Clean and sell your old Mac devices.
Clean and sell your old Mac devices.
I acquired this old Mac and any Windows friend, my aim is to wipe the hard drive and sell it fast so I can get rid of it. But I can't find a way to clear it using the OS command—R + Control key at startup. I've checked all the online options: R + Control, R + Control + Option... This isn't going that route I expected. I was hoping someone could suggest an alternative method. I just want to keep the OS, and I won't be supporting Apple.
Could OSX be put onto a thumb drive? It’s perfectly fine for a real Mac, and you’d simply remove the drive, wipe it (digitally and possibly physically if needed), and run OSX—or any older version it can handle.
She has only one but isn’t very good at sharing... the Mac says in "about this Mac" it’s Mac OS X Version 10.5.8. What I need is a method to clean and reinstall the Mac for resale as a USB drive, but I don’t have the software.
It would really assist knowing the specific Mac model you're referring to. For newer models, using the OS X store, downloading the installer, and creating a bootable USB is a great and safe approach. If you can't access the recovery options, it could mean you're using incorrect keys or the keyboard isn't working properly. It might be useful to verify this before selling to avoid complications.
You won’t require any extra programs beyond a basic install source. Since OS X Leopard can’t perform a complete recovery wipe from its recovery partition (though Google hasn’t confirmed this), the standard CreateInstallMedia method should still function once you’ve obtained the installation app from the store. If your Mac is relatively recent, it might prefer downloading a more current version, but that shouldn’t matter much.
Imac from 2008 or 2009? You still have USB drives you can use. For OS X, the standard recovery methods might not work due to its age—check if there are any updated guides or community resources for restoring older systems.