Hard drive wiping checklist
Macintosh Hard drive Wiping procedure
Mac hard drives are wiped while still inside the system. This is because Macs take forever to disassemble. Currently Mac hard drives are wiped using the tools available during the network installation. Details are contained in the MacBuild checklists. If you should need to wipe a hard drive using a CD rather than the network you can use the instructions detailed below.
Please follow the steps below to wipe a hard drive. If you come across problems, such as the system won't boot from CD, you can refer to MacBuild Tips 'n Tricks for troubleshooting.
Steps | Notes/Detailed Instructions | Done |
Turn computer on and insert Ubuntu 8.04 Alternative Install CD. Then turn off computer | ||
Boot from CD |
Hold down the "c" key while turning the computer on. Release the key when boot menu appears and type "rescue" |
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Go through the prompts given and chose the appropriate options |
The options you should select are English, United States, NO, USA, and USA. |
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Execute shell |
Use the tab key to "go back" two screens to a menu of options. Use the arrow key to highlight "Execute shell" and press enter. |
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Run badblocks |
At the prompt type "badblocks -wvvf -c1024 /dev/hda" and hit enter. If that command fails, try "badblocks -wvvf -c1024 /dev/sda" instead. |