Did I overwrite HD correctly?

To erase/overwrite my HD I chose "Macintosh HD"from the list as it wouldn't seem to let me choose the "1 TB Apple HDD...." (i don't know why the choice as both seem to refer to the HD?) Any, it took 24 hours to overwrite the Macintosh HD and almost as long to clean the free space so i'm guessing that's all the HD there is?

Then i reinstalled OS X on the "Macintosh HD" and everything is working fine. I just want to be sure i erased the entire HD?

If you open Disk Utility…and click on "Macintosh HD" (if that's what your HD is named)…at the bottom of the window it shows the capacity of the "Macintosh HD" partition. If you have a 1 terabyte HD…then that capacity value should be very close to 1 terabyte. Remembering that the Mavericks recovery partition takes up a small amount of space.

Also…the reason why it took almost 24 hours is…you probably had Disk Utility do a Secure Erase. If you are continuing to use this computer yourself…a secure erase probably really wasn't necessary. If you just wanted to "clean everything up" with a fresh OS install & HD wipe…you could have just done a "reformat & erase"…which would have taken about 10-20 seconds.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

If you open Disk Utility…and click on "Macintosh HD" (if that's what your HD is named)…at the bottom of the window it shows the capacity of the "Macintosh HD" partition. If you have a 1 terabyte HD…then that capacity value should be very close to 1 terabyte. Remembering that the Mavericks recovery partition takes up a small amount of space.

Also…the reason why it took almost 24 hours is…you probably had Disk Utility do a Secure Erase. If you are continuing to use this computer yourself…a secure erase probably really wasn't necessary. If you just wanted to "clean everything up" with a fresh OS install & HD wipe…you could have just done a "reformat & erase"…which would have taken about 10-20 seconds.

- Nick

Click to expand...

Thanks Nick - i will be selling it shortly so that's why i did the Secure Erase. What i was wondering is whether choosing "MacIntosh HD" to erase was correct, because there was another choice which was "1 TB HDD...(followed by what i believe is my specific number code?)" Since it took so long and there were no programs left on there before i reinstalled, can i be satisfied that the entire HD was overwritten successfully?

You erased the entire drive. You can't erase the 1 TB Apple drive because it includes the recovery partition you were booted from. That would be like asking the drive to kill itself.

chscag said:

You erased the entire drive. You can't erase the 1 TB Apple drive because it includes the recovery partition you were booted from. That would be like asking the drive to kill itself.

Click to expand...

Thanks!

BradtheImpaler1 said:

Thanks Nick - i will be selling it shortly so that's why i did the Secure Erase.

Click to expand...

If you are selling it…then you certainly did the right thing by doing the Secure Erase. Good luck with the sale!

- Nick

Actually, you may not have done the right thing. If you restored one of the recent OS versions (Lion or later) from download, then you've still tied the machine to your Apple ID and the buyer will need your password to update it!

chas_m said:

Actually, you may not have done the right thing. If you restored one of the recent OS versions (Lion or later) from download, then you've still tied the machine to your Apple ID and the buyer will need your password to update it!

Click to expand...

If this is the case (haven't tried it myself). Many many used Mac's these days are going to be sold with 10.7, 10.8, 10.9, etc. on them...all tied to the previous owners Apple ID. So it's going to be pretty difficult for a used Mac being sold...not to be tied to the previous owner's Apple ID.

But with that being said:

- Incremental OS updates should still be free (10.9.3 to 10.9.4 for example).
- If someone wants to upgrade from 10.7 to 10.8, or 10.8 to 10.9...they're still going to have to purchase their own copy of 10.8 or 10.9 to download & install.
- Of course many newer used Mac's (those that have OS 10.7 or newer as their min. OS version)...will have this situation (no way around it).

Also remember. The OP's main goal (or one of their main goals) was to wipe the HD of all their personal data. Since none of us wants our personal data or info sitting on a used Mac's HD when sold to a new owner.

And lastly (from a selling old computer perspective). Not many folks buying a used Mac are going to be too excited to purchase it with an old OS version like 10.6 on it...when 10.9 is the latest OS.

And like you (and the rest of us) have mentioned many times...10.6 is no longer supported by Apple (no more security updates). So a knowlegable buyer will know this...and not be too pleased with 10.6 on it.

I think that the OP did the right thing by secure erasing the HD before selling it. And depending what OS version was reinstalled...the new owner will simply have to pay their $19.99 for 10.7 or 10.8 (if they didn't already purchase it)...or Free for 10.9.

- Nick