Erase partition question.

[GavinBKK]

I bought an MB here and it came (This is Thailand...) with a partition that had XP preinstalled. As this is of hole-in-the-head use to me, can I simply use Disk Utility to erase the partition and get all that space back, or does it require a reinstall of OSX?
TIA

Gavin

[hayne]

Quote: Originally Posted by GavinBKK I bought an MB here and it came (This is Thailand...) with a partition that had XP preinstalled. As this is of hole-in-the-head use to me, can I simply use Disk Utility to erase the partition and get all that space back, or does it require a reinstall of OSX?

Since Apple doesn't preinstall Windows, I'm guessing that this is a used MacBook.
You should always erase the drive and install a fresh copy of OS X from the CD/DVD when you buy a used Mac. You have no idea what the previous owner did with the OS. It could be filled with malware due to maliciousness, or just due to incompetence.

In any case, I'm not sure if you can get it back to one partition without having to reinstall OS X anyway.

[ThreeBKK]

A: Have a look at the partitioning function that comes with Boot Camp. It can create partitions on the fly, and maybe it can erase them on the fly as well. Check out Micromat (makers of TechTool) as well. They have an app called DiskStudio that can do this, but I've never used it before.

http://www.micromat.com/index.php?op...d=33&Itemid=54

B: Stores in BKK actually open all new Macs before they sell them. Personally, I hate it, but I understand why they think they should do it.

Anyway, they set them up for their customers and change whatever settings they think may be appropriate. For example: my PowerBook had it's DVD region changed once from region 1 to region 3. That left me with only four changes "out of the box". It's highly annoying, but most of their customers love having everything set up for them by the store.

I agree that everything should be erased and re-installed as soon as the computer is purchased, and ideally you should pester them about not opening the box until the computer is actually sold.

[GavinBKK]

I don't usually have that problem - my "pet" shop are pretty good but this one came loaded with the XP partition and loads of other garbage.
GB