Reformatted drive

Question

Level 1

4 points

Reformatted drive

My iMac (2017) wouldn't progress all the way through startup. I took it to the local computer shop and he got it to start up, so he made backup of the drive and installed Ventura. When I got it home, the drive was clean and the backup was in a folder on the desktop. It's logged in to the user name "Apple." I logged out of "Apple" to log in to my own user account, but then it wanted the "Apple" password, which of course I don't know. When I restarted, it was logged back into "Apple." Before I do anything else I'd like some guidance because this situation is new to me. How do I set the machine's admin password? How do I get rid of the "Apple" user? How do I recreate the user login I had before? Many thanks.

iMac

Posted on Dec 19, 2022 5:39 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Limnos

Level 10

411,457 points

Dec 19, 2022 8:04 AM in response to kelalea22

It sounds like you may be encountering:

Activation Lock for Mac - Apple Support

Take it back to the shop and ask the service person to sign out of Find My

Turn off Find My on your iPhone or other devices - Apple Support

Failing that, see if you can use this service: Apple can completely reset a device if a person can provide sufficient evidence of valid ownership. This is done online at: Activation Lock support request - https://al-support.apple.com/#/additional-support Apple says, "Proof of ownership documentation is required," but does not provide details in the article as to what is acceptable proof. Prior to this official service Apple typically required the original receipt* issued by Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller and documented provenance (so typically it would be the original owner who does this, or a descendant with legal proof of ownership).

*Apple recommends you keep your receipt after you buy an Apple device. --> Keep your receipt after you buy an Apple device - Apple Support

Reply

Reformatted drive

Similar questions