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Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34734 06/17/15 05:58 AM
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Originally Posted By: slolerner
Could not move anything from one folder to another without entering a p/w. ... But it didn't go away when I ran Disk Utility which should have fixed permissions, right?

It sounds like you needed to repair home folder, not system, permissions, which, in Lion and later, is done from your recovery partition...instructions here.

Originally Posted By: slolerner
The auto update thing doesn't really make sense because when I got it back from her, the indicator that there were updates, the thing I told her not to do, was still at two updates. I think because I don't know what Mavericks looks like, I took the 'Genius's word when we picked it up (I always have all the proprietary Apple tests done before I take a MBP home now) that it was running Lion as I requested and she didn't want to bother downgrading it, or worse, it can't be. Happily, I'm escalated to Tier 2 Support so if this can be fixed, it will. I would just pull the drive, cable it externally and put Lion on it through a clean download, but it would void the AppleCare. I think I'm going to have to go back and find a different Genius.

I don't get it!

According to Mactracker, a 13" June 2012 MBP shipped with OS X 10.7.4 (Lion) and can run the latest release of OS X, so why would Apple give you the refurb with anything other than either Lion or Yosemite? (Mt. Lion was close to a year old when I bought my 2010 Apple refurb [in 2013, from Small Dog], and it came with OS X 10.6.3, with which it originally shipped.)

With that in mind, I can't see why reverting the OS would void AppleCare...nor can I see why you'd need to pull the HDD to do it.

By all means, please keep us posted.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
artie505 #34743 06/17/15 04:11 PM
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I don't know, it just seems like Apple wants everyone running Mavericks. My computer was constantly asking me to update and it is free; a first.

Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34744 06/17/15 04:17 PM
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In response to Artie about the specific technical problem, I only hope that the firmware has not been updated to the point where Lion will not run, which actually may be the underlying issue, in which case the computer has to go back and I don't know how this will be handled if all the refurbished ship this way.

Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34750 06/17/15 06:20 PM
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Originally Posted By: slolerner
No, the keychain thing doesn't, it was just a weird, annoying thing. Could not move anything from one folder to another without entering a p/w. I finally started to just unlock folders I was working with. It's probably something she did. But it didn't go away when I ran Disk Utility which should have fixed permissions, right?

Repairing Permissions with Disk Utility only repairs system and application level permissions.

As additional protection against nefarious activity by malware or hackers, Apple has greatly tightened the requirements for authorizing installation of apps and moving of any folders or files beginning with Mavericks. Get used to it, those constraints will only become more stringent in the future. We all love to brag about our Mac's relative immunity to malware, but as has been noted before, "there aint no free lunch". Part of the cost of that lunch is the requirement to authenticate the change and/or movement of system files and applications.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34755 06/17/15 08:08 PM
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Originally Posted By: slolerner
I only hope that the firmware has not been updated to the point where Lion will not run, which actually may be the underlying issue....

Then wouldn't running the firmware update with Lion installed have broken it for everybody running it rather than just for fresh installations?

Quote:
It seems Apple just wants everyone to be running Mavericks.

I dunno... I've always assumed that an Apple refurb was delivered as it originally shipped (as my MBP did).

Anything else would be disingenuous, not to mention false advertising, wouldn't it?

And hasn't Apple always wanted everybody to be running its latest version of OS X? Yosemite is free, just like Mavericks, so why not ship it?


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
artie505 #34756 06/17/15 08:20 PM
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I'm getting a sinking feeling. The tech at the Genius Bar when I picked it up assured me it was running lion. They may be shipping everything out with Mavericks, which means nobody can run a lot of their legacy software.

Maybe Yosemite wasn't launched yet when these refurbs first became available. This wasn't the only one.

Last edited by slolerner; 06/17/15 08:29 PM. Reason: more
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34757 06/17/15 08:36 PM
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Originally Posted By: slolerner
I'm getting a sinking feeling. The tech at the Genius Bar when I picked it up assured me it was running lion. They may be shipping everything out with Mavericks, which means nobody can run a lot of their legacy software.

Did Mavericks break any more software than any other OS X upgrade (Lion in particular)?

And I stand with why Mavericks and not Yosemite?

I'm really curious to see how this plays out; Apple's entire refurb business will be cast in an ugly new light if your experience is pervasive and ongoing (Edit:) and nobody knows what they're buying until they get it and find out that it's not what they expected.

