How to restore mac back to factory settings in mavericks
How can I reset my iMac to sell in Mavericks?
IMac, Mac OS X (10.5.4)
Want to highlight a helpful answer? Upvote!
Did someone help you, or did an answer or User Tip resolve your issue? Upvote by selecting the upvote arrow. Your feedback helps others! Learn more about when to upvote >
Did someone help you, or did an answer or User Tip resolve your issue? Upvote by selecting the upvote arrow. Your feedback helps others! Learn more about when to upvote >
How can I reset my iMac to sell in Mavericks?
IMac, Mac OS X (10.5.4)
If your Mac came with Mavericks originally, yes. There are certain steps to be followed though to disassociate/unregister it.
If not, then no. You must sell the Mac with the original OS which means you would have to wipe the drive and reinstall the original OS. If you sell it with the current system, the buyer will not be able to reinstall - ever - because the OS license is tied to your Apple ID forever.
If you will post what year/model your Mac is and which OS it came with originally, we'd be able to tell you the exact steps to take.
I have a 2007 iMac that I think came with Tiger that I have upgraded through the years to the current Mavericks.
If it came with Tiger, you would not be able to run Mavericks on it. If your profile is correct, it may have come with Leopard.
If you no longer have the install disks, you need to call Apple, give them your serial number, and ask for replacements. In case they no longer have those, you can also use the retail version of Snow Leopard (10.6.3 I believe). When you get it, boot from it by holding down C key while restarting, choose to erase your disk and reinstall. Be sure to give the buyer the disk along with the Mac and tell them that you cannot legally sell it with Mavericks due to licensing requirements.
Hi Babowa, could you explain where to find the disassociate/unregister instructions, it is good to know how to do things before they are needed to.. My Mac have Mavericks from factory, and also this I asume will apply to all factory apps, since they are already updated with the Apple ID. thanks
Here it is:
So if you bought it new with mavericks preinstalled (please update your profile - it shows you are running an old system: 10.5.4), you need to use internet recovery (Command + Option + R while restarting or booting up) to connect to Apple's servers, use Disk Utility to wipe your drive completely, and download/reinstall the OS.
If you bought it used with Mavericks installed - but that was not the original system on it - you cannot reinstall Mavericks. You need to go through the steps outlined above and reinstall the original system.
How to restore mac back to factory settings in mavericks