New imac, how do I get out of Germany??

[TxAg98]

I am in the USAF stationed in Germany and just bought a new Imac. In the initial setup screen it asks your location, so entered Germany. Well now all the emails I get from Apple, etc are all in German. Isnt there some way to reset the factory settings or reset my location for US? HELP!!!

 

[remltr]

First of all - Thank you and your fellow service members for keeping us safe.

I hesitate to respond, because what I would recommend is drastic, I don't know any better. Reinstall the OS from scratch and start over.
Of course this would be OK if you haven't installed any other software.

Since no one else responded, I thought I would toss this out there.

Good luck.

 

[hughvane]

I entered Germany. Isn't there some way to reset the factory settings or reset my location for US?

Yes, a fresh OS install should fix things, but make sure you Archive & Install in order to preserve your applications, files etc.

 

[TxAg98]

Could someone walk me through how to do that? I dont have anything loaded on the computer other than setting up m;y internet so doing a reinstall wouldnt hurt anything. Its worth it so I can read everything in english!!!

 

[louishen]

Here is the apple article that will take you through step by step


http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1544?viewlocale=en_US

 

[Juan Largo]

I've noticed that the standard "fix" to a lot of problems posted on these forums seems to be "do a complete reinstallation." A reinstallation should be used only as a last resort. Surely, there are better ways to fix minor problems. For TxAg98's problem, how about changing settings in system preferences instead?

 

[Dysfunction]

I agree, I don't reinstall anything without having exhausted all other options first.

Ya know, I thought I had it going in the right direction then poof... couldn't find the last bit I swear I'd had before.

 

[Mark W]

I don't *think* reinstalling would help the problem.

The Emails you get from Apple are probably due to the fact that the computer was registered in Germany - Apple will probably still continue to send you the Emails regardless of whether you reinstall.
If you take a look at the bottom of the EMail - right above the copyright line there should be a link to unsubscribe - click that ("click here" in German is "Klicken Sie hier", which is what I expect the link will be), then simply resubscribe to the english newsletters.

You can also change the formats to the US standards in the "International" section of the system preferences.

 

[chscag]

To the OP:

Follow Mark's advice and don't re-install anything. You might be stationed in Germany but your real address is an APO.

Regards.

 

[technologist]

No, reinstalling won't fix anything. The problem is with Apple's records, not your computer.

You should be able to update your information at
https://myinfo.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/MyInfo