your AppleCare questions to someone more experienced.

 

[expat42451]

Nermal

Many thanks for the information-

Expat

 

[DeltaMac]

You can easily find out the warranty status (and the status of AppleCare) on this page:
https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do
You only need to enter the Mac's serial number.
You will also notice that your name is not needed.
AppleCare is NOT tied to the owner, but tied to the hardware.
There is no real need to transfer the Mac Pro AppleCare to your own name, but you can do that if you want to.

You may not be able to erase and reinstall Mavericks, as that install will likely ask for the original AppleID, which would be the previous owner.
Not really a big deal, as you would just download/install Mavericks under your own AppleID. Maybe you already have Mavericks, so you can just install from your own download.

 

[expat42451]

DeltaMac

Thanks for the info. That resolves the question about AppleCare.

I already use Mavericks on other machines so a fresh install won't be a problem.

Regards


Expat

 

[GGJstudios]

I am considering purchase of a used 2012 Mac Pro. According to the owner, the machine is covered under Apple Care until November. The machine currently runs Mavericks 10.9.2.

First, what can I do to determine if the machine is actually covered under Apple Care and have that transferred to my Apple identity. Second, is Apple Care transferrable to another owner?

AppleCare follows the computer, not the owner, so there is nothing you need to do to transfer it. You can verify remaining coverage by entering the serial number here.

 

[expat42451]

GGJStudios

Thanks very much for the link and information.

Expat