I have a MacBook that’s reset to the factory setting and is at the setup screen. Is there a way to pull up system information (the tool that shows specs, battery cycles, etc.) without having to create an account?
Yes it is possible. At setup screen Command + Control + Option + "T" will open the terminal. You can then use system_profiler or what have you to view the data in the terminal. As I recall you can even use the terminal to launch System Profiler app as well.