erase everything
Hi I want to erase everything, in a secure way, from my mac book pro, and I do not have any install CD (because I read that is the way to do it). I have a mac book pro version 10.10.3 with OS X Yosemite. How can i do it? Thanks
5 replies
the thing is that I cannot do it. Maybe you can see it here:
do you know why?
You can't erase the partition when you are booted from it.
You need to reboot into recovery mode (hold cmd+R at startup) then you can erase that partition. Bear in mind that the Mac will no longer boot after that so you would be wise to download a copy of the 10.10 installer from the Mac app store & write that to a USB stick before you begin.
See this and follow the 10.8 steps.
You can use internet recovery mode too (hold cmd+r+alt at startup with a working internet connection), but the OS will need to be downloaded to boot the Mac & then download again to install the OS - it is simpler to make a USB stick IMO.
Create a bootable installer for OS X Mavericks or Yosemite - Apple Support
Before you sell or give away your computer, in addition to the steps listed in this support article, take these steps:
1. Run Apple Diagnostics or the Apple Hardware Test. The buyer will do this (or he should), and you don't want to be surprised by the results.
2. Reset the PRAM and the SMC, which might contain personal information.
3. If you set a firmware password, remove it by running Firmware Password Utility in Recovery mode.
4. If you activated FileVault in OS X 10.7 or later, turn it off.
5. If you use Boot Camp, the partition must be deleted.
6. If you created any other data partitions on the internal drive, remove them in Disk Utility.
7. If the machine has an internal hard drive, erase the one remaining data partition with the option to zero out data. An SSD doesn't need to be zeroed.
You can't legally or practically transfer any software downloaded from the Mac App Store to the new owner of the machine, even if it was free. That includes OS X, so if you upgraded to OS X 10.7 or later, you must reinstall an older OS, either from the installation media, if applicable, or by starting up in Internet Recovery mode (option-command-R at the startup chime.) If you installed from physical media, deliver those to the new owner.
Replacements for the original media can be ordered from Apple.
If the machine shipped with OS X 10.4 or 10.5, then you may be able to install on it from a retail Snow Leopard disc (which you must then transfer to the buyer.) To run Snow Leopard, the machine needs at least 1 GB of memory. The buyer should understand that if he doesn't get the original media from you, he won't get the bundled iLife applications or the Apple Hardware Test.
The new owner will have to redownload any software that came from the App Store, if applicable, including OS X upgrades, under his or her Apple ID. If you ever updated the bundled iLife applications (Garage Band, iMovie, and iPhoto) through the App Store, you can't transfer those either. The buyer will have to purchase them.
Remove the machine from your list of registered products. If it's still covered by an AppleCare Protection Plan, transfer the coverage to the new owner by following the instructions in the AppleCare Terms and Conditions (under the heading "Transfer of Plan.")
This is usually caused by enabling FileVault; see Disk Utility: Unable to Erase or Partition a Disk after Installing Yosemite.
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erase everything