To do that, the only thing you need is a bit of precise syntax to make sure that you are erasing the proper disk. Hence, you will have to wipe the old data from hard drive, to make way for fresh installation. Whether its a hard drive in an older mac or an external hard drive, if it is accessible, you can use disk utility to securely erase it. How to erase your macs hard drive the right way macworld. Before you wipe your computers hard drive or do a factory reset, make sure to back up all of your information to your new computer, an external hard drive, or a web service. It also can format ssd hard drive and erase data under mac os. Look for a data volume with the same name, such as macintosh hd data.
Free mac file eraser software to permanently wipe files. Essentially, this is a tool that apple created to help people create a copy of their computer that could be accessed at a later date. To wipe your mechanical drive, open disk utility, which youll find in applications utilities. This gives you several option for how to clear the drive and the option to name the drive after formatting, and the way you want to set it up for new data after the format. How to erase or format a mac hard drive via command line duration. The process is very similar on older versions of mac os x, but the screens will look a. Whether youre getting rid of the computer or wiping your hard drive to fix an error, the best way to back up your mac is to use time machine. Paragon disk wiper 15 for mac os x free irreversible secure data. If you have any questions during the wiping process, let us know by leaving a comment below.
After macos installation is complete, the mac restarts to a welcome screen and asks you to choose a country or region. Once the erase process is over, the permanently removed files can never be recovered. How to wipe a mac and reset it to factory settings business insider. Its the best hard drive cleaning utility for mac users comes preloaded on macos. After you erase your hard drive it will be ready for a clean. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. Note that this permanently erases all data on the hard drive so dont.
If youre selling or giving away a windows computer, youll want to wipe the hard drive to remove all of your personal data from it before handing it over to someone new. To wipe a hard drive means to completely erase the drive of all its information. Press the power button and a dialog box will appear that allows you to shut down. Completely all sensitive data from windows based storage system, including intern browsing data, system traces, file history, cookies, cache,etc. To wipe your hard drive, click the erase button then click erase. Some time back there was an ad for software that would erase hard disks with the method approved by the u. What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your mac. Give your beloved mac a good physical wipe down with some dry cloths, and wave it goodbye. But for newer models, including imac pro, 2018 mac mini, and all macbook pro and macbook air models released since 2018, a full reset process is required. Make sure you click the drive you want to securely delete. Once in recovery mode, you can go to disk utility and erase the complete hard drive to a single partitioned drive. If you want to leave the mac in an outofbox state, dont continue with the setup of your system. If your mac is using apfs, select apfs from the format list.
You can do this by holding down the power button or by going to the apple menu and selecting restart. Fastest will erase the drive by removing the header information, but will leave the underlying files intact, although they will be hidden. Even though disk wipe for mac is not available for download, you can try. If you have a lot of sensitive information, perform a secure wipe of your hard drive is highly recommended. Hard drive format software for mac mac disk format software. Wiping an external hard drive on mac is an easy task.
Wipe hard drive and erase hard drive in windows and mac. How to wipe a mac hard drive complete walkthrough whatsabyte. Moreover, you can define a time to erase and can even choose the erase algorithm for securely erasing of the selected file. How to securely erase data from your mac and external drives. How to wipe a hard drive on your pc or mac by jon martindale march 31, 2020 from personal photos to sensitive work information, our computers host a. For mac users, the following steps show you how to wipe your hard drive clean.
How to wipe a hard drive permanently erase everything. How to securely wipe or erase data from hard drive on your mac, this guide will tell you how to securely wipe a hard drive on your mac using disk utility. See troubleshooting for more information on which format to select. Open disk utility via your applications utilities folder. Then super eraser for mac will help you format and erase the selected hard drive device. Mac pro family and erase all attached disks except the system disk with one. Best data wiping software for macwindows 78xp wipe. How to securely wipe or erase data from hard drive on your mac. How to securely erase a macs hard drive sound support. How to force a hard drive to unmount for formatting in mac os x disk utility gemsbok apple tips and tricks.
