reformat mac due to selling

[roraz]

im thinking of selling my old g4 powerbook (osxx tiger) because Im getting a new one

however like a pc, I would like to reformat it (start a fresh) so that theres no trace of my previous use on it for the next person who buys

reason i ask with pc's, its common for people when they sell their computers, to forget to get rid of their private info such as bank details, password, files etc

or even if they try, sometimes its easy to retrieve.

Im just wondering if their is a good way to do this for the mac before I sell?

 

[yellow]

Boot from the installer DVD that came with it, run Disk Utility, and erase the hard drive with a zreo-all data, or better yet a 7 or 35 pass of the same, depending on your level of paranoia. Please be prepared to spend a LONG time waiting on it to finish, depending on what you choose.

 

[roraz]

cheers for the quick reply

do i do this with the 10.3 disc that came with the mac or the tiger upgrade disc i bought?

will i have to reinstall the OS if I go for the severe erasing option?

 

[yellow]

The 10.3 disk (I don't think you can boot from the upgrade disk), and yes, you will have to reinstall the OS. Or better yet, when you sell it, sell it with the blanked disk and include the 10.3 disk as well (you should anyway). Then the recipient can install the OS (or another OS) as they like from a fresh, clean, safe copy.

 

[Eraserhead]

cheers for the quick reply

do i do this with the 10.3 disc that came with the mac or the tiger upgrade disc i bought?

will i have to reinstall the OS if I go for the severe erasing option?

If you erase the hard drive you will have to reinstall the OS, seeing as each pass takes about 6 hours don't worry about the time! I'd go for the 7 pass personally, especially if the disk has personal information on it. You want to use the Tiger disk to do it, though it probably doesn't matter which you use. I would probably install Tiger and the security updates, so the person can start using their new computer ASAP, I'd also include the 10.3 (Panther) disk in case they want to use that instead.

PS Apple don't sell upgrade disks, all their OS disks are full installs

 

[macg4]

u would proably wanna use the disk that came with the computer, and then just reinstall the orginal os or leave the hd blank and let the next person load the os. your computer, your choice

 

[ozontheroad]

im thinking of selling my old g4 powerbook (osxx tiger) because Im getting a new one

however like a pc, I would like to reformat it (start a fresh) so that theres no trace of my previous use on it for the next person who buys

reason i ask with pc's, its common for people when they sell their computers, to forget to get rid of their private info such as bank details, password, files etc

or even if they try, sometimes its easy to retrieve.

Im just wondering if their is a good way to do this for the mac before I sell?

you could also:

1- encrypt your home folder with FileVault

2- start from CD/DVD

3- open disk utility

4- format and select the zero out all date from the security options

this will erase the encrypted image and write extra data (0000) if they manage to retrieve anything (assuming that they are so inclined) they would only get the sparse disk image created by FileVault.

 

[yellow]

PS Apple don't sell upgrade disks, all their OS disks are full installs

That's not entirely true..

Users who purchased Macs within 14 days of the next OS coming out were given a voucher to get an Upgrade disk. It's not a full install.

 

[Eraserhead]

That's not entirely true..

Users who purchased Macs within 14 days of the next OS coming out were given a voucher to get an Upgrade disk. It's not a full install.

Oh .

 

[ozontheroad]

That's not entirely true..

Users who purchased Macs within 14 days of the next OS coming out were given a voucher to get an Upgrade disk. It's not a full install.

Actually it is a full instal, but you need to have the previous version installed for the disks to work.

the instal options are identical to the retail version

 

[yellow]

I didn't mean full install like that, bad usage on my part... what I meant is that it is NOT equivalent to the retail version of Tiger.

 

[ozontheroad]

I didn't mean full install like that, bad usage on my part... what I meant is that it is NOT equivalent to the retail version of Tiger.

got it.

these disks are a pain, the machine i use at work was purchased after Tiger came out and still they sent me the upgrade disks instead of the retail version.

Normally its not a problem but if you are installing a new HD you need to go through the instal process twice.

 

[macg4]

yeah there are upgrade only discs...i have seen them for sale on ebay before

 

[dpaanlka]

You could also just create a new admin user, then log into that new user who will have no documents, settings, or anything associated with them, then delete your old user account, and it will be the same as having a fresh install. Just delete your apps like Illustrator or whatever and you should be good to go.

 

[roraz]

Boot from the installer DVD that came with it, run Disk Utility, and erase the hard drive with a zero-all data, or better yet a 7 or 35 pass of the same, depending on your level of paranoia. Please be prepared to spend a LONG time waiting on it to finish, depending on what you choose.

I was wanting to set the powerbook up for the new user who buys it, the same as when I got it, i.e. they go through the installation process themselves and set the computer up how they like.

If I did what you described above, would this achieve what I'm wanting??

 

[yellow]

All I was describing was the process for securely erasing data.
It has nothing to do with setting up accounts or installation.

I suggest that you simple erase the drive (securely) and then include the media for the buyer so they can install the OS how they would like.

 

[roraz]

one last question do i erase the disc drive or the volume on the drive??

 

[CanadaRAM]

Erase the whole drive.

Also, if you put Tiger on it, you are obligated to include the original Tiger DVD with the sale, otherwise it is not legal -- just as 'including' MS Office without the CDs wouldn't be.

 

[Otismg]

Wait!

What if you don't HAVE the option to erase?
I am on a g4 upgraded from OS9.
In disc utility with no lock on...I dont have the option!
HELP!