Selling my Mac Mini - how to wipe and reinstall Yosemite?

[copydeskcat]

Hi folks,

I'm selling my Mac Mini (upgrading to a rMBP).

Is there a resource or advice on the forum or on the web that will explain how I can wipe the HDD safely and reinstall Yosemite for the buyer?

Best,


CDC

 

[Cave Man]

Provided it has a recovery partition, boot from it, then run Disk Utility to erase your hard drive. You can select multipass options to write each sector, which effectively erases everything on the volume. After that, reinstall Yosemite from your recovery partition. Make sure you have an internet connection after you boot from the recovery partition since the installer may need to download files as you install.

 

[jdphoto]

Hi folks,

I'm selling my Mac Mini (upgrading to a rMBP).

Is there a resource or advice on the forum or on the web that will explain how I can wipe the HDD safely and reinstall Yosemite for the buyer?

Best,


CDC

There are a lot of guides out there for making an OS X Yosemite USB if you don't have a recovery partition. It will serve the same purpose, but Cave Man's advice is spot on. Wipe it (Multiple times if you want) and then install OS X. To check for/boot from Recovery, hold the Option key on startup.

 

[copydeskcat]

Provided it has a recovery partition, boot from it, then run Disk Utility to erase your hard drive. You can select multipass options to write each sector, which effectively erases everything on the volume. After that, reinstall Yosemite from your recovery partition. Make sure you have an internet connection after you boot from the recovery partition since the installer may need to download files as you install.

Thanks Cave Man.

Some issues I have:

- how do I tell if I have a recovery partition
- I'm using a wireless keyboard (I don't have a wired one I can use). I can't figure out how to access the recovery mode on a reboot by using the Option key. The keyboard disconnects when I reboot and doesn't become active until the Mac has booted to the login screen.
- I don't have a big enough USB drive - could I use a Compact Flash card connected via a USB reader?

CDC

 

[Fishrrman]

OP asks above:
[[ how do I tell if I have a recovery partition? ]]

Seems to me if you are running Yosemite from an internal drive, there should be a recovery partition present -- it got created when Yosemite was installed.

[[ I'm using a wireless keyboard (I don't have a wired one I can use). I can't figure out how to access the recovery mode on a reboot by using the Option key. The keyboard disconnects when I reboot and doesn't become active until the Mac has booted to the login screen. ]]

This is why I detest "wireless" keyboards and won't use one with the Mac.
It severely limits your options when you run into a problem.
You might try to pick up a cheap wired USB keyboard wherever you can find one, cheap -- even a thrift shop, flea market, etc.

[[ I don't have a big enough USB drive - could I use a Compact Flash card connected via a USB reader? ]]

I think that should work well enough. Bear in mind that the bootup from a CF card will probably be quite slow.

 

[hfg]

With a wireless keyboard, press and hold the "option" or "command r" key(s) immediately when you either see the green light on the keyboard, or hear the boot chime. Continue to hold the key(s) down until the boot-choice option screen appears.

 

[satcomer]

What to do before selling or giving away your Mac

 

[Weaselboy]

Thanks Cave Man.

Some issues I have:

- how do I tell if I have a recovery partition
- I'm using a wireless keyboard (I don't have a wired one I can use). I can't figure out how to access the recovery mode on a reboot by using the Option key. The keyboard disconnects when I reboot and doesn't become active until the Mac has booted to the login screen.
- I don't have a big enough USB drive - could I use a Compact Flash card connected via a USB reader?

CDC

On Yosemite you need to hit command-r to get to recovery. Option key may not do it if core storage got turned on as part of the Yosemite install.

If it is an Apple wireless KB, it will work. Just hit the command-r right after the chime.

Then just follow this. (It is for Mavericks, but Yosemite works the same.)

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14243

Enter the command below in Terminal and you should see a 650MB Recovery HD partition listed there.

diskutil list

 

[copydeskcat]

On Yosemite you need to hit command-r to get to recovery. Option key may not do it if core storage got turned on as part of the Yosemite install.

If it is an Apple wireless KB, it will work. Just hit the command-r right after the chime.

Then just follow this. (It is for Mavericks, but Yosemite works the same.)

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14243

Enter the command below in Terminal and you should see a 650MB Recovery HD partition listed there.

diskutil list

Superb. Thanks.

By the miracle of Christmas, I realised I had an old Mac Pro in my cupboard a friend had given me a loooong time ago, and the keyboard was still with it. It works a treat.

I've got my boot drive now, so when to Mac Mini sells, I'll reinstall Yosemite and set up an account, then wipe everything and re-install again.

----------

On Yosemite you need to hit command-r to get to recovery. Option key may not do it if core storage got turned on as part of the Yosemite install.

If it is an Apple wireless KB, it will work. Just hit the command-r right after the chime.

Then just follow this. (It is for Mavericks, but Yosemite works the same.)

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14243

Enter the command below in Terminal and you should see a 650MB Recovery HD partition listed there.

diskutil list

See the part where it says "Erase your Mac, then reinstall OS X using the built-in recovery disk" ?

What exactly does that mean "erase your Mac"?

 

[DeltaMac]

"Erase your Mac" when you boot to the recovery partition:
Open Disk Utility.
Choose the drive partition, and click the Erase tab.
You can fill in a name for the erased drive, if you like (so it isn't named Untitled ), and click the Erase button. A few seconds, and the erase is complete. Quit Disk Utility, and continue on with an OS X install.

 

[DeltaMac]

You should be able to download the Yosemite installer, assuming it is on your list of Purchases in the App Store (I downloaded Yosemite from Purchases just yesterday.)
Or, your 2014 iMac should be able to boot to Internet Recovery (Restart holding Option-Cmd-R). You should see the spinning globe (not the usual Apple icon). The boot can take several minutes. It will offer whatever OS X system your 2014 iMac shipped with. which should be Mavericks. You can install that, then upgrade the system. You won't get Yosemite that way either, but you will get El Capitan. And, you would be using that with your new iMac, too, so that's probably a good result.

 

[Potatoh]

Hi guys. So I have a recovery partitian on a usb drive. I'm trying to wipe the computer so I can sell it to a family member. The thing is, every time I restart and try to boot into recovery, using command-r, it asks for a password. A password that my girlfried, who's computer it originally was, does not remember. How do I bypass this?

 

[DeltaMac]

... every time I restart and try to boot into recovery, using command-r, it asks for a password. A password that my girlfried, who's computer it originally was, does not remember. How do I bypass this?

If the password means that you see a blank box, with a padlock on one end - that's a firmware password.
If your Mac is less than about 4 years old, then you have to take to Apple to get a firmware password cleared.
You cannot bypass it on your own.
Take to an Apple retail store, or an Apple authorized service provider.
You will need to prove that the Mac belongs to you