How to wipe old computer without losing the OS 10.7.5

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How to wipe old computer without losing the OS 10.7.5

I want to give an old iMac to my Dad, who's in his 90's and has a lot of trouble learning new tricks so needs something as much like his failing iMac as possible--this computer is, and he can do everything he needs on it.

I'd like to remove all my data, but have the OS as up to date as possible.

It's a 20" iMac, late 2006 model with 2.16 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo processor, running OS 10.7.5 (which I think is the latest update it can run).

I haven't wiped a computer in ages and I have no install disks. How can I re-install the same OS? (This isn't for sale to a stranger, so perhaps I don't have to do anything quite as drastic? It would be nice to keep Pages and Numbers.)

iMac 21.5", macOS 10.14

Posted on Dec 1, 2019 10:02 AM

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Answer 1

Limnos

Level 10

428,735 points

Dec 1, 2019 10:14 AM in response to Stephanie4321

Create a new user account for him with administrator status, then use that one to delete your old user account (or just remove files on it and leave the account on the computer in case you need a backdoor onto the system when he forgets his password or something).

Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/set-up-other-users-mtusr001/mac

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How to wipe old computer without losing the OS 10.7.5

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