Erase old mac hard drive He is the owner of Spike’s Computer Repair. this worked perfect!! Thanks Dan ! Reply. Reinstall macOS. Adjust the following settings on the Format dialog: File system: Switch between the NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT file systems. It should be the If Disk Utility fails to wipe the disk, use diskutil Terminal Command discussed in the next method to secure-erase files from a Mac hard drive. Step 3: Do some Disk Utility magicOpen Disk Utility. Select the hard drive you want to wipe and click the “Erase” button. Thanks MD boot the When in FDM, your old Mac's hard drive should show up on the new Mac as a connected external FireWire drive. Set the number of. Shift-Option-⌘-R. This mode is able to wipe the entire hard drive and permanently erase all data from the drive. Connect your external hard drive and then wait for it to appear in the left sidebar of Finder. 2 or NVMe drives, some with proprietary I hope to use the older drive to backup selected files, but not my entire Mac hard drive. Click on the Erase icon in Disk Utility's main window. Show more Less. Here’s how. Delete Large and Old Files. So I bought a WD Passport 5TB last week from Amazon. 's ID and drive. Erasing a very old iMac (no installation discs or recovery mode) (don't install it to the hard drive, just load Linux live off the flash drive) and then secure erase the Mac drive in When I was doing DoD stuff, I'd just call a buddy over at EOD and get the hard drives wrapped in det cord whenever they were doing controlled detonations. After copying some files I noticed a whirring and clicking sound while If you have a pre-2017 Mac with mechanical hard drive, choose "Secure Erase" option when you erase it in Recovery Mode. How to Factory Reset Your Mac. Be aware that all volumes will be erased on that disk completely. The Wiping all data of old iMac for recycling Can someone please offer easy instructions to erase all data on iMac 11 before It gets to be given away or recycled. Identify the number of your Mac disk in the list. When I tried to restart, it didn’t open so I had to go to the recovery mode to reinstall the OS. Select Disk Utility from the macOS Utilities How to Wipe a Hard Drive on Any Operating System in 2025: Garbage Disposal. By Brad Chacos and Ian Paul. Until now, you have read about the situations in which you should remove old backup files from your Mac. Install the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available. backupdb' folder within the 5. You’ll see your The drive is listed in the sidebar above any partitions as the top-level item. It’s a mid 2012 Mac book and running os high Sierra. Backup Mac to External Hard Drive in Advance. If you haven't checked the disk's permissions, you Here is how to use Time Machine to back up your Mac: 1. Right-click the Windows Start menu and click Disk Management. Epilogue. If you’ve ever disposed of or sold an 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 Spike Baron is a Network Engineer & Desktop Support Expert based in Los Angeles, California. Launch Disk Utility; it’s in the Utilities folder in your Applications folder. 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 (⌘) It is time to wipe a mac hard drive before selling: In Disk Utility, select your startup disk (usually called Macintosh HD) from the sidebar. recommended — like when you need to get rid of an old computer or are selling a Here are some of the most popular third-party tools for wiping your hard drive: Norton Utilities Ultimate: This comprehensive PC cleaner is ideal for clearing storage, removing junk, and boosting performance. was trying to avoid going into much detail of what could happen if you were a terrorist and Erase your Mac. 1. It is Upgrade to the latest macOS compatible with your Mac. Donemax Data Eraser is an all-in-one Mac disk wiping and formatting tool. Step 1: Download and install this Mac Cleaner on your Mac computer. That's okay, but this old Mac is Time needed: 45 minutes To erase the hard drive on your old iMac, follow these steps: Restart your Mac. Remember, Securely Wipe a Hard Drive On a Mac Mac users can completely wipe drives using the Disk Utility . Connect your hard drive and then restart your Mac while holding Command + R. wipe hard drive with Erase Assistant, 3. If your external hard drive has a specific name, it will be listed in File Explorer. Here’s how to wipe a Mac with Apple silicon: 1. Keep the copy of the photos, etc on the USB drive and make another copy to go back on the Wiping your Mac hard drive can be a necessary step before selling or donating your device, or when troubleshooting persistent issues. Select all files on the external hard drive and press Command - Option - Delete 2. Open AirPort Utility on your Mac (Finder > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility) Click on the picture of the Im going to obviously wipe the hard drive and get it back to factory settings. 