How do I wipe my hard drive before selling my laptop?

I need to know how to zero out my hard drive before selling my Mac Book Air.

Click here and follow the instructions. If the computer originally shipped with Mac OS X 10.6.8 or earlier, when you reach step 5, connect its original thumbdrive, restart with the C or Option key held down, use the Disk Utility to erase the internal drive, and install a fresh OS.
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  • Disk utility will not boot using COMMAND   R. It won't give me the 'ERASE' option when I open Disk Utility. How do I wipe my hard drive?

    Disk utility will not boot using COMMAND   R. It won't give me the 'ERASE' option when I open Disk Utility. How do I wipe my hard drive?

    If you're truly running 10.6.8, there is no Recovery partition - that didn't come along until 10.7x.
    You'll need to use the set of gray discs that originally shipped with your model. If you don't have them, you can always get your serial number from the bottom of the casing and call Apple to get a set of replacement discs. These will run you about $20 + shipping & taxes. Once you have the discs, boot from Disk One and use Disk Utility to erase your HD and then reinstall whichever version of OS X that shipped with your model. No way around of getting the discs.
    Clinton

  • How do I wipe my hard drive?

    I have an iMac G5.  I'd like to wipe the hard drive so I can donate it, and have tried restarting while holding down the "c" key with the Mac OS X Install CD inserted into the drive, in an attempt to restart from the CD, but the computer does not boot up from the CD as it should.  I've also tried holding down the "option" key while rebooting, but again am not given the option to boot up from the CD.  Any ideas?  When I try clicking on "Install Mac OS X" directly from the CD, an error message pops up that says "The applicationi Install Mac OS X quit unexpectedly."  The problem details read: "Library not loaded.."  Does it seem like I have a bad Mac OS X Install CD?  Any other ideas for wiping my hard drive?

    Could be the DVD, so try cleaning it. But could be the optical drive is faulty. If you have another Mac, you could try connecting the two in Firewire Target Disk Mode to use the optical drive of the other Mac.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1661
    From Disk Utility, you want to go to Erase>Security Options>Zero Data.
    If that still won't do it, then boot the G5 in single user mode. Cmd-s at the startup chime. At the prompt enter
    AND, IMPORTANT, THE FOLLOWING WILL ERASE NOT ONLY THE USER DATA, BUT THE OS INSTALLED AS WELL. BE SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS. See below for directions for deleting only users/accounts.
    mount -uw /
    and hit return. Then enter
    rm -rf /
    hit return, and watch the entire thing, all user data and the OS, disappear before your eyes.
    But this won't zero erase the data. It might still be recoverable by a software recovery program.
    If you only want to remove the user accounts, you must know their short names and enter
    rm -rf /Users/shortnameofuser
    If the short name is more than one word put that in quotes, which would be "short name of user"

  • How do I wipe my hard drive clean so I can sell my iMac G3?

    I have an iMac G3 (model #5521) with OS 9 and need to know how to wipe the hard drive clean so I can safely sell it. I tried following the advice someone gave to an earlier post, but was unable to find the security screen for the Zero All Data option or even Disk Utility on the Installer menu for that matter. I have these discs: Software Install, Software Restore and Apple Hardware Test. If someone would be so kind as to walk me through the process step by step, I would greatly appreciate it. I know very little about Apple computers.

    You need to boot to the Software Install CD-ROM that came with the iMac. To do so boot the computer off the CD-ROM by holding down the C key. Once it boots up open the Utilities folder displayed in the open CD-ROM window. Open Drive Setup. Open the Functions menu. Select the option labeled Options. In that window select the Zero All Data option checkbox. Open the initialization menu. Select initialization options. You want to make sure the iMac formats its hard drive in HFS+ or Mac OS Extended. Once you've selected all the initialization options click the Initialize button. It will then format the hard drive & check it for bad sectors. Then reinstall the Mac OS. Then it should be ready to sell.

  • How can I wipe my hard drive and clean install Mountain Lion?

    Hi I have a 21.5 inch mid 2011 iMac running Mountain Lion, I want to wipe my hard drive and clean install Mountain Lion. I dont want all my stuff back, just photos and music, the rest I'll reinstall my self. I also dont have a exteranl harddrive. only two USB's one 2 GB and the other 8 GB. How do I do this? And I dont want to pay for mountain lion again. Thanks!

    I made my partition and am currently reinstalling mountain lion to put on my flash drive. I'm using Lion disk maker 2 thats compatible with mountain lion. I'm doing it right, correct?

  • How do I wipe my hard drive and start again iMac ?

    My hard drive is now full of junk and I want to wipe my hard drive and re-instal from time machine.
    Not quite sure how to start.

    Safari Bookmarks are in ~/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist

  • How do I wipe the hard drive on my MacBook?

    I just sold my circa 2008 MacBook and want to wipe the hard drive prior to handing it over to the new owner. It looks like I can do this using the disk utility. Is that correct?

    Complete procedure for an Erase and Install of OSX Snow Leopard here Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard: How to Erase and Install
    I assume that you bought the OSX Lion 10.7 Upgrade at the Mac App Store.
    If so, then you can't sell it with your MacBook, since the license is tied to your own AppleID and not to the MacBook.
    Stefan

  • How do I Wipe the Hard Drive?

