Erase MAC desktop hard drive and reinstall MAC OS

[mcmcac!]

Hello
I am trying to erase the hard drive of an old (2006) hard drive so I can donate it to charity. Disk utility does not work. Have also tried Command R and
Command option R to no avail. Can anyone help?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

• Which model Mac is the hard drive from?
• Are you trying to erase it when installed in the Mac, or outside the Mac in an enclosure or dock?

You won't be able to erase it if you are started up from it. You may need an external drive with OS X/macOS installed to startup from.

C

 

[mcmcac!]

It is MAC 10.6.8. Trying to erase the hard drive that came with it. Unfortunately I no longer have the boot disk.