05-24-2011, 12:24 AM

Hello all.

I have a friend who is slowly converting from PC to Mac and purchased a used Macbook Pro 17" Intel Core Duo. I deleted all the files I could find but did not reboot (at that time I didn't know how). He had it for a few months but forgot his admin password after a while and therefore couldn't install anything. I figured out how to rebooted his Mac from Safe Mode (he didn't have the start up disk either) and created a new admin account. Later on he told me there were several LARGE video files on it from a film we shot (30-60Gbs I'm estimating).

Now with a fully functioning Mac I still can't intall larger programs (Photoshop in particular, 2.2Gb) because the computer is out of disk space but I also can't backup &/or delete the large video files because they were under the old admin account. After rebooting and starting fresh I was able to find some files that were in the trash, some files from the original owner and the disk space was still very low so I know all the files are still there. How do I access those files to delete them without having to dump EVERYTHING. Is it possible? Options?

I'm a Mac & PC user since birth practically and understand the likeliness of the desired result but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

05-24-2011, 12:45 AM

Originally Posted by mralexander25

Hello all.

I have a friend who is slowly converting from PC to Mac and purchased a used Macbook Pro 17" Intel Core Duo. I deleted all the files I could find but did not reboot (at that time I didn't know how). He had it for a few months but forgot his admin password after a while and therefore couldn't install anything. I figured out how to rebooted his Mac from Safe Mode (he didn't have the start up disk either) and created a new admin account. Later on he told me there were several LARGE video files on it from a film we shot (30-60Gbs I'm estimating).

Now with a fully functioning Mac I still can't intall larger programs (Photoshop in particular, 2.2Gb) because the computer is out of disk space but I also can't backup &/or delete the large video files because they were under the old admin account. After rebooting and starting fresh I was able to find some files that were in the trash, some files from the original owner and the disk space was still very low so I know all the files are still there. How do I access those files to delete them without having to dump EVERYTHING. Is it possible? Options?

I'm a Mac & PC user since birth practically and understand the likeliness of the desired result but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You really should just wipe the drive and reinstall OS X from scratch. There's simply no telling how much of what was left behind by the previous owner. If you are hellbent on not doing that, then using the new admin user, go to System Preferences > Accounts. Click the lock at the bottom to make changes. Highlight the old admin account, then delete it with the - sign at the bottom. Select the option to delete the home folder.

While you're at it, go to /Users and see if there is a Deleted Users folder. If so, delete it.

05-24-2011, 06:27 PM

Originally Posted by lifeisabeach

You really should just wipe the drive and reinstall OS X from scratch. There's simply no telling how much of what was left behind by the previous owner. If you are hellbent on not doing that, then using the new admin user, go to System Preferences > Accounts. Click the lock at the bottom to make changes. Highlight the old admin account, then delete it with the - sign at the bottom. Select the option to delete the home folder.

While you're at it, go to /Users and see if there is a Deleted Users folder. If so, delete it.

Hey lifeisabeach,

Thanks for the advice. Turns out my friends old account was still listed under Accounts in SP, while under his new Admin account I reset the old account's password, then logged out of the new and back into the old account, thus able to access all old files. It was just that simple. You learn something new everyday. Thanks a lot.

05-24-2011, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by mralexander25

Hey lifeisabeach,

Thanks for the advice. Turns out my friends old account was still listed under Accounts in SP, while under his new Admin account I reset the old account's password, then logged out of the new and back into the old account, thus able to access all old files. It was just that simple. You learn something new everyday. Thanks a lot.

*smacks head* It didn't even occur to me to suggest resetting the password. Glad you sorted that out. However, I still strongly advise to consider wiping the drive and starting from scratch properly. You just never know what the prior owner may have left behind.