mingdurga
Level 1 (5 points)
Desktops

Q: want to erase my hd completely

want to erase my HD and then start over by uploading my external drive.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Sep 29, 2015 5:28 PM

by a brody,Solvedanswer
a brody a brody
Level 9 (66,865 points)
Classic Mac OS
A:

Command-R is only available on Macs that shipped with Lion or later, and those whose firmware has been updated to include access to it. 

The recovery partition, which can be accessed via the Option key if the hard drive was properly formatted when installing Lion or later, will have the installer necessary to reinstall the operating system that is 10.7 or newer.   To reformat a hard drive that shipped with Snow Leopard, you need either the Snow Leopard disk that shipped with it, or the retail Snow Leopard that is available from the Apple Store, if the Mac is older than March 15, 2010.     AppleCare has the pre bundled Snow Leopard discs for sale with a nominal fee, once you give them your serial number.

 

Here's the scoop on the aforementioned firmware:

Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery - Apple Support

Posted on Oct 1, 2015 9:08 PM

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mingdurga

Q: want to erase my hd completely

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  • Helpful answers

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Sep 30, 2015 3:28 AM in response to mingdurga
    Level 9 (52,303 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 30, 2015 3:28 AM in response to mingdurga

    Are you using Snow Leopard OSX or Mt. Lion ?   Does the external HDD have an OSX installed on it?  If so, which one?

     

    Ciao.

  • by a brody,Helpful

    a brody a brody Oct 1, 2015 6:41 AM in response to mingdurga
    Level 9 (66,865 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Oct 1, 2015 6:41 AM in response to mingdurga

    Snow Leopard is 10.6.0 through 10.6.8, which your signature says you have.  Mountion Lion is 10.8.x where x can be any number from 0 to 5, where 0 is implied in the Apple menu -> About This Mac.   

  • by mingdurga,

    mingdurga mingdurga Sep 30, 2015 1:43 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 30, 2015 1:43 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    using mountain lion(10.8.?) on new HD with snow leopard(10.6.?) on the external HD

     

    Can't get rid of the constant "script error" message or the spinning ball which lasts a long time.

     

    mike

  • by mingdurga,

    mingdurga mingdurga Sep 30, 2015 4:01 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 30, 2015 4:01 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW TO DELETE EVERYTHING ON MY HD ,  PLEASE.    NOT INTERESTED IN ANYTHING ELSE JUST WANT TO START OVER WITH A "BLANK"  HD

     

     

    THANKS

  • by OGELTHORPE,Helpful

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Oct 1, 2015 6:42 AM in response to mingdurga
    Level 9 (52,303 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 1, 2015 6:42 AM in response to mingdurga

    Boot the Mac into the recovery partition (COMMAND + R keys).

     

    From the 4 option menu select Disk Utility.

     

    Run Disk Utility>Erase with Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the selected format.

     

    At that point the HDD is BLANK.

     

    Ciao.

  • by mingdurga,

    mingdurga mingdurga Oct 1, 2015 6:17 AM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 1, 2015 6:17 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Got your reply after the fact.  Had to do it the hard way, since the spinning ball and bad script messages kept me from logging into any page.    I down loaded the 2 original startup discs plus the snow leopard disc, and a bunch of updates inbetween, before getting to download my data from the external disc.   Now the computer is back to "normal".   Any guess as to why the spinning ball and bad script messages kept dogging me for over 5 days?

     

    Thanks for the help,  appreciate it.

     

    Mike

  • by mingdurga,

    mingdurga mingdurga Oct 1, 2015 5:26 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 1, 2015 5:26 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    " Boot the Mac into the recovery partition (COMMAND + R keys) " ?

     

    Tried it, nothing happened.  Same with holding OPTION key.   What is the recovery partition and where do I find it.  Searched Utilities, etc.

     

    Thanks.

  • by a brody,Solvedanswer

    a brody a brody Oct 1, 2015 9:08 PM in response to mingdurga
    Level 9 (66,865 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Oct 1, 2015 9:08 PM in response to mingdurga

    Command-R is only available on Macs that shipped with Lion or later, and those whose firmware has been updated to include access to it. 

    The recovery partition, which can be accessed via the Option key if the hard drive was properly formatted when installing Lion or later, will have the installer necessary to reinstall the operating system that is 10.7 or newer.   To reformat a hard drive that shipped with Snow Leopard, you need either the Snow Leopard disk that shipped with it, or the retail Snow Leopard that is available from the Apple Store, if the Mac is older than March 15, 2010.     AppleCare has the pre bundled Snow Leopard discs for sale with a nominal fee, once you give them your serial number.

     

    Here's the scoop on the aforementioned firmware:

    Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery - Apple Support

  • by mingdurga,

    mingdurga mingdurga Oct 2, 2015 6:38 AM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 2, 2015 6:38 AM in response to a brody

    Thanks.

  • by mingdurga,

    mingdurga mingdurga Oct 5, 2015 6:41 AM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 5, 2015 6:41 AM in response to a brody

    Don't have to  worry about my IMac anymore.   Donated it to recycling over the weekend.   Had a new HD installed 4 months ago.  More problems ensued when it stopped working.  My screen looked like morse code signals.   Told by the repair folks it needed a new graphics board and one other piece.   Both are no longer being manufactured and un-available.   Could have posted it for spare parts,  but didn't want to deal with window shoppers coming and going.

     

    Will have to buy a new one (end of year, maybe, if on sale.)  They all come with the latest Yosemite, unfortunately.    When a new one is purchased, is it worth it to buy parts that may be needed 5-6 years from now,  when the machine becomes obsolete in 4-5 years?    At least all my stuff is backed up and ready to go to the new one.

     

    Thanks.