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People who have sold mac notebooks - How did you make it 'safe'?

T

thesmoth

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 7, 2008
367
0
I'm not asking about pricing stuff because i'm now aware that it is against the rules.

I am curious about how to prepare a macbook for sale so that privacy is not an issue. Obviously you can delete your itunes library and your photos and contacts and all of that stuff, and clear your browsing history, internet cache, etc... Is there anything else that needs to be done?

Is it worth while to do a fresh install of OSX using the disc that comes with your macbook?

Any tips?
 
To make it completely safe. You've got to replace the hard drive.

Even tho you'll deleted the files, they can easily be recovered.
 
When you go to boot of the disk to do a fresh install run Erase in Disk Utility and overwrite everything one or more times.
 
Yes, replacing the HDD is one way to be sure

You can use Disk Utility to reformat the HDD and securely overwrite it
Then do a fresh install

No way would I do anything less than that

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
DrunkenMunky said:
To make it completely safe. You've got to replace the hard drive.

Even tho you'll deleted the files, they can easily be recovered.
Click to expand...

Disk Utility offers up to 7 pass formatting. It takes a LONG time, but for all intents and purposes, impossible to recover any data from the drive.
 
I posted a thread last night asking how much I should ask for my girlfriends macbook but the thread was closed saying it was against the rules, unless posted in the market place.

Where is the marketplace and where can i go to get a good idea of the value of her system.

I've seen some of the same ones selling for $1100 on craigslist, BUT hers still has 2 years of applecare and just had the keyboard/trackpad replaced.
 
thesmoth said:
I posted a thread last night asking how much I should ask for my girlfriends macbook but the thread was closed saying it was against the rules, unless posted in the market place.

Where is the marketplace and where can i go to get a good idea of the value of her system.

I've seen some of the same ones selling for $1100 on craigslist, BUT hers still has 2 years of applecare and just had the keyboard/trackpad replaced.
Click to expand...

You need 250 posts and 6 months of being on the forum to post in the marketplace.
 
NewMacbookPlz said:
Disk Utility offers up to 7 pass formatting. It takes a LONG time, but for all intents and purposes, impossible to recover any data from the drive.
Click to expand...

This is what I did when I sold my MB and MBA on eBay and thus far, no unauthorized credit cards in my name ;)
 
I sell macbooks every once in a while so I either replace hard drives or run disk utility.
 
A single zero-out pass will be enough to deter all but a forensic investigator. If one of those gets their hands on their hard drive, it might not matter how many passes you do.
 
geoffreak said:
A single zero-out pass will be enough to deter all but a forensic investigator. If one of those gets their hands on their hard drive, it might not matter how many passes you do.
Click to expand...

This is one of the only correct posts in this thread.
 
NewMacbookPlz said:
Disk Utility offers up to 7 pass formatting. It takes a LONG time, but for all intents and purposes, impossible to recover any data from the drive.
Click to expand...

It's not impossible. Someone with the right tools and desire can pull data off that drive. Now, chances are someone is not going to buy a MB off the internet only to try and pull data off the drive, but it's technically possible.

If you complete safety, replace the HDD and keep or destroy (very thoroughly) the old one. I've heard stories of even physically shattered HDDs being reassembled and data being recovered, so make sure you grind it down into tiny pieces. I recommend a BlendTech blender. ;)
 
Hmm, I sold it to a friend of mine and only did a fresh install of the OS. Meh, he's not the type of person that knows much about how to go about recovering these files anyway. I don't even see why he would want to. I just have to worry about who he ends up selling it to.
 
7 pass, 35 pass, it doesn't matter. Only James Bond or the FBI will be able to recover data after a zero pass install.
 
5DollaFootlong said:
7 pass, 35 pass, it doesn't matter. Only James Bond or the FBI will be able to recover data after a zero pass install.
Click to expand...
LMAO it's true. All these people talking about physically replacing the drive, smashing the old one, etc. WTF? The only reason you'd need to do that is if you're storing nuclear research secrets on there or something.

Just do a single pass format using disk utility, followed by a fresh install of OS X. That's absolutely as safe as it needs to be.
 
Demosthenes X said:
It's not impossible. Someone with the right tools and desire can pull data off that drive. Now, chances are someone is not going to buy a MB off the internet only to try and pull data off the drive, but it's technically possible.
Click to expand...
Technically possible for someone with extensive training in data recovery techniques, and a budget of tens-of-thousands of dollars or more.

Well beyond what anyone would undertake for a random internet laptop.[/QUOTE]
 
When I finally get a new MBP, I'm not gonna sell the old one. Too much trouble and its always great to have a backup lying around for when the primary one inevitably needs service. :)
 
Where do I find disk utility and the 7-pass format?

On a side note, I am preparing a PC with Windows Vista to be returned and I need to wipe the HDD.

I just used the format/delete utility when you re-install Windows from the disc that came with the computer.

Is this good enough? I formatted/deleted and re-installed twice.
 
NovemberWhiskey said:
Where do I find disk utility and the 7-pass format?
Click to expand...

Disk Utility is in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder. Spotlight should also find it. From there you'll pick your HD on the left, then on the right go to the erase tab and click the Security Options button to find the various erase options.
 
Since I upgrade the HD the minute I buy the machine, the original untouched HD is sitting unused on a shelf until I sell the unit. Unfortunately, some of the units sell with different upgraded drives so I have all these extra 120GB & 160GB 2.5" SATA drives laying about.

I replace my Macs entirely too often.

Cheers,
 
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