Mac Mini wanna be

[Bigdawg66]

Hello,

I am new to all things Apple. I recently was given an older mac mini and was looking forward to getting to know it. It is however locked out by the previous owners info can anyone help me to get started? Lol no it was not stolen it was bought at a church treasure fest.

Thank You
Any assistance is appreciated

 

[techwarrior]

Locked out can mean a number of things.

When you boot it up what happens?

 

[Bigdawg66]

Locked out can mean a number of things.

When you boot it up what happens?

Hello,

It goes to a screen that has two user names and the apple logo. When u select one it asks for password. Any way i can erase it and if not can i overwrite hd with linux?

 

[Fishrrman]

Does the Mini have a slot for a CD/DVD on the front?
Or not?
Post a pic of the front AND the ports on the back.
Then we can perhaps tell you what year it was made and what to do next.

 

[Bigdawg66]

Does the Mini have a slot for a CD/DVD on the front?
Or not?
Post a pic of the front AND the ports on the back.
Then we can perhaps tell you what year it was made and what to do next.

 

[Fishrrman]

According to this page:
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac_mini_cd_1.66.html
...That looks to be a 2006 "Core Duo" Mini, 1.66ghz.

It shipped with OS 10.4.5 and can run up to 10.6.8.

Since you can't get into it with a "normal boot" (it's booting to a login screen with password required), you'll have to get around that somehow.

There used to be tricks to get the thing booted and reset the password, but never had to do that myself so I'm not fluent in them. You'll have to research this or perhaps others will jump in and help.

Something you could do would be to get ahold of a 10.6 "Snow Leopard" install DVD and try to boot from that.

Beware:
There are "universal install" versions of the DVD that should boot any Mac that is capable of booting Snow Leopard....
and
... there are "Mac-specific" DVDs that are set up to boot ONLY the Mac that they shipped with.
I would look for the universal install DVD. Not sure if Apple still sells these.
You might find one on ebay.

Some options:
You could boot into utilities, reset the password, and use one of the existing accounts. Or then, create a new one for yourself.
or
You could get ahold of an install DVD (or USB flash drive), NUKE the internal drive back to zero (erase it), and install a completely fresh copy of the OS.

 

[Dave Braine]

Something you could do would be to get ahold of a 10.6 "Snow Leopard" install DVD and try to boot from that.

Not sure if Apple still sells these

Yes, they do:
https://www.apple.com/us/search/Snow+Leopard?src=globalnav