reformatting the hard drive

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
i want to clean everything off and start fresh, its been a year and a half and i notice a lot of junk and the comp is getting bogged down. how do i go about reformatting th hdd to install panther? in disk utilites erase is greyed out, why would that be? i figure that is where u would go to do it.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    You can't format the drive you are booted off of. It would be really nice if you could boot off some other drive... wouldn't it be nice if Apple included such a device in the box with every new computer, possibly in a flat-round format with a hole in the middle?



    Wouldn't it be nice if there were a menu item once you booted off that device that allowed you to open Disk Utility (so you could partition or run disk repair if you wanted to), or if there were options to erase the disk and put a clean version of the OS on the computer... Wouldn't that be nice? *grin*
  • Reply 2 of 10
    dobbydobby Posts: 797member
    But Mac's don't have a Floppy drive!



    Dobby.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    cam'roncam'ron Posts: 503member
    wow, thats nice u are such a dick about it, sorry i have never reformatted a mac before. still a bad explanation since u have to change how it boots, but thanks. glad i figured it out on my eventually.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    Cam'ron: the reason that you got the answer you did is because the answer to your question was already available to you in multiple places: The small manual that came on your computer, and the help menu on your computer for Disk Utility (it walks you though it, and the first point is: "Connect the disk to your computer if it is an external disk. If you are erasing your startup disk, you must first start up from a CD or another hard disk that contains a System folder.").



    You didn't do the most basic of searches for your own answers before asking the list. It is entirely appropriate to 'josh you into doing so next time.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    cam'roncam'ron Posts: 503member
    first, its a lot easier to post a question in here rather than search the help file. second, i looked in the manual and it only gives basic details and doesnt tell you how to boot from the disc.
  • Reply 6 of 10
    imeime Posts: 40member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Cam'ron

    first, its a lot easier to post a question in here rather than search the help file.



    If you don't take the time and effort to look, why would we take OUR time and effort to answer your questions? :-|
  • Reply 7 of 10
    wow, ive never seen people make such a big deal out of answering a question in the GENIUS BAR. if u dont want to answer it then dont, but i dont need your asshole remarks...thanks. i did look, that is the point, there is nothing about setting the boot in the manual. so, dont try and tell me im being lazy or anything. i posted a question here because i was under the impression that people could ask questions here with out being called a fucking idiot. in the future dont post in the an answer if its not the one that answer a persons question..thanks.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    Cam'ron: we are not here to hold your hand through every little problem you have. The point that we are trying to get across is that you should do your own homework first before going to others. The answer to your question was very clearly answered in the Help system built into your computer.



    Your response to that being pointed out was "that is too much work", which is clearly a bad response. Not doing that small amount of work was either lazy, or shows that you didn't know about the system (it is covered in the manual... and the word "Help" is always on the screen... you should have gone there). You can choose which of these things is the problem, but in either case the fault is yours. If you had owned up to it immediately, no-one would have thought the worse of you. Dragging it out changes that.



    Now we are trying to solve your more fundamental problem, a unwillingness to do your homework, by making it mildly embarrassing to you. While you might not see this, it is the socially correct thing to do. Your protestations and telling people that they should just give you the answer or not say anything at all is the wrong thing to do (plus your writing was anything but clear).



    No one has called you an idiot. We have said that not looking at the Help system was a bad move, and it was. We also have not sworn at you, and you have at us. Another bad move.



    People are very willing to help each other, but there is the assumption that the person asking the question has made their best attempt to figure the problem out and made a stab at fixing it. We are not paid to do this, so a social system needs to be in place to keep people from abusing it. You have been fighting that system. Please stop.



    Oh... and on a minor note: You really should use proper capitalization. It would make your postings look much more... well... adult. This is only a minor note, and is more of a personal preference.
  • Reply 9 of 10
    please, don't tell me that its more "adult" to type with capitals. it's a preference i have.



    well, hate to beat a dead horse, but in the help viewer if you are to look up formatting the hdd it does not tell you how to set the boot.



    basically, that is what it came down to, being helpful enough to tell me that. i know i left it broad in description, but esscentially that is what i needed. im not too lazy to read a manual, i found other means that helped me out with more description.



    you "making it mildly embarrassing for" me is just as bad as calling me an idiot in my opinion. so, as i said before if you have no valid input, don't have any. thanks again.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    imeime Posts: 40member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Cam'ron

    i dont need your asshole remarks



    LOL you really are becoming one of the favourites on this site (and quickly) arn't ya?
Sign In or Register to comment.