If you plan to give away, sell, or trade in your mac, the first thing you should do is erase the data on it and perform a factory reset. If you are about to sell or give away an old mac, it is important to erase it completely and reset it so it is exactly as it was when you first bought it. If youre passing your mac to someone else, its seriously recommended, to you boot up from the os x install dvd if your mac has one, wipe. You need to wipe a mac because you want to sell it or pass it on to a new user. How to delete user accounts from an old mac dummies. To run a 7pass erase of your ssd drive in johnbmacbook, you would enter the. So i may have one of the seagate hard drives that are failing badly. If you dont see the message after three attempts, your account isnt set up to allow resetting with apple id. Remember that this method can only be used to erase the hard disk drive which does not have the mac os installed on it. How can i delete everything from my macbook pro before.
How to erase your macs hard drive the right way macworld. Can i cancel a mac disk utility 7 pass erase mid way through. Youll probably want to use the 7pass method, unless your friend is coming over in an. Tom deweeses erase like atlas shrugged and the left behind series tom deweeses erase presents a fictional path through a dystopian future. Actually just checking on it and the more secure dod 7 pass standard erase is still available. What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your mac. How can i securely erase the entire hard drive on my powerbook g4. Now use the erase free space option, which also offers 1, 3, and 7 passes of erase, and only empties out unused parts of the disk. I started a 7 pass secure erase yesterday at midday and it is still going this morning, so nearly 24 hours now. Macbook air, high sierra, admin password fd up, erase.
Somehow, a 35 pass erase has not resulted in the zeroing of all data. Select the format option mac extended journaled or apfs. Im in the middle of a 7 pass secure erase on it 1tb. How to wipe your mac and reset it to factory settings. At the login screen, keep entering a password until you see a message saying that you can reset your password using apple id. Jan 15, 2020 macos recovery makes it easy to reinstall the mac operating system, even if you need to erase your startup disk first. It can wipe mac usage traces and personal private data to protect your privacy. Last time i tried the 7pass wipe on a mac it took about 15 hours to. Oct 10, 2017 the following steps will tell you how to restore mac to factory settings. Some mac users may require the ability to erase a disk or erase a hard drive from the command line on mac os. Erase everything on macbook pro with data wiper recommend. Welcome to rmac we are reddit s community of mac users, enthusiasts, and experts.
How long will it take for a zero out date to finish on a 1tb firewire its a western digital my book studio. Your macs recovery mode is a treasure trove of useful tools, and its the easiest way to wipe your computer and start from scratch. It is not difficult to erase everything on a mac and reformat the macbook or imac. That will install the os originally shipped with your macbook. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support. Heres what to do if your imac wont turn on, your macbook pro wont start up, or your macbook air wont boot. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wifi menu in the menu bar. How to erase your macs hard drive and reinstall os x. Copy and paste files and create folders on both mac and pc. If youre using an older mac from 2010 or earlier, theres a chance that you cant use. The advantage is that your computer remains available though.
If you need to remove the hard drive with os files, you can use method 2. Using boot camp assistant, you can install windows 7 on your intelbased mac. If you have any files you want to save, copy them to another. Security option 3 this option is a doecompliant 3pass secure erase. Heres how to reset a mac, whether its an imac, mac mini or macbook. Mar 29, 2019 how to turn off password login on a mac. How long does it take to complete a 7pass erase on a hard disk. Zero out data, 7 pass erase, how long wil apple community. To obliterate them permanently, erase the free space on your hard drive. The last and most secure option is a sevenpass erasure that meets. Nov 22, 2015 if you forget your mac password reset forgotten passcode and unlock your mac computers. Oct 19, 2015 how to clear all personal data from a mac. If you plan to sell or give away your mac, you need to erase your mac s startup disk.
