ibook server/ user password??

lordlemming · #1 January 24th, 2008, 06:39 AM

hey,
i just got my first mac so have no idea on anything keys etc?
its an ibook M6411 clamshell
i got it second hand from my sons school, now every time i start it it get to the desktop screen and a box appears stating
"Home_server
searching for the macintosh manager server
with 3 buttons
pick server, finder, shut down"

now to select either of the first 2 options it asks for the computer owner or server administrators password, which i dont have and i contacted the school and the guy who used this ibook has left the school so they dont know it either!!
is there a way around this? Help me lol
be aware if u reply i am unware of nicknames for keys etc so if you could spell it out real dumb like i would appreiciate it lol

**Cheryl** · #2 January 26th, 2008, 01:46 PM

It is really sad when organizations sell off their old equipment and don't wipe it clean of all their stuff.
Did you get any CDs or DVDs with it? If not, you will need to take it to your nearest Apple Store for a genius to help change the password and/or user. You should should get the OS disk for the machine.

When you do this, make sure you bring your receipt to show proof of ownership.

ElDiabloConCaca · #3 January 26th, 2008, 02:33 PM

It sounds like they were using some managed services for the iBook that requires a server to be present, due to home folders being located on the server or what-not.

I'm with Cheryl on this one -- your best bet for a stable, usable computer is to find some install CDs or DVDs and completely wipe the system clean and reinstall OS X. That way, you'll have a computer that's personalized to you, and not a bunch of leftover remnants from an academic environment that may or may not interfere with normal usage somewhere down the road.

lordlemming · #4 January 26th, 2008, 06:57 PM

thanks heaps guys, i was pretty sure thats what i would have to do, but being a novice mac user i thought it best to check

macs use hardware specific os's dont they?, so i would have to find os discs for the ibook wouldnt i?

ElDiabloConCaca · #5 January 26th, 2008, 08:06 PM

It's not necessarily hardware-specific, as the retail version of OS X will install on any Macintosh that's capable of running OS X.

The OS X discs that actually ship with a computer, though, may have proprietary drivers and/or other software that's not compatible with other Macs, or that are required for operation of the specific computer they shipped with. It's also related to the version of OS X you install -- if, for say, a MacBook shipped with OS X 10.4.9, then trying to install any OS X prior to 10.4.9 (10.4.8, say) will not work. The OS X version that ships with the computer is the minimum OS version you can run on that computer as well.

**Cheryl** · #6 January 27th, 2008, 07:41 AM

All the more reason to have an expert do the install, since you can't get in to even find out what OS you are running. What is on there now may or may not be the OS that it was shipped with.