Giving wife old MacBook Pro

[WPS408]

Hi all,

So I'm giving my wife my old MacBook Pro and I'd like to know: is there an easy way to delete my account and have her as the admin with all of the files accessible that are already on the HD in my home account? Also, iTunes, Messages, etc. should all be under her Apple ID instead of mine. I apologize in advance for the newb question.

 

[Fishrrman]

Important:
If you have this MacBook registered with iTunes, iCloud (etc.), be sure that you SIGN YOURSELF OUT of these accounts before you do anything else.

PRINT THIS OUT FOR REFERENCE.

What I would do (this presumes that it runs ok with the existing OS install):
1. Go to the Users & Groups pref pane.
2. Create a NEW account with administrative privileges.
3. Give it a simple name and password for the moment (it may be removed later)
4. Next, LOG OUT of your account, and log into the new (temp) account
5. When you get there, click the lock icon and enter the (new) password.
6. Now, RIGHT CLICK on your old account and choose "advanced options" (humor me)
7. DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING -- you're "just looking".
8. What you're looking for is the account ID -- it should be "501". This is normally "the main account" ID#. We just want to confirm this before you delete it. Click cancel to return to Users & Groups.
9. If it is the 501 account, do this next:
a. Click on your old account ONE TIME to select it
b. Down at the bottom click the "-" sign
c. You should now see a dialog asking "are you sure you want to delete the account "xxx"?"
d. Yes, we're going to delete your account. Choose "delete the home folder" and then click "Delete User".
e. That should nuke your existing home folder, leaving the "501" space "available"
10. Now, click the "+" sign and add a new account for your wife.
11. Consult with her as to what she wants for a username.
12. Give her a temporary password -- she can change that on her own later on.
13. Now, log out of the temp account and log into your wife's account.

At this point, you can either delete the temp account (same way you deleted your old account in step 9 above.
or...
You can leave the barebones "temp" account there. If you need to do maintenance on the MacBook, your wife can log out of her regular account and you can log into the temp account and "do what you need to do"...

 

[WPS408]

Thanks Fisherman, I appreciate the thorough help!

 

[IaaMRn2020]

Important:
If you have this MacBook registered with iTunes, iCloud (etc.), be sure that you SIGN YOURSELF OUT of these accounts before you do anything else.

PRINT THIS OUT FOR REFERENCE.

What I would do (this presumes that it runs ok with the existing OS install):
1. Go to the Users & Groups pref pane.
2. Create a NEW account with administrative privileges.
3. Give it a simple name and password for the moment (it may be removed later)
4. Next, LOG OUT of your account, and log into the new (temp) account
5. When you get there, click the lock icon and enter the (new) password.
6. Now, RIGHT CLICK on your old account and choose "advanced options" (humor me)
7. DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING -- you're "just looking".
8. What you're looking for is the account ID -- it should be "501". This is normally "the main account" ID#. We just want to confirm this before you delete it. Click cancel to return to Users & Groups.
9. If it is the 501 account, do this next:
a. Click on your old account ONE TIME to select it
b. Down at the bottom click the "-" sign
c. You should now see a dialog asking "are you sure you want to delete the account "xxx"?"
d. Yes, we're going to delete your account. Choose "delete the home folder" and then click "Delete User".
e. That should nuke your existing home folder, leaving the "501" space "available"
10. Now, click the "+" sign and add a new account for your wife.
11. Consult with her as to what she wants for a username.
12. Give her a temporary password -- she can change that on her own later on.
13. Now, log out of the temp account and log into your wife's account.

At this point, you can either delete the temp account (same way you deleted your old account in step 9 above.
or...
You can leave the barebones "temp" account there. If you need to do maintenance on the MacBook, your wife can log out of her regular account and you can log into the temp account and "do what you need to do"...

Hi Fishrrman!,
I saw your answer and have a similar question i hope to resolve.
My wife is the current "owner" of our MacBook Pro 2017 and i am a second user with administrator status (having been the one who set it up for her). But as it turns out, I have become the main user and she never uses it, so I want to switch who is the "owner", so that when i starts up, it starts with my account first and she can keep her account as simply another user. (I want to avoid having to login first as her, when i start up the computer, to then switch to my account.)
I imagine the steps you describe above is the basic process i should follow - i delete her current account, but does that then make my current account with all its contents (1,5 years of use) the "main" account?
And what happens to the (small amount) of stuff she has created in her account? Don't want to lose that stuff.

I also apologize for the "newbie" question and am very grateful for any assistance.

 

[josehill]

My wife is the current "owner" of our MacBook Pro 2017 and i am a second user with administrator status (having been the one who set it up for her). But as it turns out, I have become the main user and she never uses it, so I want to switch who is the "owner", so that when i starts up, it starts with my account first and she can keep her account as simply another user. (I want to avoid having to login first as her, when i start up the computer, to then switch to my account.)

If I understand you correctly, the MacBook Pro automatically logs in to your wife's account, and you'd like to change that.

You can have your Mac switch to login to your account automatically, or you can disable automatic logins entirely and require a password when the Mac is turned on or after you logout. Personally, I prefer disabling automatic logins for security reasons, especially on laptops.

The steps are pretty similar in either case:

1. Go to the "System Preferences" under the Apple Menu and click on "Users & Groups."
2. Click on the "Lock" icon to make changes. You will be asked to enter an admin username and password.
3. Click on "Login Options."
4. In the screen that appears, set "Automatic login" either to "Off" or to your account (you should see all available user accounts if you click on the pulldown menu next to the words "Automatic login"). If you select "Off," you will need to login to your account whenever you start/restart your Mac. If you choose an Automatic login account, the Mac will login to that account automatically when you start/restart it.
5. While you are there, you may want to double check your "Display login window" options. On most Macs, the default login screen option is "List of users," which will let you click on an account and enter a password to login. On some Macs (usually corporate ones), "Name and password" is selected, and you only get blank spaces to enter your user name and password. Although "Name and password" is considered more secure, you'll probably want to choose "List of users," in case you ever forget the available user names.
6. Close the "System Preferences." You are done!

 

[IaaMRn2020]

thanks, but for some reason, the pulldown menu is grey and not accessible...?

 

[josehill]

thanks, but for some reason, the pulldown menu is grey and not accessible...?

I'm guessing that you have FileVault turned on. Take a look at the part of this FileVault article that begins with "If other users have accounts on your Mac, you might see a message that each user must type in their password before they will be able to unlock the disk. For each user, click the Enable User button and enter the user's password. User accounts that you add after turning on FileVault are automatically enabled." Or, you might prefer simply turning off FileVault if the MacBook Pro doesn't normally leave the house.

There's also a possibility that you are using iCloud to login, though that is less common (see "If automatic login is unavailable" in this support article.)