I am gifting my iMac to my niece and need to wipe the disc for her use. I have an external backup and also (smile) a brand new iMac I'll need to set up.What is the "best" process for ensuring the safety of my information as well as providing a "new" comp

Gang,
I've just purchased a new iMac for myslef and am gifting my "old" iMac to Niece. Original iMac has Snow Leopard upgrade (came with Leopard) as well as Word for Mac -student addition. I also have an external backup drive and use Time Machine as specified.
What are the easy and appropraite steps to provide my niece a "new" iMac (clean and free of my items) as well as protect my info so I can place on my new iMac? Will I also need to de-authorixe audible for iTunes?
Thank you for your help. I know this is probably a very basic procedure but I want to get it correct and ensure I don't harm either iMac.
Best,
pshdawg1

pshdawg1 wrote:
Gang,
I've just purchased a new iMac for myslef and am gifting my "old" iMac to Niece. Original iMac has Snow Leopard upgrade (came with Leopard) as well as Word for Mac -student addition. I also have an external backup drive and use Time Machine as specified.
Well I don't think your niece is going to rob you blind or sell your company secrets to the highest bidder, so a full 7x- 35x government grade overwrite and operating install is likely overkill.
Just likley some personal files, pictures and videos, stuff like that you want to make sure doesn't get seen.
My suggestion is to clean out your user level files manually in each of your Documents, Pictures etc folders, any bookmarks in browsers (reset Safari, clear cache) and emails you don't want carried on.
Then download and run the cleaning aspects of OnyX, followed by a Disk Utility > Erase Free Space option. (in your Applications/Utilities folder)
http://www.titanium.free.fr/
You can create another Admin account in her name/nick and delete the first one with your name and all that.
If you really want to get rid of your name from everywhere in the comptuer, then the only option is a c boot from the installer disk, Disk Utility Erase with Zero (7x or even 35x overwrite) and then resintall OS X and shutdown the machine,
When this is done, OS X boots into the first "Welcome to OS X" video you saw when you first setup the machine. Of course you lose Word as that's not on the installer disk. But LibreOffice is free and much much better.
http://www.libreoffice.org/
pshdawg1 wrote:
Will I also need to de-authorixe audible for iTunes?
Your allowed up to 5 computers with your iTunes content, but you can deauthorize the computer in iTunes so it doesn't take one of your authorizations.
Also before you do anything, make a MANUAL backup of your data to another drive just in case Time Machine/Migration ***. etc doesn't screw the new pooch on you like it's been known to do.
I always c boot off the new installer disk on new machines and Disk Utility Erase with Zero option the entire boot drive then reinstall OS X, it's not that I'm paranoid, it's that drives are not checked for bad sectors at the factory, they just slap OS X on it and off it goes, problems appear later on as people use the drive or can't read the software correctly off the drive.
So I map off the bad sectors ahead of time, so the software is on good sectors and never have a post issue like others do with new machines.
If you ordered a Mac with custom software installed, obiously your going to need to reinstall it after this.

Similar Messages

HT204053 Is it possible to have two (or more) different icloud mail accounts (not alias) under the same apple id? If not what is you best advice for all family members to have their own e-mail and still share the purchases under the same apple id. Thanks

Is it possible to have two (or more) different icloud mail accounts (not alias) under the same apple id? If not what is you best advice for all family members to have their own e-mail and still share the purchases under the same apple id. Thanks