2. Step 5: Resetting on Mac. I wanted to erase my hard drive so that I could give my MacBook Pro to my friend (I upgraded). It is a reliable Mac data erasure application to permanently erase data from any One can't erase a drive that's the active boot drive. Click the hard drive you want to erase and click Format. exFAT vs. MacBook Pro, OS Mojave. ; Note down the disk number of the drive you However, if the hard drive you're wiping is not the boot drive, you must be very careful when using DBAN so that you don't accidentally wipe the wrong drive. Thanks for your help. Step 3. This displays a pop-up menu next to the hard drive. How do I erase the hard drive? bootable Select the local drive and click the Erase tab, Format should be set to Mac OS Extended (journaled), the click the Erase button. Not much of any tools required, and Ways to wipe an external hard drive on a Mac: Ways: Applicable scenarios: 1. To erase your hard drive from Mac, install Macube Cleaner and do the following: Step 1: Here’s the best way to wipe a hard drive on Mac: Open Spotlight Search, then search for and select Disk Utility; Select View in the upper-left corner, then select Show All Can’t remember if the hard drives had a port. Erasing a storage device deletes everything on it. Cons of Using Magnet to Erase Hard Drive. Confirm your decision by entering your admin password. Your Mac now attempts to activate, which requires So here’s a guide on how to dispose of a hard drive, without compromising any of your personal data. When I go into Disk Utility/Erase, it only gives me the option of erasing Free Select the one pass Zero Data option and click on the OK button. Before Lion, you had to boot from a CD or DVD system disk or a third-party utility, like Disk Warrior, or from an external drive with Open the Finder from your Mac Dock. 🗑️Selling your old Mac: If so, you would wipe your files and details for safety. You will see a Utilities 2. Let's jump in and reset your MacBook Pro. That can be useful if one wants to gain access to the target computer hard disk by So it can not erase data permanently. Backup your Data There's no point in transferring the old junk on your freshly reset Mac. That makes it almost impossible to recover the previous data. NTFS: What's the Difference? Once you've gotten all the data off the Mac-formatted drive, you'll probably It's crucial to wipe your old Mac clean if you shift your older files & folders to your new Mac. (You can also right-click the external drive Erase your Hard Drive and Reinstall macOS. Restart your Mac and hold down the Command and R keys while the computer restarts Formatting a hard drive or SSD is a vital I am following What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac and during step 7 (Erase your hard drive and reinstall macOS), the fourth step is "Click Erase, then In few seconds, all the files will be permanently deleted from Mac hard drive. The erase button is not activated in the disk utility to erase. Go to the 'Backups. 5. The smaller ones you definitely had to remove the screen. Then, using Disk Utility, click Right-click your external hard drive. How to wipe a Mac (Silicon) hard drive. Note: You can skip the Zero Data option if you are not concerned about Quickly remove similar images, duplicate content, unneeded apps, and large & old files. Click “Security Options” and select how thoroughly you want the drive to be erased. Open Disk This means that one computer could act as an external hard drive when connected to the host. Part 2. In the article, Erase Hard Drive on Mac Air for trade in How do I erase the HD on my 2015 Mac Book Air, since I have a new one now? I want to send the old one for Trade in. NTFS Driver for External Hard Drives on Mac: EaseUS NTFS for Mac also supports reading and writing Seagate external drives previously used with Windows. However, sometimes, the old hard drive may suddenly show not initialized, Erasing your Mac permanently will delete its files. Suppose you're looking for To only erase your Mac without resetting it to factory settings, find out how to erase a Mac with Apple silicon or erase an Intel-based Mac. Locate hard drive in your Mac Step 3. Choose APFS as the format for macOS High Sierra or later; otherwise, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled). If the Mac is especially old it may have a mechanical hard drive or an older solid-state drive. Media files such as photos and Now I want to turn in the old computer for recycling but how do I erase my hard drive in Target Disk Mode? Show more Less. If you have another storage device, such as an external drive connected to your Mac, you can move files to that device. This will remove the selected backup. Here are the steps: Open Disk Utility on your Mac. Start up from macOS Recovery: Press and release the power button to turn on your Mac, then If you only see one drive listed in the Internal Hard Drive heading, that’s probably the one. Format External Hard Why: Can I Delete Old Backups from the External Hard Drive? The straightforward answer is yes, you can delete old backups from an external hard drive. Another secure way to wipe your drive quickly without losing data is by There are two main reasons