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Looking to erase and reboot my hard drive. Whats the best app?
- Thread starter mo sizzle
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you can't erase a hard drive while it's in use. You would have to put in the OS X install disk, open disk utility and format the drive.
Via your Install Disc use Disc Utility to format the drive completely, then install OS X again from scratch.
Use the OS X disc to boot your system, use Disk Utility to erase the HD (do at least the write zeros to everything) then just install OS X from the same disc and your done.
TEG
TEG
thanks for the responses guys. problem is i dont have any of the os disks. i did back up everything to my external with super duper, which is bootable right?
its acting weird because it wont let me use the number pad on the keyboard. when i do it freezes the entire comp. it also wont hold a internet connection for like more than 20 mins
its acting weird because it wont let me use the number pad on the keyboard. when i do it freezes the entire comp. it also wont hold a internet connection for like more than 20 mins
how is it that so many newbies come into possession of Macs yet they never have the OS install disks!?
It's not very wise to buy a computer that doesn't come with the install disks. It might be stolen or something. Besides events like this come up and you may need those disks or else you're left with a very expensive paper weight.
Now for some real trivia....
Actually you CAN erase the drive while it is in use. Of course this will crash the system but this should not be a problem because, well you want it gone anyway.
Bring up a terminal window and use the "dd" command to write zeros to the physical disk drive. This will kill the boot loader, partition table and anything else that is there. For this to work you will need to be logged in as root (use su- root for that.)
The exact form of the dd command is
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/<the drive name goes here>
To figure out what goes in <the drive name goes here> type "df" and you should be able to figure it out.
About the only use of the above is if you are testing the install procedure for a new operating system version. You will need to run it many, many times on a clean disk to get it right. This will clean the disk quickly. I've only done this a few times
here's a little more trivia for you the computer will crash before it has successfully erased the drive.
so... illegally? Most of us on macrumors will be a little more inclined to help if didn't pirate software from a company many of us own stock in.
trust me, ive invested more than enough money into apple than most, from ipods, iphones, mac and accessories in between. and dont give me this ignorant crap on legalities. cause i dont believe for a second that you or any other genuine apple user has never downloaded illegally.
Way to be a cynic. You're still stealing from anyone who owns apple stock. Also you haven't 'invested enough' you still owe money for the stolen OS.
youve never downloaded a song or movie offline, copied and pasted or rephrased a source without consent? apple's stock is doing more than fine, arent they supposed to have a record breaking quarter coming up? im not being cynical. im an inspiring video editor. and i can see you are involved in video production and photography, both extremely expensive fields. and being "newbish" and in college, i try to save on wat i can in order to afford and pursue this interest
Sorry, I guess I was picking a fight. It's an off day.
Anyway, I can't really help you out with your original question. The only thing I can tell you to do is restart and repair permissions.
It's fun to watch the computer die a slow death.
You never quite know when it will take it's final breath if you will.
Please remember your comments when others are doing the same to your products that you have invested your heart, soul, time and effort. Who knows, you might just change your mind then.
He is referring to how you might feel if others downloaded and distributed your work without paying for it.
You do want to make a living, right?
hey, if i was already making billions through my other products, i would have no problem with people obtaining my product through illegal means, especially if they cant afford it. why should certain people not have the same chance and opportunities to experience something like video production simply because their family has a less than fortunate income. and this is a problem artists of all types encounter, and they seem to be perfectly fine riding in their ferraris. so if you ask me whether i want to make a living off what i love to do? of course, but until i get there i need to use any means necessary to get started. m sure anyone successful will tell you they've done the same.
Cool deal! Let me know where I can pick up my Lamborghini, because I have"less than fortunate income" that will not allow me to fulfill my desire to experience driving one.
Since that is the case, I drive what the income I make allows me to, and seek opportunities to gain additional income as well.Seriously- this whole load should be taken to the Politics forum!