If I erase my hard drive using disc utility, can I safely donate my computer without my data being used?

I would like to donate my computer without my data being stolen or compromised!  Is it safe to wipe the hard drive with disk utility?

Yes, but do not forget to zero all data (even better, several times). See the article below.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1820
Jan

Similar Messages

  • My hard drive is damaged. I'm using disk utility; can I safely use CHECKSUM? will it help or give me info?

    my hard drive is damaged. I'm using disk utility; can I safely use CHECKSUM? will it help or give me info?

    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.

  • 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.
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    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.

  • My hard drive with library crashed, can i start on new computer with music on my touch

    my hard drive with library crashed, can i start on new computer with music on my touch

    The easiest way to get back missing items?  Restore your whole hard drive with all your irreplaceable things like photos in about 20 minutes from the backup clone you make on a regular basis.
    Your i-device was not designed for unique storage of your media. It is not a backup device and media transfer is designed for you maintaining a master copy of your media on a computer which is itself properly backed up against loss. Syncing is one way, computer to device, updating the device content to the content on the computer, not updating or restoring content on a computer. The exception is purchased content.
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    For transferring other items from an i-device to a computer you will have to use third party commercial software. Examples (check the web for others; this is not an exhaustive listing, nor do I have any idea if they are any good):
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    - Phoneview - http://www.ecamm.com/mac/phoneview/
    - MusicRescue - http://www.kennettnet.co.uk/products/musicrescue/ - Mac & Windows
    - Sharepod (free) - http://download.cnet.com/SharePod/3000-2141_4-10794489.html?tag=mncol;2 - Windows
    - Snowfox/iMedia - http://www.mac-videoconverter.com/imedia-transfer-mac.html - Mac & PC
    - iexplorer (free) - http://www.macroplant.com/iexplorer/ - Mac&PC
    - Yamipod (free) - http://www.yamipod.com/main/modules/downloads/ - PC, Linux, Mac [Still updated for use on newer devices? No edits to site since 2010.]
    - 2010 Post by Zevoneer: iPod media recovery options - https://discussions.apple.com/message/11624224 - this is an older post and many of the links are also for old posts, so bear this in mind when reading them.
    Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3141 - dates from 2008 and some outdated information now.
    Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide - http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/copying-music-from-ipod-to-co mputer/ - Information about use in disk mode pertains only to older model iPods.
    Get Your Music Off of Your iPod - http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Get_Your_Music_Off_of_Your_iPod - I am not sure but this may only work with some models and not newer Touch, iPhone, or iPad.
    Additional information here https://discussions.apple.com/message/18324797

  • How can I erase my hard drive if the Installer can't find it?

    Our iBook, 10.3.9, was pretty reliable for 5 years, but it started to work slower the past days (maybe thru too little free space or too many programs open at the same time), so we restarted a lot.. until it didn't restart but came up with the question mark; then with a black screen/white letters asking for a login. But what is my login? I only know my admin password.
    I ran DiskUtility and repaired the permissions and wanted to repair the disk as well, but it said (in red letters): unable, could not unmount disk.
    I tried Archive and Install, but it stopped halfway and said there was an error, try again later. I didn't try again, but managed to save most of my documents to another iBook (10.4.3) thru FireWire Target mode.
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    When I first got this iBook, I had a big accident and had to erase and install, at which time an Apple tech person advised me to first install 10.1 and then 10.2 ('cause this iBook was first made with 10.1, it had 10.2 when I bought it). So this morning I put my 10.1 install CD in and selected Disk Utility to Erase the hard drive. This was recommended in another thread to erase all faulty blocks on a computer. I must say the hard drive itself (below the '27 GB OSX' thing with the triangle in front of it) was already greyed out, but I selected this triangle thing and said erase.
    Then I went back into the Installer but... it can't find any hard drive to install OSX on. It shows just one blank space...
    The strangest thing is that one time this morning when I opened the iBook, it started up just like normal! But it worked too slow, it wasn't fine, so I restarted and then the problems came back just the same. Now I'm back atthe black screen with white letters. It makes me think though that not all is lost with this computer, which my family hopes with me.
    What can I do???
    ibook   Mac OS X (10.3.7)  

