Wiping a HD without the original discs?

I have an eMac which I purchased used and now I want to donate, but before I give it away I want to erase the disk for security's sake. The problem is that since I bought the computer used, I don't have the original disks for the OS (X 10.3.9). Is there any way I can boot the computer from an external USB drive and use that to erase the hard disk?
Thanks,
Garwalf

You don't need to erase the entire disk: just delete the user(s) - all sensitive material is in the Home Folder.
Create a new admin account first (since you must have at least one). Then in this, go to System Preferences>Accounts. Click on the account name you want to delete and click the minus-sign button at the bottom of the list. You can choose 'delete immediately' but I'm not sure how secure this is. Do a normal removal by clicking 'OK'. Now go to the folder Users/Deleted Users/ (account name) and you will find a disk image (.dmg) of the deleted account. Drag this to the Trash. From the Finder menu select 'Secure Empty Trash'. Wait - this may take some time. Repeat for any other old users. This will leave a working computer with a new admin account.

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Also your hard disk should never be over 85% full.
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Make sure Spotlight is fully indexed.
Make sure Time Machine is only in use when you aren't in the middle of using it, if you use it. If you use another backup software, only use it when you aren't in the middle of using the computer.
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https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2455
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Message was edited by: kostby

Wiping a HD without the original discs?

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