[REQUEST] Reinstall El Capitan without using a apple id?

[timeshifter]

Look up your Mac serial number here:

https://checkcoverage.apple.com/

Here's what you'll find:

 

[overburnz]

It’s obsolete :/ have you tried reseating the lvds cable? Is the lcd temperature cable plugged in? (Its a small one plugged in the lower left near the left speaker), are all the cables plugged in? Those models have 4/5 cables if one is not plugged ou not properly seated it could be the cause.
Or it’s the display that went and met is maker

 

[ell]

It’s obsolete :/ have you tried reseating the lvds cable? Is the lcd temperature cable plugged in? (Its a small one plugged in the lower left near the left speaker), are all the cables plugged in? Those models have 4/5 cables if one is not plugged ou not properly seated it could be the cause.
Or it’s the display that went and met is maker

thanks for the suggestions, I think I've put plenty of time into this already that I'm not charging for (my mac ignorance I don't bill for) I'm going to chalk it up as a learning experience. Thankfully its just a kids machine that was given to them, I just hate to disappoint.

 

[Your PCMD]

As @Markverhyden said, Find My Mac and 2FA. If it did not have FMM on, then at the Apple ID screen, you would be given a prompt to setup without ID. Much like Windows has setup without a COA key.

 

[Computer Bloke]

On the bright side, you have the makings of a nice little Linux machine here...

 

[ell]

On the bright side, you have the makings of a nice little Linux machine here...

could have if it wasn't for the black screen

 

[sapphirescales]

You can disable the Find my Mac crap by doing a proper PRAM reset then erasing the hard drive/ssd using a flash drive with Mac OS on it. You can't do a proper PRAM reset without an Apple keyboard. To see if the FMM crap is enabled, run the terminal with this command:

nvram -p | grep fmm

If someone's name comes up then FMM is activated. Do a PRAM reset and it will get rid of it.

 

[Markverhyden]

You can disable the Find my Mac crap by doing a proper PRAM reset then erasing the hard drive/ssd using a flash drive with Mac OS on it. You can't do a proper PRAM reset without an Apple keyboard. To see if the FMM crap is enabled, run the terminal with this command:

nvram -p | grep fmm

If someone's name comes up then FMM is activated. Do a PRAM reset and it will get rid of it.

Thanks @sapphirescales, interesting sort of undocumented feature. So I decided to check it out. Flashing the PRAM does remove that entry but when the machine boots to the existing OS it reloads those values. But when I check in iCloud FMM is turned off FMM when it was on before. Explains why my MBP Retina is no longer discovered in FMM. The big question is what happens with a new drive and if the machine is a pre firmware restore or a post firmware restore. If Apple hasn't fixed this issue with the newer firmware machines, doubt it will be done with the older ones, we may a solution for this pesky problem.

 

[sapphirescales]

Thanks @sapphirescales, interesting sort of undocumented feature. So I decided to check it out. Flashing the PRAM does remove that entry but when the machine boots to the existing OS it reloads those values. But when I check in iCloud FMM is turned off FMM when it was on before. Explains why my MBP Retina is no longer discovered in FMM. The big question is what happens with a new drive and if the machine is a pre firmware restore or a post firmware restore. If Apple hasn't fixed this issue with the newer firmware machines, doubt it will be done with the older ones, we may a solution for this pesky problem.

I'm sure this is why Apple is so obsessed with the new security chips on their newest models. Before the security was stored in the PRAM. If you replace the hard drive AND reset the PRAM at the same time, FMM is permanently disabled. If you want to keep the same HDD/SSD then just zap the PRAM and then boot from the installer USB without letting it boot from the existing installation of Mac OS. Then just wipe the HDD and viola! FMM is permanently disabled.

Instead of zapping the PRAM you can also just run this terminal command from the installer USB before wiping out the hard drive:

sudo nvram -c

 

[Markverhyden]

Security is very important. Including the anti-theft provisions. But I'm sure Apple management is more than ecstatic that it makes it even harder, actually almost impossible, for non-AASP's to do anything with their stuff. Of course that just gives even more ammo for those trying to get legislation passed to address this.