PierreInDenver
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: I am throwing away an old iMac G5

If I remove and destroy my hard drive, will I have removed all sensitive data from my computer? 

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013)

Posted on Sep 14, 2015 9:19 AM

by notcloudy,Solvedanswer
notcloudy notcloudy
Level 4 (1,205 points)
Desktops
A:

PierreInDenver wrote:

 

If I remove and destroy my hard drive, will I have removed all sensitive data from my computer?

Yes destroying the hard drive is enough

 

Hope you will be taking it to a center that recycles computers -- or at least a shop that takes old computers for parts & correctly recycles the rest.

Posted on Sep 14, 2015 11:13 AM

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PierreInDenver

Q: I am throwing away an old iMac G5

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  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Sep 14, 2015 9:20 AM in response to PierreInDenver
    Level 10 (314,589 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 14, 2015 9:20 AM in response to PierreInDenver

    Yes.

     

    (133327)

  • by notcloudy,Solvedanswer

    notcloudy notcloudy Sep 14, 2015 11:13 AM in response to PierreInDenver
    Level 4 (1,205 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 14, 2015 11:13 AM in response to PierreInDenver

    PierreInDenver wrote:

     

    If I remove and destroy my hard drive, will I have removed all sensitive data from my computer?

    Yes destroying the hard drive is enough

     

    Hope you will be taking it to a center that recycles computers -- or at least a shop that takes old computers for parts & correctly recycles the rest.

  • by PierreInDenver,

    PierreInDenver PierreInDenver Sep 14, 2015 11:11 AM in response to notcloudy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 14, 2015 11:11 AM in response to notcloudy

    Indeed, I will be dropping it at a MAC shop for recycling - just wanted to make sure it was whipped completely.  Thanks!

  • by DPArt,

    DPArt DPArt Sep 25, 2015 2:59 PM in response to PierreInDenver
    Level 3 (599 points)
    Sep 25, 2015 2:59 PM in response to PierreInDenver

    To cut down on the wasting of good drives, I would point out that Disk Utility has secure erase options.

     

    I don't know if OS X in PPC era had this but I imagine it did.

     

    By writing a bunch of Zeros over the drive multiple times there is simply no way for your Data to be taken off the drive. They take awhile, but are pretty secure.

     

    If the drive is SATA, you can put in a newer Mac and do this and then re-use.