Reinstall OS Forgot Original Apple ID

[Yanezez]

Hello everyone,

I just got an old MacBook Pro out of the closet and am trying to reinstall the software. However, I cannot recall the original apple id from the moment and hence cannot seem to get the reformatting to work. Is there any way to reinstall the OS without the use of the original Apple ID? I tried restarting holding command + option + R and do it through the online method but to no avail. I keep getting "this item is temporarily unavailable, please try again later".

Any hints? thank you.

BTW i also tried using the Terminal option to set up the correct date.

 

[chscag]

Welcome to our forums.

If you forgot your old Apple ID, you should be able to use your current one. You do have a current Apple ID? Also, what MacBook Pro are you trying install software to? Year and model? And which version of macOS are you trying to install?

Sorry about the questions but it sounds like the version of macOS you're trying to install may no longer be available from Apple.

 

[Yanezez]

Welcome to our forums.

If you forgot your old Apple ID, you should be able to use your current one. You do have a current Apple ID? Also, what MacBook Pro are you trying install software to? Year and model? And which version of macOS are you trying to install?

Sorry about the questions but it sounds like the version of macOS you're trying to install may no longer be available from Apple.

Thank you for the response. So I have a MacBook Pro Late 2011 Version. I do still have an apple Id which i use on my ipad and another MacBook Pro I use for the office.

As per the version, when i restart holding command, option and R, it tells me it will install Lion.

 

[chscag]

Your MacBook Pro late 2011 may have come installed with Lion. Therefore, you will need to reinstall Lion and then from there you can update to newer versions of macOS. Use the Apple ID that you are currently using for your iPad and the other MacBook Pro at the office.

 

[Yanezez]

Thats the thing, it wont let me install Lion. After I click on install OS and input my Apple ID, it says "this item is temporarily unavailable, please try again later". The Mac is connected to internet.

 

[ferrarr]

Maybe try using an ethernet cord, to see if that helps?

 

[Yanezez]

I dont need it, I have internet connection, which is how i was able to start up the Mac holding command option and R.

 

[ferrarr]

But Apple has a strict security policy, an ethernet cord would rule your Wi-Fi connection out. It'll only take two minutes tops, unless you don't have the cord.

 

[Yanezez]

Thank you , ill try. Just curious as to what this would do though. Youre saying that with ethernet it might allow me to install the OS when with WIFI it didnt?

 

[Slydude]

With the error message you're getting I'm betting this is not due to a forgotten Apple ID / password. IIRC many users have reported seeing that message for network related issues. It may / may not be a problem with your network. In other words it could be an issue on their end.

 

[Yanezez]

With the error message you're getting I'm betting this is not due to a forgotten Apple ID / password. IIRC many users have reported seeing that message for network related issues. It may / may not be a problem with your network. In other words it could be an issue on their end.

yeah. The ethernet idea did not work, i continue to get the same message.

 

[chscag]

Thats the thing, it wont let me install Lion. After I click on install OS and input my Apple ID, it says "this item is temporarily unavailable, please try again later". The Mac is connected to internet.

I disagree with Bob and Slydude, that message has nothing to do with the connection. You need to contact Apple Customer Support and get the URL from them where Lion can be downloaded from. Either that, or they will give you another way to download a version of macOS newer than Lion. Lion was a pay for update and not free as newer versions of macOS are. I suspect that may be the reason you can not download Lion.

 

[Yanezez]

I disagree with Bob and Slydude, that message has nothing to do with the connection. You need to contact Apple Customer Support and get the URL from them where Lion can be downloaded from. Either that, or they will give you another way to download a version of macOS newer than Lion. Lion was a pay for update and not free as newer versions of macOS are. I suspect that may be the reason you can not download Lion.

I tried calling them and offered no solution. I also could not install Mountain Lion.

 

[ferrarr]

Do you have another Mac you can use? Then you can download a newer OS X/macOS version and create a USB installer, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372.

 

[chscag]

I tried calling them and offered no solution. I also could not install Mountain Lion.

Both Lion and Mountain Lion are pay updates and not free. Go ahead and try what Bob suggested about making a USB installer. Let us know.

 

[ferrarr]

Both Lion and Mountain Lion are pay updates and not free. Go ahead and try what Bob suggested about making a USB installer. Let us know.

OP said it is a Late 2011 MBP, which shipped with Lion, no need to purchase.

 

[Rod]

Yes, I agree. My wife had been running a late 2011 MBP up until a few weeks ago when she replaced it with a new model but it was running the latest version of macOS High Sierra albeit a little slowly with only the 4Gb RAM that was standard for that model. So long as she kept it to 2-3 applications at a time it was fine.
I would strongly suggest downloading High Sierra installer on your new device as well as DiskmakerX (for High Sierra) from here https://diskmakerx.com/
Follow the instructions to create a bootable USB installer on a thumb drive.
Boot your old MBP with the USB installer plugged in holding the option key down. This should allow you to boot from the USB drive, then open the installer and follow the instructions to install High Sierra.
You can use your current Apple ID as login.
Assuming you don't want to save any of the data on the device you can do a "Clean" install by erasing the the internal drive as part of the installation process.

 

[chscag]

OP said it is a Late 2011 MBP, which shipped with Lion, no need to purchase.

That's true if it is indeed a late 2011 MBP. It would have shipped with macOS 10.7.2. But why then is Apple telling him it is not available? Even if he doesn't have to purchase Lion, why is it telling him it is not available from the Mac App Store?

 

[ferrarr]

He may not actually be getting into Internet Recovery.

OP, try NVRAM and SMC resets. Try multiple times.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

Also, key combs for Recovery, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904

 

[pm-r]

That's true if it is indeed a late 2011 MBP. It would have shipped with macOS 10.7.2. But why then is Apple telling him it is not available? Even if he doesn't have to purchase Lion, why is it telling him it is not available from the Mac App Store?

I'd agree, but at this stage I'd suggest that the OP get hold of a good Mac tech that has the knowledge, equipment and software available to get things sorted out and running properly with that Mac. That's assuming there's user data worth preserving on the drive.





- Patrick
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