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marcedarcy

Q: PowerBook Disposal

I want to dispose of (trash or donate) my old PowerBook G4 but want to erase the hard drive before I do so. How can I erase the hard drive if I can't start up the computer? I tried to start the computer by holding down the C key after inserting install disk but the computer never starts up (gray spinning thing on blue background). The bottom right corner of the powerbook gets awfully hot to the touch (is that where a fan should be working?) Can I hard-wire connect the PowerBook to my iMac and erase it from there?

PowerBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Jul 14, 2010 1:04 PM

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Q: PowerBook Disposal

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  • by varjak paw,Helpful

    varjak paw varjak paw Jul 14, 2010 1:33 PM in response to marcedarcy
    Level 10 (169,883 points)
    Jul 14, 2010 1:33 PM in response to marcedarcy
    If you can get the PB into Target Disk Mode and get the drive mounted on your iMac, you can erase the drive from their using Disk Utility. Select the option to "Zero out data" in the Security Options.

    If you can't get the drive to mount at all and are concerned about possible data theft, remove the drive - you'll find instructions around the web - and either mount it in an external case and see if you can erase it, or just smash the drive with a hammer.

    Regards.