Cleaning the hard drive

I have been asked to look at some Mac machines, at least one has OS X, and to remove all files and documents. The owner would like to donate them minus any personal information. Will a clean install be the best technique?
iMac   Mac OS X (10.4.3)  
iMac   Mac OS X (10.4.3)  

Greetings and welcome.
The short answer is "Yes". The longer answer depends on how secure you want the erasure to be.
What you could also do is to put all the personal information into the trash, and then "Secure Empty Trash" (From the apple menu). Then do a clean install.

Similar Messages

  • How to install lion cleaning the hard drive

    I have a MacBook I am currently running Liuon but have previously installed Leopard and Snow Leopard without clearing the hard drive first.
    The machine has now three operating systems installed and is running very slow.
    It has been suggested that I make a copy of the hard drive, before erasing all the information and loading Lion on a clean hard drive.
    How do i do this?

    Install Lion to a blank drive or partition, including one created with the Disk Utility, and then either use the Migration Assistant or copy your files to the new system manually as desired.
    (66830)

  • Clean the hard drive before OS upgrade?

    Upgrading from Snow Leopard to Yosemite. I trashed 100gb of old files. I double saved my photos and music and emails. Backed everything up with Time Machine. Wondering at this point if I should just wipe the hard drive and start with a clean machine.
    Thank you, Andy

    That probably isn't really necessary, but this you should do:
    Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
    Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
    If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

  • I just bought a iMac G5   iSight from my school, how do I clean the hard drive and set it up as a new iMac, I just bought a iMac G5   iSight from my school, how do I clean the hard drive and set it up as a new iMac

    I just bought an iMac G5 with iSight. How do I wipe the hard drive and set it up as a new iMac

    Boot from your Mac OS X installer DVD.  After selecting a language, choose "Disk Utility" from the menu bar.
    When Disk Utility launches, use the "Zero Out Data" option under the Erase tab.  Erase the entire disk, not only the free space.
    One pass of zeros is secure enough for normal use.  One pass will take a couple of hours, so plan some time.
    Message was edited by: EZ Jim

  • I need to recycle my old G3-how do I clean the hard drive on a 9.2 system before recycling it.??

    Any tips on how to get rid of all my data on hard drive before the recyler gets it?
    My system is 9.2 its an old g3 mac.

    I disagree with your choice of a solution.
    1) The answer does not mention removing the platters that contain the data from the drive, so I guess you'll just smash the whole unit. I don't know how recyclers operate in detail but making a mess of the drive will likely make it more difficult (impossible?) for the recycler to isolate the components that are hazardous or valuable.  I could give you a bag of food and you could pick out the canned items, but if I run over the bag with a car a couple of times you would likely just throw the whole lot in the trash.
    2) Removing a drive and taking out the platters would take you just as long as booting it up, erasing it with write zeros in Drive Setup while you do something else.
    3) Some people can actually make use of a non-pulverized old drive.  There are still people around who run G3s and look for compatible drives, especially if they are free.  I know our local waste dropoff place also has a pickup area where you can look for things you can use, including electronics.  The last couple of G3s I wanted gone I just posted on Craigslist and I had several takers (as recently as 6 months ago).

  • How to 'clean' the hard drive before selling

    I just bought a MBP and plan to sell my black MacBook. Is there any way I can be sure all my personal info and settings are set as default. I will transfer my files to the new computer, but what about the settings like network passwords, internet files, etc... Is there an Apple tool to do this? Thanks a lot!

