Mac OS X Re-install

[pjcurtin08]

Hello All,

I am going to be selling my iMac, and I want to know something.
1) If I securely empty the trash for all my files, is it necessary to use 7 or 35 pass when wiping the hard drive?

Thanks,
Patrick

 

[spinnerlys]

A ZERO OUT (1-pass) will suffice, as that is not recoverable by commercial consumer software.

https://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-840454.html

 

[KeriJane]

Hello.

Probably not.

You might want to use the disk utility that's part of your installation DVD and do a secure wipe of the entire drive before re-installing Leopard or Snow Leopard. At minimum, zero it out.

This way, files that ended up in unexpected or unknown (to you) places also get wiped, not just the ones that you securely delete.

In particular, things like stored passwords, history lists, activation keys, serial numbers can be hard to track down so it's probably best to secure wipe the entire drive unless you know exactly what to delete and how.

Good Luck,
Keri

 

[pjcurtin08]

Another quick question

If I want to install the bundled version of iLife, do I have to first install my original leopard op sys, then upgrade to snow leopard- or is there an easier way? I looked for an iLife installer on my dvd, but couldn't find one...

 

[spinnerlys]

The iLife suite is on the second, gray restore DVD that came with your Mac, the SL Upgrade DVD doesn't include iLife.

 

[pjcurtin08]

Actually, I found an installer for bundled software only, but will it matter if I'm going from snow leopard to then installing iLife 08 from my Leopard DVD?

 

[spinnerlys]

Actually, I found an installer for bundled software only, but will it matter if I'm going from snow leopard to then installing iLife 08 from my Leopard DVD?

Bundled (a collection of things, or a quantity of material, tied or wrapped up together ) software should be iLife.

And using the "Leopard" installer of iLife in Snow Leopard should work, as SL didn't update iLife, only the system.