I have a MacBook Pro 17-inch Mid 2009 that I am planning on giving away.
I removed the SSD I had been using with it and replaced it with its original HDD, which was previously wiped using Secure Erase (2 passes), and haven’t opened the computer since then.
If I access my Apple ID account using a different computer and remove the MacBook Pro 17-inch from my devices there, do I need to follow any of the other steps at the following link except perhaps reinstall macOS and reset NVRAM?
I just did that just a few days ago with a 2014 Mac mini that I’m planning to sell. What I did before I reset the Mac was log out of iCloud from all accounts on the Mac, remove all but one admin account without saving any data in the users’ home folders, and turned on FileVault (it had not been turned on previously.) I let that complete overnight and then started in Recovery, deleted the partition that MacOS was installed on, and then reinstalled MacOS. Then, yes, reset PRAM.
It’s my thinking that FileVault should make any data that could possibly be recovered look like pseudo-random noise. And without the key, it should stay that way.
Thanks for your comments – sorry if I wasn’t clearer (or if I am not understanding). The MacBook Pro I want to give away has a blank HDD without an OS on it. Do I need to install an OS and then log out of iCloud, etc., as in the Apple Support document, or can I log in to my Apple ID account on another computer and remove the MacBook Pro from my devices there?
[EDIT]: The MacBook Pro 17-inch is on the same network and has the same Apple ID as my other computers.
What you would usually do is sign out of iCloud while you still had the SSD in the machine. At this point that’s not an option. But you’re correct, you can remove the activation lock from the web: How to remove Activation Lock - Apple Support. If it were me I’d do that first.
Yes, you should install a new OS and reset the NVRAM. Quit when you get the first boot setup screen. This is to make it easier for the person that buys the computer.
The other items in the instructions don’t apply because you no longer have any data on the machine.
Thank you for the tips, Michael. I am a little confused, though, since it looks like Activation Lock is only available for Catalina (macOS 10.15) and later, and my MacBook Pro 17-inch Mid 2009 can only be updated to El Capitan (OS X 10.11)? Activation Lock for Mac
Thanks for the added info. I removed the computer from the devices in my Apple ID account and also checked to make sure it wasn’t listed in Find Devices - Apple iCloud.
Now my question is, if I use Recovery to install a new OS, won’t I have to log in to my network to download the installer, and if so, will my network password be stored in the computer?
Related question - I have an old iBook that I want to sell or give away. I have the two disks to install OS/X 10.3.5. How could I do a clean new install to wipe out my old data and prepare it for a new owner? I’ve run it a few times in the past few years to check its condition and none of the files on it are anything I need.
Boot the old iBook from that installer disk. Run DiskUtility to format the internal drive (choose a secure erase setting such as the DOE 3-pass). Note this can take several hours. Then install a fresh macOS with that installer. When the installer reboots the Mac and it comes back to set up the new installation, power it down. That way the new owner will receive it the same way it would have come from the factory back in the day.
Tthe problem now is that I can’t install an OS on the internal HDD, which does not have a Recovery partition on it. I was able to copy a SuperDuper clone that does have a Recovery partition back to it, but the partition wasn’t copied along with the OS.
I have tried booting from the clone and using a downloaded installer and also using the original install CD that came with the computer but keep getting the error message that an OS can’t be installed on the drive.
I would be grateful for any ideas. (Maybe just give up and consign the computer to destructive recycling?)
If you’re able to boot from the original installation CD that came with the computer, there should be an option to run Disk Utility. Use it to erase the drive, making sure to choose the “GUID Partition Table” as the partitioning scheme. After completing the erasure process, you should be able to complete the installation. Follow the steps listed here:
This computer came with OS X 10.5.7 Leopard, and can run up to 10.11.6 El Capitan. It appears to be too old to support Internet Recovery, so your only option is an external installer.
The original install CD should work. Is there any chance you can post a picture of the error?
I booted from an external SSD, erased the internal drive, then booted from the original install DVD (Snow Leopard, which was released in August 2009; I purchased the MBP in November 2009) and started the installation, which stopped with 28 minutes remaining.
Unfortunately I didn’t take a screen shot, but when there was a choice of where to install the OS, the internal hard drive had something like a red circle with a slash through it accompanied by the message that said the OS couldn’t be installed on the drive.
I don’t know why I didn’t think to boot from the install DVD, but when I did, that started to work but then stalled. (Please see my previous reply to @josehill.)
Usually this means that the device’s partition table is inappropriate for a macOS installation. PowerPC Macs need the drive to use APM (Apple Partition Map). Installation to an Intel Mac needs the drive to use GPT (GUID Partition Table).
Alternatively, this may indicate that a more-recent macOS release is already installed to that volume. macOS installers can not be used to downgrade a system. If you want to do that, you need to erase the volume with Disk Utility prior to installation.
Before doing the installation, run Disk Utility and see how the drive is partitioned. If the partition table is the wrong type, erase the drive and choose the GUID partition table. If it’s the right partition table type, delete all existing partitions and let the installer create a new system partition on the drive.
FWIW, Intel Macs running older versions of macOS will boot from an APM-partitioned drive, but you can’t install to such a drive. (The way you’d make such a drive would be to restore a backup to a volume on an APM-partitioned drive).
But there’s really no good reason to do this unless you’re trying to make a drive that will boot on both an Intel and a PowerPC Mac (e.g. an emergency recovery disk or an image that can be used for both kinds of computers). But even then, there’s little point to it because only Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 (Tiger and Leopard, respectively) are the only versions for which this is even possible. And Intel builds of 10.4 are machine-specific, not retail releases.
Update: I decided to try again from the install DVD, and now realize I may have exited too quickly the first time.
This time the DVD is again silent for long periods of time and progress appears to have halted, but the time remaining keeps going down, however glacially (it’s a FireWire 400 connection).
[EDIT]: It’s a FireWire 400 connection because the internal Superdrive is empty but won’t accept a disc, so I am using a LaCie DVD drive that only has USB 2.0 or FireWire 400.
Thanks for your usual detailed explanation, @Shamino.
I did choose GUID but didn’t check before to see how the drive had been partitioned. Also, I had wiped the drive (Secure Erase, 2 passes), so there was no OS on it.
In any event, booting from the original install DVD seems to be working now.