    HI,
    If you have purchased items from the iTunes store on the MacBook, make sure and go online with it, launch iTunes and from the Menu Bar, click Store/Deauthorize computer.
    *Erasing disks securely*
    Usually when you erase a disk or volume, Disk Utility only erases the information used to access the files on the disk, not the actual files. Because of this, the erased files can be recovered.
    If you want to erase the files so that they cannot be recovered, you can select security options to write zeros over the disk space. To make it more difficult to recover the files on the disk, you can specify doing this once, seven times, or 35 times. If you have a large disk, overwriting the free space several times can take a long time.
    In Disk Utility, select the disk you want to erase and click Erase.
    Specify a volume format and name for the disk.
    Click Security Options and select the option you want to use. Click OK.
    Click Erase.
    If you select your startup disk, the buttons are dimmed because you can't erase your startup disk. To erase your computer's startup disk, you must start up from another disk. You can use your Mac OS X Install disc or the Software Restore disc that came with your computer.
    Carolyn

  • Can I restore snow leopard on my 2007 17" macbook pro if I wipe the hard-drive as I don't have the original start up discs?

    I am trying to clean the hard-drive of my 2007 17" macbook pro ready for sale but I don't have the original instal discs. I do have instal discs for a similar 15" model but it doesn't accept them. I am currently running osx 10.6.4. Any suggestions as to how I can erase unwanted content or return to original settings?
    Thanks, Howard

    press "T" immediately after power on, connect mac to other mac with firewire cable - it will be visible as external drive(s)
    in the end unmount it and shut down with power button

  • I am trying to re-install Creative Suite 5.5 Design Standard on my Widows 7 Professional computer after I had to replace the hard drive. I keep getting error message and I get "Exit Code 15: Media DB Sync failed". I have run C Cleaner with same results. H

    I am trying to re-install Creative Suite 5.5 Design Standard on my Widows 7 Professional computer after I had to replace the hard drive. I keep getting error message and I get "Exit Code 15: Media DB Sync failed". I have run C Cleaner with same results. Have Disabled UAC and Startup items and Services with no success. Please help - frustrated to no end. Can someone help me?

    make sure you're using the adobe cleaner, not crap cleaner, Use the CC Cleaner Tool to solve installation problems | CC, CS3-CS6
    copy the installation files to a desktop folder and install from there.

  • I downloaded Lion on my iMac.  It apparently cleaned out the hard drive.  Nothing shows up from before.  It looks like a brand new computer.  It is backed up on Time machine.  Any idea of why this happened and suggestions on restoring?  Thanks.

    I downloaded Lion on my 4 yr old iMac.  The download stalled at the last minute so I clicked "CANCEL".  When it was restarted, Lion was there, with no apparent option but to go ahead and install so I assumed it was okay.  Didn't transfer data from "another computer" when prompted - assumed it would transfer from that computer.  It apparently cleaned out the hard drive.  It looks like a brand new computer.  None of my apps, programs,  files, or thousands of photos.   It is backed up on Time machine, but it's a sickening sight.  Any idea why this happened and suggestions before restoring?  Thanks.

    I cannot find this 300GB "Backup" in the Finder, only in the Storage info when I check "About This Mac".
    You are probably using Time Machine to backup your MacBook Pro, right? Then the additional 300 GB could be local Time Machine snapshots.  Time Machine will write the hourly backups to the free space on your hard disk, if the backup drive is temporarily not connected. You do not see these local backups in the Finder, and MacOS will delete them, when you make a regular backup to Time Machine, or when you need the space for other data.
    See Pondini's page for more explanation:   What are Local Snapshots?   http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
    I have restarted my computer, but the information remains the same. How do I reclaim the use of the 300GB? Why is it showing up as "Backups" when it used to indicate "Photos"? Are my photos safe on the external drive?
    You have tested the library on the external drive, and so your photos are save there.  
    The local TimeMachine snapshot probably now contains a backup of the moved library.  Try, if connecting your Time Machine drive will reduce the size of your local Time Machine snapshots.

  • I have an old imac G3 desk top computer that I would like to donate.  I need to clean up the hard drive.  How do I do this?

    I have an old imac G3 desk top computer that I would like to donate.  I need to clean up the hard drive.  HOw do I do this?

