Emergency Please! Selling MacBook!!

[ipodlover77]

Hey guys, emergency thread. Gotta need quick answers. I finally got my macbook sold to a guy on craigslist. Hes going to go over the system and what not. Im not wiping the system so just in case he decides he doesnt want it, i wont be stuck with a fresh reboot with all my stuff gone. My question is, even tho im not wiping, what info should i erase?
my mac has iworks installed but im planning on using it on my new mbp, should i just uninstall the one from my old mac before selling it, and will it register on the new one?
any tips on what to erase?
and also, how would i back up my address book so i acn transfer it to the new mac? and my itunes bought videos, etc etc. thanks!!! excited!

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

First, retake third grade English.

Next, buy an external HDD and do a Time Machine backup.

Finally, reinstall the OS on your computer.

 

[mrj412]

Yikes, selling without wiping seems like you are just asking for trouble. Do you have somewhere to make a Time Machine backup to? Then you can wipe it and if its not sold you can easily restore the backup or if you do, you can import your settings to your new mac from the backup.

 

[HLdan]

First, retake third grade English.

Next, buy an external HDD and do a Time Machine backup.

Finally, reinstall the OS on your computer.

Agreed, also to the OP, it's rude to bring your Macbook to a potential buyer without a clean hard drive. If the buyers decides to take it he may just want to give you the money and get going. You're idea of not cleaning the hard drive before meeting him will force the buyer to have to wait at least 45 minutes for you to erase the drive and install a fresh copy of Mac OS X. As ShakeNBake said, back up your stuff using TM an be prepared to sell your Macbook.

 

[Erendiox]

Definitely erase any personal information that you have on there. That's what I would be most worried about. You can back up your address book by launching it and selecting File > Export > Address book archive. You can back up your iTunes library by copying your iTunes Music folder.

 

[Apple Corps]

Kind of a silly question:

Be sure to leave your credit card number, passwords and girlfriend's phone number on there. Also, your home address and social security number, along with your banking info would be most helpful to the new buyer.

 

[ipodlover77]

thanks for the quick answers guys.
is it the same type of wiping out if i just inserted the install disks while the laptop was on and chose erase? Sorry, I already forgot what options i chose lol, but there was a erase option from the method I used. Still safe?

 

[reallynotnick]

If you are planing on selling just wipe it, you will have to wipe it for your next customer anyway.
Use disk utility from your install disk and do something like a secure erase that writes 0s all over the drive just for good precaution.

 

[commanderkeen]

Don't wipe. It'll be more interesting that way.