how do i erase the hard drive and all my info from a 2007 iMac with last OS El Capitan
tell me how?
Earlier Mac models
Question marked as
If this Mac is going away to be recycled, do this:
What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support
If you intend to gift this Mac, then you'll need to reinstall a working OS after wiping it. This has proven to be problematic of late for users of very old computers, as this 2007 iMac has become. Booting older Macs in Recovery mode is required, and it seems that lately Apple's Recovery servers aren't being very cooperative. Ideally, in this case, the FIRST thing you'll want to do is create a working, bootable USB macOS installer, before you wipe the drive and the Mac becomes unusable. Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support. When you can confirm that the installer is bootable and can launch the reinstall process, then you can continue with the guidance in the first link above.