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How do I wipe my Mac without removing OS?
You can upgrade your Mac to macOS 12 and try this feature to reset your Mac without reinstalling macOS.
- Open Apple menu > System Preferences.
- Select System Preferences from the Apple menu bar.
- Choose Erase All Content and Settings.
- Type your admin account password and click OK and Continue.
How do I clear my entire Mac hard drive?
Delete unneeded media, such as music or movies or podcasts, which can use a lot of storage space. Delete unneeded files in the Downloads folder. You can open the Downloads folder from the Dock or by choosing Go > Downloads from the menu bar in the Finder. Delete unneeded email in the Mail app.
Can you wipe an encrypted hard drive Mac?
You can erase an encrypted volume without a password, so long as you don’t care about losing its contents. The newly formatted drive is available for use and has no password attached. On the matter of the sidebar: If you don’t see the sidebar in Disk Utility, choose View > Show Sidebar.
How do I wipe my Mac but keep my apps?
Go to System Preferences and create a new user with admin privileges. Log out, then log back in as that user. Delete all of the other user accounts, and answer “yes” to the question if you want to delete their data. Open Disk Utility, and do an “Erase Free Space”.
What happens if you erase macOS base system?
FAQ about macOS Base System Can I delete the macOS Base System? No, You can’t delete macOS Base System, nor you should. It is what gives you access to the macOS Utilities installed in the recovery partition. Without it, you can’t reinstall operating systems or fix problems when your Mac fails to boot up.
Can I erase a Mac with FileVault?
FileVault Encryption helps prevent others from getting access to your files, but you’ll want to turn it off to reset your Mac. You’ll be erasing the hard drive in a few minutes anyway, so it’s fine to turn this off.
How do I wipe my Mac without the FileVault password?
Erase via Recovery. Hold down Command-R at startup (Option by itself won’t work on a FileVault-protected Mac), and then erase the FileVault partition using Disk Utility, and then reinstall macOS.
Do I need to erase Macintosh HD data?
Why should you delete the Macintosh HD – Data? Because the Macintosh HD – Data volume of the previous macOS will be retained after downgrading macOS. And system downgrading will also form a new Macintosh HD – Data volume. Then, there are two Macintosh HD – Data volumes, which may arise some problems.
Should I erase Macintosh HD or Macintosh HD data?
You should erase the Macintosh HD volume together with the Macintosh HD – Data volume when downgrading macOS. Why should you delete the Macintosh HD – Data? Because the Macintosh HD – Data volume of the previous macOS will be retained after downgrading macOS.
How to erase a disk for Mac?
How to erase a disk for Mac. Use Disk Utility to erase (format) a hard disk, flash drive, or other storage device for Mac. Disk Utility can erase disks, add volumes, check disks for errors, and more. Erasing a disk or volume permanently deletes all of its files. Before continuing, make sure that you have a backup of any files that you want to keep.
Can you wipe the hard drive on a new MacBook?
Not like older Mac computers with a traditional hard disk drive, most newer MacBooks are equipped with solid state drives (SSDs), and in this case Apple’s Disk Utility software does not enable you to wipe the hard drive. What’s the reason? In fact, just a standard erase can make it difficult to do a Mac data recovery.
How do I reinstall Mac OS X on a deleted disk?
After the disk has been erased, choose Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility, and then follow the instructions in the Mac OS X Installer to reinstall Mac OS X. Show activity on this post.
How do I format and erase a disk in Disk Utility?
Format: To format as a Mac disk, choose either APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Disk Utility shows a compatible format by default. Scheme: Choose the appropriate partition map scheme. Click Erase to begin erasing. If you’re erasing your startup disk, you might be prompted to enter your Apple ID.