Reveal "About This Mac" on a clean install?

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Level 1

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Reveal "About This Mac" on a clean install?

The question is simply - how does one see/access the "About This Mac" information pop up on a Mac (Mini but doesn't matter) that has been wiped clean and ready for a new owner?

We would like to show them it is not only working but legitimately the item they are buying. I tried booting into recovery mode but that screen still isn't available. It's not available in Disk Utility there either.

Keep in mind, I'm dealing with idiots who cannot verify the serial number on the machine with the serial number on the box - or see the serial number as verified under an active Apple Care plan good through 2020. They need to see it shown on the machine. :-/

iMac with Retina 5K display, macOS Sierra (10.12.1), 27" 32GB 2TB Fusion

Posted on Dec 30, 2017 4:39 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

steve626

Level 6

14,001 points

Dec 31, 2017 4:11 AM in response to igirl1

Here is something you can do:

With your new buyers present, continue with the Setup initial screen and create a single new Admin user. Decline doing anything else, no Apple ID, etc., no migration. Just create that one user.

Log in as that user. Then you can run About This Mac. All of this and the above should take less than 60 seconds.

Then follow instructions in this link http://www.theinstructional.com/guides/how-to-re-run-the-os-x-setup-assistant

if you want to have the new owners reboot the Mac and encounter the "new Mac" initial screen again, as they would with a new Mac. They can then proceed to install the accounts that they want, with administrator privileges, and with one of those new accounts they can then remove the Admin account you installed, if they choose.

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Answer 2

igirl1 Author

Level 1

120 points

Dec 31, 2017 4:30 AM in response to steve626

steve626 wrote:

Here is something you can do:

With your new buyers present, continue with the Setup initial screen and create a single new Admin user. Decline doing anything else, no Apple ID, etc., no migration. Just create that one user.

Log in as that user. Then you can run About This Mac. All of this and the above should take less than 60 seconds.

Then follow instructions in this link http://www.theinstructional.com/guides/how-to-re-run-the-os-x-setup-assistant

if you want to have the new owners reboot the Mac and encounter the "new Mac" initial screen again, as they would with a new Mac. They can then proceed to install the accounts that they want, with administrator privileges, and with one of those new accounts they can then remove the Admin account you installed, if they choose.

Pretty decent and would do the trick but might appear "scary" to a novice! :-)

FWIW, I can confirm the command doesn't work while in Recovery Mode
Beats me. Was worth a shot.

Good to know it wasn't just me - thanks for verifying!

I think the way around this is to just put a blank admin account on it and let them erase everything and reinstall later. It's slower, but something most anyone could understand.

It could be done in front of them as well (as suggested) skipping all the personalization steps.

Thanks everyone for the discussion - not exactly what I had hoped for - but this at least outlines a path forward.

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Answer 3

Niel

Level 10

741,965 points

Dec 30, 2017 8:21 PM in response to igirl1

If you can go into the recovery partition and open the Terminal, try running:

system_profiler SPHardwareDataType

(156431)

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Answer 4

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Dec 30, 2017 4:56 PM in response to igirl1

FWIW, you can't access "About This Mac" until you actually install the OS.

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Answer 5

igirl1 Author

Level 1

120 points

Dec 30, 2017 8:42 PM in response to Niel

If you can go into the recovery partition and open the Terminal, try running:

system_profiler SPHardwareDataType

I'm in terminal but strangely every time I try the command: system_profiler or system_profiler SPHardwareDataType - all I get is: command not found.

sw_vers - works.

diskutil list - works

uname or uname -a - doesn't work - command not found

open /Applications/Utilities/System\ Information.app - also didn't work - result - open: command not found

I tried some other variations listed here with no luck. But I do think if it was working as expected this would do the job well.

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Answer 6

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Dec 30, 2017 8:56 PM in response to igirl1

FWIW, I can confirm the command doesn't work while in Recovery Mode. I just tried. It does work if you are logged in to an account.

Hardware:

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: iMac

Model Identifier: iMac17,1

Processor Name: Intel Core i7

Processor Speed: 4 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 4

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 8 MB

Memory: 32 GB

Boot ROM Version: IM171.0110.B00

SMC Version (system): 2.34f2

Serial Number (system): ************

Hardware UUID: 36040862-E55B-5CB5-91C8-BDD51E54635E

Beats me. Was worth a shot.

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Answer 7

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Dec 30, 2017 4:43 PM in response to igirl1

Choose "About This Mac" from the  Apple menu.

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Answer 8

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Dec 30, 2017 4:51 PM in response to igirl1

I assume you've installed the OS. If not, read this…

What to do before you sell or give away your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 9

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Dec 30, 2017 5:26 PM in response to igirl1

You're welcome. I can't remember if you can get to the Terminal from the Language screen, but if you can, try running…

open /Applications/Utilities/System\ Information.app

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Answer 10

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Dec 30, 2017 5:32 PM in response to dialabrain

Niel is correct. You should be able to boot into Recovery Mode "Command + R" then choose the Terminal and run his command.

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Answer 11

igirl1 Author

Level 1

120 points

Dec 30, 2017 4:51 PM in response to dialabrain

Thanks - but it's not that easy - you're not getting it - it's stuck on the "Choose Your Language" page - like NEW out of the box. One would have to fill in all the new owner information to get to the Finder where the Apple Icon is shown. That takes a long time and if they change their mind it all has to be wiped again.

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Answer 12

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Dec 30, 2017 4:52 PM in response to igirl1

igirl1 wrote:

Thanks - but it's not that easy - you're not getting it.

Well it is hard to get when you don't explain it.

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Answer 13

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Dec 31, 2017 4:31 AM in response to igirl1

Welcome.

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Answer 14

igirl1 Author

Level 1

120 points

Dec 30, 2017 5:15 PM in response to dialabrain

OK thanks - yes you're assumption is right - the machine is wiped and new OS installed - the Welcome Screen/Language prompt is part of OSX. That's what a "clean install" does - but that term might be dated.

you can't access "About This Mac" until you actually install the OS.

Agreed - but being at the Welcome Screen is the first thing one gets once the OS has been already "clean" installed, no? :-)

I think it's actually part of Finder - which one cannot get to - until the info is filled out. I just thought maybe there was a back door keystroke there somewhere - or advanced diagnostic mode to access. (Which I've seen techs get into before over the years)

I appreciate the effort and replies and sorry if the original post didn't quite communicate everything as intended.

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