hello everyone my name is omar, i need help with this mac i purchased. i met this guy online on craigslist he was selling this imac 21.5 desktop 2.0ghz etc... so he told me the system had a pw and he didnt know it. u can still use the computer but u cannot install things, make serious changes etc.. without knowing the system pw or login. so he said if i purchased the snow leopard disc i will only have to hold down option at the start up of the desktop when the disc is inserted and just wipe it clean. the system ofcourse is running snow leopard. i did what he said and when i went to restart the system i then held down option with the disc already inserted and instead of the apple symbol popping up a pad-loc appeared. still asking for a pw. i then searched online to see if anyone could help and sum1 suggested that i need the leopard installation disc and not the snow leopard, and that the snow leopard i purchased was only an update. is this true can anyone help? also when i purchased the snow leopard disc at the apple store they assured me it will work.
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Help With New Mac Please!!
- Thread starter applesaucenewb
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You obviously purchased a stolen iMac, thus the ignorance of the seller about the proper password.
What you encounter during startup looks like this I suppose.
That is another password entry field, to protect the iMac from being tempered with without any kind of authority.
And the Snow Leopard Upgrade DVD is able to do a clean install, you just need the firmware password. Not even the Leopard DVD will help you with this.
And the iMac 21.5" will not even boot from the Leopard DVD, as that iMac came with Snow Leopard.
Contact Apple to see if the iMac has been reported stolen.
What you encounter during startup looks like this I suppose.
That is another password entry field, to protect the iMac from being tempered with without any kind of authority.
And the Snow Leopard Upgrade DVD is able to do a clean install, you just need the firmware password. Not even the Leopard DVD will help you with this.
And the iMac 21.5" will not even boot from the Leopard DVD, as that iMac came with Snow Leopard.
Contact Apple to see if the iMac has been reported stolen.
Take it to Apple, chances are it wont come up in their stolen database and you can have the genius reset it for you. If it does come up stolen I'm not sure what they do at that point. maybe someone else knows.
How much did you pay anyway?
If it has been reported stolen, check here, you need the serial number, which should be printed on the side of the white box.
If you still have the contact details of the seller and have verified with Apple, that the iMac has been stolen, contact the police.
when i called apple care they took down my information as if it was being put into the system as me being the owner for the mac i gave him the serial. he never said the system has been reported stolen. also he sent out a new disc im not sure what disc but he said he was going to send me a os x disc to see if it will work.
You need the firmware password to do any changes, or you can try to reset it.
hows it hot i called apple and gave them the serial, they didnt say it was stolen. they just put down my info like any other product i have called about for. how do i reset it? take it to the apple store?
spinner i tried that link for the serial check, it didnt say anything special. where do i check if it says stolen?
Wow mate, that stinks.
The iMac 21.5'' comes with a 3.06ghz processor. So you either have a 20'' iMac or you just meant to write 3.06ghz.
The iMac 21.5'' comes with a 3.06ghz processor. So you either have a 20'' iMac or you just meant to write 3.06ghz.
Not every stolen Mac gets reported to Apple.
For instance, my MBP was stolen, I contacted the police and the insurance covered the cost of a new MBP. Apple was never contacted in this endeavour.
That's why the iMac can still be a hot item.
It's up to you, if you want to go any further and find out, if the iMac is stolen or not.
And yes, Apple will reset your password, but I don't know if they will do that without proof of purchase via a receipt or something similar.
You can do it yourself, but you have to find for yourself how to do that, as we don't really are here to help in dubious activities.
kk ill just take it to apple and check if its stolen, i dont want problems. ill give the poilce the number to the guy who sold it to me if its a stolen item.