Resetting iMac desktop

[rupesh99]

Hi

I inherited an old iMac. Its about 10 years old (see screenshot). The person I got it from has got their admin set up but insists they didn't have a password. But I can't update the operating system without the password. I've tried doing various things to use my Mac id but can't seem to make any progress. Any ideas or suggestions for something I could try? Is it worth trying to revert to factory settings? How would I do that?

 

[MacsBug]

If they did set it up without a password when the password prompt shows up, just hit Enter.

If you want to restore the computer to just an OS, you can always boot into the recovery partition, erase the drive and reinstall the OS.

Depending on how old the Mac is will depend how you do this.

First try to start up the Mac and hold down the Command & R keys. This should boot you into the Recovery HD where you can format and reinstall the OS.

If the Mac is a little older then you may need to hold down the Option key while booting, and selecting the Recovery HD to boot from.