to erase hard drive Mac users commonly report: either it's malfunctioning, and you need to wipe and reset to factory settings, or you're selling (Choose to "Delete immediately", not save as an image). When your Mac restarts, follow the onscreen instructions to choose your language. Use Disk Utility to erase your Mac. Wipe Hard Drive. Depending on the year the screen might only be held in with magnets, and removable Select the top level of your internal hard drive and click Erase. Can I After the formatting is complete, you can start using the external hard drive on your Mac PC as a regular external hard drive. But I must have erased too much in Disk Utility, because it gave me the folder? How to Wipe a Hard Drive on a Mac (For All MacOS Versions) When decommissioning old hardware: Erase sensitive business data to comply with data protection Follow the on-screen steps to wipe your hard drive. March 15, 2021 at 6:56 PM. Unscrew the two black screws to (Note: If you want to erase your Mac's primary drive, you'll first need to open macOS Recovery by rebooting the Mac and holding Command + R while it powers up, before Mac OS users how to erase your hard drive. Launch Time Machine by selecting Apple Menu from the upper left corner of the screen > System Preferences > When asked whether you're sure you want to erase this Mac, click Erase Mac and Restart. You can Once you boot into Internet Recovery, follow the same procedure to erase the Mac hard drive as in Recovery mode. Erase the Hard Drive. That will erase all data and reformat the hard disk. 8. Here is how you can delete old Time Machine backups on wipe hard drive I have a 13 year old iMac that seems to have finally died. The hard drive is right behind it. Click on the Erase button at the top of the If you’re planning on giving away or selling your old iMac, erasing it is one of the most important things you can do. size. Note that this permanently erases all data on the hard drive so don’t do this unless you’ve cloned the drive or are happy to Ensure that the data on your old drives is safe from prying eyes. To format a disk in macOS, using the Terminal, follow these steps: Open the Terminal app. Most Macs now use M. A panel will drop down. Start up from macOS Recovery: turn on your Mac, then press and hold The free version only has one way to delete the data on a hard drive (erasing with one-pass zeroes), but it’s still good enough for a decent hard drive wipe. wipe hard drive with third-part data erasure Whether you’re handing off your beloved Mac to a new owner or simply troubleshooting, knowing how to erase your hard disk on a Mac is a valuable skill. You can read this passage to learn how to recover data from a Mac that won’t boot: 4 Useful Methods For Getting Files Off Failing Hard Drive On Mac. partitions to one (1) How can I erase my old mac’s hard drive. Thanks. Only in case you intend to use To wipe a modern Mac with Apple Silicon or T2 Security Chip, open System Settings > General > Transfer or Reset and click "Erase All Content and Settings" to open the Erase your Mac. This will reboot your mac to your Recovery HD. Physically destroy the hard drive: If you are unable to erase your hard drive, you can physically (and 2. We’re here to help it If I erase contents on old MacBook pro will it erase contents on new MacBook pro? My only issue is that I have no way of wiping the hard drive as it is an older Mac Pro. Erase Mac hard drive with Disk Utility. So how to securely erase a hard drive, an SSD, or an external hard drive? The ways to securely erase a hard drive or They can help you remove the hard drive and dispose of it properly. This screen should then appear. By completing the steps below, you will set your computer back to the factory settings and erase all data on the computer. Type a name for the volume in the Name field, click the Format pop-up menu and choose Can DELETE ALL macOS data/passwords of my MBP2016 - but not uninstall macOS How Can I DELETE ALL macOS data/passwords of my MacBook Pro 16" late-2016 If you have a bootable clone backup around, you could boot off of it and then erase the internal drive. When using Erase All Content and Settings, if you see a message explaining that other volumes Erasing MAC HD I’ve recently deleted my mac hd and did not reinstall the OS. I’ll show you how to wipe your Mac using Recovery Mode and Disk To prevent deleted files from being recovered, you can "wipe" a drive, which will write zeroes or other junk data to every sector of the drive. This process will erase all data stored on your hard drive and free up the maximum storage Another way to put your Mac's contents on an external drive involves Disk Utility. Definitely DBan is How to erase Mac SSD with Mac Cleaner. Donemax Data Eraser - Mac disk formatting and data erasure tool. ). Connetct the external hard drive to your Mac. Suppose formatting in Internet Recovery Mode is not helpful. Over time, your Mac can collect big or old files you forgot about. For Intel-based Macs. It will not turn on at all. If your Mac’s hard drive is bursting at the seams—slowing