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Erasing IMac to sell

C

Cbrand30

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 17, 2021
9
1
Hi there, I would really appreciate some help with this.

I am trying to erase my iMac has I have just sold it, and I’m struggling. I have no idea what I’m doing. Basically I’ve got to the point where I’m trying to reinstall macOS but the disks are greyed out. As I have no idea what I’m doing, I’m concerned I’m going to do the wrong thing and I’ll mess it up completely!

Would really appreciate some help.

Chris
 
I’ve tried this but it seems to freeze everytime. How long should this take?
 

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I get the folder icon with a question mark inside it when I try and boot it. What are the steps I need to take with disk utility? It keeps freezing
 
Cbrand30 said:
I get the folder icon with a question mark inside it when I try and boot it. What are the steps I need to take with disk utility? It keeps freezing
Click to expand...
just exactly what is your level of competence when it comes to computer repair/issues because it will allow others to gauge what level of help they need to give you.
 
You need to tell us:
WHAT YEAR the iMac is.
WHAT VERSION of the OS is/was installed on it.

Try this (it's a first step to take):

Boot to INTERNET RECOVERY (this is NOT THE SAME as "the recovery partition"):
Command-OPTION-R
...at boot.
You will need your wifi password (if you connect via wifi).

The internet utilities take a while to load.

CAN YOU GET THIS FAR?


If so, open disk utility.
Go to the view menu and choose "show all devices" (VERY important that you do this)

If there IS NO view menu, don't worry about it. But if there IS, you must make this selection.

Next:
Look on the left.
The "top line" should be the physical drive inside the iMac.
Click on it and click "erase".

Problem -- because you didn't tell us which version of the OS you were using, that could complicate how you erase the drive.

For High Sierra and older, erase it to Mac OS extended with journaling enabled, GUID partition format.

For Mojave and later, erase it to APFS with GUID partition format.

CAN YOU GET THE DRIVE ERASED?

If so, open the OS installer.
I would accept whatever version of the OS is offered to you.
Start clicking through and see if it will install.
 
image.jpg
Hi, thanks for your detailed response. It’s a 2017 iMac 5k, running on BigSur 11.6.

To confirm, the top line is “fusion drive” and the erase option is greyed out. Am I erasing Macintosh HD? See attached.
 
Any thoughts guys? I’ve got a courier coming in 8 hours to pick it up ?
 
I'm wondering if the OP is booted to internet recovery, or if he is booted to the recovery partition...
(he didn't say)
 
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