I just looked at what I think is your refurb at Refurbished Mac - Apple Certified - Apple Store (U.S.) and saw this, i.e. that the pic on the screen is Yosemite.

Huh?

Last edited by artie505; 06/17/15 08:49 PM. Reason: More

The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
artie505 #34758 06/17/15 08:39 PM
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I'm just upset. I was trying to buy someone a really nice gift. Let's not give up hope yet.


Mid 2010 MacBook Pro 13"
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Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34759 06/17/15 08:41 PM
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Quote:
Part of the cost of that lunch is the requirement to authenticate the change and/or movement of system files and applications.

Yes, it was system things, like putting her own pics into the system folder as screen saver pics.

Originally Posted By: Artie505
That's actually not 100% on the mark, Jon.

A while back, tacit reported buying (I think it was) an MBP that shipped with either Lion or Mounty but was capable of running Snowy.

It had something to do with the later machine having the same architecture as an earlier one, but how anyone other than tacit would figure out such a thing is beyond me.

I remember that is something the woman at the Genius Bar said, I was getting the same processor, the same thing as the new 13" MBP, which was $300 more.

Last edited by slolerner; 06/17/15 08:51 PM. Reason: more

Mid 2010 MacBook Pro 13"
2.4GHz, 750GB SATA HD, 8 GB RAM, OS 10.7.5
1 HDX1500 2TB Ext.HD, 2 HDX1500 1TB Ext.HD
HP Laserjet 6MP printing postscript via 10/100 Intel print server
Netgear WN2500RP Range Extender (Ira rocks!)
Linksys WRT1900AC Wireless Router
Brother MFC-9340CDW Color Laser
iPad Air
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34760 06/17/15 08:50 PM
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Check out my latest edit.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34761 06/17/15 08:53 PM
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Originally Posted By: slolerner
Quote:
Part of the cost of that lunch is the requirement to authenticate the change and/or movement of system files and applications.

Yes, it was system things, like putting her own pics into the system folder as screen saver pics.

There's no need to do it that way; she could have achieved the same end by putting them in /Users/xxxxx/Pictures...uhhh...if she new how to find it.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
artie505 #34762 06/17/15 08:56 PM
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Originally Posted By: Artie505
I just looked at what I think is your refurb at Refurbished Mac - Apple Certified - Apple Store (U.S.) and saw this, i.e. that the pic on the screen is Yosemite.

How would anyone know who isn't running Yosemite that the image is not just some wallpaper pic of a mountain? All it says on the refurb page I bought it from is all the system goodies you get, not the OS.

Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34763 06/17/15 09:05 PM
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Quote:
There's no need to do it that way; she could have achieved the same end by putting them in /Users/xxxxx/Pictures...uhhh...if she new how to find it.

She didn't do it, I did. She gave me a bunch of folders on the desktop and after I ran some virus stuff because she was on a PC, I put them in her pictures folder. But they only showed up as a weird box and not a folder when I went to open them up in the screen saver control panel. It was the kind of thing you get when you trash a folder and the system doesn't know it.

(She picked a very long admin password.)

Last edited by slolerner; 06/17/15 09:06 PM. Reason: more

Mid 2010 MacBook Pro 13"
2.4GHz, 750GB SATA HD, 8 GB RAM, OS 10.7.5
1 HDX1500 2TB Ext.HD, 2 HDX1500 1TB Ext.HD
HP Laserjet 6MP printing postscript via 10/100 Intel print server
Netgear WN2500RP Range Extender (Ira rocks!)
Linksys WRT1900AC Wireless Router
Brother MFC-9340CDW Color Laser
iPad Air
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34764 06/17/15 09:06 PM
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Originally Posted By: slolerner
How would anyone know who isn't running Yosemite that the image is not just some wallpaper pic of a mountain? All it says on the refurb page I bought it from is all the system goodies you get, not the OS.

Good question but there are four pictures of pictures of Yosemite National Park sites that are packaged with the OS. But a cursory glance at "About This Mac" would have revealed the OS version number.

Last edited by joemikeb; 06/17/15 09:08 PM.

If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
joemikeb #34765 06/17/15 09:08 PM
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Never been to Yosemite. It's not a stop on the Q Train.

I did not take that cursory look. Shoot me. I was more concerned about which hardware tests were being done, checking the screen for pixel problems, looking for cosmetic damage. Let's not panic or jump to conclusions. They could just be using that screen pic for everything. When I worked in the advertising department of well-known NYC seller of audio, video, computers and music, I kept slipping in a shot of the bird to the left on the TV screens. You have pictures.