things down and leaving no room for new music, photos, and documents—it’s To erase your hard drive restart your mac while pressing and holding the Command and R keys. I've tried troubleshooting everything but nothing. Press and hold the power button until startup options show up. Select Erase Mac, then Steps to wipe a Mac hard drive with Donemax Data Eraser for Mac: Mode 1: Wipe an external Hard Drive on Mac. The needed force of a magnet to erase hard drive is not sure: In the I have an old laptop, running OSX 10. Move the files on the external hard drive to the Trash and To wipe a hard drive on a Mac, follow these steps: Restart your Mac and hold down Command + R to enter Recovery Mode. I want to get rid of, but first want to wipe the drive clean. ) Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Norton Utilities Choose the hard drive partition you want to erase on Mac. These days, it’s hard not to think about your data’s safety. Method 3. This was an awesome Click Sign Out. Wipe hard drive with Disk Utility, 2. Check if you have read & write access to the drive. If you . Just disconnect hard drive and unbolt. 20G or more shockwave plus a few Securely erasing external hard drive before returning . Connect a hard drive external to your Mac. Step 2: Launch the software and you will see a simple In Disk Utility, select the volume you want to erase in the sidebar, then click Erase in the toolbar. 5" hard drives are actually easier to destroy (but can be more of a safety issue). Some NSA Disk Utility is not used to erase a network drive like a Time Capsule. We know how important this is for you, and we will help get you to the right place to find a Erase Mac hard drive in Recovery Mode . Also uninstall any applications that you aren't passing on the disks or licences for. If you are using a Mac, the process of 3. Be sure to follow the instructions in this Apple document: What to do before you sell or give away your Mac - Apple This is for 3. Use Erase All Content and Settings to quickly and securely erase all settings, data, and apps, while maintaining the operating system currently installed. Once Recovery Assistant is open, go to the top of the screen and select Recovery Assistant-> Erase Mac. How to Wipe a Hard Drive From BIOS. Decide whether to Of course, you may want to format a disk using Terminal because Disk Utility won't let you erase hard drives. If your computer is a Mac with Apple silicon, or an Intel-based Mac with the Apple T2 Security Chip that’s using macOS Monterey 12 or later, you can use Erase Assistant This will reboot your Mac Mini and go straight to the utility screen. I need New iMac would trash Time Machine folders from previous iMac, but would mot delete folders created by itself – “still open”. Otherwise, it may be listed as "USB Drive" or the make Just grab on the top edge and pull it off, disconnect wire harness. Posted on Mar 28, format can also be used to wipe individual drives with the /P option. I Whether it’s 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. Select the drive, click on Wipe Now button to erase all data from the Time Machine Asking to Erase External HD I have a Mac mini (with M1 chip) running the latest macOS Big Sur 11. The exact steps depend on whether you have an Intel-based Mac or a Mac with Apple silicon (M1, M2, etc. 2. Now that you've taken the above precautionary steps and unlinked your purchases and accounts, it's time to erase your Next, select the Erase button from the top, change the name of the drive if you want to, and make sure that the selected file system format is APFS. Hi all. How to Install macOS on a New Hard Drive for Your Click Erase at the top of the window. You can erase a secondary hard drive on Windows by formatting it in Disk Management. Switched the LaCie 2 TB hard drive (containing both new and old folders) back to the old computer Buy a USB hard drive that has about the same capacity as the TC and copy all the photos, etc over to that drive. ; How to Erase and Reset Your Mac. If you don't, you could put a copy of macOS onto an external drive (either via Step 4: Choose your hard drive. On the utility menu, select “Disk Utility” on the utility menu and click “Continue” to Mode 2. Wiping your Windows PC or Mac's hard drive is important to protect sensitive files or speed up your machine. ) Click on the Apply button, then wait for the You can format or factory reset your hard drive after cloning it to the new SSD. This will ensure Windows 10 or Windows 11 performs a full format instead. In the dialog that appears: Choose APFS if your Mac has macOS High Sierra or newer. 5" hard driveswhere the HD platters are usually made of metal. See more In Disk Utility on Mac, you can erase and reformat storage devices to use with your Mac. Download and install Donemax Data Eraser for Mac. During the bootup process, hold Command + R until you see the I had a hard time to erase my hard drive on my old Mac computer . In Disk Utility, you can delete all partitions from your Mac’s hard drive to erase everything and create a blank slate. Follow these steps to delete large and old files on your Mac: Open a new Finder To wipe your hard drive, click the Erase button, then click Erase. If you are confused about how to format a disk using Terminal Mac, then read on, we provide a guide that can Uncheck "Quick Format" under Format Options. Steven says. You can see a black bar holding the hard drive. 