thinking about giving this iMac...

[MacM4ODA]

to mi granddaughter, how do i wipe it clean of mi personal info ?

mi keyboard is messed up and will not tpe certain letters so i have to improvise. it will tpe a "t" but not a capital "t" and never a "y" <---<<< c&p some words like "keboard" is also a c&p.

thank ou.

 

[keysofanxiety]

to mi granddaughter, how do i wipe it clean of mi personal info ?

mi keyboard is messed up and will not tpe certain letters so i have to improvise. it will tpe a "t" but not a capital "t" and never a "y" <---<<< c&p some words like "keboard" is also a c&p.

thank ou.

Hold CMD+R on startup to boot into OS X Utilities.

Open Disk Utility. Format the hard-drive. Best to format the top one listed (not the indented partitions) as that'll wipe the entire drive onto one fresh partition.

Then close Disk Utility, and select 'Reinstall OS X'. Select it to install onto your newly formed partition. Sign in with Apple ID when prompted.

It'll download, and install. Then, you're done.

Just to note: The CMD+R will install the OS currently installed on it. If you haven't already, upgrade to El Capitan if you can, as something like OS X 10.7 Lion won't download due to being too old.

 

[BrianBaughn]

What model iMac?

 

[Richdmoore]

to mi granddaughter, how do i wipe it clean of mi personal info ?

mi keyboard is messed up and will not tpe certain letters so i have to improvise. it will tpe a "t" but not a capital "t" and never a "y" <---<<< c&p some words like "keboard" is also a c&p.

thank ou.

A iMac will work with pretty much any external USB keyboard for typing, I see that Best Buy has some basic models for $10, probably around the same price at Walmart or Office Depot.

The boot commands mentioned above may or may not work without the official Apple keyboard however. There is no list of 3rd party "boot key compatible USB keyboards" that I know of.

(I did read that using the alt key instead of the Windows key on a third party keyboard works for some posters on the official Apple forums.)

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/970299

When you give the iMac away, I would mention to your granddaughter that the keyboard is shot and she will need a new one.

 

[MacM4ODA]

What model iMac?

Model Identifier: iMac7,1

 

[BrianBaughn]

Model Identifier: iMac7,1

Well, that's significant. What OS version is it running?

 

[MacM4ODA]

A iMac will work with pretty much any external USB keyboard for typing, I see that Best Buy has some basic models for $10, probably around the same price at Walmart or Office Depot.

The boot commands mentioned above may or may not work without the official Apple keyboard however. There is no list of 3rd party "boot key compatible USB keyboards" that I know of.

(I did read that using the alt key instead of the Windows key on a third party keyboard works for some posters on the official Apple forums.)

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/970299

When you give the iMac away, I would mention to your granddaughter that the keyboard is shot and she will need a new one.

i have already bought a new one still in the box for now, i ordered this computer as replacement for this current one thru the on line Military Exchange service,
Apple IMac 21.5 In. Intel Core I5 Quad Core 2.8GHz 8GB 1TB OS X......, $1080.00, it will be brought to my front door Monday.

did i do good??
[doublepost=1456583792][/doublepost]

Well, that's significant. What OS version is it running?

Safari Version 5.1.10 (6534.59.10)

 

[Weaselboy]

Model Identifier: iMac7,1

In your old thread from December you mentioned you were running Snow Leopard 10.6.8. Given this is going to a family member, I really don't see any reason to erase the whole drive and reinstall the OS. Just open System Preferences and in Users & Groups make a new admin account for your granddaughter. Then logout of your account and login to here new admin account. Then from within that new account, go back to Users & Groups and remove and delete your account. Then give her the iMac.

As others mentioned, just grab any USB keyboard you can find on sale and it will work fine.

 

[Yaccity]

i have already bought a new one still in the box for now, i ordered this computer as replacement for this current one thru the on line Military Exchange service,
Apple IMac 21.5 In. Intel Core I5 Quad Core 2.8GHz 8GB 1TB OS X......, $1080.00, it will be brought to my front door Monday.

did i do good??

I would have at least gotten a Fusion Drive. The 5400RPM HDD is too slow.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

I agree with Weaselboy above.

Just create a new account for your granddaughter (you might give it a temporary password so you can log into it administratively). Then...
- log into the new account
- delete your old account
- delete any other folders/files of yours (that might exist on the computer "outside of" your account).
- you might also use Disk Utility's "erase free space" option if you want to "zero out" the free space on your drive (this makes your account/files unrecoverable).

You'll probably want to get her a new keyboard, as well.
I'd suggest a USB-based (wired) keyboard -- doesn't have to be Apple (I personally dislike Apple keyboards and pointing devices)...

 

[MacM4ODA]

i can not give it to her until i get all my necessary info and data from the old outer, and that may take a few months. what type of hard drive in this thing? i have been doing searches and find little info for my questions???

 

[BrianBaughn]

i can not give it to her until i get all my necessary info and data from the old outer, and that may take a few months. what type of hard drive in this thing? i have been doing searches and find little info for my questions???

I don't really understand what you're asking here at all.

I will say here that for a good many clients' Macs I've seen over the years there are personal files scattered everywhere...root level of drive, Applications folder, and so forth. Deleting the User folder is just a start.