So i got an imac from my brother. We used it for the various apps for our church sounds booth. The HDD died so he gave it to me. I recently just put a samsung EVO 860 1 tb SSD into it. Ive got it all back together now and am trying to run the new OS. Im trying to do the OCLP big sur. The problem is that i cant put it into recovery mode or anything. The only command it will take is command+R. That takes me to the padlock screen with a non existing password lol. How to i get past this? I cant get into internet recovery or anything. Thank you for any help!
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Mid 2011 imac problems
- Thread starter Wampa_Rat68
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1. Buy an USB flashdrive
2. Create an USB installer with Mac OS X High Sierra.
3. Plug it in your iMac and power it up, while pressing Command + Option + P + R. Keep pressing until you hear the chime 3 times.
3. Release the key press. Your iMac may boot from the USB. The installation will start automatically.
Its more complicated to install Big Sur, as the OS is not supported by your iMac. So normal Recovery won't work.
You will need Opencore Legacy Patcher method. Google for the guidance.
If i dont have the OS on the flash drive, will it even recognize the command? I have tried that before and got nothing
The firmware password is an anti-theft and security measure. It prevents booting to anything but the current startup disk. Making it a very nice paperweight without the password or original functioning startup disk.
The firmware password was setup by a previous owner. Either the church set it up or it was a donated computer and the previous owner set it up and forgot to tell them.
Remove the firmware password, then.
Not a very difficult job for a pro repair shop.
It's impossible for a common user, though.
Apparently, you can bypass this firmware password by changing the physical ram in the computer and doing a PRAM reset. Now could i just take a card out and do the pram reset? or do i have to replace it with another card that is bigger or smaller. Thanks!
Apparently, that method is for Mac 2006~2010 only.
Anyway, try everything you can. Let's hope that your iMac 2011 can be reset by yourself.
Method 2: PRAM reset for older Macs (2006-2010)
Follow steps below to reset your Mac Firmware password:- Shut down your Mac.
- Remove the battery. (you will need to remove the LCD panel first, but you don't need a LCD panel for this anyway)
- Add or remove a stick of ram. Obviously if you have one stick in, add one and if you have two in remove one.
- Power on the mac and immediately press and hold command-option-P-R.
- The system will restart with the ‘bong noise’, allow it to do this 3 times. On the third ‘bong’ you can let go of the keys.
- The machine will now boot with a cleared password and reset PRAM/NVRAM.
- You can shut down the machine and replace the original ram configuration.
The solution I mentioned above for the pro shop is actually remove the EFI chip on the logicboard, put it on a chip reader to extract the ROM file, then use a hex editor to find and remove the password, then write back the ROM file onto the chip before solder it back to the logic board. It's not a stuff you can do without a proper tool set and skill set.
Something like this:
Removing a Mac's Firmware Password Without Going to Apple - William Zhang
Systems Administrator, Software and Web Developer, Photographer
Or this:
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Wow, so a very in depth process… how much do you think it would be for a shop to do it?Apparently, that method is for Mac 2006~2010 only.
Anyway, try everything you can. Let's hope that your iMac 2011 can be reset by yourself.
Method 2: PRAM reset for older Macs (2006-2010)
Follow steps below to reset your Mac Firmware password:
- Shut down your Mac.
- Remove the battery. (you will need to remove the LCD panel first, but you don't need a LCD panel for this anyway)
- Add or remove a stick of ram. Obviously if you have one stick in, add one and if you have two in remove one.
- Power on the mac and immediately press and hold command-option-P-R.
- The system will restart with the ‘bong noise’, allow it to do this 3 times. On the third ‘bong’ you can let go of the keys.
- The machine will now boot with a cleared password and reset PRAM/NVRAM.
- You can shut down the machine and replace the original ram configuration.
The solution I mentioned above for the pro shop is actually remove the EFI chip on the logicboard, put it on a chip reader to extract the ROM file, then use a hex editor to find and remove the password, then write back the ROM file onto the chip before solder it back to the logic board. It's not a stuff you can do without a proper tool set and skill set.
Something like this:
Removing a Mac's Firmware Password Without Going to Apple - William Zhang
Systems Administrator, Software and Web Developer, Photographerblog.wzhang.me
Or this:
The cost varies from the shop, mainly because of their rental.
You can email and ask them directly.
Northridge Fix may charge 150$ for the repair cost. (AFAIK)
But you have to pay for the return shipping.
Local shops in the city where I live charge only 50~60$ for the service.
I found another resource with pre-programed devices. They also have a version which doesn't require soldering skill. (Clamp version). Very pricey and for repair shops only.
macbiosunlock.com
But these are the guidance. You can be creative and just buy a CH341a programer, with a 8pin clamp (about 10$) and try it yourself. (Photo below)
You would need another Windows machine, as the SPI program (or ASP program? I don't quite remember) only run on Windows.
Mac BIOS Unlock - The best solutions to Unlock EFI Firmware and MDM
Mac BIOS Unlock the best solutions to Unlock and Remove Forgotten EFI Firmware, iCloud, MDM, and fix Disabled Macs. For MacBook Pro, MacBook
macbiosunlock.com
But these are the guidance. You can be creative and just buy a CH341a programer, with a 8pin clamp (about 10$) and try it yourself. (Photo below)
You would need another Windows machine, as the SPI program (or ASP program? I don't quite remember) only run on Windows.
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