Re-installing Snow Leopard on my July 2010 iMac

[204467]

Hey guys, question for you and I'm hoping you can help.

I'm selling my July 2010 iMac to my parents' neighbor and I want to wipe the system and do a clean re-install of Snow Leopard. I know how to do so (follow the directions on this page) and besides it's pretty easy anyway.

The problem is, I lent the disk that came with my computer to a friend over the summer and I only just got it back. I'm pretty sure it's scratched beyond recognition because when I try and boot from the disk and hit Option, only the main hard drive appears. Alternatively, if I hold down C, I can hear the disk spinning but it never reads it and if I let go of C, it just boots to the main drive.

Is there a way I can do a full system re-install without the disk? I remember reading somewhere on an Apple support site that I can only do a system re-install like this with a Snow Leopard for iMac disk, is that true? Might it be possible instead to use the Leopard install disk that came with my Dad's iMac?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

You could try the following steps to make a copy to another DVD or USB flash memory thumb drive: How To Make Copies of DVDs

If that does not work, you can contact Apple and ask for the grey Restore DVDs for your iMac model.
The 29 USD Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard DVD will not work due to missing drivers, and if your father does not have the same Mac, it will also not work, since the grey Restore DVDs are machine specific.

 

[204467]

You could try the following steps to make a copy to another DVD or USB flash memory thumb drive: How To Make Copies of DVDs

If that does not work, you can contact Apple and ask for the grey Restore DVDs for your iMac model.
The 29 USD Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard DVD will not work due to missing drivers, and if your father does not have the same Mac, it will also not work, since the grey Restore DVDs are machine specific.

I tried following the directions in that link you posted, but like I said my computer no longer recognizes the disk (you can kind of see how in Disk Utility the name of the DVD is grayed out). I got the error in the image below. I don't think I can make a copy of the disk, it seems to be too damaged.

Does this mean my only choice is to call Apple and get a new disk sent out?

 

[farmermac]

You can update SL, then boot in single user mode and delete the main user account, then reset Snow Leopard to setup assistant. Will take 5 minutes and do the same thing.

Lots of sites on google with instructions.

 

[204467]

You can update SL, then boot in single user mode and delete the main user account, then reset Snow Leopard to setup assistant. Will take 5 minutes and do the same thing.

Lots of sites on google with instructions.

Do you have any links? I know, I know, Just ********* Google It, but I don't really know what I'm looking for, I keep finding guides on just resetting the operating system, not for deleting an account like you mentioned.

 

[farmermac]

Sure no prob

http://www.mattbrandenburg.com/2009...setup-assistant-fresh-install-welcome-screen/

I usually create a temporary username named "a"

then login to it

Delete the old usernames

Then follow the instructions.

I've done this 2-3 times. Definitely the lazy man way to reinstall. I do take care to delete empty space with disk utility and write 0's on all the empty space for security reasons. It'll add a significant amount of time to the process but i would do it wether i reinstalled the OS or did it the quick way.