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bobbytallant

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 6, 2010
375
38
Hi there

So Ive just sold my mac. I downloaded lion when it came out - anyway, I want to obviously wipe all my data and leave a fresh copy of lion on the mac.

How can I do this? I have begun re-downloading lion from the mac app store - is it just a case of selecting fresh install / wipe data or something?

Idiots guide please! Hopefully its not too complicated...

Would appreciate your help
 

abnospam

macrumors regular
Jul 17, 2008
210
0
burn the Lion dmg to a DVD/USB and boot from it. From there go into disk utility and format the drive, erase partitions. Then exit disk utility and install Lion fresh. It is a snap. Did it myself.
 

bobbytallant

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 6, 2010
375
38
burn the Lion dmg to a DVD/USB and boot from it. From there go into disk utility and format the drive, erase partitions. Then exit disk utility and install Lion fresh. It is a snap. Did it myself.

You make it sound so easy! But wow - all that effort...

Isn't there an easier way - I read somewhere holding cmd + r when you turn on the mac gives you the option to do a fresh install or something...?
 

bobbytallant

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 6, 2010
375
38
OK so I have managed to burn lion to a USB successfully.

What is my next step can I ask? Again I am trying to erase everything and leave a fresh copy of lion on the mac before I send it to my buyer.

When I go in to disc utilities and select my mac I am unable to erase it as it is currently greyed out under the erase tab...

Do I go through the lion installation process first - will it give me the option to erase all data on the disk during this process or do I erase all data on the disk before I start the lion installation process?

Absolute newb when it comes to this stuff so please forgive me!
 

Hugh

macrumors 6502a
Feb 9, 2003
840
5
Erie, PA
OK so I have managed to burn lion to a USB successfully.

What is my next step can I ask? Again I am trying to erase everything and leave a fresh copy of lion on the mac before I send it to my buyer.

When I go in to disc utilities and select my mac I am unable to erase it as it is currently greyed out under the erase tab...

Do I go through the lion installation process first - will it give me the option to erase all data on the disk during this process or do I erase all data on the disk before I start the lion installation process?

Absolute newb when it comes to this stuff so please forgive me!

You need to boot from your jump drive, then you will be able to format the hard drive.

Hugh
 

Quad5Ny

macrumors 6502a
Sep 13, 2009
984
22
New York, USA
  1. http://lifehacker.com/5823096
  2. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=DiskUtility/10.5/en/duh1011.html (Needs to be done while booting from the Lion USB drive)
  3. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3910 (Steps are the same for Lion)
  4. Hold the power button to force shutdown after the OS X Welcome video plays
  5. Pack up the computer

If you have a SSD skip step #2, TRIM should wipe your old data after a few hours of being powered on.

And also remember to not enter your Apple ID or any personal information after reinstalling.
 
Last edited:

Cheule

macrumors member
Mar 28, 2009
40
10
Bobby, if you don't want to reinstall the OS, but want to reset it to a "factory fresh state," you can use the following info that I just used about 2 hours ago to reset a Snow Leopard computer I didn't have the OS disk for.


How to “reset” a Mac OS X installation
Here’s how to “reset” an installed Mac OS X and virtually return to a “virgin” state with a welcome screen prompting the user to setup and customize his Mac OS X installation:

1. Press Command-S during startup to get into single user mode


2. Check the filesystem:
# /sbin/fsck -fy


3. Mount the root partition as writable:
# /sbin/mount -uw /


4. Remove the hidden .AppleSetupDone file:
# rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone

5. a) For Mac OS X 10.5 ‘Leopard’ and newer, do:

# launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServices.plist &


Repeat for every user previously defined on the machine (replace {username} with the real user name):
# dscl . -delete /Users/{username}
(optionally execute the next line, most people won't probably need it)
# dscl . -delete /Groups/admin GroupMembership {username}


5. b) For older versions of Mac OS X, do:

# rm -rf /var/db/netinfo/local.nidb


6. Remove the home directories of users. For every user do (replace {username} with the real user name):
# rm -rf /Users/{username}


7. If applicable, remove already created files in root’s home directory, e.g.
# rm /root/.bash_history


8. Reboot:

# reboot


You can also optionally remove the files in /Library/Preferences with:
# rm -R /Library/Preferences/
This could effect some third party apps installed.

Oh and it's useful to point out this method will not touch the installed OS, or installed Apps, just remove personal data, and reset the OS to a "welcome state."

Hope you find it useful, I've used it for ever Mac I've sold in the last 5 years.
-Cheule
 
Last edited:

Cheule

macrumors member
Mar 28, 2009
40
10
Hold the power button to force shutdown after the OS X Welcome video plays

Instead of holding down the power button (which has the slight change of leading to data loss, due to a unexpected shutdown), simply use command-q to quit the Setup Assistant. Setup Assistant will say "Setup is not complete, Shutdown?" Choose shutdown to shut down properly. Next time you boot the machine, it will go to the welcome video again.
 
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