Imac Question

crazybaldhead

Hoping someone can help.

My dad bought an Imac 8.1 in 2009 and due to illness etc since then it was never/very rarely used. My mother found it in the wardrobe during a recent clean out while he was in hospital and asked to me to look at it.

Having never owned any apple products Im not 100% what to do.

My dad cant remember the password to access it and all associated discs are long gone. Is there anything I can do without a disc to reset the system so he can log in again? There are very little files on it, perhaps only a few pictures which wont be missed.

Should I bring it to PC world (or somewhere similar) to get it looked at?

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Merl1n

you will need an os disk to reset it or reload the os

crazybaldhead

Merl1n wrote: »

you will need an os disk to reset it or reload the os

Thanks for your reply Merl1n.

I dont have an os disk, can these be purchased? Or is it a waste of time trying?

Merl1n

buy them from ebay or if you look in the right place you can download them and burn them onto disk
you can lookup the spec of the mac from the serial here

http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/

and from that work out what the latest osx version you can get for it
mountain lion is the latest version and you can see the requirements here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS_X_Mountain_Lion

if you have access to another mac and mountain lion will run on the imac you can buy it from the app store and use this to make an install disc or usb key
http://www.downloadcrew.com/article/28018-lion_diskmaker

crazybaldhead

Merl1n wrote: »

buy them from ebay or if you look in the right place you can download them and burn them onto disk
you can lookup the spec of the mac from the serial here

http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/

and from that work out what the latest osx version you can get for it
mountain lion is the latest version and you can see the requirements here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS_X_Mountain_Lion

if you have access to another mac and mountain lion will run on the imac you can buy it from the app store and use this to make an install disc or usb key
http://www.downloadcrew.com/article/28018-lion_diskmaker

Thanks Merl1n, very much appreciated. Ill give it a go in the morning!

Merl1n

if you need lion you could buy this
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/BRAND-NEW-SEALED-GENUINE-APPLE-OS-X-LION-10-7-THUMB-DRIVE-A1384-MD256Z-A-/111018049281?pt=UK_Computing_Software_Software_SR&hash=item19d930ff01

it might run better on and 09 imac and you need at least 2gb to install mountain lion

any decent computer shop can remove the password for 20 - 40 euro or reload it for 50 euro (ish)
if you go that route make sure that the place you leave it into will do the work and not send it to someone else
macs are different to windows systems and can scare some people

hearny

Do you know anyone that owns a mac that can help you, you can buy the mountain lion installer for €18 from apple http://www.apple.com/ie/osx/how-to-upgrade/

Its a bit of work to get the installer onto a dvd or thumb drive though.

Easy option is to buy a dvd on ebay / adverts:

http://www.adverts.ie/operating-systems/mac-os-x-snow-leopard/2639737
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Brand-New-Apple-Mac-OS-X-10-6-3-OS-X-Snow-Leopard-Install-DVD-Full-Version-/140917550878?pt=UK_Computing_Software_Software_SR&hash=item20cf572f1e#ht_500wt_1378

Bothe versions are Snow Leopard which is a few years old, there has been 2 releases since, Lion and Mountain Lion.

I will check it out to see if it can be done easily on a windows machine.

If you want the new version instead PM me and I can put it on a thumb drive and post it to you.
You will obviously have to pay for the download (it will be linked with your apple ID, you will need to have one setup if you dont already have one).

crazybaldhead

hearny wrote: »

Do you know anyone that owns a mac that can help you, you can buy the mountain lion installer for €18 from apple http://www.apple.com/ie/osx/how-to-upgrade/

Its a bit of work to get the installer onto a dvd or thumb drive though.

Easy option is to buy a dvd on ebay / adverts:

http://www.adverts.ie/operating-systems/mac-os-x-snow-leopard/2639737
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Brand-New-Apple-Mac-OS-X-10-6-3-OS-X-Snow-Leopard-Install-DVD-Full-Version-/140917550878?pt=UK_Computing_Software_Software_SR&hash=item20cf572f1e#ht_500wt_1378

Bothe versions are Snow Leopard which is a few years old, there has been 2 releases since, Lion and Mountain Lion.

I will check it out to see if it can be done easily on a windows machine.

If you want the new version instead PM me and I can put it on a thumb drive and post it to you.
You will obviously have to pay for the download (it will be linked with your apple ID, you will need to have one setup if you dont already have one).

As said before I know feck all about Apple, have seen references to Lion etc online but it would appear from the specs that my dads machine only has 2gb so perhaps would not run Mountain Lion properly? Therefore Snow Leopard may be the best option for me?

hearny

If you only have 2GB then Snow Leopard is probably a better option alright.

Do you know if it came with Leopard or Snow Leopard, I might have an old version of Snow Leopard lying around I can send you.

Edited: Snow Leopard wasn't released till 2009 so it must have been leopard.

ZENER

The iMac "8.1" is a C2D powered iMac. It can take up to 6GB of RAM (unofficially) so still a decent enough machine. 10.6.8 is probably the best OS for that spec though Lion is possible.

If you need a lend of an installation disc then perhaps I can help out. As you're only seeking to change the password I see nothing in the EULA that forbids it.

Ken

TCP/IP

where are you based if you close enough to me I will fix it for free if that helps. Hope your dad getting better.