Wiping a MacBook clean for resale

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Level 1

1 points

Wiping a MacBook clean for resale

My MacBook's hard drive is on its last leg, so I'm planning on selling it on eBay. Unfortunately, the hard drive operates so slowly that I can't even reach the operating system - let alone wipe the memory clean from the OS. Is there a command I can enter at boot-up that will wipe the entire computer completely clean? I'm looking for a simple solution to getting all the data off the computer before I sell it.

Just as an FYI - The optical drive is dead, it's a duo white Macbook running OS X 10.6.3.

Macbook, Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on Nov 30, 2010 6:44 AM

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Answer 1

Limnos

Level 10

411,157 points

Nov 30, 2010 6:49 AM in response to FSUBrandon81

Is the hard drive truly on its way out or is it you just can't get it to boot fully? If the hard drive is bad then you could just remove the drive completely since it won't be any good to a purchaser who will need to buy a new one anyway.

The other way to secure erase the drive is to boot from the installer disc but since your optical drive is bad too...

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Answer 2

a brody

Level 10

82,925 points

Nov 30, 2010 7:03 AM in response to FSUBrandon81

Since hard drives are so cheap and easy to replace, I would before selling.
See my FAQ on selling for other tips that may or may not be practical given the condition of the hard drive*

http://www.macmaps.com/selling.html

- * links to my pages may give me compensation

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