Secure delete of a user account

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Level 1

4 points

Secure delete of a user account

I am about to transfer my data from my personal MB Pro to a new MB Pro purchased by my employer. My husband and daughter also had accounts on my machine (but were never really used, though my husband's account was an Admin account). Before migrating info, I deleted their two user accounts. I did check the box for a secure delete because I ultimately will be selling my old machine (and I'm thinking that was my mistake right there). I started that process mid-late Friday afternoon, and System Preferences still says it is deleting those two accounts and will not let me quit SP. Is it possible it is still working? Or did it hang somewhere in the process? I am not sure how long to give it before I take the chance of messing up the whole process with a Force Quit.

Any thoughts, feedback or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Posted on Jun 16, 2014 9:29 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 16, 2014 7:12 PM in response to ShellNJigs

The more "securely" you erase the disk, the longer it will take. The fastest method is sufficient since all but the most expensive techniques and equipment will be able to recover securely erased data. Even if you chose one of mre secure methods, this does seem extremely long

Since you are deleting data, if you forced quit, I doubt it would damage your data and you don't really care about the data you were deleting.

What to do before selling or giving away your Mac

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5189

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Answer 2

Jun 16, 2014 10:45 PM in response to ShellNJigs

The secure deletion of a user takes a very long time, perhaps forever, and never worked for me. Best method is to follow the instructions at the link above to reformat the disk (choose a secure erase option) and then reinstall OS and bundled software from original disks.

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Answer 3

ShellNJigs Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 17, 2014 3:08 AM in response to Flying Pelican

Thank you both. I did a Force Quit this morning, restarted, and was only presented with my account. I knew the accounts were out of the file directory over the weekend by looking at the hierarchy in a finder window, but was hoping the FQ would not lock up anything else if it were still doing the secure erase. All seems to be running OK.

Within a week or two, I will have the information migrated to my new machine and will be selling this machine. I will take a look at the link provided by Dianeoforegon, but if you have any other tips, I would love to hear them!

Thanks again!

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