How do I erase my hard drive on my old mac G4 I have tried several suggestions without success

I have the old install discs, have opened old mac holding down the C key and have move to disk utility. I clicked on erase and Mac HD and get a screen involving remving free space but unable to click on any options--all gray. Any help out there?

What happens when you select the drive itself (top line with makers designation and size) rather than the volume (Macintosh HD)?
You should lose the 'free space' option but have the 'security options' and 'erase' buttons live.
Then try the 'partition' tab (still with the drive selected) - select '1 partition' from the drop down and see if the volume information on the right and the buttons at the bottom become live.
If they do, proceed from there - name the HD, select the format and click 'apply'.

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How do i down load mountain lion??? I have tried several times without success

How do i download mountain lion. I have tried several times without success

If you are actually running 10.4. 11, you cannot download Mountain Lion. You must be running at least 10.6.8 to download Mountain Lion (or anything after 10.6.8).
If you have one of the original Mac Pros, you will not be able to upgrade to Mountain Lion or Mavericks. Lion is as far as you can go.
Go to About This Mac, More Info button. Look under Hardware for Mac Identifier. You need a macpro3,1 or later.
Not that it really makes any difference, but you've posted this on the Mavericks forum, not the Mountain Lion forum.

How do I erase my hard drive? My initial operating system was Snow Leopard but I have upgraded to Mavericks OS. My Snow Leopard install disk ejects when I try and use it.

How do I erase my hard drive? My initial operating system was Snow Leopard but I have upgraded to Mavericks OS. My Snow Leopard install disk ejects when I try and use it.

Do a backup, preferable 2 separate ones on 2 drives. Boot to the Recovery Volume (command - R on a restart or hold down the option/alt key during a restart and select Recovery Volume). Run Disk Utility Verify/Repair and Repair Permissions until you get no errors. Reformat the drive using Disk Utility/Erase Mac OS Extended (Journaled), then click the Option button and select GUID. Then re-install the OS.
OS X Recovery
OS X Recovery (2)
When you reboot, use Setup Assistant to restore your data.

With Lion, How Can I Erase the Hard Drive and Reinstall The System Software?

I plan on buying a used iMac with a Core 2 Duo so that I can run Lion. Since Lion can only be purchased at the Mac App store what if I needed to erase my hard drive and re-install the system software. How can I do this without a DVD with the OS on it like I have for Snow Leapard. I suppose that I could boot from my Snow Leapard DVD and do the erase. Then, I supposed I would be able to download Lion again from the Mac App Store without paying for it again. But, how would you erase a hard drive and reinstall the system software when purchasing a new Mac with Lion already installed and no DVD at all with the OS on it?
-- Kaydell

When someone purchases any Apple computer with a DVD Drive, they should have recieved two DVDs... One contains the Operating System (up to Snow Leopard, Lion no longer ships on DVD) and the other contains the SYSTEM SOFTWARE (i.e. iLife and iWork). To install the software, they just insert the DVD with the SYSTEM SOFTWARE into any compatible Mac and run the installer. There is no need to erase the hard drive to install SYSTEM SOFTWARE. Maybe a friend can let you borrow the SYSTEM SOFTWARE DVD. The other option is to purchase the software via the App Store.
FYI... App Store purchases are linked to the PURCHASER'S APPLE ID. So if you buy a used Mac from a friend and that Mac already has Lion installed on it,that Lion purchase is linked to YOUR FRIEND'S APPLE ID, not yours. So if you want to download Lion again, you will have to enter your FRIEND'S APPLE ID AND PASSWORD. You can always have your friend re-download Lion and make you a DVD copy.

How do I erase the hard drive on my mac mini with OS X lion

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Restart with the Command and R keys held down and use the Disk Utility from there.
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How can I erase my hard drive?

I just sold my computer. How can I erase the hard drive? Thanks1

To prepare it for sale you should follow these instructions:
What to do before selling or giving away your Mac
In addition to the above:
If you enabled FileVault, disable it in System Preferences > Security & Privacy.
"Deauthorize" your iTunes account. Same for Audible if you have one.
System Preferences > iCloud > de-select "Back to My Mac" and "Find my Mac".
Sign out of iCloud. Select "Delete from Mac" when it appears.
Then:
Start your Mac with its original System Installation DVD (if your Mac shipped with one) or OS X Recovery (if it didn’t).
Remove any Open Firmware password if you created one: select Firmware Password Utility from the Utilities menu and remove it.
Select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
Remove any partitions you may have created.
Select the Mac's hard disk icon, then select the "Erase" tab.
Select the "Security Options" button and erase the disk.
The more "securely" you erase the disk, the longer it will take. The fastest method is sufficient since all but the most expensive techniques and equipment will be able to recover securely erased data.
When it finishes, quit Disk Utility.
Select Install Mac OS X from the Utilities menu. Do not create any user accounts.
When it finishes, shut down the computer.
If you want to install the bundled apps that were included with your Mac, restart by using your Applications DVD and install the bundled apps.
Don't forget to include any DVDs that came with your iMac, your AppleCare certificate if you bought it, printed documentation, even the box if you still have it.
Execute a bill of sale showing the Mac's serial number.
Once no longer in your possesion, remove the Mac from your devices in My Support Profile.

How can I erase My hard drive. Disk utility only gives me the option of erase free space. I have 27in iMac with Lion and 12 gb ram.

How can I erase my hard drive? Disk utility only gives me the option to erase free space.
Thanks for any assistance.

Drive Preparation for Lion
1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU to return to the main menu.
5. Select Reinstall Lion then click on the Continue button. You need an active network connection in order to download the Lion software.