Turning off password login on a mac is a simple one or twostep process. I have source code on my mac for multiple corporations proprietary software and i cant risk somebody gaining access through the use of any sort of disk recovery tool. Learn how to use terminal to securely erase free drive space. How to reset your mac to factory settings making your mac. Have you gotten used to creating and saving passwords with the builtin safari autofill feature on mac, but arent sure where they are stored. The americans need our past history to understand the principles america was. I plan to use a 7 pass erase rather than simply deleting the directory.
Whenever you boot your mac and log in to one of the accounts thats. Not much has changed in the mac book since 2010 its still the same type of efi bios chip in the new 2015 2016 in 2017 models only difference is it is a bga chip the type where you cannot see the legs. Generally, the 7pass erase option is expected to take a few hours, and the 35 pass erase is expected to. May 17, 2017 for mac users who also need to use a pc at work, home or just with specific applications, there is a solution. Heres how to do it with a mac mini running mountain lion. The first thing to do is read apple support article. How to bypass and remove macbook login password works on all macs read description informed everyday. How to use disk utility to securely wipe the data stored on a drive. Jason ciprianicnet after entering the wrong user password three times, youll be asked if you want to reset the password. For more security, consider turning on filevault 2 encryption when you start using the ssd drive. Oct 18, 2019 the best way to restore your mac to factory settings is to erase your hard drive and reinstall macos. Mar 20, 2020 using your apple id to reset your mac password is an easy process. The app has a feature, which is called erase private data. How to erase everything on mac imac, macbook proair.
It erases the information used to access your files and writes over the data 3 times. Everyone needs to securely erase data at some pointeven on a mac. Using boot camp assistant, you can install windows 7 on your intelbased mac computer in its own partition. How to fix mac flashing folder with a question mark if the issue is with your computer or a laptop you should try using reimage plus which can scan the repositories and replace corrupt. This specification calls for three passes, but disk utility performs seven. Not much has changed in the mac book since 2010 its still the same type of efi bios chip in the new 2015 2016 in 2017 models only difference is it is a bga chip the type where you cannot see the legs which makes it a little bit more difficult to program but the correct way of doing it will have to be through the diagnostics port on the. To do this, select your hard drive and clickselect the erase free space button. And autofill values is also one of the target files in this feature. Depending on the speed and size of the drive, a sevenpass run could take over a day, so dont start this process if you need to take your laptop. But if you want to reset macbook proair, imac without losing data, or securely and completely wipe a mac, there are a couple of things you should do. There is no issue as long as you have copied off any files you want to keep. As the system restarts, hold the combination of command and r keys together youll notice the recovery mode window. Erase and reformat a storage device in disk utility on mac apple.
Go to the apple menu in the top left corner of your screen and choose restart. Choose your mac s system drive, usually named macintosh hd, then click erase. Erase and reformat a storage device in disk utility on mac. Erasing a drive, how filevault 2 encryption can play into it, and outofdate. Im erasing my 500gb hd right now, beginning yesterday morning. Click erase, confirm the action if prompted, and wait until. The status area at the bottom of the disk utility shows secure erase. I guess if rescue software was able to find files after a 7 pass erase then you could try a 7 pass erase twice before doing the 35 pass erase. Havent heard back from seagate to see if my drive and firmware is bad, but since i just bought the drive, im thinking of returning it. Jason ciprianicnet after entering the wrong user password three times, youll be asked if you want to reset the password using.
A step by step guide to how to wipe a mac clean backblaze. And umate mac cleaner is our recommendation for you when it comes to such mac cleaning tools. It writes 2 passes of random data followed by a single pass of known data over the entire disk. I have no definitive answers, but i will keep in mind. Then select the erase button at the bottom right of the window. How to bypass and remove macbook login password works on. This method uses the utilities which can be run only on the mac os. Back when i did that last, the mac had a hard disk. If you want to leave the mac in an outofbox state, dont continue with the setup of your system. How to fix mac flashing folder with a question mark. And when you plug your my passport drive into either you will be able to see the drive, read and write files. This article is almost two years old, though, so it might be out of date.
