I bought a late 2014 mac mini off of ebay. Can i still format it and install mac os on it with the mac being locked? If not how would i get it unlock? I ask the guy and all he told me was that he got about 50 of them and reselling them and he knows nothing about them. He just plugs them in and to sell if they turn on then shut it off and resell them. I been looking online to see. But most of them has you going into the frimware and resetting it. well thank you for any help i get.
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2014 mac mini lock problem
- Thread starter gwb21471
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As long as it isn't firmware locked, yes, you can reset it. The 2014 Mac mini can be booted to Recovery Mode and erased and reinstalled through that. Here's a guide: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102639
ok thanks. The guy just told me that it is lock and he couldn't get any farther. it askes you for a password to get farther.
I will when I get it on the 5th of April. The way he was saying that it asked for a iCloud password before you can use it. He thinks if I put a new hard drive in or erase hard drive I may get pass it.
Quote: "The way he was saying that it asked for a iCloud password before you can use it."
An iCloud Activation Lock isn't really on the Mac, its a database entry on Apple's servers.
It can be removed remotely by the original iCloud Account holder, if they log into the iCloud web site.
So even if you alter the hardware - erase or change the HD/SSD or whatever - it will still be tagged as locked by Apple's OS servers.
So you can never activate a new iCloud Account on it.
Its old enough a Mac for you to maybe get it running not connected to the internet...
Or you could pay $99 to some dodgy website, and they might unlock it... Who knows?
An iCloud Activation Lock isn't really on the Mac, its a database entry on Apple's servers.
It can be removed remotely by the original iCloud Account holder, if they log into the iCloud web site.
So even if you alter the hardware - erase or change the HD/SSD or whatever - it will still be tagged as locked by Apple's OS servers.
So you can never activate a new iCloud Account on it.
Its old enough a Mac for you to maybe get it running not connected to the internet...
Or you could pay $99 to some dodgy website, and they might unlock it... Who knows?
Access to iCloud is required to access the internet on a Mac? Are you sure? Lack of iCloud could prevent synchronization of data between Apple devices but I’m not sure it would prevent internet access.
It sounds like the seller has tried to do a OS wipe and Recovery procedure, which has triggered the Activation Lock.
Otherwise he wouldn't have found it?
Only if the Mac is interrogated by Apple over the internet will the lock get activated.
But that means not letting it connect to Apple. Which modern Mac OSs do at boot up, if they can.
No updates or Recovery from Apple etc etc.
I don't know how old an OS you would need to use? Presumably pre Lion, which was when Internet Recovery and Find My came in? Or maybe more recent?
Otherwise he wouldn't have found it?
Only if the Mac is interrogated by Apple over the internet will the lock get activated.
But that means not letting it connect to Apple. Which modern Mac OSs do at boot up, if they can.
No updates or Recovery from Apple etc etc.
I don't know how old an OS you would need to use? Presumably pre Lion, which was when Internet Recovery and Find My came in? Or maybe more recent?
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That's the Mac OS user account password, which is removable during boot up I think.
But if Anthony Bienville has an iCloud Account/password set, which he hasn't cleared from his account on one of his other devices, then this Mac will not be iCloud 'clear'.
But if Anthony Bienville has an iCloud Account/password set, which he hasn't cleared from his account on one of his other devices, then this Mac will not be iCloud 'clear'.
OS X Mavericks: How to Easily Reset the Administrator Password – The Mac Observer
In the early years of OS X, the Mac operating system was sold on a DVD. If a user forgot the administrator password, perhaps the simplest way (of several) would be to use that disc to set a new administrator password and regain control of the Mac. Nowadays, there is no install disc provided with...
www.macobserver.com
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Macs from 2011 (and 2014) do not have hardware enabled iCloud locks. Only Macs with the T2 or Apple Silicon chips have it at the hardware level. You can simply install a new drive or wipe the current one and install macOS again, and the account/iCloud lock will be erased.
But if you were promised a 2014 and are getting a 2011... I'd open a return for false advertising, personally.
But if you were promised a 2014 and are getting a 2011... I'd open a return for false advertising, personally.
