Erasing HD Clean

[cfs]

Hi Forum,

Last year my father in-law gave me his macbook. My wife and I have been using it ever since but finally we just want to erase the data on it and start fresh.

Should we just:

A: got through and delete any files we see?

or

b: Wipe it out clean and use a reinstall disk. The only problem with this is that we don"t have the macbook reinstall disk. Just the one that came with our imac. Does this matter?

Thanks,

cfs

 

[MrCheeto]

It's easy.

Go to System Preferences and then click Accounts. Unlock the lock at the bottom if you have the password, then click the Plus symbol and create your new account. Make sure you allow this user to administer this computer.

Now, log out of the original account, log into your new account. Go to System Preferences>Accounts and unlock it again. Click the old account and click the subtraction symbol. When it asks what to do with the Home folder, tell it to delete it.

Done.

As a note, you should choose your Full Name and Account name wisely, as it's a little bit of a chore to change later on. Your Full Name is the name that shows up on the Login screen and your Account is what your Home Folder will be called. Ideally, your Full Name should be your first and last, properly spaced and capitalized. Your Account name should be your first name, Capitalized.

 

[glewis]

Ignore