07-21-2009, 07:47 PM

I'm getting rid of my eMac. I perfromed an 8 pass erase on the disk, the next phase, says "Creating Partition Map". It has been like this for 4 days! The status bar has not moved but it is twirling, the beachball is also twirling.

I need know what will happen if I kill the power to the computer at this point?

Or what else can I do?
I'm assuming that data has already been erased at this point.
I just wanted to erase the disk and reinstall the OS to give to a friend.
I'm wondering if I shut down (if it lets me) what will happen when I reboot or should I just try to run the installer.

Can anyone help me?

It's running 10.3.9

07-21-2009, 09:17 PM

Why would you perform an 8 pass erase in the first place? Did your eMac have atomic secrets on it? A one pass secure erase is sufficient even for sensitive data like credit card numbers, SSAN, personal info, etc.

As for the partition map creation being stuck, power down and reboot with your install media again. Run Disk Utility and verify the hard drive to make sure it's OK. Then format the HDD and install OS X.

Regards.

07-21-2009, 11:49 PM

As chscag advises, power down by holding the on./off button in until light goes out, unplug and let it stand for half an hour and boot up from the install disc and run Repair Disk.