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Helping a friend sell his Cube (my former Cube); we did a security erase on the HD, so the blinking folder is all you see when you start it up. We do have the original CDs (the restore CDs) and all that.
What would you rather buy, if you were buying this Cube:
* leave it completely erased; I'll install an OS when I get it
* do the full restore, so it's just like I bought it brand new
The CDs will be included regardless. There's a chance of including the Panther install CDs as well; we're still considering options on that.
Opinions?
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Run the full restore. Good thing to be able to demonstrate the machine will actually boot properly for potential buyers...
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I can't speak for everyone, but when I get a new/used computer, I want to see it BOOT right off so I can set my mind at ease about it being DOA.
If all I can see is a blinking icon, I'm not entirely sure it's NOT DOA...
So... if it was me, I'd do the "kitchen sink" reinstall...
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Yup, I totally agree here - it should fire up and run. (Doesn't really matter what OS.)
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"I am unanimous in this!"
Restore.
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Original install or whatever is the latest version of the OS you are including on optical discs. I like to see it boot up as soon as I start it.
I just this morning put an 80 GB Seagate in my daughter's Cube, replacing the 20 GB Maxtor. The Cube wouldn't boot from the cloned Firewire install. Tried several power button restarts. No go, no startup tone. Pulled the power and IDE cables from the new drive in case that was the problem. No go, no startup tone. Pressed the reset switch. No go, no startup tone. Tried booting from the DVD, disconnecting the Firewire drive. No go, no startup tone. Twirled the PRAM battery in its bracket. Tone! Connected the Firewire drive and it booted. I then ejected the Tiger DVD so it wouldn't be stuck in case it wouldn't boot again. Did several successful reboots so I decided it was the PRAM battery. Her Cube is never shut down except for software installs and then it is a restart so the PRAM battery is never put to the test. As I write this I am cloning the Firewire drive to her new internal drive using CCC.
Imagine if you sell the Cube and it bounces a bit in shipping and the PRAM battery or RAM jostles loose or something else happens. At least with a fresh install you know that finding an OS isn't the problem and an installed OS means you can boot from the optical drive or the hard drive should one or the other not care to work after being shipped.
