# My iMac died, how can I wipe the HD? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 28, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-imac-died-how-can-i-wipe-the-hd/558661 "2010-10-28T14:48:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-imac-died-how-can-i-wipe-the-hd/558661/21 "2010-10-29T19:00:16Z")
Mack, did you just reload the OS onto the firewire drive? I didn’t know that was possible, so I went with internal. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-imac-died-how-can-i-wipe-the-hd/558661/22 "2010-10-29T20:22:08Z")
This is what I did, IIRC (it’s been a while) - You said you don’t have restore discs but I imagine regular OS install discs work the same way. I put restore disc 1 in the slot. I held down the option key while turning on the computer. This allowed me to select the DVD drive/restore disc to work off of. I used [This Guide](http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1787) from Western Digital (although I had a 1TB Mac-formatted iomega) to make sure the external drive was partitioned correctly. > [@](#): > > The external hard drive must contain a Mac OS Extended (HFS+) partition with GUID for Intel-based computers or Apple Partition Map on PowerPC-based computers. For directions on how to partition and format an external hard drive, please follow the directions below: > > Ensure that the external hard drive is connected to the computer and powered on. Open the main drive (the drive that contains the operating system) [this will be the DVD drive in your case - mack]. > > Open the Applications folder. > > Open the Utilities folder. > > Open the Disk Utility application. > > The drives are displayed on the left side of the window. Click on the drive (the upper listing with the numerical capacity) that you wish to partition. > > Once the drive is selected click on Partition tab. > > Click on the Options button to select the partitioning scheme. > > Click on GUID for Intel-based computers or Apple Partition Map for PowerPC-based ones and then click on the OK button. > > You will see several options for setting up the drive. Once you have selected the number of partitions, the format type you want (Mac OS Extended), and a volume label, click the Apply button. Click the Partition button to confirm your selection and begin the partition operation. > > Following the completion of this process, the drive will appear on the desktop. It is now ready for installing a bootable operating system on it. Due to differences between WD’s version and what I was seeing I wasn’t able to follow the above note for note but I was able to get through the partitioning process. Once that was done, I initiated the install process. Along the way I chose which drive to install the OS on and selected the external. After installing I selected the external as my startup volume. There’s probably something I didn’t do correctly because I have to click through a disk eject message whenever I boot up. Small price to pay, though. I contemplated replacing the internal myself but chickened out and looked into making an external work instead. And by Jove, it did! ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-imac-died-how-can-i-wipe-the-hd/558661/23 "2010-10-29T22:19:56Z")
Thanks! That would have been easier. Oh well. I got a good price (after rebate) on a 1TB drive and it will be an experience. A good one, I hope. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-imac-died-how-can-i-wipe-the-hd/558661/24 "2010-11-02T13:12:48Z")
It worked! It was a bit of a hassle, but my SO and I put in a new drive and got Snow Leopard loaded. $75 and a few hours is all it took. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-imac-died-how-can-i-wipe-the-hd/558661.md?page=1)