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Disk Erase Failure Question

R

randomdude84

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 27, 2013
36
5
Hey guys, just getting ready to get rid of my late 2013 27” iMac and was following the steps that Apple recommends before you hand your computer off to somebody but ran into a problem trying to erase the HD

So I started the computer up in recovery mode and went into disk utility and then clicked on the “Macintosh HD”, then clicked erase but after a couple minutes I got a erase failure message.

Not really sure what to do now. I did read that you can’t erase the HD since the computer is still running on it but the directions I was following were directly from apples website.

I wanted to put the computer up on marketplace as it’s in awesome shape and was specked out pretty well. I also have all the original packaging/box, etc so I would hate to just recycle it to apple if I can get something from it on marketplace.

Here’s the link I was following the instructions to.

What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support

Reset your Mac to factory settings to prepare it for a new owner.
support.apple.com support.apple.com
 
What version of macOS is supported by Recovery when you boot? Does your iMac have a Fusion Drive?
 
OP:

Did you go to "recovery"... or to "INTERNET recovery" ??
(they aren't the same thing).
I don't think you can erase the entire internal drive unless you go to internet recovery.

Do this:
1. power down all the way off
2. press and hold down "command+OPTION+R" DO NOT LET GO!
3. press and release the power on button (keep holding those keys down)
4. if you are asked for the wifi password, let go of the keyboard and enter it. If you are connected via ethernet, let go when you see "the spinning globe".
5. wait for the internet utilities to load. It takes a while.
6. when you get to the utilties, open disk utility
7. VERY IMPORTANT: go to the "view" menu and choose "show all devices".

Can you see the "fused" internal drive now?
Can you erase it?
 
Last edited:
Hey guys, took it to apple and let them deal with it. I was gonna try and get a couple hundred off marketplace but it wasn’t worth the trouble.

Those links are way too involved for my knowledge
 
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