Disk Utility stuck on "skipping"

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Hello, I am trying to sell an old Mac Pro from 2006. I inserted the install CD and restarted the computer while folding down the "c" key. Then I used Disk Utility to conduct a 7-pass wipe of the old files. It took several hours but it seemed to go well. But my husband wanted me to erase the free disk space so... I ran Disk Utility again but this time, I selected "Erase Free Space." That's when the "fun" began. It took hours and hours. Two days later, I started searching online for a solution. There are so many people referencing a similar situation to mine but for the most part, there all saying that - after it was completed - they ended up with no disk space. I didn't want to end up with that problem. I made a call to a company who buys used Macs. The man told me to click on "skip." That was two days ago. It's still skipping. I think I'll need to force quit it. But... then what? Will my computer restart? Can I start it up again from the install CD? This computer is sitting in my living room, of all places, and I need to get it out of there. Can someone tell me... should I force quit Disk Utility? And what should I do next? I'd really appreciate a quick response. (And to answer this possible question in advance, no... I don't have a back up of this computer saved anywhere because I didn't care about the files on it and I didn't think that I'd need it.)
 

bobtomay

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First off, there was no reason to erase the free space separately as the 7 pass wipe already writes to the entire drive/partition - there is nothing left.

Just quit it and restart from the boot disc.

You should re-partition the drive vs just formatting the existing partition prior to re-installing the OS.
 
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Hi Bob,

I was able to figure it out. I found something online that said exactly what you said above about not needing to erase the disk space. So I quit the program and I was able to install the operating software. So I didn't do any partitioning because I've never done that before and didn't want to learn how on a computer that I'm trying to sell. Ha! But thanks so much for your help. I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner. I wasn't around much this weekend to get back to you but I appreciate your reply.
 

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