How to delete all personal files

B

BM587

Registered
Hey,
I just sold my mac book to a buddy of mine and was wondering if there was a way to permantaly delete all my persoanl files?
-documents, pictures, videos, etc.
I dont want to run the start up discs becuase I have programs, such as word, on the computer that he wants to keep.
I wasn't sure if just draging and dropping the files into the trash bin would do the job, I figured that would'nt complete remove them from the computer.
Thank you for all your help
 
As long as you haven't been saving too many personal files outside of your home directory, the simplest way would be to delete your user account and have OS X delete the home folder rather than saving it in the 'deleted users' folder.

Next use disc utility to perform a 'erase free space' to zero out the unlinked files on the hard drive. The 'security options' button will allow you to perform a multiple pass if you really want to ensure your files can never be recovered.
 
Backup all the files you intend to keep (or transfer to your new Mac).
In System Preferences > Accounts, create a new account with admin rights. Log out of your user, log in as the new user, and go to the same point in system preferences, and delete your old user account. After this use Disk Utility, and erase free space.
 
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