How to fully erase everything . . .

I am donating my older (gray) iMac to a local non-profit. How do I get rid of everything on the computer? Should I just re-install the OS? Or is there something else I should do?
Thanks,
Ken

Do the following:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disk. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. Then select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.)
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. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled, if supported.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled, if supported.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process will take 30 minutes to an hour or more depending upon the drive size.
After formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with installation of OS X. After OS X has completed the installation do not restart the computer but simply shut it down. When the new owner starts up the computer it will automatically run the startup assistant.

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I am going to be giving my g3 ibook to my son. I want to erase everything, completely wipe the drive and start from scrath with Tiger. How do I do this? Do I need to be concerned with any potential pitfalls? I know I need to deauthorize the itunes on the ibook, but is there anything else I need to do before I start the process? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Do you have the original software CD's that came with the iBook? If so, I would recommend using them to restore the original software before proceeding to upgrade. This way, your son will have all the original software that came on the iBook (like AppleWorks).
A concern with Tiger and a G3 iBook is that some of them have such a small hard drive that it is really (in my opinion, at least) too cramped for Tiger. It's recommended to keep about 5 GB of available hard drive space for OS X to run smoothly and also to allow room for an Archive and Install if it is ever necessary. The newer the version of the OS, the more important the extra hard drive space is.
Also, you don't say how much RAM is installed in the iBook. I suppose you know that Tiger requires 256 MB for installation, and it would be wiser to have the RAM upgraded to its maximum with a 512 MB module, if you haven't already done that.
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How do I erase everything from MacBook Pro?

I want to give my MacBook Pro to my nephew, but want to erase everything from it. How do I do it?

Test your answer. When possible, make sure your Submission works on your own computer before you post it.
Terms & Conditions: Apple Support Communities
Cheers.

How would I erase everything from my eMac?

My eMac is kind of old, and runs on 10.2.8, its about 3 years old. The thing runs very very slow. I was wondering if There was a way to speed the thing up by starting over, it ran exceptionally fast when I first got it. Is there a way to erase everything and re-start the computer, like rebooting it? Theres nothing I need in it, and I was just going to toss it, but if I could make it run the way it did before, I'd be pretty happy. So is there any way?

If your impetus to erase the hard drive is that the computer is running slowly, a few maintenance-related questions may suffice in place or erasing and reinstalling.
If there's less than around 5 GB free space on the hard drive, clear out unneeded files. The Mac needs up to around 1 GB free space to allow for swap and cache files, and 5 GB for temporary image files if you burn DVD-R discs; plus, 5 to 6 GB free space allows for doing an Archive and Install if that's ever necessary. You can use Whatsize to help identify large files you can potentially delete. To be safe, stick to user data in deciding what to delete: old installers, pictures you never look at anymore, games you haven't played in two years, etc.; also look for .tmp temporary files that might have been left behind by any system hangs while durning optical discs over the years.
If a main problem is applications taking forever to launch, refer to Mac OS X 10.2: PreBinding on how to manually force the Mac to update the necessary symbolic links.
If you normally shut down an OS X Mac overnight or leave it in system sleep, the cron maintenance tasks cannot run in their nominal 3 am timeframe. (Display-only sleep allows the maintenance tasks to run). Tiger 10.4.2 and later will force the maintenance tasks to run after sufficient time has elapsed. Otherwise, you can leave the Mac in display-only sleep a weekend or two a month; you can manually Force Background Maintenance; or you can use a third-party utility such as OnyX to run the maintenance. Note that any system utility you use must be compatible with the OS version (e.g., use the Tiger version of OnyX with 10.4.x and the Jaguar version with 10.2.x).
If you find it easier to just erase the drive and start over, following the Knowledge Base article sherry linked, a time-consuming but worthwhile step (sine the computer is several years old) is to zero the drive as part of the erase. Zeroing the drive forces the hard drive's firmware to update it's list of bad disk sectors to avoid using.

How can I erase everything on a hard drive?

I have an external hard drive that I want to erase and then use to archie video. How does one go about erasing everything on an external hard drive?