How do i erase the hard drive and reinstall?

How do i erase the hard drive and reinstall everything? My computer is running slow and i thought with having a 2.4ghz processor and 4gb of ram would make speed not a factor but obviously i was wrong in that my comp is running slow. Not as slow as my pentium processor desktop but its too slow for my tastes. Im waiting to get an external hd so i can save my songs and pictures to before i do erase everything.

Go to finder and in Spotlight, type in erase and install. The second choice is "Reinstall OS X. Print that out and follow the directions.
Good Luck.
Adam

How large can an internal hard drive be on a Mac Pro part #ZOD8 ?

How large can an internal hard drive be on a Mac Pro part #ZOD8 ?

Mac Pro tower can support drives up to 4TB is size.
If running 10.8.4, 10.8.5 or 10.9.0, there is a bug in Disk Utility that precludes proper erasing of drives over 2.2TB as Internal drives

How do you put your hard drive from an old computer to your new mac?

how do you put your hard drive from an old computer to your new mac?
i want to get the pictures, etc off of my old mac onto my new mac desktop. how can i do this?

You don't.
How to use Migration Assistant:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889?viewlocale=en_US
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4413?viewlocale=en_US
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1963
Troubleshooting Firewire target disk mode:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661

So I am trying to copy my hard drive "Macintosh HD" to an external hard drive, i want to use Terminal and have tried many ways. For example cp -r /Volumes/"Macintosh HD" /Volumes/"NO NAME". When i do it says No such file or directory. Ideas?

So I am trying to copy my hard drive "Macintosh HD" to an external hard drive, i want to use Terminal and have tried many ways. For example cp -r /Volumes/"Macintosh HD" /Volumes/"NO NAME". When i do it says No such file or directory. Ideas?

The reason that threadjacking is frowned on (as mentioned in the terms use which you can read by clicking the link to the right on this page) is for the most part a practical one:
By starting your own thread your problem can get individual attention, focussed on your particular set of circumstances.
By joining somebody else's thread it becomes tricky to answer more than one question at the same time, and can lead to confusion for both parties.
So if you don't mind the minor inconvenience, please start your own thread (in the correct forum) so we can get to grips with your particular problem!

How do I erase the Hard drive????

My iBook is about 4 or 5 years old with a brand new 80GB hard drive and brand new Charger plug. Now my logic board is broken and I don't want to put any more money in fixing it. So I just want to sell it but want to erase the hard drive first. Anybody can tell me how to do that?

ElkeTheStallion, welcome to Apple Discussions.
Here's how I understand your request.
You have an iBook that is inop due to a logic board failure. This precludes booting the iBook with a CD/DVD to use Disk Utility to erase the HD. You also can't boot the iBook in Target Disk mode to interface with your MacBook to erase the HD.
So your only alternative is to remove the HD from the iBook and install it in an external drive housing - USB or Firewire (best). Then you can interface the HD to your MacBook to retrieve the files & transfer to your MacBook & then erase.
These links give the instructions for removing the HD.
Fix It Guides for Mac Laptops & Mini
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/
The guides can be viewed on-line or you can download a PDF file.
How to Upgrade, Repair, Disassemble an Apple/Macintosh Laptop or Notebook
http://repair4laptop.org/disassembly_apple.html
PowerBookTech
http://www.powerbooktech.com/
Suggestion - If you are going to sell the iBook for parts, don't reinstall the HD. It won't bring you much more $ in a laptop that won't work. Retain the 80GB HD and use it as a backup for your MacBook.
 Cheers, Tom

How do I erase a hard drive

I got a " new to me" computer and want to fire wire my old computer over. Problem is "new to me" computer still has stuff on it and I need to erase the harddrive so that I can swith my computer over. Any one know how to do this?

What you need is the install disk for your "new to you" machine. Boot from that and you can erase the hard drive and then reinstall the original OS.
There may be another way, but would need to know the exact OS versions:
Which OS version did the "new to you" machine come with (originally, if it was upgraded), and
which version is on your own old computer (the one you want to move data from)?

How do I erase the hard drive on my 2007 Macbook with operating system 10.4.11 ?

I am going to recycle my old Macbook and want to erase the hard drive. When I go into utilities-disk utility-click on Macintosh HD-and the Erase tab, the only active button is Erase Free Space. The Security Options and Erase button are not active. How can I erase the entire hard drive? The operating system is 10.4.11.

You have to boot to another drive. You cannot erase the drive to which you are booted. Typically you would use the system installer discs that were provided with the computer originally.
Alternatively you can use another computer which is running OSX and put the old one in Target Disk Mode. The old one will simply be seen as a normal hard drive which you can erase.
How to use FireWire target disk mode - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661 - includes description of hardware and software requirements. [What to do if your Mac doesn't enter FireWire Target Disk Mode|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75414], also read about [Open Firmware Password Protection|http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/openfirmwarepassword.html] which can disable Target Disk Mode.

Hi, how do I erase my hard drive on a macbook pro?

Hi - can anyone help|? I am trying to erase my hard drive and I have been told to go in to Disk Utility and click Erase, then Erase again but the second "Erase" is greyed out. Any ideas how to ungrey the second "erase" button.
Thanks

cfirebrace wrote:
Thank you for being so helpful. Do I just hold down Alt? It does nothing!!
When starting or restarting the computer, At Boot or ReBoot. And in the Mac World it is really the Option key, Alt is used for PC users that make the switch to Mac.

How do I erase my hard drive on my old mac G4 I have tried several suggestions without success

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