I recently bought a iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) originally was working I wanted to reformat the hard drive and erase everything. After doing so I get a error message wants me to put in the old password but I don’t know it. My friend is a IT person and told me you got burned the computer is basically scrap now. The guy I bought it from used it for work he quite when the company went out of business he says he never had a password. I hate to throw it as I paid quite a bit of money. Any suggestions on getting it working again I have attached a picture of the error message it is giving me. I contacted Apple they really weren’t any help they had me do the same thing that I intended to do

When you say "tried to reformat", how did you do the process. I'm asking cause a true reformat gets rid of everything. It basically tells the installer to delete everything and start from scratch, even if there is a password to protect data.

bobdavis2010 said:

I recently bought a iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) originally was working I wanted to reformat the hard drive and erase everything. After doing so I get a error message wants me to put in the old password but I don’t know it. My friend is a IT person and told me you got burned the computer is basically scrap now. The guy I bought it from used it for work he quite when the company went out of business he says he never had a password. I hate to throw it as I paid quite a bit of money. Any suggestions on getting it working again I have attached a picture of the error message it is giving me. I contacted Apple they really weren’t any help they had me do the same thing that I intended to do

jav6454 said:

When you say "tried to reformat", how did you do the process. I'm asking cause a true reformat gets rid of everything. It basically tells the installer to delete everything and start from scratch, even if there is a password to protect data.

I tried the command r

bobdavis2010 said:

I tried the command r

I called apple tech support and they walked me through the steps

Did you try using a USB macOS installer and having that installer erase everything thru a formatting? Your IT friend is correct in saying that the computer is a paperweight assuming you are trying to reuse the data.

However, if there is no iCloud account locking it down, you can wipe everything and set it up as new. I have done so before with a friend's MacBook Pro he got from work.

bobdavis2010 said:

I called apple tech support and they walked me through t

jav6454 said:

Did you try using a USB macOS installer and having that installer erase everything thru a formatting? Your IT friend is correct in saying that the computer is a paperweight assuming you are trying to reuse the data.

However, if there is no iCloud account locking it down, you can wipe everything and set it up as new. I have done so before with a friend's MacBook Pro he got from work.

Really

jav6454 said:

Did you try using a USB macOS installer and having that installer erase everything thru a formatting? Your IT friend is correct in saying that the computer is a paperweight assuming you are trying to reuse the data.

However, if there is no iCloud account locking it down, you can wipe everything and set it up as new. I have done so before with a friend's MacBook Pro he got from work.

i have not tried. I wouldn’t know how to. Is it hard to do ? Where would I get a usb with the data. Would you be able to maybe help me strep by step. I appreciate all the feed back I would hate to lose out on $600

bobdavis2010 said:

Really

i have not tried. I wouldn’t know how to. Is it hard to do ? Where would I get a usb with the data. Would you be able to maybe help me strep by step. I appreciate all the feed back I would hate to lose out on $600

No need to quote each post.

Also, here is a step-by-step directly from Apple.

Click Me

You will need:

• One USB Flash drive with minimum 14GB Capacity
• Another Mac to do the procedure

jav6454 said:

No need to quote each post.

Also, here is a step-by-step directly from Apple.

Click Me

You will need:

• One USB Flash drive with minimum 14GB Capacity
• Another Mac

Click to expand...

jav6454 said:

No need to quote each post.

Also, here is a step-by-step directly from Apple.

Click Me

You will need:

• One USB Flash drive with minimum 14GB Capacity
• Another Mac to do the procedure

Click to expand...

Thanks, Ill pick one up on Friday and give it a shot hopefully it works

As far as I'm aware, going to System Preferences and choosing "Erase All Content and Settings" from the menu should be sufficient. I believe that this will ask for the Apple ID password if there is one and will then reset the system to its factory configuration.

Does anyone know whether my understanding is correct?

Nermal said:

As far as I'm aware, going to System Preferences and choosing "Erase All Content and Settings" from the menu should be sufficient. I believe that this will ask for the Apple ID password if there is one and will then reset the system to its factory configuration.

Does anyone know whether my understanding is correct?

Your understanding is not applicable to OP's case. His iMac was a company issued item and there is a hidden ID and password to log into the Company system using VPN. The previous owner didn't have to log-in the iMac because auto-log-in was set. But any changes to the machine will require an administrator's password.
In a normal case of usage, using an USB installer may be able to erase all the set-up and return the iMac to factory setting.
In a worst case scenario, the iMac was locked by EFI password and for T2-security chip equipped iMacs, it's not an easy job for a novice user to remove the EFI password (i.e it's Mission Impossible for the OP).

In terms of reinstalling.. and then erasing the drive - why not, instead og buying a USB key, do what's highlighted
Apple Support website with highlighted instructions.

