Q: just updated to mavericks and now iphoto wont work. wont let me update as has previous owners appleid in command field and wont let me change

mark fromlondon wrote:

 

can anyone help? bought my macbook pro second hand and when i try to update iphoto so that it works in Mavericks it has the previous owners appleid locked in the id field and wont let me change so i cant update. i have logged into my account but makes no difference....????

You will have to buy your own iphoto. Sorry

First thing you need to do is completely erase the drive. The only way to do that completely is by repartitioning the hard drive as One Partition and the only way to do that is from either the original system reinstall discs that came with that Mac or from the Online Internet Recovery system if your Mac originally came with Lion or a later version of OS X.

Then once that is done you need to contact the previous owner and have him Release it from his Apple ID so you can then register it under your Apple ID. You will probably also have to contact Apple by phone to make this happen.

Once that is all done you should then be able to download and install the included iLife apps that come on every Mac computer.

If it is a model that came with DVD reinstall discs then the iLife apps are included on the Applications disc.

iPhoto for Mac does not download via iTunes, that's iTunes for IOS.

Go to the Mac App Store and purchase a copy of iPhoto, you will have to delete the existing copy first.

You first need to state what model year Macbook Pro you bought. Without that info it is hard to tell you what you need to do.

You should not have to buy iPhoto. But the steps you need to take to rectify your problem are different for different model year Mac computers.

mark fromlondon wrote:

 

thanks but will this delete all the photos in it?

No, the photos are stored in the iPhoto library (in the Pictures folder)

Let me clarify something. If you don't erase the drive completely and reinstall OS X and then have the original owner release that Mac from his Apple ID it will always be registered to that previous owner.

It does not matter what apps you delete and reinstall, that Mac will always be tied to the previous owner.

A very good post by Linc Davis.

Linc Davis

The first thing to do with a second-hand computer is to erase the internal drive and install a clean copy of OS X. You — not the previous owner — must do that. How you do it depends on the model, and on whether you already own another Mac. If you're not sure of the model, enter theserial number on this page. Then find the model on this page to see what OS version was originally installed.

1. You don't own another Mac.

If the machine shipped with OS X 10.4 or 10.5, you need a boxed and shrink-wrapped retail Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) installation disc from the Apple Store or a reputable reseller — not from eBay or anything of the kind. If the machine has less than 1 GB of memory, you'll need to add more in order to install 10.6. Preferably, install as much memory as it can take, according to thetechnical specifications.

If the machine shipped with OS X 10.6, you need the installation media that came with it: gray installation discs, or a USB flash drive for some MacBook Air models. For early MBA models, you may need a USB optical drive or Remote Disc. You should have received the media from the previous owner, but if you didn't, order replacements from Apple. A retail disc, or the gray discs from another model, will not work.

To boot from an optical disc or a flash drive, insert it, then reboot and hold down the C key at the startup chime. Release the key when you see the gray Apple logo on the screen.

If the machine shipped with OS X 10.7 or later, you don't need media. It should boot into Internet Recovery mode when you hold down the key combination option-command-R at the startup chime. Release the keys when you see a spinning globe.

2. You do own another Mac.

If you already own another Mac that was upgraded in the App Store to the version of OS X that you want to install, and if the new Mac is compatible with it, then you can install it. Use Recovery Disk Assistant to create a bootable USB device and boot the new Mac from it by holding down the Ckey at the startup chime. Alternatively, if you have a Time Machine backup of OS X 10.7.3 or later on an external hard drive (not a Time Capsule or other network device), you can boot from that by holding down the option key and selecting it from the row of icons that appears. Note that if your other Mac was never upgraded in the App Store, you can't use this method.

Once booted in Recovery, launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the internal drive — not any of the volume icons nested beneath it. In the Partition tab, select the default options: a GUID partition table with one data volume in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. This operation will permanently remove all existing data on the drive.

After partitioning, quit Disk Utility and run the OS X Installer. You will need the Apple ID and password that you used to upgrade. When the installation is done, the system will automatically reboot into the Setup Assistant, which will prompt you to transfer the data from another Mac, its backups, or from a Windows computer. If you have any data to transfer, this is usually the best time to do it.

Then run Software Update and install all available system updates from Apple. To upgrade to a major version of OS X newer than 10.6, get it from the Mac App Store. Note that you can't keep an upgraded version that was installed by the previous owner. He or she can't legally transfer it to you, and without the Apple ID you won't be able to update it in Software Update or reinstall, if that becomes necessary. The same goes for any App Store products that the previous owner installed — you have to repurchase them.

If the previous owner "accepted" the bundled iLife applications (iPhoto, iMovie, and Garage Band) in the App Store so that he or she could update them, then they're linked to that Apple ID and you won't be able to download them without buying them. Reportedly, Mac App Store Customer Service has sometimes issued redemption codes for these apps to second owners who asked.

If the previous owner didn't deauthorize the computer in the iTunes Store under his Apple ID, you wont be able to  authorize it immediately under your ID. In that case, you'll either have to wait up to 90 days or contact iTunes Support.