    If you have a Mac OS 8.x or 9.x CD (depending on the iMac model), look for a Drive Setup utility somewhere on that disc. Boot from the CD while holding down the C key. Initialise the hard disk with a 'Zero all data' option chosen.
    Jan

  • How do I deauthorize my ibook G4 and wipe the hard drive clean?

    How do I deauthorize my ibook G4 and wipe the hard drive clean?

    Launch iTunes. From the menu bar click Store / Deauthorize This Computer.
    (Mac OS X 10.4): Erasing a disk or volume
    Or...   Mac OS X 10.4): Erasing disks securely

  • I want to wipe the hard drive on my apple G4 powerbook clean. I do not have the original discs that came with the laptop. I do have the OS x 10.4 disc that I purchased. When I reinstall 10.4 will that disc also have itunes iphoto and safari on it.

    I have an apple powerbook g4 running 10.3.9 which my daughter gave me. However all the installation discs were lost. I just purchaed OS x Panther for it. I want to wipe the hard drive clean to get rid of all of her personal information as I want to donate the laptop to a needy family. Do I need the installation discs or will the panther os x disc have everything that I need to wipe the hard drive clean and install panther. I do have an external hard drive.

    Hello again,
    Some of those applications you mention will not be on the recently purchased OS 10.3 Panther disk so you'll need to make a copy of them so you can restore them later.
    Copy to your external drive;
    iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes* and you may also have World Book 2003 depending what bonus software was installed when new. There may be other Non Apple applications you want to keep also.
    *You could probably still get a download of iTunes but because it is such an old version, to save searching for it, make a copy of it while it is in front of you.
    Everything else will be the 10.3 Panther disk including Safari.
    Ideally with original disks, the process would be:
    Insert your Install disk 1 into the drive and then Restart, and hold down the C key to take you to the installation windows.
    Select your language, the start up Disk and choose Erase and Install.
    At the point your registration process starts, abandon the registration, quit and eject the disk and switch of the computer.
    This will allow the new user a freshly installed system, whereby they can complete the registration process themselves.
    However...
    But as you want to add back iPhoto and iMovie etc, you'll proceed to create an Admin account, in order to add back those applications, by copying them from the external drive back to the Applications folder. After doing that you are finished.
    Instruct the new user can create their own Admin account, (more than one can exist) and thereafter deleting the first one you created.
    This would achieve a fresh setup akin to the original.

  • Importing and organizing photo files lightroom 5 for the first time. Clean up hard drive photo files

    I have a trial version of lightroom 5 and would like once and forall to bring some order to both my hard drives and lightroom 5 collection. Some photos in lightroom 5 seem to have lost their path. some are in Window 7 folders and others are in Elements 9. I have made back up copies of some folders and would like to have a more systematic approach to back them up from now on. I have a NAS (network access storage) device and an extra hard drive I thought it would be best to use my laptop as the primary working memory for my photo files as it would be faster than working with the NAS or external, and then back everything up to the NAS and external. I see the main challenge as  consolidating all of the files and whereever possible preserving the ratings I have given photos; I would like to eliminate duplicats. on both the hard drive and in lightroom. i have looked at one of the initial training vidios on the 'library' section of adobe help and the presenter talked of two methods of importing photos,. the first and the one I think I will use going forward is to open lightroom and import from the sd card directly as opposed to having Windows 7 import and then having lightroom find them. If someone kows of a comprehensive list of instructions to follow to clean up my hard drives that would be extremly helpful? Peter

