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Q: I bought a used macbook pro no OS HELP

I bought a used macbook pro no OS HELPthat had mavericks on it. The owner wiped it as he should but it will not let me load it back because my apple id has never ordered it.  What to do.

MacBook Pro

Posted on May 16, 2014 4:51 PM

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Q: I bought a used macbook pro no OS HELP

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  • by kevin_,

    kevin_ kevin_ May 16, 2014 4:53 PM in response to Flamewild
    Level 4 (1,561 points)
    May 16, 2014 4:53 PM in response to Flamewild

    If you have a friend with a Mac you can log into the mac App Store and purchase Mavericks.  Then stop the download.  Even though Mavericks is free, Apple still considers it a purchase.

     

    After you do this, you should be able to use the recovery drive on your MacBook Pro to install the OS.

  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel May 16, 2014 4:54 PM in response to Flamewild
    Level 10 (314,412 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 16, 2014 4:54 PM in response to Flamewild

    Append the last three characters of its serial number to http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/?search_keywords= , load the page, and see what its original OS was.

     

    If it was 10.6.2 or earlier, buy a Mac OS X 10.6 DVD from the online Apple Store, or see below. The retail DVD doesn't contain iLife.

    If it was 10.6.8 or earlier, phone AppleCare and order replacement original disks.

    If it was 10.7 or newer, restart with the Option, Command, and R keys held down, and install the OS.

     

    (106779)

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy May 16, 2014 4:54 PM in response to Flamewild
    Level 10 (271,789 points)
    Desktops
    May 16, 2014 4:54 PM in response to Flamewild

    If the computer originally came with Lion or above:

     

    Install Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion Using Internet Recovery

     

    Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.

     

    Boot to the Internet Recovery HD:

     

    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.

     

    Partition and Format the hard drive:

     

    1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.

     

    2. After DU loads select your newly installed hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.

     

    3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed. Quit DU and return to the main menu.

     

    Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion. Mavericks: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.

     

    Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet

                if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

     

    This should restore the version of OS X originally pre-installed on the computer.

     

    You should also add the computer to your list of registered products: Your Support Profile for Registered Purchases. If the seller has not removed it from his list, then he needs to do that.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis May 16, 2014 5:18 PM in response to Flamewild
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    May 16, 2014 5:18 PM in response to Flamewild

    The first thing to do with a second-hand computer is to erase the internal drive and install a clean copy of OS X. You—not the original owner—must do that. How you do it depends on the model, and on whether you already own another Mac. If you're not sure of the model, enter the serial number on this page. Then find the model on this page to see what OS version was originally installed.

    1a. If you don't own another Mac

    If the machine shipped with OS X 10.4 or 10.5, you need a boxed and shrink-wrapped retail Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) installation disc from the Apple Store or a reputable reseller—not from eBay or anything of the kind. If the machine is very old and has less than 1 GB of memory, you'll need to add more in order to install 10.6. Preferably, install as much memory as it can take, according to the technical specifications.

    If the machine shipped with OS X 10.6, you need the installation media that came with it: gray installation discs, or a USB flash drive for a MacBook Air. You should have received those media from the original owner, but if you didn't, order replacements from Apple. A retail disc, or the gray discs from another model, will not work.

    To start up from an optical disc or a flash drive, insert it, then restart the computer and hold down the C key at the startup chime. Release the key when you see the gray Apple logo on the screen.

    If the machine shipped with OS X 10.7 or later, you don't need media. It should start up in Internet Recovery mode when you hold down the key combination option-command-R at the startup chime. Release the keys when you see a spinning globe.

    Some models shipped with OS X 10.6 and received a firmware update after 10.7 was released, enabling them to use Internet Recovery. If you have one of those models, you may not be able to reinstall 10.6 even from the original discs, and Internet Recovery may not work either without the original owner's Apple ID. In that case, contact Apple Support, or take the machine to an Apple Store or another authorized service provider to have the OS installed.

