reset mac mini to factory for new user high sierra

Reset Mini To Factory For New User High Sierra Install OS X
Reset Mini To Factory For New User High Sierra Full Root Privileges

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Under certain circumstances, it can be advantageous to re-run the Setup Assistant.

Reset Mini To Factory For New User High Sierra Install OS X

Using some command-line trickery, we can do just this without having to erase and reinstall OS X.

What Setup Assistant Does Setup Assistant is designed to run on the first boot of a fresh install of OS X, which is why youll only see it when booting up a a brand-new Mac or one that has been erased and had OS X reinstalled.

Besides options for keyboard layout, time zone and asking if youd like to register, Setup Assistant also lets you create a new user account.

As Setup Assistant assumes the account it is creating to be the first, it is always given administrator privileges.

Why Bother There may come a time when you need to set up a second user account on a Mac while attempting to resolve a user account issue.

If a Mac has only one user account and it seems to be unable to log in correctly (getting stuck at the login window, for example), having a second account will allow you to access OS X and continue troubleshooting.

There are other reasons why re-running it can be advantageous, though in my experience, the above has always been the most common reason to do so.

Sure, you can create user accounts using a number of commands, but Setup Assistant is just far easier..AppleSetupDone Every time OS X boots, it checks for the existence of a file known as.AppleSetupDone.

This empty file is created after the completion of Setup Assistant.

It doesnt exist on a brand-new, out-of-the-box Mac, nor on one that has had a clean installation of OS X.

By removing this file, OS X will assume that Setup Assistant has never been run and will launch it as soon as OS X boots.

Setup Assistant is also run with root privileges, which is why it can create a new user account with administrator privileges without the need for any authorisation.

Removing.AppleSetupDone To remove this file, we need to boot the Mac into Single-User Mode.

Reset Mini To Factory For New User High Sierra Full Root Privileges

This provides a method of interacting with OS X via the command-line, with full root privileges.

After a few moments, youll see the Mac boot to the command line.

Before continuing, the filesystem must be checked and mounted, so files aret immediately accessible to interact with.

To do this, enter the two commands that are displayed within the prompt, one at a time.

The following command will check the filesystem to ensure there are no problems.

Enter: sbinfsck -fy.

Indeed, re-running Setup Assistant would certainly allow for an unauthorised person to create a new account with administrative privileges and gain access to the Mac along with your data.

In terms of security, physical access trumps almost every method of preventing unauthorised access not involving encryption.

While a little more complicated with the SSD technology Apple uses in their product lines, access to your data can easily be done simply by removing the Macs storage device and connecting it to another.

This is where encryption methods such as Firmware Password and FileVault 2 are useful.

With a Firmware Password set, it must be entered if the Mac is being booted either into Single-User Mode or to another boot volume.

FileVault 2 takes this one step further by performing full disk encryption, preventing any form of access to your data unless authorised by entering your user account password - even if the drive is removed and attached to another Mac.

Reset Mac Mini To Factory For New User High Sierra