If any machine contains sensitive data such as Social Security numbers, bank records, budget information, student ID’s, etc., it is highly recommended that the hard drive be physically destroyed.

If your computer contains sensitive information, erase the drive, and on the Disposal of Computer Equipment (Clean Hard Drive) form, check the box that affirms that your computer contains sensitive information. The drive will be destroyed in the warehouse. If your computer is not functional, use the same form and check the box that affirms that the computer is not functional.

You can use either the open source DBAN program or a Mac OS X system CD/DVD and the Disk Utility program to erase the hard drive of a Macintosh.

Using DBAN to erase PowerPC Mac:

DBAN is an open source program used to securely erase a hard drive.

You will navigate in the DBAN program menu using keys such as the arrow keys, the space bar key and the F10 key.

Create a DBAN CD:

• Browse to www.dban.org/download and download the DBAN for Apple Power Mac ISO image.
• Right click on the ISO image file on your desktop and open with Disk Utility.
• Insert a blank CD-R and click the Burn toolbar button.
• Quit Disk Utility, eject the CD and label it "DBAN for PowerPC Macs"

Boot Mac with DBAN CD:

• Insert the "DBAN for PowerPC Macs" CD into the drive of the Mac to be erased. 
• Boot the computer while holding down the "C" key.
• The Mac will boot into a DOS-like window.
• An arrow will be pointing at a line for the internal hard drive.
• Hit the space bar to select it. The word [WIPE] should appear.
• Press the "M" key. A list of methods will be displayed.
• Press the down arrow to move to the "DOD 5220 22-M" choice.
• Press the space bar to select that option.
• Press the F10 key to begin the erase process.
• In about a minute, a progess status line will appear along with a estimate of the time.
• When you see “DBAN succeeded,” remove the CD and power down.

Using Mac OS X Disk Utility to erase PowerPC or Intel Mac:

You will need a Mac OS X system CD/DVD to use this method.

1. Boot the machine normally.  Insert the Mac OS X CD/DVD into the drive and restart.  After hearing the startup tone, depress the “c” key until you see the Apple installation splash screen appear.  The “c” key may now be released.
2. From the Installer pull down menu, select Open Disk Utility…
3. Once the Disk Utility application opens, select the drive you wish to erase from the list on the left side of the window.  The options window will appear on the right.

   

4. Select the Erase tab.

   

5. In the window that now appears, select the Options (10.3.x) or Security Options (10.4.x) button located toward the bottom of the screen.
6. The Erase Options menu now appears. 
7. For the most complete erasure, select the 8 Way Random Write Format (10.3.x) or 7-pass Erase option (10.4.x) and click OK.

   

8. You are now ready to erase the drive by clicking on the Erase button located near the bottom of the window and confirming the action in the pop up window that appears.

   

9. On a first generation G4 with a 20 GB hard drive, expect the process to take several hours.  The larger the hard drive, the longer the erase process will take.
10. When the process is complete, be sure to remove your Mac OS X CD/DVD from the drive before transporting the machine to Materials Management.