Wiping old Air

phreddyl

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Feb 12, 2011
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So I ordered a new M2 air last week and plan on giving my 5 year old air to my best friend. I want her to be able to keep Microsoft Office and a few other programs but want to wipe all my stuff off. My biggest concern is my iCloud storage that I keep on my desktop- So would I just log off of everything and give it to her? Just trying to figure out the best way to do this-
Any help is appreciated-
 

phreddyl

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Agreed. Just make sure you’ve deleted all of your files, cache, history, password info, etcetera.

Thanks! My biggest concern are losing the files on my desktop. They are all synced/stored in iCloud. I am also doing a Time Machine backup
 

Just_Me_D

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Thanks! My biggest concern are losing the files on my desktop. They are all synced/stored in iCloud. I am also doing a Time Machine backup

Those files should remain in iCloud, especially if they’re saved to your iCloud Drive. Still, you can always copy them onto a USB drive/stick to be on the safe side.
 

EdwinG

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I would suggest that you create a second administrator account in System Preferences as step #8, login to it and delete your own account (choose Secure Erase if offered). It will ensure that your information on that computer is removed; it does not affect your data in iCloud.
 

phreddyl

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I would suggest that you create a second administrator account in System Preferences as step #8, login to it and delete your own account (choose Secure Erase if offered). It will ensure that your information on that computer is removed; it does not affect your data in iCloud.

Ok great! Thank you both
 

imwjl

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So I ordered a new M2 air last week and plan on giving my 5 year old air to my best friend. I want her to be able to keep Microsoft Office and a few other programs but want to wipe all my stuff off. My biggest concern is my iCloud storage that I keep on my desktop- So would I just log off of everything and give it to her? Just trying to figure out the best way to do this-
Any help is appreciated-

You can delete a user profile but keeping software licensed to someone else is a move that is in the spectrum of wrong/criminal/jerk. The way my department supports nearly 1000 staff it is enough scale to see and know incidents when the next owner gets some grief or trouble. The one time family Office purchases are not at all expensive and there are good alternatives to that.

You should consider doing it properly. I just helped someone truly erase and reinstall a Mac about that age and their instance on Microsoft Office only cost $40 even though I showed them free alternatives.
 

Mr.Willie

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You want to completely sign out of iCloud, and wipe your device. Give her your device. Using a web browser, log into Office 365. Click on your avatar, then my Microsoft account. At the bottom of the account page, Click on the family box. You will then see a box to add a family member. Send her an invite.

If you only have an individual account, it can be used on five devices, however she will be using your credentials, which means access to your email and One Drive.

If she only needs to view documents and not create or edit them, no account is necessary.

If she needs to create and edit, and you only have an individual account, spend the $30 a year and upgrade to a Family account. I promise you it’s worth it. Saves you from potential headaches, for the low low price of an extra $30 USD.