Especially use the key combination Shift-Option-Command-R to get to the macOS your Mac was factory installed with. Requires ethernet or wi-fi to get going with all this. Also because your macOS will eventually be verified by Apple for download. You won't get anywhere without any sort of internet connection in this process.

In this new environment you can get going again quickly with little fussing about. And when you're in Recovery Mode then follow these instructions from Apple Support website. Open the website on your phone or tablet device to have it handy while operating

That way your drive is formatted and you ought to get back in "no time" - no time is in quotes because it will take a good 45 minutes or so for you to get macOS to a fresh desktop. And then you might want to update to the macOS that's the newest. Big Sur 11.x.x or even macOS Monterey. Which will set you back an additional hour or more. Good luck.

I've installed macOS a hundred times - so I'm quite the expert on hours spent on this. It's tiresome - but the reward is great.

Have you tried “ranger505” as the password, since that’s the password hint?

The 2020 iMac was $600 because it is owned by a business and is under Mobile Device Management. The iMac might be stolen The only way to know for sure is to look up the company name listed in the remote management window to see if it really went out of business.

I also work in IT, I manage Macs. If the company didn’t properly release the device from their systems, you really are out of luck. There’s no way around it. If they were still in business, that would be a different story

One more reason as to why -- if you're going to spend a good deal of money on a Mac (like the OP did) -- buy it FROM APPLE or from an Apple-authorized reseller.

This iMac was "a bad buy" from the get-go.

Reset the T2 chip

Nguyen Duc Hieu said:

Your understanding is not applicable to OP's case. His iMac was a company issued item and there is a hidden ID and password to log into the Company system using VPN. The previous owner didn't have to log-in the iMac because auto-log-in was set. But any changes to the machine will require an administrator's password.
In a normal case of usage, using an USB installer may be able to erase all the set-up and return the iMac to factory setting.
In a worst case scenario, the iMac was locked by EFI password and for T2-security chip equipped iMacs, it's not an easy job for a novice user to remove the EFI password (i.e it's Mission Impossible for the OP).

Click to expand...

Agreed, using the built-in setting is a no-go for OP.

As long as OP wipes the drive and there is no EFI lock, he/she should be fine.

Fishrrman said:

One more reason as to why -- if you're going to spend a good deal of money on a Mac (like the OP did) -- buy it FROM APPLE or from an Apple-authorized reseller.

This iMac was "a bad buy" from the get-go.

Not really, many companies do sell assets when go out of business or when updating their computer fleet; it's standard practice. However, the one thing one must keep an eye out is that the Mac is free from all domains and accounts by corporate IT.

TwoH said:

Reset the T2 chipT2

TwoH said:

Reset the T2 chip

What’s the T2 chip

PBG4 Dude said:

Have you tried “ranger505” as the password, since that’s the password hint?

Yes did not work

"The answer" is provided by Mr.Macintosh in reply 13 above.

You need to contact the company that originally issued this computer.

If it's in business, see if you can talk to the IT department to ascertain if it was "legally sold", and if so, whether the Device Management can be removed.

They may be willing, then again they may tell you the Mac was not in the legal possession of the guy who "sold" it to you, and refuse.

If the company is truly out-of-business, you may be "out of luck".

Spend your $600 more wisely next time.

And... that "friend" who sold this to you ... he ain't no "friend". Lose him.

I just came back from taking the computer to Apple and said that there is nothing they can do unless I have the password. Before Trying to delete everything on the computer and start fresh it was working fine I should have just left it alone now I’m out money I guess it’s trash basically

"Before Trying to delete everything on the computer and start fresh it was working fine I should have just left it alone now I’m out money I guess it’s trash basically"

Reread my reply 21 and also reply 13.
Before you consign it to the closet, you could try to contact the company it came from.

If they won't help, or if that company no longer exists, THEN it's time to determine what to do with it.

You might be able to "sell it for parts".
But BE SURE you explain WHY it won't work in any ad for sale.

Go forth from this day and learn... a sadder -- but wiser -- man.
And NEXT TIME -- buy from Apple or an authorized distributor.

Fishrrman said:

"Before Trying to delete everything on the computer and start fresh it was working fine I should have just left it alone now I’m out money I guess it’s trash basically"

Reread my reply 21 and also reply 13.
Before you consign it to the closet, you could try to contact the company it came from.

If they won't help, or if that company no longer exists, THEN it's time to determine what to do with it.

You might be able to "sell it for parts".
But BE SURE you explain WHY it won't work in any ad for sale.

Go forth from this day and learn... a sadder -- but wiser -- man.
And NEXT TIME -- buy from Apple or an authorized distributor.

Click to expand...

Yes totally understood. Not sure how to find the company or name is that something I can look up on there somehow