Get the Snow Leopard disk and put it in the optical drive
I really don't know where to begin... sorry in advance for this long post....
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I really don't know where to begin... sorry in advance for this long post....
Discussion is locked
Get the Snow Leopard disk and put it in the optical drive
I did as you described above. Not sure if<span id="INSERTION_MARKER"> <span id="INSERTION_MARKER"> it matters but I was offered three choices for startup - users HD, Recovery HD or DVD. I selected the DVD and followed the steps you provided. Disk repair did find and repair 6 errors.
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<span id="INSERTION_MARKER">I quit Installer and restarted the computer but still couldn't open System Preferences. I went through the steps a second time but it said there was no errors on the disk to repair. Should I have been able to open System Preferences after repair?
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<span id="INSERTION_MARKER">Thanks for your help.
with now the main priority is to get your pictures and documents off that machine and onto something else.
It shouldn't matter. Unlike Windows, where you have the single point of failure in the Windows Registry, OS X uses the Unix style of every program having it's own config files stashed away in specific locations. Trading a little of the efficiency of the Windows Registry for improved stability and security. As long as you don't use disk utility to erase/format the drive, the installer should only blow away the files that are part of the OS, leaving everything else intact.
There used to be what was known as an archive and install, where the old OS and everything else would get dumped into a folder and a new copy of the OS laid down, but starting with 10.6 (or maybe 10.5, I forget) they moved to a simpler system where it just does this more or less in place.
Of course, another way to look at things is: you can't really use the system right now, so what good are all those graphics programs doing you exactly? Sure it's a bit of a pain to have to reinstall everything, but if you'd just done that from the start, instead of trying to salvage things, you'd probably be back up and running by now. Sometimes, it's just faster and easier to blow everything away and start over. It would have been the first thing I did with any used computer so I can be sure that the previous owner didn't leave any surprises behind which might bite me in the ****. Plus, if I'd forgotten to remove any sensitive documents from a computer before selling it, I would certainly appreciate someone formatting the drive and putting down a new OS install.
It is not a long job to reinstall a bunch of graphics software, assuming you have the original CD/DVD's, or is that the problem?
Were those graphics apps on the machine when you purchased it?
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That is part of the problem. Alot of the programs were (hopefully purchased and) downloaded by the previous owner.
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But I think maybe I am not explaining the problem correctly? I can use all the programs. And late last night I figured out how to make me the home user and apparently the administrator?. But I still cannot find or access the all the pictures or documents that I install before I changed the user name to my name. Or the hundreds of songs the previous owner had downloaded into iTunes. When I click on his name it says I don't have permission to see what is in his files.
That wouldn't be a big problem except for the fact that I downloaded about 200+ gb of pictures alone. I had assumed that the computer had deleted the files but now I think they are still in there somewhere because when I look at my memory it says I only have 10gb out of 500 left. I reloaded most of my pictures so I think I have my 200 gb that I can access plus a duplicate 200 gb that I can't find????
1. The programs that the previous user installed were not his/hers to give away.
2. The hundreds of songs the previous owner downloaded into iTunes were not his/hers to give away
As said, at this point I don't think we can help you anymore without violating the ToS of these forums. If the previous owner didn't give you all the proper licenses and what not for those programs, then they are technically pirated.
Same goes for the music collection, which, assuming they were all legally purchased (which is probably a bit dubious), still wasn't theirs to give you, so those are technically pirated as well.
I'll toss this one up to mods, let them decide. At this point however, I think the only solution we can really help you with, short of becoming accessories to your crime, is to wipe the drive clean and start over.
This does raise a few interesting legal issues for Apple's new digital distribution method. Supposing I purchase, download, and install Lion onto my iMac, then decide to sell my iMac to fund that Mac Pro I want... There shouldn't be anything stopping me from logging into my app store account on the Mac Pro (assuming it didn't come with Lion) downloading Lion again, and installing it on a whole new unit without paying the $30 again.
you are correct.
There is nothing stopping you from doing exactly what you suggested and, from what I understand, Apple really does not have a problem with it.
Yeah, and selling it at $30/pop it's not like they're making a lot of money off sales. I'm sure the reasoning is more to do with you need the Apple hardware to make the OS do much useful, and Apple has pretty healthy margins on their hardware, so not really worth the effort to lock it down a la Windows.
Just kind of interesting, where in a world that seems like copyright holders are always seeking out new and interesting ways to screw over customers, one company does something which borders on reasonable, and it's this huge culture shock to us. And it's one of the most successful companies in the world on top of that, while all the other major copyright interests are bemoaning their ill fortunes.
Anyway, it would appear as if the mods have spoken by not locking the thread, so I'll just go with that suggestion of leaving it at suggesting the OP format the drive, install a fresh copy of 10.6, and go from there. Of course the original owner was rather sloppy to leave all that stuff on there. Even if I were selling a computer to a family member I'd wipe the drive. If selling it to anyone else, I'd probably yank the drive and knock $50 off the asking price. So, if the graphics software ends up getting locked out because there's more than one system trying to use the same serial number, can't say that they didn't bring it on themselves. Not to mention if the OP finds credit card numbers and other info that could be used to clean out their bank accounts.