Selling my MacBook Air and What should I do before selling? I have OS Lion installed on it and I know how to reformat the drive to wipe but I wanted to know if I can reformat the HDD without accessing my itunes account that I bought the OS with. And if I'm missing some steps to take to wipe it clean, please let me know!
thanks
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3)
Is it a machine that shipped with Lion or one that you installed Lion on? If it shipped with Lion, you should be able to restore it without an Apple ID as the installation was never attached to your ID. If you installed Lion (meaning you have a pre-2011 model), you will need to use the flash media that shipped with your machine (2010 model) to restore the original OS. The license for Lion, if you purchased it with your Apple ID, is non transferable.
so i guess i got to get another copy of Lion then? does apple still sell Lion on a stick (usb)?
ishii106 wrote:
so i guess i got to get another copy of Lion then? does apple still sell Lion on a stick (usb)?
Yes they do.
SP Forsythe wrote:
ishii106 wrote:
so i guess i got to get another copy of Lion then? does apple still sell Lion on a stick (usb)?
Yes they do.
Why would you need Lion on a USB drive? I understand about not selling a laptop with Lion if it was an upgrade OS X. I just sold one myself where I had to reinstall Snow Leopard. It's my understanding that a Lion upgrade is good for ANY computer in your home. Of course, if you bought a new Apple computer, it would have Lion on it.
He might be thinking that using a USB stick would allow him to securely erase his hard drive before re-installing the OS. He would be incorrect. For some unfathomable reason, Disk Utility wont allow you to do this when using 10.7 and an SSD drive. That means when you sell a computer, you cant securely delete your personal files, and have to hope that they buyer doesn't try to use a disk recovery utility to access your personal data. Simply overwriting the disk with a fresh install of the OS doesn't make them go away. Very poor security. Apple needs to address this.
Captain Apollo nailed it. I was afraid that answer. 😟
Captain Apollo wrote:
He might be thinking that using a USB stick would allow him to securely erase his hard drive before re-installing the OS. He would be incorrect. For some unfathomable reason, Disk Utility wont allow you to do this when using 10.7 and an SSD drive.
Are you saying on a Apple SSD system, you can't do the CMD-R boot, erase the disk and then install Lion?
I just did the above on a MBP (non SSD) and it did reinstall Lion. I then found out I wasn't supposed to do this because it was a Snow Leopard MBP upgraded to Lion. I then rebooted the computer on the DVD installation disks and reinstalled Snow Leopard before selling the computer.
Just clicking "erase" in Disk Utility doesn't really make the data go away. The data is still there until it is overwritten and could be recovered if they buyer of your computer was sufficiently motivated. You need one of the secure erase methods under "security options" and they are unavailable using 10.7 and an SSD. This is truly a baffling mistake by Apple.
I must say that is very strange. Yes, when I did my MBP, I went with the overhill 7 pass write. Is this security option not available on both 10.7 AND SSD, or just SSD? Because when I did it a couple of weeks ago, my MBP DID have 10.7 but of course not a SSD.
Did the previous MBA's with 10.6 have the ability to go with the 3 or 7 pass erase feature?
Yes. With 10.6 you could do the 3 pass or 7 pass secure erase, even with an SSD. It isn't possible with 10.7. Mind boggling.
If you live by an Apple Store; take it in and they will format the laptop for you in 30 minutes... I have done this with an older MacBook Pro... I misplaced the disks.
They didnt charge me for it either.. simply made an appointment, dropped it off, came back after lunch and it was ready for me.
Nearest Apple Store to me is over an hour away.
Its great that they helped you, but that isn't the point. It shouldnt be neccesary to take the computer into a retail store to securely erase the SSD.
Maybe the Apple store is closer for the poster that i was trying to help....
I actaully like the fact that they can quickly setup my laptop in 30minutes without me doing a thing... i walked in and walked out... i didnt have to sit and check on the computer from time to time as if i were to install a fresh copy myself not to mention waste my time...
But thats just me....
Hi,
I am considering the same for my system before maybe selling it.
Does anyone know, if its secure to delete forever everything that might be personal on my system to do this with the version 10.5.8 that I have!
In fact I wanted to sell before I buy a new one, is there anyway to do this as smoothly as possible? And where and how should I keep securely all my resources on my system after selling it?
I want to transfer than later all into the new system that I might perchase (Where I sell and where I purchase my new system will be differing locations!)
Today just I got an update to 10.6, nut how did you guys get already version 10.7?
Does this mean I am able to erase all safely and than able to sell my system?
I hear also people taking out there HDD, and selling their system than without an HDD, is tghis really necessary?
Selling my MacBook Air and What should I do before selling?
