Purchased a 2011 iMAC i5 500GB from a retailer about a month ago. Did not have any recovery disc.

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Purchased a 2011 iMAC i5 500GB from a retailer about a month ago. Did not have any recovery disc.

Had a couple of small issues with some programs, Called Apple Support and after they weren't able to solve the problems, Their answer has to erase the hard drive and reinstall the OS. Only problem was that I am not the original purchaser and when I try to reinstall through internet recovery, being the second owner, there is no record of me purchasing the OS (Lion 10.7). So now thanks to Apple Support, I have a paper weight instaed of a working iMAC. Is there any other way to get an OS back on my machine?

Thanks for any help.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Nov 4, 2013 9:21 AM

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Answer 1

mende1

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93,624 points

Nov 4, 2013 10:14 AM in response to Wayne77gator

The retailer forgot to unregister the iMac from the old owner's Apple ID, so now you can't reinstall OS X or any iLife app.

The only solution for this is to contact with the retailer and force them to unregister the iMac by contacting with Apple > http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57 After doing this, open the Mac App Store, go to Purchases and accept OS X and iLife apps, so you can reinstall them.

If you can't start up in OS X, take the iMac to the retailer

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Answer 2

Wayne77gator Author

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Nov 4, 2013 10:26 AM in response to mende1

Thanks for the reply mende 1. That's what I was afraid of. Retailer has no interest in my problem. Wish I had used a credit card forthe purchase, Then I could dispute the claim and force him to unregister it.

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Answer 3

mende1

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93,624 points

Nov 4, 2013 10:29 AM in response to Wayne77gator

Try to contact with Apple again > http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57

I thought retailers did this automatically when a Mac was taken, and this is why we tell users to do when they sell their Macs.

However, there's still a small possibility of recovering OS X by restoring a Time Machine backup, if you have got one. If not, call Apple and give them the serial number of your iMac, as it may have come with Snow Leopard, so in this case you can get DVDs to reinstall Mac OS X.

I recommend you to upgrade to OS X Mavericks after reinstalling OS X. By doing this, you will get OS X registered to your Apple ID and you won't have any issue with the Mac OS X reinstall

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Answer 4

Nov 4, 2013 10:32 AM in response to Wayne77gator

Did you complain to the manager of the store? If I were you, if you are not getting satisfaction from the retailer, complain about them on their FB site, Twitter & write a letter to the CEO of the retailer & snail mail it!

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Answer 5

Wayne77gator Author

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Nov 4, 2013 10:53 AM in response to mende1

Thanks Mende1,

No Time Machine backup :-( Apple sent me a 10.6.3 disc of Snow Leopard but it will not load. Install DVD comes up when I reboot holding to option key. Disc spins for about 10 seconds then stops and I have just a gray screen. Things aren't looking good from what you have said in your posts. Very futuristic paper weight though. Thanks for your input.

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Answer 6

mende1

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93,624 points

Nov 4, 2013 10:55 AM in response to Wayne77gator

A Mac OS X 10.6.3 DVD won't work. You need a DVD with a special Mac OS X version which is compatible with your iMac, as Mac OS X 10.6.3 is not designed for your iMac. Tell Apple this and they should give you the DVDs that came with the Mid 2011 iMacs with Mac OS X 10.6

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Answer 7

Wayne77gator Author

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Nov 4, 2013 10:57 AM in response to mende1

Thanks again. Going to call Apple and see what happens.

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Answer 8

mende1

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Nov 4, 2013 10:57 AM in response to Wayne77gator

You are welcome

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