Filed under: How-tos, Tips and tricks
Get the "out of the box" experience with an older Mac
Here is a tip that I will definitely make use of myself. I often get older Macs working again for people I know. While my recepients are always happy to get a spiffy older Mac that's ready to go, I know how nice it is to enjoy the experience of plugging in a spankin' new Mac for the first time. The introductory movie, the initial account setup, the network setup and so on. How do I set up a "new" Mac with all current updates and the user's third party software, yet still allow them to enjoy the new Mac experience? Dave at The Consultant has the answer.He writes, "...open the Terminal and delete the AppleSetupDone file, which will cause the Apple Setup Assistant to run on the next boot." The Terminal commands look like this:
loki:~$ cd /private/var/db/Now shut the machine down, and the next time it's booted, it will run through the introductory process. Nice tip, Dave.
loki:/private/var/db$ ls -la .AppleSetupDone
--w----r-- 1 root wheel 0 Jul 16 2004 .AppleSetupDone
loki:/private/var/db$sudo rm .AppleSetupDone
Password:
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
fra said 1:19PM on 10-04-2005
i get
cpc2-blfs5-5-1-cust104:~ Fra$ loki:~$ cd /private/var/db/
-bash: loki:~$: command not found
cpc2-blfs5-5-1-cust104:~ Fra$ loki:/private/var/db$ ls -la .AppleSetupDone
-bash: loki:/private/var/db$: No such file or directory
cpc2-blfs5-5-1-cust104:~ Fra$ --w----r-- 1 root wheel 0 Jul 16 2004 .AppleSetupDone
-bash: --w----r--: command not found
cpc2-blfs5-5-1-cust104:~ Fra$ loki:/private/var/db$sudo rm .AppleSetupDone
-bash: loki:/private/var/db: No such file or directory
cpc2-blfs5-5-1-cust104:~ Fra$ Password:
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fra said 1:20PM on 10-04-2005
ahhh just worked out the problem
stupid stupid me =p
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JC said 1:32PM on 10-04-2005
HA! Now all you have to do is script this as a email "virus" or applescript to run at startup and bam! watch the Apple support go nut! :P
Yea, i know i am mean but i am always thinkin up with crazy time wasting viruii like this.
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Arlo said 1:52PM on 10-04-2005
Here's a tip: It's annoying putting the tip at the end of the post. Cut right to it, and save the meandering observations for AFTER.
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Noel said 2:05PM on 10-04-2005
Keep the meandering thoughts first... good lead in. I never read a posts with heavy Terminal commands, but I've always wondered how to get that intro video back. Now I know!
btw- why can't I find the video and play it at my leasure? I did all kinds of Spotlight searches, but come up with nothing! The video file has to be somewhere! Where?
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DF said 2:46PM on 10-04-2005
Dave:
The only issue here is that the computer will still have the original account used to set it up. According to Apple (see man asr), here are the instructions for getting rid of that account and then enabling Setup Assistant:
Start up in single-user mode (Command+S) and mount the volume as a readable volume (using the instructions at the prompt).
Then type the following commands:
nicl -raw /var/db/netinfo/local.nidb delete /users/
rm -r /Users/
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
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DF said 2:48PM on 10-04-2005
WOAH -- that didn't come out right. Let's try again:
nicl -raw /var/db/netinfo/local.nidb delete /users/ADMINACCOUNTNAME
rm -r /Users/ADMINACCOUNTNAME
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
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Arlo said 3:27PM on 10-04-2005
This is how you cut to the chase without scaring away the terminal-shy:
"Here is a tip that I will definitely make use of myself. How do I set up a "new" Mac with all current updates and the user's third party software, yet still allow them to enjoy the new Mac experience? Dave at The Consultant has the answer."
Followed by the code. If more meanderings are necessary, those follow.
See, it pays to learn how to write editorial properly.
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Wheels said 4:07PM on 10-04-2005
It's a wonder why Arlo isn't a TUAW blogger. =)
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motech said 9:43PM on 10-04-2005
installing applications ,
then erasing a user
is just going to cause problems.
not worth the hassle.
just have them next to u when u set it up . .
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AV said 10:25PM on 10-04-2005
Dang, some of you guys are really harsh on these TUAW bloggers. It's a blog. Pleople write thoughts on a blog, not just instructions. If it were an instructions site then I'd understand, but it's a story site, so let them tell the story for crying out loud. I don't hear anyone complaining about the length of magazine articles. Or do you not read those 'cause they're too long and wordy too?
As for this particular tip, I think it's kind of cool, but the whole account removing and changing and adding thing on OS X, especially after 3rd party software is installed, makes me nervous. I suppose that's why I don't get asked to setup new-old computers for other people.
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Rafe said 12:06AM on 10-05-2005
JP,
Your "virus" requires and admin password to run properly. Would you enter yours when prompted? Thought so.
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Dave said 10:19AM on 10-16-2005
Thanks Dave for linking to my post.. and DF for correcting me and pointing me to the asr man page!
Cheers,
Dave
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