mannyace wrote:
Thanks for the response.
So I basically won't run into any trouble? I
There should be no issues. Its designed to work like that. You don't change Apple IDs just because you get a new device.
mannyace wrote:
Thanks for the response.
Is there any chance that the phones can fall out of sync?
Unlikely. But nothing is impossible. Though I don;t see how that would happen. As long as both are signed into the Same Apple ID / iCloud Account they will be N'Sync. (Bad Joke)
mannyace wrote:
Thanks for the response.
If I get a message or buy an app or take a photo on the iPhone 5, how do I get those things onto the iPhone 6?
If you buy an App, you have 2 ways to get it to the iPhone6: If Automatic Downloads is enabled in Settings->iTunes & App Store, it will automatically download to the iPhone 6 when you buy it on the 5 and vice versa if you buy it on the 6, it will download to the 5.
Alternatively, you can simply go to the App Store App->Updates->Purchased and look for the App there and download it. Purchased Apps will not require payment again. i.e They'll be free to download to the iPhone 6 once purchased.
SMS Messages will sync over using Continuity as long as they are on the same Wifi network. Otherwise, restoring the iPhone 5 backup to the iPhone 6 will transfer all messages received up until the backup was made onto the iPhone 6.
Images, can be transferred either through Photo Stream
My Photo Stream FAQ - Apple Support
Or any Cloud service you want such as Dropbox, or One Drive.
mannyace wrote:
Also, something i forgot to ask initially: Should I update the iPhone 5 to iOS 8 first or does that not matter?
If you want the Continuity features as explained above you need to update the iPhone 5 to iOS 8. Otherwise its not all that important.

I have nine, 1-page PDF files that are accessible and need to combine into 1 PDF file. I have tried appending, adding and the combine PDFs process. The file created is not keeping my changes. The created file is partially accessible but I have to re-fix

I have nine, 1-page PDF files that are accessible and need to combine into 1 PDF file. I have tried appending, adding and the combine PDFs process. The file created is not keeping my changes. The created file is partially accessible but I have to re-fix issues I had fixed in the single files. I need suggestions on what else can be done if any. Using Acrobat pro XI.

Out of habit, I tend to combine PDF files in the Page Thumbnails pane by right-click then "Insert Pages" -> "From File". For me, this preserves the tags from both documents, although the tags may have to be moved into the right location (if I recall correctly the tags for the inserted pages get put at the end of the tag structure, regardless of where the pages are inserted), If I first put the tags for the document to be inserted inside a container tag like Section, it makes the process easier. Moving that set of tags to the right place is the only re-fixing that I recall having to do. What behavior are you experiencing?
a 'C' student

Purchased a new Apple TV and the remote double clicks each time I press the button. It worked fine during set up and for the first two days. I have since moved it and this problem started. Restarted,reset,unplugged,change remotes, no change.Help please.

Purchased a new Apple TV and the remote double clicks each time I press the button. It worked fine during set up and for the first two days. I have since moved it and this problem started. Restarted,reset,unplugged,changed remotes, no change. Latest software update. This is really annoying. iPhone remote app works just fine. Any suggestions?

That's one of the weird things.. it recognizes it maybe 10% of the time. And usually, only after I do the two-button reset. Problem is.. since it won't charge above 2%, anytime I try to do a restore or anything like that using iTunes, my device shuts off and I lose whatever progress I'd made.
So, an update... after reading through a bunch of similar complaints (there are literally 1000's of them so there's NO WAY this isn't somehow ios7 related, thanks a lot APPLE ) I decided to try a restore in recovery mode. After 3 hours and several disconnections... I ended up having to just set it up as a new iPad, as the restore did nothing. Weirdly though... as I was doing the restore in recovery mode.. I noticed I'd gotten up to a 10% charge.. higher than it's been since September, so after setting it up as a new device, I turned it off and plugged it in using the wall charger. 2 hours later and I was up to 38%. Still not great, as my iPad, before ios7 could've fully charged twice in the amount of time it took for me to now get 28% more of a charge. And that's with a fully cleaned out device.. so that really ***** and I'm now more confused than ever.
But I'm gonna leave it overnight charging and see what I come up with tomorrow. Sadly, when I paid $600 for it in February, I never expected to have to play "wait and see" with it...

I create my apple id from my boyfriend macbook and its says that I have to review my itunes information , when I get to the credit card number info etc. Its keep asking me for that I dont have any credit card and I dont want to put any , what should I do?

I create my apple id from my boyfriend macbook and its says that I have to review my itunes information , when I get to the credit card number info etc. Its keep asking me for that I dont have any credit card and I dont want to put any , what should I do?

