Hi, i have a mac with OSX 10.3.9 on it. I want to sell it and thus i want to remove everything personal from it. The thing is, i lost my origional install CD's, so formatting & re-installing is unfortionally not an option. I already found where office 2004 puts it's user files and removed them. But i'm also talking about the files OSX uses itself.
Hod do i clear all personal user files?
- Thread starter Bluesman
- Start date
It all depends to how pervasive you want your cleanup to be.
If you really have a need for protecting your personal information, reformat the disk or change HD as proposed by SATCOMER or GREP. I would opt for changing the disk and would physically destroy the disk with information.
However, if you are just being careful about your privacy, then simple deletes may be enough. Try :
1. delete all acounts - create a new administrator account first
2. use the likes of onyx to clear all caches, etc..
3. browse Applications and Utilities for applications you installed (use the file date)
If you really have a need for protecting your personal information, reformat the disk or change HD as proposed by SATCOMER or GREP. I would opt for changing the disk and would physically destroy the disk with information.
However, if you are just being careful about your privacy, then simple deletes may be enough. Try :
1. delete all acounts - create a new administrator account first
2. use the likes of onyx to clear all caches, etc..
3. browse Applications and Utilities for applications you installed (use the file date)
Ooops, Last point, if the mac you wish to sell is not so old, you may want to buy a 10.5 license and reformat the disk using 10.5.
A 10.5 mac is worth more than a 10.4. So this should up the price of your mac to cover the costs of the license purchase. So in the end it is break even.
A 10.5 mac is worth more than a 10.4. So this should up the price of your mac to cover the costs of the license purchase. So in the end it is break even.
Mikuro
Crotchety UI Nitpicker
A simple, but still effective approach would be to simply create a new, empty user account, and then delete your old ones.
All your personal settings should be stored within your Home folder. Other things, such as applications and their system-wide support files, may be stored elsewhere. You might want to poke around your /Library folder. You should probably remove everything in /Library/Caches, at least.
You should also erase your Spotlight index.
After erasing everything you don't want, open Disk Utility, select your disk, go to the Erase tab, and select "Erase Free Space". This will give you the option of scrambling all unused data on your disk, so your erased files cannot be recovered.
All your personal settings should be stored within your Home folder. Other things, such as applications and their system-wide support files, may be stored elsewhere. You might want to poke around your /Library folder. You should probably remove everything in /Library/Caches, at least.
You should also erase your Spotlight index.
After erasing everything you don't want, open Disk Utility, select your disk, go to the Erase tab, and select "Erase Free Space". This will give you the option of scrambling all unused data on your disk, so your erased files cannot be recovered.