Q: How do I reset Mac OS X Leopard to all defaults?

hi- I recommend seeing this topic:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1839517&tstart=0

Boot from the original installer discs that came with the computer. When you get to the point of selecting a destination drive click once on the drive then click on the Options button. Select the Erase and Install option then click on the OK button. Complete the installation. Upon completion the computer will restart into the Setup Assistant.

You can only use Migration Assistant over a Firewire connection. You can, however, simply transfer files from the old computer over your network. Here's a general listing of what you can transfer manually:

Folders You Can Move to Your new Mac

From the Home folder copy the contents of Documents, Movies, Music, Pictures, and Sites.

In your /Home/Library/ folder:

/Home/Library/Application Support/AddressBook (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Application Support/iCal (copy the whole folder)

Also in /Home/Library/Application Support (copy whatever else you need including folders for any third-party applications)

/Home/Library/Keychains (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Mail (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Preferences/ (copy the whole folder)
/Home /Library/iTunes (copy the whole folder)
/Home /Library/Safari (copy the whole folder)
/Home /Library/Calendars (copy the whole folder)

If you want cookies:

/Home/Library/Cookies/Cookies.plist
/Home/Library/Application Support/WebFoundation/HTTPCookies.plist

For Entourage users:

Entourage is in /Home/Documents/Microsoft User Data
Also in /Home/Library/Preferences/Microsoft

For FireFox:

/Home/Library/Applications Support/FireFox
/Home/Library/Preferences/org.mozilla.firefox.plist

Credit goes Macjack for this information.

Gavin Roskamp wrote:
Hi, thanks for your answer, but the person I bought the iMac from did not give me the Mac OS X install disk.

Then the sale was illegal. The disks are part of the system.
Get the disks from the seller or call Apple at the contact numbers below, right, and get a replacement set of disks.
Without the disks there is almost nothing you can do to properly use the OS.

Is there any other way to do this?

No. You need the original disks or a replacement set.

Message was edited by: nerowolfe

Ignore the other guy - the sale is not "illegal" - you may be in violation of the End User License Agreement (EULA) if you use software that you are not entitled to use. If you are using the version of the OS that your Mac originally shipped with - then you are OK - if you really need to you can get replacement disks from any Apple Service provider. (no one will arrest you... they might sue you.)

What you want to do is delete the original user account - to do that you need to remove a few files and folders - When you are done you will have the same experience that any new Mac user has - Apple Setup Assistant will run and you will be able to set up new account - without having to reinstall all of the updates...

In Leopard you need to remove the old user's "plist" file, his home folder and the ".AppleSetupDone" file.

Visit this site for instructions:
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=2007110800450816

You can also access the Tiger version of the instructions there.

You're welcome...

I do this all the time when I sell our demo equipment - for instance one client only has access to the Internet by dial up - so I set up her Mac, do all of the updates and then go in and delete the account that I created to set up the Mac. It would take her days to update her Mac with a dial-up account. (yes, dial up users still do exist in rural areas.)

When she and her kids fire up the Mac for their first time they get the benefit of the "new user experience"...

have a happy holiday.