Can I reformat my MBP with SL discs that came with my new iMAC?

[joonyaboy]

Just bought a new iMAC 27 and I want to sell my MBP 17". I want to wipe the HD clean so the new owner doesn't get any of my stuff.

Can I do it with the SL discs that came with my new iMAC because when I bought the MBP, it came with no discs.

Or is there a quick way to remove all personal information? (like delete the admin account a create a new one)

 

[JamesGorman]

You can't use the Imac's discs. But what you can do, is Create another account, Delete your old one, than go to disk utility, and do the "erase free space". A 7 pass should work just fine.

 

[ghboard2010]

Substituting System Disks. . .

Just bought a new iMAC 27 and I want to sell my MBP 17". I want to wipe the HD clean so the new owner doesn't get any of my stuff.

Can I do it with the SL discs that came with my new iMAC because when I bought the MBP, it came with no discs.

Or is there a quick way to remove all personal information? (like delete the admin account a create a new one)

Well wiping the HD is possible sure, however installing a new system on the MBP from the iMac may not be joyful from the end user perspective. The system disks for the iMac have system files specific to the iMac. Go ahead, give it shot see how that works out for you.

 

[JamesGorman]

Well wiping the HD is possible sure, however installing a new system on the MBP from the iMac may not be joyful from the end user perspective. The system disks for the iMac have system files specific to the iMac. Go ahead, give it shot see how that works out for you.

It won't work at all. The system disc's are for the exact same system that they shipped with. If you were trying to use the disc's on the exact same machine it may work. But definitely not a completely different machine.

Just to give an example. Even the discs that shipped with a 13" MBP, would not work with a 15" MBP. The system discs are made specifically for one system.

 

[joonyaboy]

You can't use the Imac's discs. But what you can do, is Create another account, Delete your old one, than go to disk utility, and do the "erase free space". A 7 pass should work just fine.

I like that idea. Thanks.

None of the applications will remember my settings will they? Like Safari passwords or Skype logins, etc

 

[JamesGorman]

I like that idea. Thanks.

None of the applications will remember my settings will they? Like Safari passwords or Skype logins, etc

They shouldn't, simply because those settings will be linked to your current user account. When you create the new user account, everything should be fresh, so to say.

 

[d88co88]

It won't work at all. The system disc's are for the exact same system that they shipped with. If you were trying to use the disc's on the exact same machine it may work. But definitely not a completely different machine.

Just to give an example. Even the discs that shipped with a 13" MBP, would not work with a 15" MBP. The system discs are made specifically for one system.

I remember reading somewhere that if you installed it onto the MBP via target disk mode, it would work. Would it?

 

[maflynn]

Did you lose the the system disks that came with the laptop?

Why not use them?

 

[cathyy]

I don't see why this isn't possible. I bought the $50 Snow Leopard upgrade disks from Apple and I did a clean reinstall with it on my 2008 MBP.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

I don't see why this isn't possible. I bought the $50 Snow Leopard upgrade disks from Apple and I did a clean reinstall with it on my 2008 MBP.

I don't know, who you are referring to, but the grey Restore DVDs coming with a Mac are model/machine specific and only work with the model they came with. And iMac differs from a MBP, as they even have different model identifiers.

And why did you pay 50 $ for a DVD that normally costs 29 $ (USD), or was it the Family Pack?

 

[Detrius]

I don't see why this isn't possible. I bought the $50 Snow Leopard upgrade disks from Apple and I did a clean reinstall with it on my 2008 MBP.

That would therefore be a retail disc and would work.

 

[cathyy]

I don't know, who you are referring to, but the grey Restore DVDs coming with a Mac are model/machine specific and only work with the model they came with. And iMac differs from a MBP, as they even have different model identifiers.

And why did you pay 50 $ for a DVD that normally costs 29 $ (USD), or was it the Family Pack?

Hmm...makes sense I guess. Anyway it's $50 because it's in SGD, and the conversion rate back then was about 1.5.