    Cornelius,
    ask as many questions as necessary! I know it is a confusing situation.
    Your profile lists OS X 10.3.7.
    I believe I upgraded last year to 10.3.9.
    Do you have a Full Retail Version of Panther available for re-install?
    Yes.
    What OS version(s) do you have a full retail version for?
    For 10.1, 10.2 and 10.3.2.
    Do you have an OS currently installed on your computer?
    I don't know...
    This morning I had set my mind to do the Erase & Install. I inserted the 10.1 disk, opened DUtility and selected "Erase" from the tablist. At that point the hard drive under the top-triangle was already grey I believe. I selected the top line, or the grey line, am not sure which was last. The computer started to spin. I can't tell if it erased anything at that point. But I know that once the computer stopped spinning its operationwheel, I quit DU and went on trying to install, but then there was no installation disc available. There was just a blanc field.
    There was nothing else to do but restart, and at that point the computer opened up with a desktop like normal. I know it sounds crazy.
    But it didn't work well. I could open a jpg-file in "Preview", but went in "Mail" and it took forever to open a message, at which point I restarted.
    And since then, the normal desktop hasn't shown up anymore.
    Whenever I restart, I keep getting stuck at 1. a flashing icon with the picture of a globe, which changes into
    2. the question-mark, then
    3. the window "Mac OS" with the blue stripe, filling up almost all the way and then
    3. a black screen with white letters. If I type something and press return, it asks for password. If I type anything and press return, it says 'login incorrect', and then I see a new screen with "Darwin/BSD (X-3.local) (console)..... next line: "login: "
    I don't know what my login could be.
    I have since started up from the 10.3 CD, but also only saw a blank field where there should be an icon of my hard drive. (at 'select destination').
    Since my post, I used my Apple Hardware Test-CD, and that gave a pass. It said "No device found" for AirPort and Mass Storage. "Device found" for Modem and "Passed" for Logic Board, Memory and VideoRAM.
    In any case, what I want to do is still to Erase & Install, because something seems to be very wrong and my stuff is safely backed up.
    Looking forward to your answer. Thanks a lot.
    ibook   Mac OS X (10.3.7)  

  • IMac Finder cannot see external hard drive but Disk Utility can

    I have a WD external hard drive and it has been attached to my iMac for a year or two.  About two months ago I upgraded to Lion 10.7.5 and hard drive still worked.  Then suddenly about a week ago the iMac no longer sees the external hard drive in Finder.
    I have connected the hard drive to the iMac with different USB cables and into different ports and it makes no difference so deduce there is no issues with the cables or the ports.  I have connected the hard drive to an old Macbook and it can see the harddrive and read some of the info but I really need the hard drive attached to the iMac as I store all my music and photos on the external hard drive.
    I read another thread and someone asked if you can see the hard drive in Disk Utility.  I tried this and Disk Utility can see the hard drive.
    What does this mean?  Any suggestions as to how to get the iMac to see the hard drive so I can access the data on it?
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    thanks

    Open the Finder.
    From the Finder menu bar click Finder > Preferences then select the General tab.
    Make sure: External disks is selected.

  • Unable to erase external hard drive with Disk Utility

    Macbook Pro (mid 2010) running 10.9
    Hello
    Recently, my Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1 TB external hard drive has not been showing up on my desktop or in finder.  The light is on when connected, and in the Disk Utility it appears. 
    1.  It was naturally created with a partition on it (all of the 1TB allocated to it) and it appears in the Disk Utility as well; however, it is grayed out. 
    2.  I clicked the actual drive in DU and it was verified as being ok.  I clicked on the partition next to verify and it said "Error disk needs repaired"
    3.  So I clicked repair, "Disk Utility cannot repair the disk..restore as many as your backed-up files...etc."
    4.  No problem (the data on the hard drive is used for my Time Machine back ups and my current internal hard drive is working fine with all the data intact)
    5.  Ok, so I click the erase tab on the entire external hard drive...erase..."Disk cannot be unmounted"
    6.  Ok, I try to erase the invidual partition..."Could not open disk"
    It seems every time I try to erase this drive completely im hitting blocks.  I even tried this method from the OS X Recovery menu (Command+R on startup).  I would greatly appreciate any help to just get this whole thing external hard drive erased and start anew.  How else would I go about this?
    (pictures for reference)
    Thank you all

    If this is your only backup device, you need to start a new backup on another drive immediately. Don't erase (or try to erase) your only backup.
    After you have the other backup, boot into Recovery and try again to erase the volume. You will have to unlock it before you can do anything with it, because it's encrypted.
    If you still can't erase it, the drive has failed.

  • How long to partition a 500gb hard drive under disc utility

    i opened disc utility for the purpose of erasing a drive and restoring it. following the erase portion, it automatically started partitioning it. this operation has been going on for 1 day and 4 hours! someone help!

    etcetera wrote:
    I have two 300GB drives I plan to mirror.
    Now how many partitions and of what sizes do I create given 300GB size?That's up to the administrator.
    Should I put everything except swap under / ?That's what I do, but others might prefer other setups.
    Do I need a separate partition for /tmp, /var, /usr, /opt and so on?No. But that doesn't mean that they might not be useful in some cases.
    Darren

  • Hard drive died...Can I sync on another computer?

    I am sorry. I hope this has not been asked somewhere else. But my computer HD died and I was wondering if I synced my itouch on another computer, will I lose all information on my itouch? I did not back up my library and move it to this other computer. I have downloaded itunes on my other computer and I have other music files I would like to add to my touch, but I don't want to lose the things I have already synced. Is this possible? Help

    This has to be the worst season ever for lost hard drives.
    I'm not going to say anything other than do a search - it's been covered.

  • Something's wrong with my hard drive, and disk utility can't repair it...

