How to get ACTUAL factory DMG w/ iLife

[NathanA]

Ugh. Okay, I admit it: I did a dumb thing. But I'm super-annoyed that this dumb thing was even allowed by the system.

I got a new MBP pre-loaded with Mountain Lion. This machine, of course, also comes with iLife.

First thing I did out-of-the-box was grab the InstallESD.DMG file from Apple for my new computer, so that I could do an off-line reinstall of OS X if I ever needed to (http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20110831105634716). Once I had this, I decided that since I haven't really done anything to this computer yet (install software, move over data, etc.), now would be the ideal time to test a reinstall using this DMG.

So I reinstalled Mountain Lion from the DMG I downloaded, which worked perfectly.

Here's the thing: the original, factory install of Mountain Lion also included the latest version of iLife. After having reinstalled Mountain Lion, iLife is no longer on the computer.

Now, before anybody gets on my case about it, I already have read http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4718 and the section in it entitled "Restoring iLife applications after Internet Restore of OS X Lion or OS X Mountain Lion". Unfortunately, these steps don't work for me. I never launched the App Store after booting the original factory install; I went straight to the wipe and reinstall of the OS. So the App Store is not showing me any of the iLife apps under my Purchases, nor is it giving me an opportunity to "accept" this so-called "bundle". I suspect that the only time you can accept the bundle is when iLife is already on your computer; thus, you need to have done this before reinstalling. The instructions, alas, are not clear on this.

In any case, even if I had been able to reinstall iLife via the App Store, that still doesn't answer the question regarding why the **** Apple is not providing me/us with the original factory install image that obviously includes iLife in it already without the silly requirement that you go off and download it again. I want to have the ability to put my computer back to the way it was when I first started it up when it was brand-new out of the box.

Has anybody figured out a way to obtain such an image for your particular model of computer? I don't know for sure, but I'd guess that when they're assembling these computers, someone has to load the OS on it at some point, and they're probably doing so with OS X Internet Recovery onto a blank drive. For some reason, the factory is being served up a DMG that includes iLife while us mere mortals (a.k.a "the actual customer") are getting one that has it omitted, and then we are expected to go to the App Store after install. Not exactly seamless, not to mention that if the process breaks down (as in my case...App Store insists I re-buy all of the iLife apps!), you're hosed.

-- Nathan

 

[heisenberg123]

Call apple iLife is in my purchased tab after a clean wipe and install

 

[iMacFarlane]

I had iLife programs in my 'purchased' tab of the Appstore after I upgraded from Lion to ML on my 2012 MBP. I just assumed they were placed there by Apple after I downloaded ML. But, looking at the date of purchase, they coincide with my purchase of Lion when I upgraded my iMac. Hmmmm. Luckily, I didn't have to call Apple to get my stuff back, but it looks like you need to in order to set things straight.

I'm with the OP though, computer manufacturers have provided their users with the ability to 'reset' their computers to factory preset for a looooong time. Things should be no different in the age of assumed global broadband coverage.

 

[Blipp]

I believe registering your computer to your AppleID will also add iLife in your purchased tab of the App Store.


What is this obsession people seem to have with wiping their clean factory installs as soon as they get home?

 

[NathanA]

I believe registering your computer to your AppleID will also add iLife in your purchased tab of the App Store.

I will try that; thanks.

I also realized that I had an old iLife '11 install disc from a Mac Box Set. Installed that and I'm good to go, although software updates are not coming through the App Store proper. Oh well.

What is this obsession people seem to have with wiping their clean factory installs as soon as they get home?

At least for me, this "obsession" as you call it only became one when Apple decided to stop including physical media (CD, USB key, or even a full restore partition that could be copied to external media) and instead require you to use Internet Recovery every single time. I simply wanted to download the DMG so that in the event I ever NEEDED to reinstall, I wouldn't have to wait around for a 5GB download to finish. As I have documented elsewhere, Internet Recovery, although cool, isn't all it's cracked up to be. Don't get me wrong: I'm glad it's an OPTION, but it shouldn't be the ONLY option.

In any case, after downloading said DMG, I naturally wanted to verify that the download was usable, not corrupt, etc. so that whenever the time came that I actually needed to rely on it, I wouldn't wait until then to discover that there was a problem. It seems obvious that to do that, you need to reinstall. I had just gotten the computer and had not used it so I had nothing to lose...it was the most opportune time to test it.

Imagine my surprise when the download itself turned out to be perfectly fine, but also turned out to NOT be equal to the original disk image that had been used to image the machine from the factory...grumblegripegrumble. Again, better that I know that NOW (and devise a way to deal with it) rather than later, when I'm in an emergency/time-crunch situation where I need to get the laptop back up-and-running "yesterday." (It also raises the question of in what other ways might the original factory preload and the Internet Recovery image possibly be different?)

-- Nathan

 

[SpyderBite]

"every single time"?

Wow. You must have some seriously bad luck with hard drives. I've only had to do a clean install once on a Mac. That was Tiger.

Windows I can understand. It's almost mandatory to remove and install a clean, bloatware free copy of the OS.

Anyways, I would contact iTunes support via Express Lane and explain your dilemma. Hopefully they'll shoot you a redemption code or something assuming you registered your new computer before prematurely nuking it.