Hi. I'm trying to completely erase a pre-2011 iMac (not sure of the year, it doesn't say in System Profiler). It's running OS10.6.8, if that matters.
I don't have any installation discs, and neither Cmd-R nor Cmd-Opt-R produce Recovery Mode. I don't have any backup installation drive. Is there any way of erasing it safely apart from just smashing it up?
Thanks.
Buy the white SL DVD, you can still find them on Ebay. You can also physically remove the hard drive from the computer and take a sledge hammer to it. Then use Apple's recycling services to properly recycle the computer.
On such an old machine, those are the options available.
Followup to rkaufmann's wise counsel:
Avoid any that say "upgrade" in the title. Sealed packages are best. Reject any gray system install/restore disks; they often only work on a very narrow range of model variants.
Amazon was pretty much devoid of Snow Leopard disks.
I personally agree with extracting the old drive. No pre-2011 iMac will have much retained use so a disk removal will not affect the fate of the computer after it leaves your possession. Being an older model the HD is easier to access. Look for videos here.
Yes, use the white Snow Leopard DVD to boot from, then use Disk Utility to format the drive.
No, I can't. I do not have any installation discs, as I said. Do you have any other ideas, please?
Thanks for the links, I appreciate that. I'm in Europe so I'll have to see what I can find.
OK, I see. That's disappointing but perhaps not surprising. Thank you for your help.
Your welcome and good luck.
Erasing a very old iMac (no installation discs or recovery mode)
