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Factory resetting a used iMac

E

EliteDeforce

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 10, 2013
22
0
I have an older iMac that I got from a friend and I want to factory reset it before I start using it. It has Mountain Lion and I've read the procedure for factory resetting but I have concerns about reinstalling the OS. Basically, I'm afraid if I wipe the computer and then get to the point where I have to download ML again and it doesn't work that I will have a bricked machine. How can I tell if the OS will download again without licensing issues, etc?

Thanks.
 
simsaladimbamba said:
You could get a 19 USD DVD of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard from the Apple Online Store or you could get your own Apple ID and login to the Mac App Store (MAS) and buy OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and download it and make a backup of it or create a bootable installer of it and then do a clean install.
Click to expand...

I don't really want to spend any $$ whatsoever. I don't mind just clearing out what's on it already, but if there are any real benefits to a full factory reset that heavily outweigh just deleting all the files on it, I'd like to know.
 
EliteDeforce said:
I don't really want to spend any $$ whatsoever. I don't mind just clearing out what's on it already, but if there are any real benefits to a full factory reset that heavily outweigh just deleting all the files on it, I'd like to know.
Click to expand...

Since the computer is not in front of us to actually see, what is on there, we cannot decide for you, if it is advisable to just create a new admin account and delete the old one or if a clean install would be beneficial.

If the machine runs okay and does not show you the middle finger, then leave it as it is and just use it with a new admin account.

 
simsaladimbamba said:
Since the computer is not in front of us to actually see, what is on there, we cannot decide for you, if it is advisable to just create a new admin account and delete the old one or if a clean install would be beneficial.

If the machine runs okay and does not show you the middle finger, then leave it as it is and just use it with a new admin account.

YouTube: video​
Click to expand...

This is the perfect solution, thank you so much. So absolutely everything from the old account will be removed?
 
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