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Question

How can I clear out previous user account info?

Sep 5, 2011 8:36AM PDT

<span id="INSERTION_MARKER"> I recently bought a used 2010 macbook pro. The seller was a developer and had a beta
version of Lion running on the system.
The macbook came with snow leopard disks, not lion. The laptop has some of the original owners
accounts on it and it causes issues. For
example, when trying to update some apps, I get a message saying that I must
log in under the original owners apple id for the update. His name is also on the home folder and there
is a guest user in the user group that I can't get rid of. My question is if I purchase a fresh copy of
Lion and download it, will it allow me to take complete control of my macbook
and make changes like eliminating/renaming accounts and so on? If so, is it better for me to download Lion
from the apple site or purchase the Lion thumb drive? I wouldn't mind wiping the drive if I have to
but I'd hate to lose some of the software that came on it. Any suggestions? Thanks.



John


Discussion is locked

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Answer
Good time to make a fresh start.
Sep 5, 2011 8:46AM PDT

That software you have but don't own is going to cost you. What cost? If you use it then it fails you find no support or maybe you can't afford it.

Now is the time to start fresh.
Bob

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Answer
As Bob says,
Sep 5, 2011 10:12AM PDT

Use those disks that came with it to format and install a fresh copy of Snow Leopard on that machine.

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same
Sep 12, 2011 2:26AM PDT

I had a similar problem. Since I'm a new mac user, I don't know if reformating it works the same with Mac as with Windows.

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Formatting is a little drastic
Sep 12, 2011 3:14AM PDT

Do you have the OS X installation disks or the Restore Disks that came with the computer?

if yes to the Restore Disks, pop it into the optical drive, reboot while holding down the "C" key and follow the instructions to format and install.

If you only have the OS X installation disks, do the same as above but, remember that all the included applications, iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, etc. will NOT be installed again if you use format and install.

If you have neither and just want to get rid of the account of the previous owner.
Create an account for yourself, if you don't already have one, and make sure that it is an Admin account.
In System Preferences > Accounts. Select the account of the previous owner and hit the "-" (minus sign) and follow the instructions to make it go away

P