Restore to "out of box"

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Level 2

223 points

Restore to "out of box"

This MacBook was purchased new in Sept., (MacBook 7.1). Want to restore it to the "out of box" new state so that the new owner will have the same experience as if taken home from the Apple store and started for the first time. Have all original discs, etc that came with it. Did this with an iBook about 2 years ago using advice someone here posted. It sort of worked, had to do install and enter something in "terminal". It worked but there was a user folder remaining. I guess that's OK if unavoidable. Apple must have a way to do it without any evidence.
Anyway, I love the machine but just got MacBook Air and it's more practical for what I need.
Thanks in advance,
Paul

iMac (aluminum) mid 2007, 2Ghz, Mac OS X (10.6.2), macbook, iphone 3gs

Posted on Mar 23, 2011 7:33 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

362,183 points

Mar 23, 2011 8:08 PM in response to Paul Skee

This should do the trick:

Prepare Your Mac for Sale

Boot from the OS X Installer Disc One that came with the computer. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities (Installer menu if using Panther or Jaguar) menu. After ** loads select the startup volume from the left side list then click on the Erase tab. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) then click on the Options button. Select the one pass Zero Data option and click on the OK button. Then click on the Erase button.

Note: You can skip the Zero Data option if you are not concerned about removing sensitive personal data from the hard drive. If you choose to skip this part of the process then it is possible for others to recover data from the hard drive. The Zero Data procedure will prevent others from getting access to your personal information.

This process will take 30 minutes to several hours depending upon the size of the hard drive. After formatting has completed quit ** and return to the installer. Now complete the OS X installation. At the completion of the installation do not restart the computer. Instead just shut it off. The next user will be presented with the Setup Assistant when they turn on the computer just as it would if new out of the box.

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Answer 2

Paul Skee Author

Level 2

223 points

Mar 23, 2011 8:28 PM in response to Kappy

Thanks, Kappy for your quick response. I found my old inquiry post archived here. Here is the content that I used. As I recall, it left a user folder in the finder that the new owner had to trash. Does this make sense?
"For seriously experienced users, there are ways of installing software and running Software Update before selling a computer and still have it boot up to the "Welcome to Macintosh" setup.

Boot into single-user mode and then run the following commands:

$ mount -uw /
$ /bin/launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServices.plist &
$ dscl . -delete /Users/temp
$ dscl . -delete /Groups/admin GroupMembership temp
$ rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
$ shutdown -h now

Where "temp" is whatever the temporary user you created is called."

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

362,183 points

Mar 23, 2011 8:48 PM in response to Paul Skee

You could do that after installing OS X, but I think my way is easier.

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Answer 4

Paul Skee Author

Level 2

223 points

Mar 25, 2011 12:18 PM in response to Kappy

Haven't done anything with it yet. Might be next week before I get around to it. One other question, is it possible to eject the install disc after the process completes, prior to shut down?

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Answer 5

Paul Skee Author

Level 2

223 points

Mar 31, 2011 7:29 PM in response to Kappy

Well thanks, I used your method. I ejected the disc prior to powering off, (just as the "welcome" video was starting). I shutdown by holding the "power" button until it shut off. I hope the next startup will allow the new user to have that new "out of the box" experience. The applications, (i.e. iLife) are on a second disc that apparently must be installed after the initial setup completes.
Thanks again.

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Answer 6

Jan 10, 2014 9:33 AM in response to Kappy

Kappy, your method may be easier, but Paul's method results in a machine that has all updates applied.

I'm a Mac consultant, and I just used this to restore a Mac that came with 10.7, Using Paul's method, I created a temporary user, updated it to 10.7.5 and applied all other updates, installed some additional software provided by my client, then shut down and used Paul's instructions to make it start up like a new machine.

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Answer 7

Jan 10, 2014 9:35 AM in response to Paul Skee

Little known Mac trick: If your Mac has a wired mouse, and you hold down the mouse-button while turning on the paper, it will automatically eject any ejectable media. This works with CDs and DVDs, and on very old Macs, even with the built-in floppy drives.

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Answer 8

Jan 10, 2014 9:38 AM in response to Paul Skee

Paul Skee wrote:

I shutdown by holding the "power" button until it shut off.

When you see the welcome screen, you can press ⌘-Q. You'll see a dialog box asking, "Do you want to shut down your computer? You haven't finished setting up Mac OS X."

There are two buttons: Cancel and Shut Down. Click Shut Down, and it shuts down gracefully.

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