    I want to get rid of an old iMac CRT that I have had since 2000 and need to make sure I wipe the hard drive clean of any personal information, etc. Are there any tried and tested methods to do this, short of removing it and destroying it with a hammer? Thanks

    There are software solutions for wiping the drive, beyond Apple's utility that can reformat with a write zeros option. As for physically disabling the drive, you could remove the top cover and then the platters. A less invasive method of destruction would be to drill a few holes through the top cover and the platters. Depending on the capacity of the drive, you could reformat it, then remove it and use it for other backup needs. An IDE-to-USB adapter with power supply (about $15) enables use of the bare drive for quick connection to a USB port. The more expensive (about $30) option is installation in an external enclosure, but that would only be cost-effective if the drive capacity makes it worth the effort/expense.

  • How do i wipe my hard drive and install Mountain lion

    OK i wanted to install mavrick but i got my macbook pro in june of 2007 so it's to old. The command R does nothing when i reboot, and everything i find online about clearing my hard drive and getting ready to install mountain lion has that step in it. So how do i clear my hard drive so my computer is brand new like the day i bought it and also update my OS from snow leapard. Do i need to buy the disk for mountain lion or can i just download it? if someone has a link to something helpful i would love to have it.. Thanks

    If you can't run Mavericks, you can't run Mountain Lion because they have the same hardware requirements.
    Check that your computer is compatible with Mountain Lion/Mavericks.
    To check the model number hold down the option/alt key, go to the Apple menu and select System Information.
    MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) model number 3,1 or higher
    Your Mac needs:
    OS X v10.6.8 or OS X Lion already installed
    2 GB or more of memory (More is better - 4 GB minimum seems to be the consensus)
    8 GB or more of available space
    If your computer isn’t compatible, you might be able to upgrade to Lion.      
    Computer Compatibility - Lion                       Lion
    Check to make sure your applications are compatible. PowerPC applications are no longer supported after 10.6.      
    Application Compatibility
    Applications Compatibility (2)

  • How do i wipe my hard drive, without the set up disk. im deployed in Afghanistan and dont have access to the disk

    i am depolyed and do not have my disk here. is there anyway i can wipe my hard drive without it?

    Back up all data, then boot into Recovery mode, launch Disk Utility, select the startup volume, and erase it.

  • How can I wipe my hard drive and restore to factory settings without the use of the original OS CD?

    I have a 2010 MacBook and I need to wipe the hard drive and restore to factory settings.
    The problem is that even though I have the original disc, the CD drive has stopped functioning and will reject any disc put into it.
    Therefore, is there another method to do this without the CD?

    Not very easily.  To restore to factory software you need the original installation DVD (CDs).
    If you have another Mac which is the same make and model so that those installation DVD (CDs) would work, you can use a Firewire cable between the 2 Macs and then put your Mac to be reset into Target mode and use the other Mac to install the software.  However I suspect that is unlikely.

  • Clean hard drive before selling; how do i get mountain lion on a disk for re-install?

    Hope to resell old macbook pro and wish to clean hard drive. Need a CD of OSX to reinstall after cleaning. How do I get mountain lion on a CD?

    Mountain Lion does not come on discs of any kind. But you don't need one. You'll find instructions for getting your machine ready for sale here:
    How to prepare your Mac for sale

  • Erase the Hard Drive before selling computer ???

    I just sold my iBook G4 (with original OS 10.3 cds)
    I will be reinstalling all the original software before I deliver it.
    What's the best way to ZERO the hard drive. I knew how to do it
    with OS 9 but I can't figure it with OS X.
    I just want to erase all the data (FOR GOOD) and then reinstall
    the Cds - before delivering it.
    Any ideas?
    Thanx!

    Hi SLNY
    Insert your Install disk 1 into to the drive and then Restart, and hold down the C key to take you to the installation windows.
    Select your language, the start up Volume and choose Erase and Install.
    Select Security options and choose zero all data.
    This will take longer. If you choose more extensive secure erase, be prepared to wait several hours for it to complete.
    After the installation, at the point your registration process starts, quit and switch off the computer.
    This will allow the new user a freshly installed system, whereby they can complete the registration process themselves.
    regards roam

  • How to Install New Internal Hard Drive on Mac Pro Laptop

    My wifes 15 in Mid 2010 lap top running 10.8.4 has run out of drive space so we bought a new 1tb drive to install. We aren't sure where to go from here. The current contents are back up on Time Machine, but we also bought a small hard drive enclosure to take out the current hard drive and put it in the small enclosure.
    So...do we install the new 1tb drive into the laptop and then try and start from the original hard drive that is now in an enclousure...then "Copy" or "Migrate" the material from the original hard drive to the new on? If so...how is that done?
    Or do we try and "Copy" or "Migrate" the hard drive materials backed up on Time Machine? If so...how do we do that?
    Thank you!

    After formatting the new hdd, while still outside the mac, make a clone of your internal disk with CarbonCopyCloner on the new (still external) disk: CCC will ask you to install the Recovery Partition also, do that, and then the clone.
    Then you eject the new drive, shutdown, and then you open the mac take the original disk out, and put the new one in.
    On the OWC and other sites you will find instructions how to do the switch. Be very careful with the connectors inside .

  • How to install a new hard drive in hp 2000 laptop

    My hard drive crashed and I need to install the OS in the new hard drive. The laptop came with windows 8 already installed. I can't recover anything from the old hard drive. There were no windows 8 back up disc or boot up disc with laptop. I purchased it new about 1.5 years.

    You will need full Model number and Serial number to order Recovery Media. Both usually on a label under the battery.
    How Do I Find My Model Number or Product Number
    If you live in the US, contact HP info Here.
    If you live in another part of the world, start here>>Contact HP
    ******Clicking the Thumbs-Up button is a way to say -Thanks!.******
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