Cool i feel little better that i can just format the drive and reinstall mac os again. I was going to open a thing on ebay buthe told me it was a mistake on his part and he was sorry. If i wanted to cancel my order i could. but i told him no its ok. I may try to usr that open core and install something higher mac os on it or stll may put linux on it. thank for the help. Still learning stuff about apple computer.
OP:
SEND THIS BACK.
Then, learn more about buying, and get yourself a USABLE Mini that's not so old.
I would recommend NOTHING LESS THAN a 2018 Mini.
SEND THIS BACK.
Then, learn more about buying, and get yourself a USABLE Mini that's not so old.
I would recommend NOTHING LESS THAN a 2018 Mini.
For Macs without T2 chip, some iCloud account info ("FMM" = Find My Mac) is also stored in NVRAM. In case you keep the 2011 MacMini, you should clear the NVRAM before erasing the hard drive.
(CMD+ALT+P+R during startup)
Some technical details if someone is interested:
ilostmynotes.blogspot.com
(CMD+ALT+P+R during startup)
Some technical details if someone is interested:
Disable Find My Mac by Modifiying Nvram Configuration
`When Find My Mac (FMM) is enabled, it writes information into the Mac's nvram. This enables the configuration to persist across OS-level c...
ilostmynotes.blogspot.com
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Well i never do (CMD+ALT+P+R during startup) again. After i did it all i got was a blank screen for about 5 minutes and then it just booted into recovery mode and i formatted the two hard drives in it. Then i had a copy of mac os 10.8 and it would not boot from cd or usb. It just wanted to boot into recovery mode. I tried a few times. So i unplug the dvd rom and boot it back into recovery and plug the dvd rom back in and select startup disk and select dvd rom with mac os 10.8 and click on it and it restarted and booted into mac os 10.8. So never going to do that again. But thanks for the help.For Macs without T2 chip, some iCloud account info ("FMM" = Find My Mac) is also stored in NVRAM. In case you keep the 2011 MacMini, you should clear the NVRAM before erasing the hard drive.
(CMD+ALT+P+R during startup)
Some technical details if someone is interested:
Disable Find My Mac by Modifiying Nvram Configuration
`When Find My Mac (FMM) is enabled, it writes information into the Mac's nvram. This enables the configuration to persist across OS-level c...
Even if you are able to login there is no guarantee there won't be other problems. Save your money and get a refund. Next time purchase from a reliable buyer with a good warranty and return policy. It is worth the extra money.
I can't send it back. He takes no returns and two i formatted both disk. He told me no returns now. that its mine now.
Well a problem came up. I get to 4 minutes left to intsall and it will just restart and start the install again. I read the error logs and it got that a package can't be read. This is for mac os 10.8. I want to download el capitan.app and make a bootable usb but i can't find it online. Apple doesn't have it on there web site or app store. All apple has is the dmg file and thats for upgrading to el capitan.
Sorry that your 13-year-old eBay purchase did not behave as expected.
However, I still stand by my suggestion to delete the PRAM before setting the machine up.
You asked for help with a Mac that was tied to another Apple Account. Deleting the PRAM is one step to sever that tie.
If you purchased with a credit card can you file a claim? Or with the portal, such as eBay?
Well I did clear the pram. Got Mac OS 10.12 on it. I just get a random restart out of the blue. After restart I get an error message to send to apple saying cpu core 2 error. But before it does the restart the fan will go into full speed. So I starting to think the cpu it over heating or bad core. It restarts if I put a heavy load on it. Just have to put new paste on the cpu.
I would pick a 2012 Mini quad depending on the price. It supports eGPU, so it's still an interesting platform for gaming and video editing. I can use my Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Pro dock with an adapter and it also provides plenty of ports. An eGPU with a RX580 would make it perform nearly like a M2 on GPU-intensive tasks (look for benchmarks). However, an i3 2018 Mini would probably be a better choice: more (and faster) thunderbolt ports, and it doesn't need a thunderbolt adapter and legacy TB2 cable. An i3 2018 Mini with an eGPU would probably match an entry level M2 price, but it's way more expandable (you can upgrade from 8GB to 64GB of RAM, use an eGPU) and overall better if you need x86 architecture and Windows compatibility.
I have some legacy peripherals (two thunderbolt audio interfaces, egpu, film scanner) which make I think twice before moving to and entirely new architecture.