You cannot use that ID without a credit card. You did not create your account correctly. There is very specific way in which you must create your account if you do not want to use a credit card. If you don't have a credit card, you will have to start all over again.
1. You will have to sign out of that ID before you can create a new one. Settings>iTunes & App Store>Apple ID>Sign out.
2. You cannot use the email address that you used for the first ID that you created. You will need to use another email address now
3. You have to download a free app in order to start the new Apple ID process.
Read this before proceeding.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2534

I have Imac (OSX10.6.8) and 6 days of emails that were in my inbox have disappeared. They've also gone from gmail server and my back up hard drive. But if I look at "All Mail" on my Iphone the emails are there!! Have I got settings wrong somewhere?

I have Imac (OSX10.6.8) and 6 days of emails that were in my inbox have disappeared. They've also gone from gmail server and my back up hard drive. But if I look at "All Mail" on my Iphone the emails are there!! Have I got settings wrong somewhere?

"One of the benefits of Match, right? Saving hard drive space."
I would not use iTunes Match as a backup. There are too many bugs and I don't think that's what they intended it to be anyway. The main advantage of using it is to make your music available on OTHER devices, not to replace the music on your original computer.

HT1229 How do you transfer photos to external backup and keep the photos in events with event name or with description name. Each time I have tried to transfer them they only transfer with a jpg number so you don't know what photos are what.

How do you transfer photos to external backup and keep the photos in events with event name or with description name. Each time I have tried to transfer them they only transfer with a jpg number so you don't know what photos are what. When you have several thousand photos it is difficult to determined what is what.
Why does iPhoto have the ability to put photos in events and to give them descriptions if it doesn't transfer this info with the photo. I want to back my photos up to an external drive.

The simplest way to achieve what you want is to back up the iPhoto Library. That will get everything.
You sem to be exporting from iPhoto to the Finder. The Finder does not have the same organisation capabilities as iPhoto. If you're going to do that you need to understand some of the differences between the two.
Event Name will become Folder Name.
'Description Name' I guess is the Title you give the Photo
Jpeg Number is the File Name assigned by your camera.
So: File -> Export
Set your Kind to Jpeg
Select your preferred Quality
Check the Boxes at 'Titles and Descriptions' and Location Information
Under FIlename select 'Use Title'
Click on Export. In the Next Window choose a New Folder as your export destination and then Name that as you prefer
Regards
TD

I have a Macbook pro Retina display, I have a small nick in my screen that is annoying especially when watching videos. What is my best option for fixing it?/does apple care apply?

I have a Macbook pro Retina display, I have a small nick in my screen that is annoying especially when watching videos. What is my best option for fixing it?/does apple care apply?

Did you cause the nick? Or did it just appear one day? There are reports of the retina screen having exploding pixels which leaves a hole in the screen that can be felt when you rub your finger across it. If that is what happened then it should be covered under the warranty. If you caused the nick then it is not covered and the fix will be very expensive, somewhere in the $1000 range.
astets wrote:
I have a Macbook pro Retina display, I have a small nick in my screen that is annoying especially when watching videos. What is my best option for fixing it?/does apple care apply?

I have a mid 2007 iMac and the internal superdrive audio cd won't play, the DVD works. Can I purchase an external cd drive that will work with my iMac?

I have a mid 2007 iMac (Model A1224 iMac 7,1) and the internal superdrive audio cd won't play, the DVD works. Can I purchase an external cd drive that will work with my iMac?

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
Any external optical drive will work with your Mac. If you want an Apple USB SuperDrive, see > http://www.tuaw.com/2012/04/02/use-the-macbook-air-superdrive-with-any-almost-ma c/
The best option is to take the Mac to an Apple Store and get the Mac's SuperDrive repaired

I removed the applications of photoshop en lightroom from my computer after the free trial. Now I have a paid contract and I cannot download the apllications. What to do?

I removed the applications of photoshop en lightroom from my computer after the free trial. Now I have a paid contract and I cannot download the apllications. What to do?

Hi, sad isn't it!
Is this a PPC iMac, or an Inel iMac?
If PPC...
TenFourFox is the most up to date browser for our PPCs, they even have G4 & G5 optimized versions...
http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/
In fact, it will run on Imtel Macs upto 10.6.8 also.

