Hello, I have a 2006 Mac mini that I am going to sell, long story short I want to wipe all information off of it except for Microsoft office, I'm sorry if there is a similar thread or if this is easy to do, but I'm new to mac. Thanks
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Selective memory wipe
- Thread starter macwantedbad
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There is not really a way to erase the drive and leave Office on there.
You could create a new user account then delete your account. That would wipe your personal files while leaving Office intact. But that could still leave behind some personal settings in non-user areas.
You could create a new user account then delete your account. That would wipe your personal files while leaving Office intact. But that could still leave behind some personal settings in non-user areas.
Your best bet is to reinstall the Mini from your system restoration discs after erasing the HD. If you're selling Office with it, reinstall it.
How about if, after creating the new user account, you encrypt your account, then delete it. And also secure-erase all free-space after doing any deletions desired from the disk.
That would ensure personal files could not be recovered, but that was not so much what I was concerned about. I meant info stored outside the personal /Users folder that might be personal. For example, if you look in /Library/Application Support there are folders there for a lot of third party applications and from skimming mine some of it looks like data I might not want out there.
If you sell the mini with Microsoft Office you lose your license to run Office on your other machines. The license is for one user.
If you use the wipe-free-space function, try to do it on the Mini as external disk on another mac with target-disk mode. It usually hangs when performing it on the active booted disk as the temp file created chokes the system.
My preferred option is to fill the mac up with porn: it is faster, more reliable and better quality then built in wipe functions. Then erase the porn again. Gives some fun for the new user when he tries to snoop for leftovers.
My preferred option is to fill the mac up with porn: it is faster, more reliable and better quality then built in wipe functions. Then erase the porn again. Gives some fun for the new user when he tries to snoop for leftovers.