How do I reset an iMac 24 inch early 2008 to factory without original disks

Marple wrote:

Hi there,

I've just acquired an iMac 24-inch Early 2008 with no disks.

Sara

Why can't you obtain the discs that originally came w/the comp from the person you acquired the iMac from?

You need to use a disk on that Mac model. If you have replacement original disks or a retail Mac OS X 10.5.4 or newer DVD(but see below), insert it, restart with the C or Option key held down, and follow the onscreen directions.

You need to install Snow Leopard on the computer, update it to 10.6.8, and if needed, increase the computer's RAM to at least 2GB before you can install Yosemite on it.

(131344)

Marple wrote:

Hi there,

I've just acquired an iMac 24-inch Early 2008 with no disks. I need to restore to factory - I believe it originally came with OS X 10.5.2. I have my own copy of Leopard from a previous computer. Can anybody provide me with a step by step instruction please. Also I'd like to update it to Yosemite as well.

Thank you,

Sara

You don't without the original discs. Call AppleCare (800) 275-2273 in US. Another option is simply buying the SL upgrade DVD available from Apple's online store and doing an erase and install. That is located at

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard

Once you have Google for Apple 10.6.8 update combo and update to that. Then open the Mac App Store and update to Yosemite when you are ready.

Good luck!

Honestly, you're much better off going to another machine (doesn't really matter which one), downloading OS X Yosemite, taking an 8GB USB drive and using createinstallmedia using the following instructions: Create a bootable installer for OS X Mavericks or Yosemite - Apple Support and then using the drive to perform a clean install of Yosemite rather than going to Leopard, upgrading to Snow Leopard (which is required to get to anything past Snow Leopard if you're doing an upgrade) and THEN upgrading to Yosemite.

Sara is the new owner, not the seller; the fact that Yosemite will be tied to her Apple ID isn't an issue. Since going through Snow Leopard is part of going to Yosemite, the computer's original disks will only be needed if she would like to have iDVD, iWeb, iPhoto, or the Apple Hardware Test.

(131346)

Niel wrote:

Sara is the new owner, not the seller; the fact that Yosemite will be tied to her Apple ID isn't an issue. Since going through Snow Leopard is part of going to Yosemite, the computer's original disks will only be needed if she would like to have iDVD, iWeb, iPhoto, or the Apple Hardware Test.

(131346)

Yes I noticed that and revised my post to reflect what she needs.

I'd recommend at least 2 GB RAM if you want to stay with Snow leopard, or increase it to 4 GB (or 6 which would be the maximum for this machine) if you want to update to a newer OS. The new versions require considerably more RAM in order to work efficiently; I've tried running all of them including Yosemite with 4 GB RAM and was not happy - one app at a time open and much too slow for video or graphics work.