HT4623 My iPod Touch is te 4th generation with iOS 4 only... The desktop that it used to connect with was broken and I couldn't update my iPod touch as all content is linked to the iTunes on that broken PC. What should I do?I won't erase all my music reco

My iPod Touch is te 4th generation with iOS 4 only... The desktop that it used to connect with was broken and I couldn't update my iPod touch as all content is linked to the iTunes on that broken PC. What should I do?I don't want to erase all my music recording. (couldn't back up easily...) my dairy, my financial record made on apps...
If I got a new Mac book pro soon, would it helps backuping everything?

awesome121, he does not an an iCloud account. You need iOS 5 or later for iCloud and the poster said he has iOS 4.
awesome121 wrote:
DO you have a icloud account?

My Iphone4 Home button sometimes work nicely and sometimes it stop working. India Apple care says they cant give me even paid support because i bought phone from Australia. i don't know what to do. i m disappointed with the product and service support

My Iphone4 Home button sometimes work nicely and sometimes it stop working. India Apple care says they cant give me even paid support because i bought phone from Australia. i don't know what to do. i m disappointed with the product and service support

When you buy an iPhone in the U.S. it's locked to that country with the carrier you bought it for.
If you bought the device unlocked in the U.S. it's unlocked, you can use it on any carrier. Even one's outside the country.
If you want to do a repair on a device you bought in the U.S. and your using it in another country, you must send it back to the U.S. Why? That's where you bought it from.
AppleCare Protection Plans and AppleCare Limited Warranties are registered to your hardware.
Your hardware is your iPhone.
Wherever hardware that was bought then that's the country it was designed to be used in and that's where it was manufactured.
Apple is very localized - if you call U.S. tech support, you'll speak to somone in your country.
So, what does all this mean?
In order to do a repair, you need to send it back to the country you got it from.
And we're all customers like you. We understand that you're upset, but Apple isn't gonna bend the rules to one individual.
Policy is policy. Get over it.

I have read up on all about crashes and i cant even open it in safe mode :( i have tried deleting it and reinstalling it but the problem still persists. What would you suggest i do and is there any way i canget hold of firefox 6 for mac?

i have read up on all about crashes and i cant even open it in safe mode :( i have tried deleting it and reinstalling it but the problem still persists. What would you suggest i do and is there any way i canget hold of firefox 6 for mac?

Does the regular Firefox 8 release version work or does the version crash as well?
*Firefox 8.0.x: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html
Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problems.
See "Basic Troubleshooting: Make a new profile":
*https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Basic+Troubleshooting#w_8-make-a-new-profile
There may be extensions and plugins installed by default in a new profile, so check that in "Tools > Add-ons > Extensions & Plugins" in case there are still problems.
If that new profile works then you can transfer some files from the old profile to that new profile, but be careful not to copy corrupted files.
See:
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox

I have an Iphone 4 and the camera shutter wont open, I have tried most things and it has still not opened, it has not worked since I have got it. What should I do?

I have an Iphone 4 and the camera shutter wont open, I have tried most things and it has still not opened, it has not worked since I have got it. What should I do?

Here's basic troubleshooting for iOS:
https://sites.google.com/site/appleclubfhs/support/advice-and-articles/troublesh ooting-ios
(Note that my links to other pages may promote my organization, and this should not be taken as an endorsement by Apple)

I updated my iMac to Mountain Lion. All the files were deleted. I have Time Machine backups. When I restart the mac pressing Command R to restore from backup it shows the previous OS X (Leopard) beside the date of the backup. Will it go back if I restore?

I updated my iMac to Mountain Lion. All the files were deleted. I have Time Machine backups. When I restart the mac pressing Command R to restore it from the backup it shows the previous OS X (Leopard) beside the date of the backup that I want to select. Will it go back to Leopard if I restore it from the backup?

No, it won't revert to the prior OS X but you you may have third party apps installed that were compatible with Lion that may not be compatible with Mountain Lion.
App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps - App compatibility and feature support for OS X & iOS
After you restore from TM, check HD > Incompatible Software

I am gifting my iMac to my niece and need to wipe the disc for her use. I have an external backup and also (smile) a brand new iMac I'll need to set up.What is the "best" process for ensuring the safety of my information as well as providing a "new" comp

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for