    I doubt there is a list of instructions to clean up a hard drive, because every starting sitaution is different, and your "clean" is probably a lot different than my "clean".
    But let's clear up a few things first. Based on your writing, it seems like you think you have photos stored in PSE and photos stored in LR. This is not correct. Neither of these programs store your photos. All of your photos are on your hard disk, in folders, somewhere.
    With regards to missing photos in Lightroom, when you move or rename photos and folders OUTSIDE of Lightroom, Lightroom no longer knows where they are, and reports them as missing. To fix it, see: http://www.computer-darkroom.com/lr2_find_folder/find-folder.htm Related to this, you don't want to "clean up" things in Windows and also "clean things" up in Lightroom. Instead, once you import photos into Lightroom, you should do all photo management in Lightroom, not Windows, otherwise you will just be creating more missing files.
    With regards to duplicates, Lightroom has some tools to detect duplicates. It will try to prevent duplicates on import, and if you do manage to import duplicates, you can use the "AutoStack by Capture Time" to try to find additional duplicates. But if those don't work, then you're pretty much on your own.
    With regards to putting photos on your laptop to work on them rather than your external HD, I think you will find that this provides a tiny fraction of a second improvement in speed which you may not even notice, which will be offset by the time you spend moving photos to somewhere else when you are done. So, just put the photos in their final destination folder on your external HD or NAS, and don't bother moving them to the internal HD.
    Which brings up another point. Once you have accomplished this "clean up", your workflow should be to put the photos in one place, and then don't move them! (Exception: running out of space on disk, or moving to a new disk/computer) Make your life as simple as possible.
    One last point: strongly consider using keywords and other metadata to achieve organization, instead of moving photos/folders from here to there to achieve organization. These tools in Lightroom give you ability to organize in much more powerful and flexible organization than anything you can do by moving photos/folders from here to there. (Side note: if you want all photos in some sort of centralized location because it meets your storage needs, then do that because it meets your storage needs. Within that collection of photos in a centralized location, use keywords and other metadata to achieve organization and for searching)

  • What is the best app for cleaning up the hard drive?

    What is the best app for cleaning up the hard drive?

    No such application needed.
    Leave 10 to 15% disk space free.
    Restart once in a while.
    Keep a backup, clone preferably.
    If there is any problem with the disk, repair disk.
        Repair Disk
        Steps 1 through 7
        http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836
    Best.

  • Installing a clean OS X Mavericks without erasing the hard drive?

    Is it possible to install a "clean" OS X Mavericks (i.e. a fresh OS, NOT just upgrading over the existing OS) without erasing the hard drive? I might be dating myself here, but I recall being able to do this with previous OS upgrades. I'm currently running Mountain Lion and think maybe something has gotten corrupted. I am specifically having trouble with Time Machine. I'm hoping a fresh OS will fix it, but I'd rather not erase my hard drive. Since Time Machine isn't working, backing up and restoring the hard drive would be tedious.

    Use the Disk Utility to repartition the drive, or install Mavericks onto an external one. The Archive & Install option was removed in 10.6.
    (101375)

Maybe you are looking for

  • How to Extract  data from a transaction..

    Hi All There are some transactions and report programs which are used daily to produce some results and the requirement is to extract that data into BW so how can we extract information from a transactions and programs Any help will be really appreci

  • FA: Wrong deprecation calculations

    Dear Value Consultant I already calculate deprecation with wrong percent cause from the beginning I assigned the assets item to wrong accounts category Now what I can do? my case the assets is calculated deprecation for 3 period past and already post

  • How to run the setup tables in CRM for 0CRM_LEAD_I datasource.

    Hi all, How to run the setup tables in CRM for 0CRM_LEAD_I datasource. what is the tcode and steps to follow. Thankyou.

  • Web.accButton("Xpath") does NOT work with error "failed to respond"

    web.accButton("web:dialog_unknown[@text='Do you want to open or save this file?']/web:accPushButton[@index='1' or @name='Save']").click(); Got exception: Object "/web:dialog_unknown[@text='Do you want to open or save this file?']/web:accPushButton[@i

  • Incrementing dates in Forms 6i

    Hi I am setting up a form using Forms 6i which includes data on delivery type and delivery date. The delivery type has three options "first class", "second Class" and "Next Day" and these have been created as a static LOV. I am trying to get the deli