Mountain Lion Original OS X 10.8.3

Csound1 wrote:

FYI David, no account is needed for an OSX update, but the needs to buy their own copy of ML (and will need your instructions to do the reat)

I see that... The OP needs to make things right (now) for down the road. If there are problems down the road...

David M Brewer wrote:

Csound1 wrote:

FYI David, no account is needed for an OSX update, but the needs to buy their own copy of ML (and will need your instructions to do the reat)

I see that... The OP needs to make things right (now) for down the road. If there are problems down the road...

Please allow time for me to fix the typos before quoting 😉

If you elect to keep the system as is you will be able to use and update the version of OSX currently installed, however.

Any apps installed on the machine that are tied to the original owners account will not update without the account password (and you will get tired of the constant "You have updates waiting" messages)

A recovery using the recovery partition will not be possible, and you don't find that out until you really need it.

Follow Pondinis advice (posted by David) life will be simpler in the long run. 🙂

You'll enjoy it, and maybe you'll gain better familiarity with OSX as you go through the steps that the seller has pushed you to.

🙂

PS. Do remember to back up any files you have created already, wouldn't do to lose them during this.

Out of curiosity, when you refer to invoices and proof of purchase, did you purchase the computer from a retail reseller, or an individual? To be completely clear on the machine, click the apple, left side of the menu bar, About This Mac, More Info, System Report and then Hardware Overview, second line will say MacBook Pro and a set of numbers. What does that line actually say?

A little late to the party....... The new digital delivery system from Apple also resulted in a new set of license terms and requirements, and the short of it is:

If your Mac came with any OS prior to Lion or Mountain Lion, but one of those OS's is installed, the seller is supposed to wipe the drive and reinstall the original system as the license is not transferable. If the seller does not, you can in fact update (10.8.3 to 10.8.4 for instance); however, you will never to able to reinstall the system using the recovery system (which, in some cases, you will need) as Apple's servers/app store will check the machine and note that the Apple ID's do not match. Any OS or app obtained from the app store will be tied to the purchaser's ID forever.

The best thing is to fix things now before starting to install/customizing your machine...... as, through no fault of your own, you are, in effect running a pirated system at this moment, which is not going to work well in the long run. You will need to get either the original install disks from the seller or Apple by calling them and giving them your serial number, insert the disk, boot from it, wipe the drive and reinstall the original OS. You can then update that and purchase Mountain Lion using your own Apple ID.

Hi Mavis,

You can get technical detailed information on Macs at: http://www.everymac.com and from that site, the specific information on the MacBook Pro7,1 is: http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/specs/macbook-pro-core-2-duo-2 .66-aluminum-13-mid-2010-unibody-specs.html for the 2.66 GHz version.

You see varying degreees of quality in people on eBay...some are really good, some less than good. With a computer there is no real way to enforce the manufacturer's license requirements so you end up in the situation you have, a machine with an operating system that is not the original and all of the ensuing problems.

If you cannot get the original Mac OS X disks from the seller, you can get them from Apple, for a small fee. Just call Apple, I believe the UK numbers are 0800 048 0408 or 0871 508 4400, and provide the machine serial number and they will send a replacement set of machine-specific disks. The serial number is easy to get: click the apple at the left side of the menu bar, About This Mac and under the logo is the Mac OS X version, click on the version and you get the Mac OS X build number, click again and get the machine serial number, which is also listed where you found the MacBook Pro7,1.

As some of the others have said, use the Mac OS X installation disks for the machine to erase the hard drive and install that Mac OS X, then you can go to the App Store and purchase/download Mountain Lion if you would like.

To erase and install, insert the first install disk in the optical drive, restart while holding the C key (does not have to be the capital C) and after it has rebooted, choose Utilities from the menu, then Disk Utility. then select the hard drive and erase/format.

Next choose to install Mac OS X.

When you are finished you have a factory-fresh computer that you can setup with your own admin userID and password and standard users.

If you then go to the App Store and purchase Mountain Lion, do the download but DO NOT let it install immediately. Go to the Applications folder and there will be the InstallESD file, make a copy of that file somewhere else, such as your Documents folder...the final step of the installation is that the installer deletes itself. If you wan to make a flash drive installer as we discussed initially in this thread you will need a copy of the installer.

After making a safe copy, now you can click on the installer and let it do its thing. When ever you feel like it, you can then make a flash drive installer from that copy of the installer that you made.

Now you have the machine working just the way you want and it is truly yours in every way 😀

Great to hear, Mavis...this user community is very good and has a lot of very knowledgable people. Why Apple provides the platform for us. As you get further into using your MacBook Pro, please feel free to ask questions, and with the experience you've gained so far you can jump in and help others as well.

Best of luck with your MBP.

Ralph

I am very glad to hear that the Apple store helped guide you back to the path 🙂. enjoy your Mac, and if you have a question you know where to come.

Glad to hear that everything has been taken care of..... you may want to consider to still get the original install disks from Apple just in case (e.g. you may want to sell this at some point and would need them for that).

Have fun with your new machine!