Mac Boot and Wipe

[PaulTech]

I have 2-3 old iMacs which I want to recycle. Is there a USB tool I can use to boot and wipe the drive? And, what keys do I hold down to boot from it? Thanks.

 

[timeshifter]

If they’re Intel-based Macs, you can use DBAN, I think.

If you have an Apple Store nearby, just drop them off there. I trust them to handle the data appropriately and recycle appropriately as well.

 

[Markverhyden]

Can you still log in? If so turn on File Vault. It'll take a few hours to complete. Once complete boot into recovery mode, Command + R, click on the drive on the left and then the erase tab. Don't need to do a full wipe since erasing the keys on the drive makes any recovery impossible. Nickel solution to the dime problem. You could also boot from you favorite Linux live distro and use that to do a full wipe.

 

[timeshifter]

Can you still log in? If so turn on File Vault. It'll take a few hours to complete. Once complete boot into recovery mode, Command + R, click on the drive on the left and then the erase tab. Don't need to do a full wipe since erasing the keys on the drive makes any recovery impossible. Nickel solution to the dime problem. You could also boot from you favorite Linux live distro and use that to do a full wipe.

What if you weren’t recycling the computer?

Could you delete the data that the customer had on it, turn on file vault, let it encrypt the drive all the way. Then restart, come back and turn FileVault off… Then turn it on again and you’ve got a working computer with no chance of any traces of the old data being recoverable.

Would that work?

 

[Markverhyden]

What if you weren’t recycling the computer?

Could you delete the data that the customer had on it, turn on file vault, let it encrypt the drive all the way. Then restart, come back and turn FileVault off… Then turn it on again and you’ve got a working computer with no chance of any traces of the old data being recoverable.

Would that work?

To start we've got a huge gap in info. As in how "old" is "old". That'll impact which options as well as the shortest path to a clean drive. Turning off FV simply removes the FDE. Does nothing to the data. By enabling FV the entire drive gets encrypted when the process is complete. There is no need to specify a full surface wipe since doing a simple erase wipes the area where the keys are stored on the drive. No keys no decryption. Well maybe if you ticked off the NSA that might not be the case.

 

[RUSSIL CASTILLO]

Use DBAN to wipe the drives on your old iMacs. To boot from a USB drive on a Mac, usually you hold down the Option key when you start up the computer.