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- Thread starter evanskl
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Hold CMD+R on startup to boot into OS X Utilities.
Open up Disk Utility. Select Macintosh HD (the bottom of the two listed). You may need to right-click and select 'Unlock' to enter your password if it's whited out.
Format the disk. Close Disk Utility.
Select 'Reinstall OS X' and point it to the newly formatted partition.
Done!
Apple has a guide too: https://support.apple.com/HT201065. You should use Internet Recovery (option–command–R) to reinstall the original operating system instead. This is preferred because the buyer has probably not acquired El Capitan yet and could run into problems if they ever need to restore the system. Don’t forget to log out of iMessage, iTunes and iCloud.
Did you use FileVault or full-disk encryption? If not, then you ought to use a secure erase if it is a hard-disk. If it is an Apple-SSD, then you do not have to do this. If you bought your own SSD, then you should look for a method to perform a full-trim.
Did you use FileVault or full-disk encryption? If not, then you ought to use a secure erase if it is a hard-disk. If it is an Apple-SSD, then you do not have to do this. If you bought your own SSD, then you should look for a method to perform a full-trim.
Just install it and boot into it. If it starts with the screen where you have to pick a language, then you are good to go (you can cancel the setup with command–Q and then shut down). You might want to clear the NVRAM as well, in case it stored any data (like Wi-Fi passwords).