NanBar

Q: how do i clear my old mac of all info

how do i clear my old mac of all info

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)

Posted on May 13, 2013 12:11 PM

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Q: how do i clear my old mac of all info

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  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 May 13, 2013 12:17 PM in response to NanBar
    Level 9 (58,523 points)
    Photos for Mac
    May 13, 2013 12:17 PM in response to NanBar

    Erase and install OS X from the Recovery partition.

  • by Paul_31,

    Paul_31 Paul_31 May 13, 2013 12:20 PM in response to NanBar
    Level 6 (13,925 points)
    May 13, 2013 12:20 PM in response to NanBar

    Instructions here if the Mac came with 2 grey disks: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3910?viewlocale=en_US

     

    If you're passing the Mac on the disks should be handed over with it.

     

    (Obviously everyting will be wiped, so copy everything you need somewhere else first ).

  • by j.byerline,

    j.byerline j.byerline Oct 16, 2014 10:01 PM in response to NanBar
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 16, 2014 10:01 PM in response to NanBar

    Boot ro recovery by holding COMMAND+R on boot up, until you see an apple and spinning gear. This will take you to OS X Utilities. Once in OS X utilities, select Disk Utility.

     

    Once in Disk Utility, select the Mac HD, and go to the erase tab. Make sure the name of the HD stays the same and the format is Mac OS Extended (Journaled) then click erase.

     

    After you do this, exit out of the disk utility, go back to OS X utilities and click reinstall OS X.

     

    Easy peasy.

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Oct 16, 2014 10:24 PM in response to NanBar
    Level 7 (32,056 points)
    iPad
    Oct 16, 2014 10:24 PM in response to NanBar

    And, an additional note: if you are selling or giving it away, you need to erase the drive and reinstall the original OS on it; if you obtained Mountain Lion (or any other OS or app) at the app store, you have to remove it because it is not transferable and is tied to your Apple ID forever.