Aug 12, 2018 how to fix mac flashing folder with a question mark if the issue is with your computer or a laptop you should try using reimage plus which can scan the repositories and replace corrupt and missing files. Apr 08, 2019 if you plan to give away, sell, or trade in your mac, the first thing you should do is erase the data on it and perform a factory reset. Easily use your wd my passport for mac and windows in 7 steps. Performing a factory reset on your macbook or mac can solve many macos problems, and is essential if youre selling. But the reason why youre doing this is because youve gummed up the hard drive and you want it to work better. If youre using an imac, mac pro, or mac mini, use a usb or other wired keyboard and mouse to complete the next step. Oct 10, 2010 how to securely erase a macs hard drive. When youve picked how many wipes youd like to run, click ok, then click erase back at the initial prompt. If you need to use the mac recovery mode heres how to do that. How to reset remove bypass forgotten bios or cmos password. Can i cancel a mac disk utility 7 pass erase mid way. Using your apple id to reset your mac password is an easy process. With os x lion and an ssd drive, secure erase and erasing free space are not available in disk utility.
If you sell your mac or just want a fresh start, you can erase the drive and reinstall os x. Disk utility should still have a secure erase option which will write zeroes to the drive. For mac users who also need to use a pc at work, home or just with specific applications, there is a solution. Please submit or enjoy content, comments, or questions related to the mac platform, be it related to the hardware or software that makes it up. But what happens if you find yourself blocked by the restrictions you set.
How to turn off password login on a mac with pictures wikihow. How to remove forgotten password from your macbook airpro. In some macos versions, you can use your apple id to reset your login password. Hover the pointer over the device that you want to unpair, then click the remove x button next to the devices name. How to securely erase a macs hard drive sound support. Posted on october 10, 2010 february 17, 2019 by tim hannon in mac os x. Generally, the 7pass erase option is expected to take a few hours, and the 35pass. Setting parental controls is a good way to protect your children. These options are not needed for an ssd drive because a standard erase makes it difficult to recover data from an ssd. After macos installation is complete, the mac restarts to a welcome screen and asks you to choose a country or region. It doesnt matter if you format or reformat my passport for mac.
How do i reset the firmware password on my macbook. Your mac is running slow or having other problems so that you want to delete everything on mac to start over. How to secure erase a mac ssd hard disk from recovery mode. How to wipe your mac and reinstall macos from scratch. To reduce the chances of deleted files being recoverable, apple included a feature called secure erase in disk utility. The following steps will tell you how to restore mac to factory settings. You can save even more on apples newest macbook air today. I dont have the install cd so im using disk utilities erase function. The dangers of using secure erase apps on macs with ssds. In disk utility on mac, you can erase and reformat storage devices to use with your mac. Can i cancel a mac disk utility 7 pass erase mid way through its. Your device is not showing the list of all device, find my iphone must be turned on, so.
If you didnt make a recovery usb drive, you can do internet recovery. The wd my passport drive is now formatted to work on both mac and pc. I performed a 7pass erase on a western digital my book studio 500gb drive, connected via firewire 800, using apples disk utility. How to view and edit passwords saved with safari 9to5mac. How to unlock mac computers from unknown password tutorial bypass macbook passwords in this how to tutorial i show you how to gain access to a locked macbook computer. Erasing drives with disk utility, top or bottom submenu to. How to securely erase the hard drive on a powerbook g4 before selling it online.
Youll want to securely erase that ssd, but its a bit tricker than a plain hard disk. How to erase everything on macbook pro hard drive befre selling. My passport wont format external drives for mac wd. However, in erase every single policy presented in the book. How to securely erase your macs ssd the mac observer. The more secure 7pass method can take overnight, and the 35pass method for the paranoid can take a couple of days. Dec 26, 2017 your macs recovery mode is a treasure trove of useful tools, and its the easiest way to wipe your computer and start from scratch. How to securely erase data from your mac and external drives.
594 135 1052 1262 1275 546 303 1053 1395 44 727 718 1157 1465 637 1055 517 771 300 87 685 1192 597 951 886 349 1233 1161 1113 237 985 73 564