I'm using a Mac mini-late 2012 purchased in 2014 to which I transferred the information from an iMac,(2008, A1224), Snow Leopard, 10.9.2. Can I clean everything off the iMac hard drive? How do I do it?
Mac mini, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2), information transferred from an iMa
If you are preparing to sell it, the following may help: What to do before selling or giving away your Mac - Apple Support
If you are preparing to sell it, the following may help: What to do before selling or giving away your Mac - Apple Support
I've done that but there appear to be files left on the iMac which I can't get rid of. The iMac has been idle for 2 or 3 months--when I tried to get it functioning again a few days ago all I could get was a number of flashing images--one of which from memory was a '?' in a circle! I have a friend who's interested in taking the mac off my hands but I would like to make sure that the hard drive is totally clean.
Both these Macs seem to have Firewire, the Mini has Firewire 800 & the iMac has Firewire 800 & 400.
You can use Target disk mode to examine the disk from the Mini, secure erase it and reformat it.
How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode - Apple Support
You simply need a cable that can connect the 2 macs.
Otherwise boot the iMac from the original install disks, you can either erase the disks or consider using the Terminal in the installer to copy any remaining files off the HD, the second option is tough if you are not familiar in Terminal.
Disk Utility will erase & has secure options that overwrite - just be aware that it can take a long while on a large disk to do many passes (35 pass is probably pointless).
Thanks. I'll give your suggestions a try--apart from using Terminal--sounds too difficult for someone with my elementary skills and experience!
I've transferred information from an iMac to a mac mini but how do I clear everything of the iMac hard drive
