delete admin account and reset osx back to original status?

ctishuectishue
Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
Is there a way to delete the administrator account and reset OSX back to the status as if the computer had just been bought without reinstalling. My reason being that I am selling the machine and want to have 10.1.5 installed for the person who is buying it, but I can't do that unless I set up an admin account to download all the updates (I only have a 10.1 full install disc) and install them.



Thanks for any help,

Chris

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    [quote]Originally posted by ctishue:

    <strong>Is there a way to delete the administrator account and reset OSX back to the status as if the computer had just been bought without reinstalling. My reason being that I am selling the machine and want to have 10.1.5 installed for the person who is buying it, but I can't do that unless I set up an admin account to download all the updates (I only have a 10.1 full install disc) and install them.



    Thanks for any help,

    Chris</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Disconnect all network cables, turn off AirPort, etc.



    Boot into single-user mode by holding cmd-S at the smiley Mac at boot.



    Follow the instructions to get your drive read/write.



    Type 'nicl .'. This is the NetInfo Command Line tool. You are now running the CLI equivalent of NetInfo Manager. The dot indicates that it is to operate on the current local NI database.



    'list /users' should give you a list of all known users.



    'read /users/&lt;username&gt;' should give you all the data for that user.



    'delete /users/&lt;username&gt;' *SHOULD* delete that user's entry. (I've never actually done this step... 'man nicl | more' at the same prompt that you typed 'nicl .' gives you the instructions for nicl formatted for your screen. In retrospect, you may want to do this before running nicl. )



    'quit' exits you from nicl.



    'cd /private/var/db/' at the command prompt.



    'rm .AppleSetupDone' This is the file that, if it's missing, the startup sequence fires off that funky "Welcome to MacOS X Setup" sequence I think you're looking for for the next person to play with.



    'shutdown now'



    Your machine may still be on after about 30 seconds, but it will be safe to shut off by holding down the power switch. Do *NOT* boot it again, or you're going to have to do these steps again.



    Note that there are still going to be little detrius lying about that the next person is going to see, like Network Locations, unless you delete those too.



    It's safer and easier to probably just wipe the drive, reinstall 10.1, and let *them* update it, yes? 10.1 *is* usable, after all.
  • Reply 2 of 5
    bluejekyllbluejekyll Posts: 103member
    I hope you don't mean delete "root"! That is a necessary account on the system, it will break OS X if it doesn't have it...
  • Reply 3 of 5
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    No, the user account that was tagged as Administrator. It's the first user account you set up after installing the OS or buying the machine.



    'root' is another account all together. That one shouldn't be touched. Nor should any of the others except the ones the user added themselves. There are a number of 'invisible' users that are necessary for the OS to work correctly. If you didn't add it, don't touch it with nicl.
  • Reply 4 of 5
    curiousuburbcuriousuburb Posts: 3,325member
    um...



    the very first power tips i gave my students when they got their ibooks (some 500's some 600's) and wanted to play with X was...



    HIDE the X installer CD!!!



    anyone who boots from the X installer CD (holding down "C" to boot from CD, not "X" to boot into X unless they know current root admin passwords) has full admin power to scrub your iBook and recreate themselves as "root"



    correct me if wrong, but that's all it takes



    which is why the physical security of bootable OS X System CD's is as vital for data piece of mind as a cable lock in a public lab is for your gear



    my 0.035 CDN$
  • Reply 5 of 5
    bluejekyllbluejekyll Posts: 103member
    [quote]Originally posted by curiousuburb:

    <strong>um...



    the very first power tips i gave my students when they got their ibooks (some 500's some 600's) and wanted to play with X was...



    HIDE the X installer CD!!!



    anyone who boots from the X installer CD (holding down "C" to boot from CD, not "X" to boot into X unless they know current root admin passwords) has full admin power to scrub your iBook and recreate themselves as "root"



    correct me if wrong, but that's all it takes



    which is why the physical security of bootable OS X System CD's is as vital for data piece of mind as a cable lock in a public lab is for your gear



    my 0.035 CDN$</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Well on newer version of Apple's OpenFirmware

    based systems, it is possible to password protect your computer, before the cd boots. You can go to apple.com to get the program that allows you to do this.



    So you can protect against this.



    This is all off topic, but I'll keep going anyway... You can always get into single user mode at the touch of a key in most unixes. You can protect against this with the passworded firmware also. The point is you don't need the CD to do what you are talking about.



    Sorry for getting off topic...
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