Floydjeff9

Q: Hello! How can I restore an iMac 10.6.5 Snow leopard to factory settings?

Hi! How can I restore a iMac 10.6.5 Snow leopard to factory settings?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.5), MB-952XX/A

Posted on Aug 14, 2014 8:07 PM

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Q: Hello! How can I restore an iMac 10.6.5 Snow leopard to factory settings?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Strontium90,

    Strontium90 Strontium90 Aug 15, 2014 2:52 PM in response to Floydjeff9
    Level 5 (4,077 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Aug 15, 2014 2:52 PM in response to Floydjeff9

    If your goal is to stay on 10.6.x, then you will need the original installation media.  Back in the 10.6 days, machines still shipped with installation DVDs (gasp).  You can boot from the original install DVD, erase or repartition the drive, and then reinstall the OS.

     

    If you are looking to upgrade (and this unit is Mavericks compatible), you can upgrade to Mavericks.  Assuming the drive is not partitioned, this will create a Recovery Partition.  If you truly want to nuke and pave, boot from the Recovery Partition, erase the boot partition, and then reinstall Mavericks.

     

    Either will get you a clean system.

     

    Reid

    Apple Consultants Network

    Apple Professional Services

    Author "Mavericks Server – Foundation Services" :: Exclusively available in Apple's iBooks Store

     

    I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

    <Edited by Host>

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Aug 15, 2014 8:16 AM in response to Floydjeff9
    Level 8 (49,154 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 15, 2014 8:16 AM in response to Floydjeff9
  • by CMCSK,Helpful

    CMCSK CMCSK Aug 15, 2014 2:00 PM in response to Floydjeff9
    Level 6 (10,845 points)
    Aug 15, 2014 2:00 PM in response to Floydjeff9

    How To Prepare a Mac For Sale also applies.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

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  • by Floydjeff9,

    Floydjeff9 Floydjeff9 Aug 15, 2014 3:37 PM in response to Strontium90
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 15, 2014 3:37 PM in response to Strontium90

    Thanks for responding to my question.

     

    I failed to mention that this was my sister's iMac.

    She does not remember the Password or Apple ID #,

    and there aren't any disks that came with it.

     

    Thanks,

    Steve

  • by Floydjeff9,

    Floydjeff9 Floydjeff9 Aug 15, 2014 3:41 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 15, 2014 3:41 PM in response to John Galt

    Thanks John,

     

    I failed to mention that this was my sister's iMac.

    She does not remember the Password or Apple ID.

    Also, there aren't any disks that came with it.

     

    Thanks,

    Steve

  • by Floydjeff9,

    Floydjeff9 Floydjeff9 Aug 15, 2014 3:43 PM in response to CMCSK
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 15, 2014 3:43 PM in response to CMCSK

    Thanks for responding to my question.

     

    I failed to mention that this was my sister's iMac.

    She does not remember the Password or Apple ID.

    Also, there aren't any disks that came with this computer.

     

    Thanks,

    Steve

  • by John Galt,Solvedanswer

    John Galt John Galt Aug 15, 2014 6:07 PM in response to Floydjeff9
    Level 8 (49,154 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 15, 2014 6:07 PM in response to Floydjeff9

    You will absolutely require a disc, preferably its original OS X Install DVD, but you should also be able to use the retail Snow Leopard DVD since yours is a late 2009 iMac. Purchase it here: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard

     

    You can obtain a replacement OS X Install DVD from Apple at a reasonable cost, about the same as the Snow Leopard DVD. Contact them using the phone number that appears in the Apple Online Store. You will need the iMac's serial number: iMac: How to find the serial number

     

    Once you have it follow the instructions in CMCSK's link.

  • by Strontium90,

    Strontium90 Strontium90 Aug 15, 2014 7:54 PM in response to Floydjeff9
    Level 5 (4,077 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Aug 15, 2014 7:54 PM in response to Floydjeff9

    You can reset the password via Single User Mode or you can completely remove the dslocal database and start over.

     

    If you want to delete the DB and start over (no user data will be deleted), follow these steps:

     

    1:  Boot the machine into Single User Mode (Hold down Command and S keys on boot up)

    2:  When you get to the command prompt, mount the file system as writable with this command:

     

         mount -uw /

     

    3:  Deleting the old Default node...

     

         rm -R /var/db/dslocal/nodes/Default

     

    4:   Copying Default node template...

     

         cp -R /System/Library/DirectoryServices/DefaultLocalDB/Default /var/db/dslocal/nodes/

     

    5:  Removing Shadow Hash files... (depends on history of machine)

     

         rm -R /var/db/shadow/hash/

     

    6:  Removing .AppleSetupDone...


         rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone


    7:  Reboot the machine with the reboot command


    That will present you with the setup assistance and no users on the machine.  Create a new account on the machine.

     

    Reid

    Apple Consultants Network

    Apple Professional Services

     

    <Edited by Host>

  • by Floydjeff9,

    Floydjeff9 Floydjeff9 Aug 15, 2014 9:11 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 15, 2014 9:11 PM in response to John Galt

    Hi John,

     

    Thank you very much for all your help.

     

    Steve Marcus

  • by Floydjeff9,

    Floydjeff9 Floydjeff9 Aug 15, 2014 9:12 PM in response to Strontium90
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 15, 2014 9:12 PM in response to Strontium90

    Thank you so much for all your help!

     

    Steve Marcus

  • by Strontium90,Helpful

    Strontium90 Strontium90 Aug 16, 2014 4:43 AM in response to Strontium90
    Level 5 (4,077 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Aug 16, 2014 4:43 AM in response to Strontium90

    Dear Host editor.  Please review Apple's Discussion Forum guidelines.  Apple Support Communities Use Agreement

     

    Please review Section 2.6.3.

     

    1. You may sign your Submissions with information about yourself. However, this should not include a link to a website. An example of an acceptable signature: Justine R. Author, "Apple Lisa Communities: Tips and Tricks"

     

    I am complying with Apple's use policy.  Why the insistence on editing the signature or adding snarky comments?  It is clear that I have only tried to assist the original poster in solving the posted problem. 

  • by Floydjeff9,

    Floydjeff9 Floydjeff9 Aug 16, 2014 7:18 AM in response to Strontium90
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 16, 2014 7:18 AM in response to Strontium90

    Thank you for all your help, I will try to solve my problem next week.

     

    Steve