I bought a second hand iMac 27 and used a Time Machine backup from my MacBook Air to initialize it. After uploading the iMac freezes after I restart and enter my password. Booting up in safe mode has those two words in red at the top of the screen but the freeze remains. Help please!
To be honest buying a used Mac for most people is a gamble at best. Why, simple experience has shown most used Macs are not setup correctly for resale per directions in What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac. What happens to the new owner if these instructions are not followed is they have purchased a paperweight that cannot be used. Why, again simple that means the computer is still associated with the original owner and always will be meaning its useless to a new owner.
As a general rule of thumb NEVER EVER purchased a used Mac from:
If you cannot afford a new Mac then buy an Apple Refurbished Mac from Apple's online store. If that is still too expensive (they are roughly 15% cheaper than new) then only buy a used Mac from a trusted source such as Macsales.com
My advice, return what you bought and get your money back. If you cannot, you can consider this as a lesson on why you should do your due diligence before you spend your hard earned money!
Your computer will still not operate correctly unless the steps in What to do before you sell, give away or trade in your Mac are followed. The computer will always be associated with the original owner.
Sorry you did not appreciate the advice provided however, it is correct.
Sorted — CTRL+R during reboot seeks out the last version of the MacOS. Worked like a charm.
No thanks to the first respondent for his unhelpful comment.
Imac Frozen after password
