How to Wipe a Mac Clean
Method 1 of 2:
OS X 10.7 or Later
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Back up any data you want to save. Wiping your Mac will erase everything, including your operating system, so keeping a backup on an external hard drive or DVD is a good idea. -
Open the Apple menu. It's the black apple icon in the upper-left corner of the screen. -
Click on Restart…. It's near the bottom of the menu. -
Click Restart to confirm. This immediately shuts down and reboots your Mac.- Wait for your Mac to shut down.
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Press and hold ⌘+R as the Mac restarts. -
Release the keys when you see the Apple logo. The "macOS Utilities" window will appear. -
Click on Disk Utility. It's at the bottom of the list. -
Click on Continue. It's in the lower-right corner of the window. -
Click on your Mac's hard drive. It's in the upper-left of the window, under "Internal." -
Click on Erase. It's a button at the top-center of the window. -
Name your disk. Type it in the "Name:" field. -
Click on the "Format:" drop-down menu. -
Select a format. To reinstall a MacOS system, select:- Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for the fastest wipe.
- Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted) to encrypt the disk after wiping.
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Click on Erase. It's in the lower-right corner of the dialog box. The wipe process will begin.- The time to erase your disk will vary based on disk size, the amount of data stored, and whether your chose an encrypted format.
Method 2 of 2:
OS X 10.6 or Earlier
-
Back up any data you want to save. Wiping your Mac will erase everything, including your operating system, so keeping a backup on an external hard drive or DVD is a good idea. -
Insert your installation disc. Insert the installation DVD or CD that came with your computer into the computer's disc drive and wait for the computer to recognize the disc.- If you are using a USB drive instead of an installation disc, insert the USB drive.
-
Open the Apple menu. It's the black apple icon in the upper-left corner of the screen. -
Click on Restart…. It's near the bottom of the menu. -
Click Restart to confirm. This immediately shuts down and reboots your Mac.- Wait for your Mac to shut down.
-
Press and hold C as the Mac restarts.- If you are using a USB drive instead of an installation disc, hold down ⌥ Option instead.
-
Open Disk Utility. It's located in the "Utilities" section of the Installation menu. -
Click on your Mac's hard drive. It's in the upper-left of the window, under "Internal." -
Click the Erase tab. It's at the top of the page. -
Name your disk. Type it in the "Name:" field. -
Click on the "Format:" drop-down menu. -
Select a format. If you plan to reinstall OS X, select: Mac OS X Extended (Journaled). -
Click on Erase. It's in the lower-right corner of the dialog box. The wipe process will begin.- The time to erase your disk will vary based on disk size and the amount of data that was stored on your hard drive.
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