Restoring an iMac (PLEASE HELP!)

[g00dbye]

So, in a couple weeks, I'll finally be selling my circa-2005 iMac to my sister and buying one of the new ones. But I was wondering if anybody could point me to a really simple tutorial on how to restore/clean install my computer. I know how to get all my stuff off of my iMac and onto the new one. But I cannot locate the Tiger disc and only have the iMac install discs. Can I do a clean install with just these discs?:

Help! Thanks!

-Brian Rey

 

[aristobrat]

Yes, those discs can be used to do a clean install.

Boot off of the first one and follow the assistant. Look for the 'Customize' (or something to that effect) button on the bottom of one of the screens; it will allow to select the "Erase and Install" option, which is what it sounds like you want to do.

 

[Hellhammer]

If those are the disks that came with your Mac (not from another Mac) you can. Have you already backed up the data you want to transfer to your new Mac? If you haven't do that now because the HD will be wiped when a clean install is done.

1. Put in the install disk number 1 and start up you iMac and hold down C

2. When it opens the OS X installer select Disk Utility from Menu Bar (you may need to click OK once or twice to get into this section) and select your HD from left hand side and after that click "Erase" and begin erasing.

3. When the HD is wiped (check that it's empty with Disk Utility), you can start reinstalling the OS X.

 

[g00dbye]

If those are the disks that came with your Mac (not from another Mac) you can. Have you already backed up the data you want to transfer to your new Mac? If you haven't do that now because the HD will be wiped when a clean install is done.

1. Put in the install disk number 1 and start up you iMac and hold down C

2. When it opens the OS X installer select Disk Utility from Menu Bar (you may need to click OK once or twice to get into this section) and select your HD from left hand side and after that click "Erase" and begin erasing.

3. When the HD is wiped (check that it's empty with Disk Utility), you can start reinstalling the OS X.

Alright, great! Now, that last step. If I can't locate my Tiger install disc, is there absolutely no way to have the OS on the restored iMac? I already have Tiger installed, so is there any way the iMac could recognize this, keeping the OS installed but erasing all data/files?

EDIT: This is the disc I cannot currently locate:

 

[aristobrat]

The best you could do then would be to create another user account, logon as that user, and then delete your old account. That would remove all of your data/files that were in your home folder.

That doesn't remove anything you installed in the Application folder (or other folders, outside of your home folder).

 

[Hellhammer]

Alright, great! Now, that last step. If I can't locate my Tiger install disc, is there absolutely no way to have the OS on the restored iMac? I already have Tiger installed, so is there any way the iMac could recognize this, keeping the OS installed but erasing all data/files?

EDIT: This is the disc I cannot currently locate:

The best you could do then would be to create another user account, logon as that user, and then delete your old account. That would remove all of your data/files that were in your home folder.

That doesn't remove anything you installed in the Application folder (or other folders, outside of your home folder).

You could do what aristobrat suggested or grab a Snow Leopard for 29$ and install that