I f you own an older mac computer, its easy to wipe the hard drive for sale. Whether you are trying to backup mac to an external hard drive, wipe out any personal information and sell the computer, or even use a new operating system, you need to format the hard drive on your mac or pc. So to permanently wipe a mac clean without recovery, youd better try this mac wiping software, it has built many advanced wiping algorithm that can automatically wipe your hard drive or selected sensitive data. It makes impossible to get back files by making use of any recovery tools. Youll need to take an extra step to wipe the hard drive so the data cannot be easily reconstructed later. How to wipe a hard drive on your pc or mac digital trends. It permanently erases all data on hard disks, solid state drives, memory cards. Some people are asking for a way to format a hard drive for mac. Backing up your data regularly is a smart way to keep your data safe. First, erase a drive without the overwriting part, and reinstall os x. Macrorit data wiper is able to wipe mac hard drive with hfs plus file system clean, after wiped in data wiper, the hard drive can be used without worrying about leakage on old data.
This hard drive eraser tool supports both internal and. This mode wipe hard drive will help you format a selected hard drive device and erase all data from it. Deleting everything does not wipe a hard drive and formatting does not usually wipe a hard drive. How to wipe hard drive from macbook, imac and mac pro. This wikihow teaches you how to delete all the data, files, applications, and settings on your mac computer. Connect the drive you want to securely delete, then click it in the sidebar. There are many third party software that you can use to erase hard drive data but nothing is as reliable as the os itself. How to force a hard drive to unmount for formatting in mac. Unless the new owner is right there already with you, you will probably want to power down the mac.
How to permanently wipe a mac clean to sell erase mac clean. In disk utilitys sidebar, which displays all the currently installed disks and volumes, select the drive you want to erase. Apple file system format or the older mac os extended format, and it automatically chooses a compatible format for you. What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your mac apple. How to erase a disk from command line in mac os x aug 30, 2016 47 comments some mac users may require the ability to erase a disk or erase a hard drive from the command line on mac os, a task which is typically performed through the disk utility application from the gui. How to wipe a hard drive in windows 10 and macos techradar. Wiping your mac will erase everything, including your operating. But some mac users might need to erase them from the command line on mac os.
Here are instructions on how to use disk utility to securely erase a hard drive connected internally or externally to your mac. How to erase a disk for mac how to erase a disk if youre erasing the disk that your mac started up from, start up from macos recovery. Whatever your reason may be, there are lots of programs out there that can help you to not only erase the data on a hard drive, but erase it in such a way that it can never be recovered again. Do this before you erase the hard drive or follow any other steps. You should note that bitraser file eraser mac permanently erases any file from a storage drive. Wipe mac hard drive without disc and reinstall mac os. Clone or back up your mac hard drive or sync with icloud. Did you try erasing the apple hard drive via recovery mode. Here are two outstanding mac hard drive format software tools you can rely on. Resetting a mac to factory settings gets rid of all the data stored on that machine, so you may want to make a backup of the data first. Reader jim bradley seeks a way to securely wipe the data from his hard drive. After you boot, launch disk utility, select the startup volume, and click the erase tab.
Freeware version installation package dmg includes executable, being able to run on imac, macbook. From the sidebar in disk utility, select the disk or. Hard disk erasing for macs office of information technology. The best way to restore your mac to factory settings is to erase your hard drive and reinstall macos. With one of the above methods, you should be able to get the job done quickly. Fortunately, there are some mac hard drive format software or smart disk formatting applications can help you securely and easily format, reformat, or erase hard drive under mac os. Choose the right version for you to permanently erase data. Launch disk utility applicationsutilities and when the application opens select the drive you want to erase in the pane on the left side of the disk utility window. It can easily format hard drives, storage devices and permanently erase all the data on the targeted media. How to fix mac osx hard drive formatting issue 2018 duration. You just need to select the hard drive you want to format, and then click on wipe now button. Most users use disk utility to erase a disk or hard drive. Be sure you have an uptodate backup of your important files and data.
Even though all new macs these days come with flash storage which ill cover later, there are still. Click the erase button at the top of the disk utility window. After you boot, launch disk utility, select the startup volume, and click the erase. How to securely erase your mac hard drive before selling. Be sure you have an uptodate backup of your important files. 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. Free download super eraser to permanently erase hard drive data, erase mac data, or erase data on storage media. There are few way you can erase hard drive both on windows and mac.
42 516 1156 642 339 1198 1456 1478 1297 948 1533 667 37 820 1166 819 53 1228 871 910 536 184 39 890 946 736 2 370