As long as it wasn't Superbowl Season, no one really paid attention.

Last edited by slolerner; 06/17/15 09:30 PM. Reason: more
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34766 06/17/15 09:09 PM
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Originally Posted By: slolerner
Originally Posted By: Artie505
I just looked at what I think is your refurb at Refurbished Mac - Apple Certified - Apple Store (U.S.) and saw this, i.e. that the pic on the screen is Yosemite.

How would anyone know who isn't running Yosemite that the image is not just some wallpaper pic of a mountain? All it says on the refurb page I bought it from is all the system goodies you get, not the OS.

Hmmm... Isn't everybody up to date on stuff like that? tongue

And why a pic of an OS X version that has nothing to do with the machine? Some of those refurbs have pics of Mavericks.

My recollection is that Small Dog had my refurb posted with OS X version, but that may have been their own copy, not Apple's.

Quote:
I remember that is something the woman at the Genius Bar said, I was getting the same processor, the same thing as the new 13" MBP, which was $300 more.

According to Mactracker, your MBPs dates are June 2012 - Present.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
artie505 #34769 06/17/15 09:18 PM
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See my post above ^

Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34770 06/17/15 09:40 PM
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Many things are called "Super." It's a funny word. Super Bowl, Superdrive, Superman...

Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34772 06/17/15 10:20 PM
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Originally Posted By: slolerner
See my post above ^

OK, but it doesn't address why later Macs than yours have pics of Mavericks while yours has a pic of Yosemite.

Apple is not usually that haphazard.

Copywriter's option?


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34773 06/17/15 10:21 PM
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From Apple Certified Refurbished Products:

Each Apple Certified Refurbished Product:

...includes either the Mac OS originally shipped with the unit or, in some cases, a more recent version...


Not very helpful, but at least it's a confirmation that the presence of a later OS version on the Mac you bought for your friend isn't a manifestation of the Twlight Zone.



dkmarsh—member, FineTunedMac Co-op Board of Directors
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
dkmarsh #34776 06/17/15 11:09 PM
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I don't think the exact one I bought is up there anymore. I guess if I had been sent to anyone else at the Genius Bar they would have answered that they all ship with Mavericks or higher and then I would have had to make a decision what to do at that time. However, I did d/l a copy of 10.8 that I bought off the website last night (using my computer) and after it is done installing on my USB stick I'll try to start the 2012 up with that so I am certain of my options.

Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34777 06/17/15 11:28 PM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
As additional protection against nefarious activity by malware or hackers, Apple has greatly tightened the requirements for authorizing installation of apps and moving of any folders or files beginning with Mavericks. Get used to it, those constraints will only become more stringent in the future. We all love to brag about our Mac's relative immunity to malware, but as has been noted before, "there aint no free lunch". Part of the cost of that lunch is the requirement to authenticate the change and/or movement of system files and applications.

Ought to be a way to target which threats the computer, given how it is used, is vulnerable to. Like, if you have a network firewall, do you still need all the additional lock-downs? If you don't use your computer at Starbucks, for example. I'm sure more sophisticated owners have modified those new features so they are still useful but less intrusive. Maybe options should be an option.

Last edited by slolerner; 06/17/15 11:33 PM. Reason: More precise
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34778 06/17/15 11:49 PM
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Quote:
I don't think the exact one I bought is up there anymore.

3rd one down? (Refurbished Mac - Apple Certified - Apple Store (U.S.))

Edit: MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 2.9 is the firmware update that applied to your MBP; it doesn't preclude Lion, (Edit:) but it may preclude versions earlier than 10.7.4.

Edit: That may be the answer!

It looks like you got Lion 10.7.0 if you purchased it from the Apple Store. (OS X Lion (10.7) - Apple Store (U.S.))

You may have to install 10.7.0 on some partition somewhere, update it to 10.7.4, and then get it onto the new MBP...by cloning it, I guess.

Last edited by artie505; 06/18/15 12:12 AM.

The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34781 06/18/15 12:20 AM
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It just booted into 10.8... Will it install?

Re: Considering buying Apple Refurb June2012 MBP
slolerner #34782 06/18/15 12:24 AM
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Judging from the firmware update specs it looks to me like anything from 10.7.4 on up other than 10.8.0 and 10.8.1 will run.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
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