    1b. If you do own another Mac

    If you already own another Mac that was upgraded in the App Store to the version of OS X that you want to install, and if the new Mac is compatible with it, then you can install it. Use Recovery Disk Assistant to prepare a USB device, then start up the new Mac from it by holding down the C key at the startup chime. Alternatively, if you have a Time Machine backup of OS X 10.7.3 or later on an external hard drive (not a Time Capsule or other network device), you can start from that by holding down the option key and selecting it from the row of icons that appears. Note that if your other Mac was never upgraded in the App Store, you can't use this method.

    2. Partition and install OS X

    If you see a lock screen when trying to start up from installation media or in Recovery mode, then a firmware password was set by the previous owner, or the machine was remotely locked via iCloud. You'll either have to contact the owner or take the machine to an Apple Store or another service provider to be unlocked. You may be asked for proof of ownership.

    Launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the internal drive—not any of the volume icons nested beneath it. In the  Partition tab, select the default options: a GUID partition table with one data volume in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. This operation will permanently remove all existing data on the drive.

    After partitioning, quit Disk Utility and run the OS X Installer. If you're installing a version of OS X acquired from the App Store, you will need the Apple ID and password that you used. When the installation is done, the system will automatically restart into the Setup Assistant, which will prompt you to transfer the data from another Mac, its backups, or from a Windows computer. If you have any data to transfer, this is usually the best time to do it.

    Then run Software Update and install all available system updates from Apple. To upgrade to a major version of OS X newer than 10.6, get it from the Mac App Store. Note that you can't keep an upgraded version that was installed by the original owner. He or she can't legally transfer it to you, and without the Apple ID you won't be able to update it in Software Update or reinstall, if that becomes necessary. The same goes for any App Store products that the previous owner installed—you have to repurchase them.

    3. Other issues

    If the original owner "accepted" the bundled iLife applications (iPhoto, iMovie, and Garage Band) in the App Store so that he or she could update them, then they're irrevocably linked to that Apple ID and you won't be able to download them without buying them. Reportedly, Mac App Store Customer Service has sometimes issued redemption codes for these apps to second owners who asked.

    If the previous owner didn't deauthorize the computer in the iTunes Store under his Apple ID, you wont be able to  authorize it immediately under your ID. In that case, you'll either have to wait up to 90 days or contact iTunes Support.

    When trying to create a new iCloud account, you might get a failure message: "Account limit reached." Apple imposes a lifetime limit of three iCloud account setups per device. Erasing the device does not reset the limit. You can still use an iCloud account that was created on another device, but you won't be able to create a new one. Contact iCloud Support for more information. The setup limit doesn't apply to Apple ID accounts used for other services, such as the iTunes and Mac App Stores, or iMessage. You can create as many of those accounts as you like.

  • by Flamewild,

    Flamewild Flamewild May 16, 2014 8:13 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 16, 2014 8:13 PM in response to Linc Davis

    I tried all of this, no luck. It reverted back to OS Lion but still says that it has not been purchased under my apple id

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis May 16, 2014 8:16 PM in response to Flamewild
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    May 16, 2014 8:16 PM in response to Flamewild

    Then you'll have to go back to 10.6, as I wrote earlier.

  • by Flamewild,

    Flamewild Flamewild May 16, 2014 8:38 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 16, 2014 8:38 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Can i purchase Lion or do i have to go all the way back and purchase 10.6.6 snow leopard?

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis May 16, 2014 8:47 PM in response to Flamewild
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    May 16, 2014 8:47 PM in response to Flamewild

    All this was covered in my earlier comment. You don't need to buy Lion if you intend to run Mavericks. In order to get Mavericks, you need a Mac running 10.6.8. For that, you need a disc, which you can order from Apple. There is no way out of that requirement, unless you already have another Mac.

  • by Melophage,

    Melophage Melophage May 16, 2014 8:49 PM in response to Flamewild
    Level 5 (7,161 points)
    May 16, 2014 8:49 PM in response to Flamewild

    Flamewild,

     

    which model MacBook Pro did you purchase? If it originally came from the factory with two grey installation DVDs, but you didn’t receive them when you’d purchased it, then you should follow Niel’s advice and call Apple to purchase a replacement pair — along with a bootable DVD from which you can install Mac OS X, you’ll also get its original iLife apps and its model-specific Apple Hardware Test.