Creating Apple ID for an used MacBook pro

I think the correct statement is "They are not available for purchase as new". You can RE-download them, but only if you bought them previously.

Of course you are correct; I didn't bother with that as it did not appear to be applicable here. Obviously should have.

You will probably need to add a payment method, (e.g. credit card) to that AppleID. Although the El Capitan is free, I think it treats it as sale for $0, and wants a payment source. If you are uneasy about that, you can remove the credit card later.

With downloadable OSs, only the most recent is available for a first-time download through App Store. If you downloaded Mavericks before when it was available you can download again, but it has disappeared for first-time. I downloaded Yosemite a few weeks before El Capitan was released for this very purpose.

Type "os x el capitan" in the search window of the App Store, or look for the OS X El Capitan option on the main page of App Store.

Also, I have an early 2011 15 in MBP. You can upgrade the RAM to 16 GB for $107.50, plus shipping and taxes. Link here to macsales.com who sells good quality RAM (Macs tend to reject the wrong RAM in strange ways): http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade/DDR3_133 3MHz_SDRAM. All you need is a #00 philips head screwdriver to remove the bottom of the case.

In my humble opinion, you should re-read Grant's suggestions regarding the Snow Leopard install disks. I'd recommend calling Apple or going to your nearest Apple store to see if you can get the disks or if they can reinstall the OS. Once you install that, you should be able to use the app store to update.

Indeed, as babowa and company are saying ... get replacement install disks or at least have the Genius Bar reinstall the original baseline.

You need to navigate many steps, so start at a stable point and we can guide you much easier.

Step 1 after that is to get a backup of that startup disk on an external drive. I use CarbonCopyClone as a standard backup (bombich.com). It is a bootable copy so you effectively have an external system disk, if required (Windows does not allow that). Full cost is $40 but the bootable copy stores old copies of files it overwrites, so you can back-track if you want to recover a file that you deleted or corrupted.

Also that clone can be copied back into the internal if required in an emergency.

If they want to give you SL disks, those are the "earliest base crash dive" recovery.

But once you have an OSX that you can call your own, please save it as soon as possible.

"temporarily unavailable ..."

So far as I have seen from User reports, that message should read,

"It will be a cold day in h_ll before you get that software using that Mac and that Apple-ID"

There have been no reported legitimate delays that I have seen on this part of the forums.

the bootable copy stores old copies of files it overwrites

As far as I know, it only does so if you have the "safety net" feature ON - if it is turned off, no copies of overwritten files are kept.

@ appzenny:

Snow Leopard, Lion, and Mountain Lion all cost 19.99; Mavericks, Yosemite, and El Capitan are free (if available). So, they may decide to charge you for the "labor". In any case, make sure that they use YOUR Apple ID to download the OS and you get a copy of the installer copied to a safe place before the actual installation begins. Once you're back home, it'd also be good to make a bootable clone of that factory fresh install for any emergencies. After that, go ahead and update, install apps, or whatever.

Agreed ... the "safety net" must be turned on to keep copies. But CCC has default "settings collections" for operations. If a new user fires it up and starts cloning, it will turn on the safety net. You need to turn off the safety net for operations like "restore to original" if you do not want CCC to create the "saved directories". CCC even recognizes a drive used for TimeMachine if you are trying to clone a TM drive from smaller media to large media.

Did he use YOUR Apple-ID to do the download?

Do you now have El Capitan showing on your "Purchases" page in the Mac App Store?

If you do not, you may want to "Buy" it again (still on sale for $0).

Then make a Backup copy -OR- create an Installer thumb drive.