how to clear off everything but the apps

hey guys
selling my mac to a friend and told him i would just leave the apps in place for him to use. is there a way to clear off all my personal junk and leave the apps in place for him?
thanks

could i just create a new account and then delete my current account? would that do away with all my stuff but leave the apps in place for his use?

jrod81 said:

could i just create a new account and then delete my current account? would that do away with all my stuff but leave the apps in place for his use?

Click to expand...

Yea that should work just fine.Be sure to check all your Apps on the new account, that they work properly before deleting old account . . . . .

when i choose to delete my current account i get 3 options... which should i use of these choices:
1. save the home folder in a disk image
the disk image is saved in the deleted users folder (in the users folder)
2. don't change the home folder
the home folder remains in the users folder
3. delete the home folder

thanks for the help in these early morning hours... lol

i know i should be able to figure out what each of those options mean but i just can't seem to get it clear in my mind and want to make sure i don't end up choosing the wrong option

Depends on whether you want the person you're selling it to, to have access to your home folder or not. If not, you would delete it - only after you make sure that all is well with the new user account - including making sure it can act as administrator with it's own password.

The contents of the user’s Home folder can be saved in a disk image in the Deleted Users folder (just in case you need to retrieve something). Alternatively, you can choose to leave the deleted user’s home folder as is, without removing it.

If you’re absolutely sure you won’t need the Home folder, click the Delete the Home Folder option (which doesn’t save anything in the Deleted Users folder). You regain all the hard drive space that was being occupied by the contents of the deleted user’s home folder.

If that makes any sense lol

Not sure if this Keeps the Apps and deletes all data ... Just in case back up back up.
If you save the Disk Image it will be they are stored in a disk image in the Deleted Users folder, which is in the Users folder on your startup disk. ?!?!

Then if all is good with the new account trash the Disk Image and get back some HD Space

EDIT : And what Bob said !!!!!!

thanks so much for the help guys... i leave in about an hour to hand this mac off... i went thru and opened the programs in the new account and they all opened...
is there anything else i should check before i delete my old account?

Go into System Preferences - Accounts while you're in the new user account. Just click on the lock at the bottom and make sure you can open that lock with the password for the new account. You should be good to go after that.

If you don't have any critical financial or other passwords that were on this machine and/or you trust this friend not to go spend $100 for a data retrieval app that could possibly still find your stuff - you're good to go.

The last option if you're concerned about data retrieval is to do a wipe of the free space - this will take hours upon hours. They'll not find anything without spending money and a bunch of time after you delete that folder though.

he called me this morning and said that fcp is asking for the serial each time he opens it... is this cause i deleted my main user account?