Changing account info on imac

[Josh Bishop]

Hello, I'm new to the forum and, honestly, new to macs. The situation is this - I received my grandfather's mac when he
passed away. The account is in his name, and I'm trying to change the account/admin name to myself. He didn't leave any info, passwords, etc. and of course, my grandmother has no clue, she never really used it. I don't think used it very often either. It is a 2007 imac, software - Mac OS X 10.6.8 if that's needed. It's also running a bit slow, it freezes up for a few seconds when I'm checking emails, or trying to upload images. I appreciate any help, thank you
Josh

 

[honestone]

OK, first, did you receive any DVDs with the iMac, and specifically the one for the OS, Snow Leopard V10.6.8? Unless you have access to another Mac, then only way you'll be able to "reset" the account is to boot the iMac from the Snow Leopard DVD, use Disk Utility to Erase and Format that machine's internal hard drive, do a clean installation of OS 10.6.8, and then go through all the account setup process.

However, there are challenges you face. First, given that the machine is 9 years old, if it still has the original internal hard drive, that drive could be "going on its last legs", so to speak. Secondly, if the machine has only 1 Gig of emory (which is what the machine shipped with), then trying to run Snow Leopard with that little amount of memory will be a challenge. This link explains a lot of this, along with upgrade options:

http://lowendmac.com/2007/imac-mid-2007/

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

It's also running a bit slow, it freezes up for a few seconds when I'm checking emails, or trying to upload images

Can I please ask what account are you using considering you have no access to passwords?

 

[Josh Bishop]

sorry for not getting back sooner. Thanks for the responses, I didn't receive any DVDs. And, Spawn Dooley, what account are you referring to?