[MacBook]

In the "old" days, one could erase the disk 3x or 7x times and then reinstall the system with a DVD. How do I do that on a new system? Can I create a recovery flash drive or DVD using OS X Recovery and Command-R? I haven't had new machine in two years or so, and the way things have done seem to changed a bit.

[Spheric Harlot]

Using Cmd-R at boot, you can start into recovery mode, where disk utility will let you format the system partition using the secure erase mode (takes ages). Then you can reinstall the OS straight from Apple's servers through a network connection.

[MacBook]

Thanks, that all worked smoothly. It took about seven hours to do a three pass erase, and then another couple to download and install the system.