Reinstalling OS in preparation for sale

[kilcher]

Selling my Mac Mini and have a question...

I wiped the hard drive and after that it asked me to re-install OS. When I did that it asked me to log in to the app store to re-download the OS. I'm thinking I did that wrong and that I actually need to re-load the OS from the hard drive somewhere. Is that right?

Just wondering if I need to wipe it again and reinstall the OS. It's at the setup screen (choose your country, language, etc). I just want to make sure once the person sets all of that up it's not going to be logged into my iTunes account.

Thanks in advance!

 

[keysofanxiety]

Selling my Mac Mini and have a question...

I wiped the hard drive and after that it asked me to re-install OS. When I did that it asked me to log in to the app store to re-download the OS. I'm thinking I did that wrong and that I actually need to re-load the OS from the hard drive somewhere. Is that right?

Just wondering if I need to wipe it again and reinstall the OS. It's at the setup screen (choose your country, language, etc). I just want to make sure once the person sets all of that up it's not going to be logged into my iTunes account.

Thanks in advance!

Wipe through Disk Utility. Then select Reinstall OS X.

It will only ask you to login to the App Store to verify your purchase. This will in no way sync your Apple ID to the OS. It's literally just to give it the thumbs up to go ahead with the install.

 

[redheeler]

The Apple ID is only used to download a copy of the OS installer, it doesn't remain after the install. The buyer will be able to input their Apple ID in setup just like any normal clean install.

For selling a Mac, there are a couple things I recommend:

• If you have sensitive files, do a secure erase instead of a normal one to prevent file recovery.
• After you sell the Mac, deregister it from your Apple ID (having it registered doesn't mean the buyer can login as you though). You can do that here: https://supportprofile.apple.com

 

[kilcher]

Thanks for the replies!

I did the 7 pass wipe, nothing too sensitive on there but figured why not. Also de-registered it from my Apple account.

Thanks again!

 

[CoastalOR]

Some Apple instructions on preparing for sale.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201065