You can open the drive and drag everything to the trash and empty it in the Finder.
If your wanting to erase and reformat the drive, it depends what your going to use it for.
Drives, partitions, formatting w/Mac's + PC's
It's possible to reformat the drive with the same existing formatting, that will also erase the entire drive of all data provided the entire drive is selected, not the indended partitions if any exist.

How do I erase everything?

Hi,
my HD was divided into two partitions:
1) Macintosh HD
2) WinXP
Well, I got my Leopard; I want to erase (format) everything; I start from DVD; I see that Hd partition scheme is not GUID as required but MBR (?!?!); so, I decide to use Disk Utility to initialize the disk...but it does not work; now, I have got (in disk utility) the disk and 1 volume; but the partitioning scheme of the HD is always MBR and the format is MS-DOS even if when I inizialized I chose Mac OS Journaled.
Why...how can I solve?

Ok, but...I did that;
I chose the drive from the list (it has got two volumes); I chose Erase, I gave it the name "Macintosh HD" anche Mac OS Extended Journaled; I clicked on "Erase"; the two volumes disappeared from the list; now I have got the drive (250gb) and one volume (250gb); the problem is that the volume has not got as name "Macintosh HD", it has got MBR and MS-DOS as...why?!?!?

How can I erase everything on my computer before I sell it?

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Since the install DVDs are part of the Mac, you really should call AppleCare and ask them to send you a replacement set. They will charge you a nominal fee for shipping and handling.
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See -> How to prepare your Mac for sale.
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How do I sync my iPhone to my MacBook without having to erase everything?

Hi,
I've had my iPhone for a little over a year now, and it used to be synced with a PC desktop. This summer, I got a MacBook Pro, and moved my iTunes library over to the MacBook using an external hard drive (which I struggled with - I lost all my playlists and a couple dozen songs, but I've sort of figured it out). But I still haven't synched my iPhone to my MacBook yet. I'm in college, so I decided that when I came home, I would try and sync it, because just in case anything goes wrong, I would be at home where the desktop is.
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I called Apple and talked to them (with little success) about how to avoid erasing everything, but they said I don't have many options, and that the iTunes back up only backs up "iTunes purchases." Obviously, all my music isn't purchased on iTunes, so I really don't want to lose half of my iTunes library.
My problem is that I can't figure out how to be able to sync my iPhone to my MacBook without erasing everything. I'm not able to come home frequently enough to be able to get new music onto my MacBook, homeshare it with the desktop, and then sync my iPhone to the desktop. Especially after I graduate, I really don't want to be tied down to the desktop at my parent's house.
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Please help!

Here's an article in line with your request: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
It's called "iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer".

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I now realize that I have TWO of each file and that NEITHER file shows the play count and rating from my previous computer. Furthermore, none of my playlists show up.
For this reason, I would like to know how I can erase EVERYTHING in my iTunes library (music, videos, etc.) and start over.
I used this tutorial to move all my music: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300173
Someone please tell me how I can erase everything and start over so I can transfer all my music and playlists and music information (stars, play counts) from my iBook to my MacBook.

I've transferred music between computers like that, and I have NEVER been able to transfer play counts and ratings, which can be pretty frustrating, but hey at least you have all your music. If you want to start over, just select all your iTunes songs and erase them, and then open the music files on your harddrive or iPod or wherever they are, and you should be fine. If it bothers you seeing a zero next to the playcount, you can try hiding the playcount under the settings so you won't be reminded of it. I don't think it's possible to transfer playcounts, but if it is then good luck, and I hope this helps!

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No, as far as I know from this site, Drive Genius is your only hope. I have never used the product or that function though. Another member here says it works.
Your other choice would be to store the data on another drive temporarily. Erase, partition and transfer back.
 Cheers! DALE

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That is activation lock and cannot be bypassed. He will have to remember his password, or reset it so you can continue with the restore. There's no way around this as it is an anti theft feature to prevent thieves from being able to use the device. It would be pointless if you could bypass it.

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You buy one and only one download.
It is your responsibility to move/copy/backup your music.
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How to fully erase everything . . .

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