Going back to a fresh Mac without system restore

mpw_amherst

I intend to send my old Mac to Apple's Reuse scheme. However, I don't have the old system discs. Is there anyway of not only deleting all existing users but even the admin, so it goes back to a 'fresh' system with the welcome screen on start up without the current admin password?

marvin

You can create a new default admin and delete all previous users and then delete the apple setup file by running the following command in the terminal:



rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone



You would be able to remove a user from single user mode but it's not worth the trouble. After a user goes through the setup, they can remove the other user if they like.

mpw_amherst

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvin


You can create a new default admin and delete all previous users and then delete the apple setup file by running the following command in the terminal:



rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone



You would be able to remove a user from single user mode but it's not worth the trouble. After a user goes through the setup, they can remove the other user if they like.

Thanks for this. However, when I enter the command in the terminal it says

Macintosh:~ admin$ rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone

override rw------- root/wheel for /var/db/.AppleSetupDone?



I go yes but then it says



rm: /var/db/.AppleSetupDone: Permission denied

marvin

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpw_amherst


I go yes but then it says



rm: /var/db/.AppleSetupDone: Permission denied

I should have written the following:



sudo rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone



then you type in your password. That file has higher permissions.

smax

I'm not really familiar with their requirements... Do they require you to have a functional OSX install on the machine?



I'd be more careful with my data and just securely wipe the drive is that isn't an issue.