hankster27
Level 1 (8 points)
Desktops

Q: Hard drive erase

I have a swivel neck iMac from 2003.  How do I erase the hard drive?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Apr 16, 2016 2:52 PM

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hankster27

Q: Hard drive erase

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  • by theratter,

    theratter theratter Apr 16, 2016 2:57 PM in response to hankster27
    Level 4 (3,907 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 16, 2016 2:57 PM in response to hankster27

    Use the Disk Formatter, I think it is called. In 10.5.8 it is called Disk Utility. You will need to boot from another disk than the startup disk.

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Apr 16, 2016 5:52 PM in response to hankster27
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Apr 16, 2016 5:52 PM in response to hankster27

    Are you sure that you need to erase the hard drive?

     

    You need to use Disk Utility. You will need to boot from the installation CD or an external drive with OS X installed.

  • by hankster27,

    hankster27 hankster27 Apr 17, 2016 7:22 AM in response to Duane
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 17, 2016 7:22 AM in response to Duane

    Duane - My intension is to merely recycle this computer.  As we are all told, to secure the data the hard drive should be erased or physically destroyed.  As a neophyte in this endeavor I was under the assumption that I might not have to actually take the thing apart.  I do not have any of the original CD's that came with it.  So, any suggestions to accomplish this would be welcome.

    Hank

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Apr 17, 2016 7:36 AM in response to hankster27
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Apr 17, 2016 7:36 AM in response to hankster27

    hankster27 wrote:

     

    Duane - My intension is to merely recycle this computer.  As we are all told, to secure the data the hard drive should be erased or physically destroyed.  As a neophyte in this endeavor I was under the assumption that I might not have to actually take the thing apart.  I do not have any of the original CD's that came with it.  So, any suggestions to accomplish this would be welcome.

    Hank

    Sure, that is a good reason. There seems to be a flood of people reformatting their Macs when they are facing a simple issue which can be resolved without reformatting. I just asked to ensure that reformatting was the best option.

     

    As I said above... You need to use Disk Utility. You will need to boot from the installation CD or an external drive with OS X installed.

  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Apr 17, 2016 8:19 AM in response to hankster27
    Level 8 (35,141 points)
    iPad
    Apr 17, 2016 8:19 AM in response to hankster27

    Welcome Hankster!

     

    If you do not have the install disks, and you have access to another Mac with FireWire ports, there is an excellent option available. FireWire Target Disk Mode (FWTDM) allows the hard drive in one Mac (your G4 iMac in this case) to be mounted on another Mac as if it were an external hard drive. Then you can move or delete files using software already installed on the other Mac. Info on FWTDM is here:

     

    Share files between two computers with target disk mode - Apple Support

     

    What the article does not show is how to know when the computer that will be seen as an external disk is successfully in Target Disk Mode. It has achieved Target Disk Mode with it shows a screen like this:

     

    FWTDM screen.png

    The yellow FireWire symbol will move around like a screensaver element.

     

    The other option is to remove the hard drive physically. If you wish to pursue this option, here are instructions for its removal:

     

    https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+G4+17+800+MHz+EMC+1936+Hard+Drive+Replacement/ 7043

  • by hankster27,

    hankster27 hankster27 Apr 17, 2016 8:30 AM in response to Allan Jones
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 17, 2016 8:30 AM in response to Allan Jones

    Allan,

    Thank you for being very specific.  Very helpful.  I'll take it from here.

    Hank