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Having to sell my Mac Pro :-(

FyerFyer

FyerFyer

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 14, 2015
370
85
Hi guys

As I will be leaving where I am living I am having to sell my MacPro.

I have taken everything off it that I need and just need to format it.

I dont have internet at home but will be doing it at work, jsut wondering is there anything special that I need to do? It is a 2007 Mac Pro
 
If you worry about your personal data, may be sell it without the HDD is the best way to do it. Otherwise, you need to at least perform a security erase to avoid the buyer recover your data.
 
Mmm ok thanks

What would be the best way to do that? Once that is done, can I re-install the operating system quite easily?

What I forgot to mention is that I bought it second hand and the OS was already on it. I havent associated it with any accounts yet. Is the OS from Apple free if I were to reinstall?
 
The easiest way to do it is by Disk Utility. You can perform a security erase at there.

Which OS you have now? It may more complicated to reinstall the OS if you don't have the original disk with you.
 
KingMD said:
Please: NEVER sell your already used Harddrive. It will always be recoverable.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate

Luckily its only really been used for movies and such, it has nothing of any worth except some old documents
 
FyerFyer said:
Thanks mate

Luckily its only really been used for movies and such, it has nothing of any worth except some old documents
Click to expand...

You can do a secure erase a couple of times to make your drives pretty much a major chore to pull deleted/destroyed data. However, this doesn't apply to SSD or hybrid drives but only traditional electro-mechanical drives. Go for a good 7-pass secure erase once or twice. As for SSD and hybrid, pull them out and keep them.
 
I was reading an article the other day that said a single pass erase is all you need and 7 pass is overkill (plus time consuming).

I can't find the link but it was written by a professor who did scientific tests etc..

I also imagine the average 2nd hand buyer is going to waste time and money having the data restored from your drives..
unless of course your a high profile person?
 
entropyfl said:
I was reading an article the other day that said a single pass erase is all you need and 7 pass is overkill (plus time consuming).

I can't find the link but it was written by a professor who did scientific tests etc..

I also imagine the average 2nd hand buyer is going to waste time and money having the data restored from your drives..
unless of course your a high profile person?
Click to expand...


A single pass of "zeroes" as they say really isn't sufficient if someone has a simple software to restore deleted files. From what I recall a 3 pass should be sufficient to make typical restore software ineffective.
 
phrehdd said:
A single pass of "zeroes" as they say really isn't sufficient if someone has a simple software to restore deleted files.
Click to expand...

A single pass that writes over the entire disk (vs. just the file system) is perfectly fine unless you are targeted by a three-letter agency. No simple restore software can retrieve anything from this. To do so requires highly specialized and very expensive tactics such as removal of the disks and forensic scanning in a ridiculously expensive machine looking for extremely small residual magnetic traces. Unless you think your disk may be subjected to this and contains such valuable information that paranoia is necessary, multiple passes is a "feel good" exercise that just wastes time.

An alternate solution would be the vigorous use of a sledgehammer (again, except if the target of three-letter agencies. If they are motivated enough, they could pick up the shards and try to reconstruct stuff anyway).
 
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I would keep the HDD in a safe place and sell the Mac Pro without an HDD. Or, if you want, buy an HDD for $25 and add $35 onto the price tag. If you don't want your HDD any longer, just smash it to bits with a sledge hammer (after unscrewing it all), and dispose of it properly and in various places. Do not discard the disk at one single location! As you said, there probably isn't anything too important on it, but you never know.
 
I've always heard that encrypting the HDD and then reformatting it is a reasonably secure method.

Reinstalling the OS will be tricky. If you can download the Lion installer from the Mac App store, you can then create a USB install drive and use it install onto a blank drive. (You could install a more recent version, too, but not sure if it would be worth the trouble for you on a 2007.)
 
phrehdd said:
You can do a secure erase a couple of times to make your drives pretty much a major chore to pull deleted/destroyed data. However, this doesn't apply to SSD or hybrid drives but only traditional electro-mechanical drives. Go for a good 7-pass secure erase once or twice. As for SSD and hybrid, pull them out and keep them.
Click to expand...

An SSHD is a spinner, treat it like one.

Where do you get the idea that secure erase on an SSD isn't secure?
 
AidenShaw said:
An SSHD is a spinner, treat it like one.

Where do you get the idea that secure erase on an SSD isn't secure?
Click to expand...
I think he was referring to the secure erase in Disk Utility and not the SSDs secure erase command. The reason writing zeros to the disk (which is what Disk Utilities secure erase feature does) doesn't work with SSDs is due to the reserved capacity SSDs contain. For example a 120GB SSD may have an actual capacity of 160GB...the other 40GB is hidden by the SSD firmware. This extra space is used to reduce wear and also maintain performance when the SSD is "full". When you write 120GB of zeros to the SSD it's likely the firmware remapped some of the 120GB to the "hidden" area thus leaving some of the contents intact.

I should note the hidden area isn't a specific part of the SSD but rather it represents the non-visible area of the SSD at any given time. As the firmware remaps the space what once was hidden becomes visible and what was once visible becomes hidden. In other words there's not location which is designated as hidden...it's always changing.

Does this help?
 
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Ph.D. said:
A single pass that writes over the entire disk (vs. just the file system) is perfectly fine unless you are targeted by a three-letter agency. No simple restore software can retrieve anything from this. To do so requires highly specialized and very expensive tactics such as removal of the disks and forensic scanning in a ridiculously expensive machine looking for extremely small residual magnetic traces. Unless you think your disk may be subjected to this and contains such valuable information that paranoia is necessary, multiple passes is a "feel good" exercise that just wastes time.

An alternate solution would be the vigorous use of a sledgehammer (again, except if the target of three-letter agencies. If they are motivated enough, they could pick up the shards and try to reconstruct stuff anyway).
Click to expand...

This is my understanding as well. Plus, at least with El Capitan Mac OS X's Disk Utility is no longer merely writing zeros on the hard drive, it is however writing zeros only after a round of random data on the drive:

DiskUtil_SecureErase.jpg


This to my non-hypocrite mind is secure enough.
Magnus
 
Ph.D. said:
An alternate solution would be the vigorous use of a sledgehammer (again, except if the target of three-letter agencies. If they are motivated enough, they could pick up the shards and try to reconstruct stuff anyway).
Click to expand...


I prefer the .40 Cal. S & W over the sledge. It's much more fun and a lot less work :)
 
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