can't reset my 2012 quad mini to 10.8 any ideas how?

[philipma1957]

I am selling my quad 2012. I can't seem to get 10.8 to load.

i got back to 10.9
i got back to 10.8.5

but can't seem to get it like a fresh install. so it is not fully fresh.

The buyer wants 10.8.5 any one know an easy way to give him a fresh one?

 

[chrfr]

I am selling my quad 2012. I can't seem to get 10.8 to load.

i got back to 10.9
i got back to 10.8.5

but can't seem to get it like a fresh install. so it is not fully fresh.

The buyer wants 10.8.5 any one know an easy way to give him a fresh one?

At the point that the computer restarts after reinstalling the OS, just type command-Q and it'll ask if you want to shut down. The next time the computer is turned on, setup will resume.

 

[philipma1957]

At the point that the computer restarts after reinstalling the OS, just type command-Q and it'll ask if you want to shut down. The next time the computer is turned on, setup will resume.

SORRY I was not clear. right now I am running the machine on 10.9.5 with an external hdd.

I managed to find a 10.8.5 clone stripped it down from 400gb to 40 gb.

If I want I can use that to make a blank/fresh 10.9.x no worries

But when I try to make my 10.8.5 with some info do a fresh install I get an error that does not let me load mountain lion.

when i make the internal empty it recovers to 10.9 not 10.8 so the best I can do is a kind of empty 10.8.5/fresh or an truly empty/fresh 10.9.5

when i want to install the 10.8 from the app store it won't let me.

 

[Darby67]

There are a few command line options, not all were specific to 10.8:

http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20121202080339900

http://stikine.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/howto-reset_to_factory_default/

not command line, but another option http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/downgrade-mavericks-mountain-lion-3494785/

Another option would be use CCC to clone 10.8.5 and have CCC put a new 10.8 Recovery Partition on the internal. Restart from recovery partition and you should be in business. Just a thought...

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Also, minimum OS for the 2012 if I remember was 10.8.1, not the .0

 

[Gav2k]

Can't you do the Internet recovery. It installs the 'shipped' os by default

 

[ServiceTag]

SORRY I was not clear. right now I am running the machine on 10.9.5 with an external hdd.

I managed to find a 10.8.5 clone stripped it down from 400gb to 40 gb.

If I want I can use that to make a blank/fresh 10.9.x no worries

But when I try to make my 10.8.5 with some info do a fresh install I get an error that does not let me load mountain lion.

when i make the internal empty it recovers to 10.9 not 10.8 so the best I can do is a kind of empty 10.8.5/fresh or an truly empty/fresh 10.9.5

when i want to install the 10.8 from the app store it won't let me.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it's because the minimum 2012 MM OS release was 10.8.1.
BTW, I hate Apple for this mess. They shouldn't lock any Mac to specific released OS version. If it was released with 10.8.1 it should take plain 10.8 as well.
What's even worse - I know somebody who got 27" iMac-Refurb from Apple store trying downgrade to the originally released 10.6.x OS version. That didn't work so she decided to return it. She refused to buy some expensive software upgrade to be compatible with newer 10.7/10.8

 

[chrfr]

But when I try to make my 10.8.5 with some info do a fresh install I get an error that does not let me load mountain lion.

What's the error?
And yes, Internet recovery is the proper way to do this, and should install a version of 10.8 for you.

 

[DeltaMac]

The confusing part is that the 2012 mini came with a variety of versions of 10.8 and 10.9.
My expectation is that internet recovery on a 2012 mini will download Mavericks 10.9.5 - regardless of what the original shipping OS X version was.
And, the 2012 that I recently purchased shipped with 10.9.2 - but I needed to load 10.8.5.
I had previously purchased Mountain Lion, so I could download the installer through the App Store, then created a USB installer, using DiskmakerX.
It booted and installed with no difficulty on my mini.
Please note that I also still had an older ML install (10.8.1), and that would neither boot nor install. The 10.8.5 last version should install just fine on any 2012 mini.

If you boot to the 10.8.5 system that you already have, then you should be able to download Mountain Lion from the App Store, too - assuming that you have also previously purchased ML. It will be listed in your Purchases, where you can select it for download, if you like.

 

[philipma1957]

What's the error?
And yes, Internet recovery is the proper way to do this, and should install a version of 10.8 for you.

no it gives me a clean 10.9

the error is 1004

I fixed it

I TOOK MY 10.8.5 hdd clone and aded a user named 2012 quad.
I deleted all users from the clone. I copied it to the diy internal fusion drive and got a clean 10.8.5 with no info. I then put in a vmware fusion with a windows 7 for him. the fusion is now clean with no info and no longer registered. to the person that helped with pm I will use what you gave to me thank you.,

 

[Fishrrman]

ServiceTag wrote above:
[[ Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it's because the minimum 2012 MM OS release was 10.8.1. ]]

The late-2012 Mini that I bought in January 2013 shipped with a custom version of OS 10.8.2.

At the time, the App Store "universal" version of 10.8 -would not work- on the Mini, the custom 10.8.2 version was required.

The VERY FIRST THING I did when I unpacked and setup the Mini was clone the contents of the hard drive to another volume, so that I would always have a "fresh copy" of the version of 10.8.2 the Mini shipped with close-at-hand.

I believe later versions of 10.8 will run the Mini as well.
If you can't get them "officially" from Apple, there are "other channels" available.

I have never encountered a problem using those "other channels", and will continue to use them when necessary.