    Lately my MacBook Pro has been running really slow, so I ran Disk Utilities to see if it could fix it. However, when I ran it, the following is what I see. Would someone help me interpret what's going on? Thanks.
    Verify permissions for "HD”
    Warning: SUID file "usr/libexec/load_hdi" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DiskManagement.framework/Versions/A/Resources /DiskManagementTool" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DesktopServicesPriv.framework/Versions/A/Reso urces/Locum" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Install.framework/Versions/A/Resources/runner " has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Admin.framework/Versions/A/Resources/readconf ig" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Admin.framework/Versions/A/Resources/writecon fig" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "usr/libexec/authopen" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources/OwnerGroupTool" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/at" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/atq" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/atrm" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/batch" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/chfn" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/chpass" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/chsh" has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Permissions verification complete
    Verifying volume “HD”
    Performing live verification.
    Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
    Checking Extents Overflow file.
    Checking Catalog file.
    Checking multi-linked files.
    Incorrect number of file hard links
    Checking Catalog hierarchy.
    Checking Extended Attributes file.
    Checking volume bitmap.
    Checking volume information.
    The volume HD needs to be repaired.
    Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed.

    Two things. First for the permissions check, reinstall the 10.5.2 COMBO update and repair permissions. That should fix things. Alternatively, search these forums for ACL, sort by date, and read the responses and the article Apple posted three months ago: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306925
    Second, for the *Incorrect number of file hard links* error, follow smithrj's advice. If DU can't repair the disk, you'll need something stronger, such as DiskWarrior.
    BTW, please update your *My Settings* profile info. It still shows that you're running Tiger.

  • How to fix my mac after erasing the hard drive?

    So I decided earlier today that I wanted to reset my Macbook Air (2011 I think) to factory settings. Being me, I didn't do enough research and ended up erasing my hard drive in Disk Utility. I'm not entirely tech savvy, but I erased the hard drive in which Macintosh HD was a partition of. Now, whenever I turn on my computer, there's just a blank screen with a blinking folder with a question mark on it. My mac won't go into recovery mode or anything. Do I have to go out and buy a new OS X disc?

    Did your Mac come with a USB stick with the original OS X on it? If so, you could use that.
    Check out this page for help on Recovery. OS X: About OS X Recovery - Apple Support
    Also, if you bought it from an Apple store, best call them for help.
    Presumably, you do not have a bootable backup.

  • 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

  • Using Disc Utility to copy my hard drive to a brand new external drive and am having the error "Unable to create...(Cannot allocate memory)".

    I'm not very tech savvy but am trying my best to use Disc Utility to copy my hard drive to a brand new external drive and am having the error "Unable to create...(Cannot allocate memory)".
    Last night no problems, woke this morning and it was freezing so I forced a restart and got the grey screen with the folder and question mark. Ran off to best buy to get an external drive... Please help! Thank you!

    I have done both. When I hold down the "C" key it pauses for a few seconds while the cd spins and then the flashing folder icon appears.
    Could be you have the wrong cd/dvd.  The mac will only boot a supported cd/dvd for your machine. The flashing question mark indicdates your machine could not find a valid os.
    When I hold down the "option" key for the startup manager the cursor comes up and moves but the actually manager doesn't come up no matter how long I leave the laptop on.
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    "A serial number is a unique, identifying number or group of numbers and letters assigned to an individual piece of hardware or software. It's used for various things depending on the product / brand but what is your Mac's serial number for and more importantly... what is it hiding and what can it do for you ?"
    http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
    or
    This site provides more information, but lacks security too.
    "A serial number is a unique, identifying number or group of numbers and letters assigned to an individual piece of hardware or software. It's used for various things depending on the product / brand but what is your Mac's serial number for and more importantly... what is it hiding and what can it do for you ?"
    http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
    http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html
        ( hint by K Shaffer  )

  • I need to erase my hard drive and start anew, will time Machine(external drive) and all the discs I got with my computer be enough to restart things

    I need to erase my hard drive and start anew, will time Machine(external drive) and all the discs I got with my computer be enough to restart things.  And secondly does RAM memory cards go bad.  Here's the info on my IMac:
    Model Name:          iMac
      Model Identifier:          iMac6,1
      Processor Name:          Intel Core 2 Duo
      Processor Speed:          2.16 GHz
      Number Of Processors:          1
      Total Number Of Cores:          2
      L2 Cache:          4 MB
      Memory:          3 GB
      Bus Speed:          667 MHz
      Boot ROM Version:          IM61.0093.B07
      SMC Version (system):          1.10f2

    I need to erase my hard drive and start anew
    Why do you feel you need to do this? That is such a 'Windows thing' to do!
    And secondly does RAM memory cards go bad
    Very rarely, but nothing in life is guaranteed (except death and taxes)! If you purchased RAM from a reputable source like Crucial or OWC it will carry a lifetime warranty.

  • Do I need to erase my hard drive to use time machine?

    I have an external 500 gb hard drive with about 40 gigs on it. I have a 250 gig imac that I want to back up with time machine. I tried using my 500 gb hard drive, but an error popped up saying I need to erase my hard drive. Can't I have other content besides the time machine content on my 500 gig hard drive. That would be a waste of space otherwise.
    Thank you,
    Caleb

    If you get an error saying TM wants to erase the disk, then the problem is most likely formatting-related. The drive is not properly formatted (OS X Extended, journaled) for TM. The previous suggestion of using a new partition for TM is probably the best. But be sure you format it correctly.

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