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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Re-formatting a MAC computer
Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 5:33 PM on 05.04.07 |
->> I am selling one of my MAC's and wanted to know if reformatting the HD is necessary. If so, can someone walk me by the step by step process to doing this? I have never done it before.
THANKS
Debbie |
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Bryan Rinnert, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Raleigh | NC | United States | Posted: 5:39 PM on 05.04.07 |
->> Not a bad idea.
Start up off a system disk, open Disk Utility. Select the hard drive in the window on the left and select erase from the top tabs. To add more security you can click on "Security Options" do a 7 or 35 pass erase. It basically writes 0s to the disk making it impossible to find old data on the drive. I will take longer though. I'd recommend doing it overnight. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 5:40 PM on 05.04.07 |
->> Byran,
what if I only have a few hours?
Also-it is a G4-can I ad the software from my G5 to it for the purchaser? |
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Bryan Rinnert, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Raleigh | NC | United States | Posted: 5:49 PM on 05.04.07 |
| ->> The regular format will only take a few seconds, so I'd at least do that. Someone has to be trying to find information it pretty hard to do it. You can try to put the G5 software on it, I think it will work. The installer program will tell you pretty quick if it won't let you install on that computer. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 6:12 PM on 05.04.07 |
->> what do I do if it won't let me select to erase the disc? It's in light gray and will not allow me to click on it.
I don't have to be on the internet for this, do I? (I have been trying it w/o being connected) |
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Bryan Rinnert, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Raleigh | NC | United States | Posted: 6:15 PM on 05.04.07 |
| ->> Are you booted from the CD (or DVD)? If not, you'll need to go to your system prefs, select start up disk and select you CD or DVD. The only way to ease a drive to start up from something else, in this case, the disk. |
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Rick Rowell, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Santee | CA | USA | Posted: 6:59 PM on 05.04.07 |
| ->> Put the original OS software CD in to the computer. Reboot the computer holding down the c key on the keyboard until the computer completly reboots. Then follow the directions. If you have upgraded the OS since buying the computer, then save the system folder before rebooting from the original OS CD. After initialising the drive you can reintroduce the system folder or download OS updates from the Apple web site. I think thats the way I did it just last year on a G4 eMac running system 10.3.9 I hope this makes since to you. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 7:03 PM on 05.04.07 |
| ->> ok, I can't find the original software, although when I got it it was OS( and it now has OX. Is there another way to get rid of all the imaportant things, OR to erase everything w/o a disc? It seems to not be letting me do this. All this computer is going to need is Photo Mechanic, Photoshop and a transmit program for the person getting it |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 7:05 PM on 05.04.07 |
| ->> also-I need to put in a password everytime I reboot and I went to system preferences and account info and it isn't letting me delete this..anyone know how? I want it to just turn on, no passwords needed |
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Michael Schwarz, Photographer
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Decatur | GA | USA | Posted: 7:45 PM on 05.04.07 |
| ->> Unless you are no longer going to use Photo Mechanic and Photoshop and are tranfering the license, giving them those programs with your old computer is a violation of your license for those programs. Don't do it. Especially with those two programs. |
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Ron Scheffler, Photographer
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Hamilton (Toronto area) | Ontario | Canada | Posted: 9:15 PM on 05.04.07 |
->> At the minimum you should put all your personal documents and applications you don't want to include in the sale in the trash - and empty the trash. Also change your log-in password to something generic. Clear the caches in any web browser you've used on the machine...
After you've done all that, then open disk utility and under Erase, click on the Erase Free Space... tab. It gives you the option to erase with multiple passes, which would make it difficult to get at those old files. If you only delete the trash and that's all, if someone wants to retrieve the deleted files, all they have to do is start up the computer in target disk mode or put the hard drive in an external enclosure and run an app like Data Rescue on it.
Secure erase prior to reinstalling the OS is the best option, but looks like you don't have time for that anyway. Reinstalling the original Apple install CD/DVD would restore the computer to a "like new" state, without any preexisting admin account information. To adjust some of this, click on the Accounts icon in System Preferences and then on Login Options (you'll have to enter your password if it's locked). There you can set the computer to automatically log in, etc. |
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George Bridges, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | USA | Posted: 9:16 PM on 05.04.07 |
->> You can use utility software such as Macaroni or Cocktail to do a Secure Empty Trash of items you want to get rid of.
Not as safe as an erase with the overwrite or a clean erase, but will help some.
You can also connect the old computer to your G5 using a firewire cable and start the old one holding down the T key to start it in target mode making it, essentially, a firewire drive. Then from the G5 utility you could select the drive and do an erase. But you will need the original start up disk to re-install the OS. Or at least an OSX install disk to put that on it.
You may or may not be able to put the G5 software on it and definitely not if the G5 is a newer Intel-chip Mac. |
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Jeremy Drey, Photographer
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Reading | PA | USA | Posted: 11:47 PM on 05.04.07 |
->> Debra,
When you got your new computer it should have come with system restore disks. You can use these to reformat your old system. As Rick said, insert the CD (or DVD) and restart the old computer. Hold down the "C" while its rebooting and it should boot to the disk utility. From there you can reformat the entire drive using the Disk Utility program and possibly install the operating system from that CD.
I've done this on 2 machines before and they work great, but be sure to remove anything you wanted to keep first, otherwise it'll be gone for you and of course be empty for the new owner. When you install the new OS it'll want to you to register the computer and blah blah blah, just skip it all. It'll also ask you to create a user name and such. Make both the username and password 'admin' or 'administrator' and 'admin' and be sure to tell the new ower what these are and then in the future they'll be able to change the user and password to their choice.
Good luck, if you have problems email me from my member page and I can try and help you.
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Jeremy |
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