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- Choose Apple menu > Restart, then immediately press and hold Command-R. In the Recovery app window, select Disk Utility, then click Continue. In Disk Utility, select the volume you want to erase in the sidebar, then click Erase in the toolbar.
support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/erase-and-reinstall-macos-mh27903/mac
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Go to the Disk Utility app on your Mac using one of the following methods, depending on the type of disk or volume you want to erase: If you want to erase your startup disk: Start up your computer in macOS Recovery, then choose Disk Utility in the Recovery app.
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Feb 2, 2020 · 1. This can be done from macOS Recovery without the use of a mouse and primarily using just the arrow, tab and space keys. The enter key may need to be used on some objects, depending on the selection (s) made: Boot to macOS Recovery by holding down ⌘R when starting the Mac.
Sep 27, 2024 · Use Disk Utility to erase your Mac. Start up from macOS Recovery: Press and release the power button to turn on your Mac, then immediately press and hold these two keys on your keyboard: Command (⌘) and R. Keep holding the keys until you see an Apple logo or spinning globe.
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First, open Disk Utility on your Mac. You can search for it with Spotlight (click the search button in the menu bar or use the Command+Spacebar keyboard shortcut) or the search bar in Launchpad. Disk Utility can be opened in the Finder from Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
Next, connect the drive you want to erase, if you haven't already. You also need the sidebar visible to see all your connected drives. If the sidebar is hidden, click the View button and select "Show sidebar."
You need to select the drive in Disk Utility, not one of the partitions on the drive. The drive is listed in the sidebar above any partitions as the top-level item. For example, in the below screenshot, "Patriot Memory Media" the drive (and is selected) and "PATRIOT" is a FAT32 partition on the drive. If you perform a wipe on a partition instead of the drive, you may not erase all the data.
With the drive selected, click the Erase button at the top of the window. Disk Utility will open a popup menu allowing you to set the new drive name, file system/format, and the partition scheme. The available options will vary depending on the drive type and size.
If this is a USB drive, SD card, or other storage that needs to be accessible on non-Apple platforms, set the scheme to Master Boot Record (or GUID if that is unavailable) and the format to MS-DOS FAT (or exFAT if that one is not available). You may need to use exFAT if the drive is too large or if you want to use files larger than 4GB, but some devices can't read exFAT drives. Mac OS Extended format is only readable/writable by Mac computers.
If you want to securely wipe the drive so the files can't be recovered, click the "Security Options" button in the popup. This will show all available wipe options, from not zeroing out the drive at all (potentially allowing recovery tools to read the erased data) to writing over the entire drive seven times for maximum security. Every wipe adds more time to the process, especially for spinning mechanical disks and flash drives. In most cases, the second option (2x write over) is enough.
If you want to wipe your Mac's internal storage so you can safely sell it or give it to someone else, you need to do a full factory reset. This will not only erase the internal drive, but also reinstall macOS from the internet so it's ready to be set up again.
We have a dedicated guide for how to factory reset any Mac, so you can follow those instructions to wipe your Mac and set it up fresh.
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- Justin Pot
- Former News Editor
Oct 2, 2024 · To both erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings, follow the steps in what to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac, but disregard the instructions for using Erase All Content and Settings. To only erase your Mac without resetting it to factory settings, learn how to erase a Mac with Apple silicon or erase an Intel-based Mac.
Apr 30, 2023 · If you don't have the option of using the Erase Assistant, or you have a particular version of macOS that you want to install, you'll have to do things the old-fashioned way by booting into Recovery Mode (or booting from a USB drive), erasing your drive.
Nov 25, 2021 · Select either of the two volumes in the container for the system (see figure). Click Erase. Note that while the main volume is filled in and its name can be changed, and there’s a prominent...
