Best Way to Clean Wipe OS

[RMD68]

I have a simple question.

I want to do a complete wipe of my 2011 iMac, so what is the best way to accomplish this.

Thanks!

 

[MrDidel]

It may be obvious, but just in case:
Doing this will completely wipe your hard drive and delete all the data and files that are on the hard drive. It will be impossible to recover any data from the disk afterwards, so make sure you have a (TimeMachine) backup of your important data.

Assuming your computer is working fine, the best thing would be to:

1. Reboot your mac from the recovery partition, by holding Cmd and R while booting, until you see the logo on the screen.
2. It should show the recovery menu. If necessary, select a language, and choose the disk utility from the menu.
3. Choose the first volume of the hard drive (probably called Macintosh HD) from the list on the left, and choose the 'Erase' tab.
4. You can leave the settings as they are (Mac OS Extended, Journaled), and press erase, and confirm when asked.
5. If everything has finished, you should see in the disk utility window that the volume is now empty.
6. You can close the disk utility window, which will return you to the main recovery menu. From there you can choose to reinstall mac os x.

That should be everything necessary to completely wipe your hard drive and install a fresh new copy of OS X. Make sure to eject any drives (external hard disks, USB-Sticks, SD-Cards, etc) beforehand to prevent you wipe the wrong one.

 

[RMD68]

Thank you for your quick response!

I figured it wasn't a big deal, but I never did a clean wipe, so was a good place to ask.

I will be sure to transfer any files that I want to keep prior to wiping the HDD.

I have a follow up question.

Since my iMac is from 2011, I only have the disks from an earlier version of OSX, so since I previously upgraded that iMac to Mavericks, will I still be eligible for the free Mavericks upgrade after I complete the clean wipe?

Thanks!

 

[Bruno09]

By following the process MrDidel explained (boot from recovery partition), you will automatically re-install Mavericks.

You don't need to use your Snow Leopard discs.

Alternatively, if your goal is to re-install Snow Leopard, the process is different :
- boot from the SL DVD.
- use Disk Utility to erase the WHOLE disc (not Macintosh HD only).
- install Snow Leopard.

 

[RMD68]

By following the process MrDidel explained (boot from recovery partition), you will automatically re-install Mavericks.

You don't need to use your SL discs.

Alternatively, if your goal is to re-install Snow Leopard, the process is different :
- boot from the SL DVD.
- use Disk Utility to erase the WHOLE disc (not Macintosh HD only).
- install Snow Leopard.

Besides the possible benefits of using Snow Leopard again, is there any benefit in clean wiping the computer, installing Snow Leopard, and then upgrading to Mavericks? Or will I obtain the same benefits by clean wiping the Mac Hd only?

Thanks!

 

[MrDidel]

I assumed you have already installed OS X Mavericks before. If you did, you should be fine.

When you installed Mavericks, it probably has installed the recovery partition which will give you the ability to reinstall the os without any physical discs, as long as you have an internet connection (either through wifi or wired). It will then download the necessary files from Apple's servers and continue installing OS X Mavericks afterwards. You could quickly check by performing step 1 of my previous answer. If you get into the recovery menu, the recovery partition is there and you can simply continue the process (or reboot from the menubar to cancel). If it starts with loading internet recovery, then there is no recovery partition, but it will still download everything it needs from the internet (will be a little slower though) and you can still proceed safely (or again, reboot to cancel). If it just boots up regularly, you probably haven't pressed the right keys or let them go too early. To be sure you boot your mac into recovery: turn it off, then press and hold CMD and R, while still holding those keys turn the iMac on, and keep holding those 2 keys until you see the logo on the gray screen. That should give you at least one of the 2 above scenarios (either the recovery menu or it will load internet recovery).

So, check whether you have access to the recovery menu. If you do you're good to go.

Edit:
I don't see any benefits of first installing SL before installing Mavericks.

 

[Bruno09]

is there any benefit in clean wiping the computer, installing Snow Leopard, and then upgrading to Mavericks?

Absolutely none.

It's much better to clean wipe the disk and install Mavericks.