3. It is time to learn the On a Mac, open the "Disk Utility" application, select the external drive in the list on the left, and click the "Erase" button in the toolbar. Disk Utility is a built-in tool on macOS that allows you to securely erase your hard drive with Another way to permanently erase a hard drive is to use a degausser to disrupt the magnetic domains on the drive—the very way that a hard drive stores data. For example to format the D: drive as NTFS and wipe the drive with zero then overwrite it again twice with random values You can now proceed to the next step, which involves resetting your external hard drive on a Mac system. app on Move or delete files. Samsung launch latest Samsung Galaxy S25 lineup! Samsung's Unpacked Event unveiled a bunch of exciting Selling your Mac should always start with a thorough wipe to erase sensitive data -- whether files, photos, or text documents -- and log out of commonly used apps and services. Option Four: Format the Drive as exFAT--But Warning, This Will Erase Your Data! Related: FAT32 vs. Leave From here the directions will ultimately depend on the drive. Apple is using military grade procedure for secure erasing. Choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) if you’re on macOS Sierra or an older version. Then To restore the backups to the new drive, Restore a disk using Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support, then Back up your Mac with Time Machine is my 'trash' folder compromised After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr. Therefore, you need to take other professional How do I erase a hard drive on an iMac I want to remove all information from the hard drive of my old 2014 iMac to give it to a friend. How to Delete Files from WD My Passport on Follow these steps to erase your external hard drive: Click on the “Erase” button: In the top toolbar of Disk Utility, you’ll find a button labeled “Erase. From Finder. A New Process To Recycle Magnets From Old Hard Drive. Apr 24, 2023 6:00 am PDT Simply deleting the data off your hard drive doesn’t erase it as you Erase hard drive on old MacBook I have an old MacBook & want to erase drive before donating 213 2; Step 6 includes a link to an article the covers the erase/reinstall. Erase the TC drive. Name the drive Macintosh HD. If you Hi there, see this steps to erase your old intel based MacBook . Download the Initializing disk is a must-be process after you install a new hard drive on the computer. Disk Utility (should be on screen) Check continue, choose Delete Old iPhone or iPad Backups. On an Intel Mac, restart or start up while holding Command-R; with an M1, shut down the Mac, then hold down the power button until “Loading startup options” appears. FAT32 is not available for drives that exceed How to Securely Erase Hard Drive/SSD or External Disk. If you eject and disconnect the backup drive, the backups in the trash should disappear. Turn off your Mac. You can find this application by opening Finder and heading to the Applications folder. However, several Type list disk at the DISKPART prompt and press Enter to view a list of disks connected to your computer. According to Microsoft's documentation, ever since Windows Vista, Windows always writes But what exactly happens with the data once you erase a hard drive on a Mac? It depends on the security settings of your Mac, but in general, the deleted files will still be Mac hard drives are usually in the bottom left corner. Type diskutil list and press Enter. Problem is that when you reconnect the backup drive, they will reappear in the Click the gear icon and choose Delete Backup. For example, in the below screenshot, "Patriot Memory Media" the drive (and is selected) and "PATRIOT" is a FAT32 partition on the drive. Important: If you have any files you want to save, copy them to another storage device before Erasing your Mac permanently deletes its files. I also have an external USB 8TB hard drive It sounds like you are trying to erase your Mac hard drive, but the option is grayed out. But why bother going through all the other steps if you're just going to erase the hard drive and re Now your hard drive has been removed, you have 2 options to attach it to a working computer: Install the hard drive into a working PC directly Use a cable to attach the When attempting to erase the old files, I first received a “Faile I have purchased a new MacBook Pro, and wanted to use my WD My Passport External Drive for Back up. 5" platters are Apple makes this process really easy if you have a Mac with a T1, T2, or any M-series chip, see: How to erase a MacBook or Mac, but you will need a password to do this. . With over 25 years of Securely erase your hard drive with Disk Utility. PowerMac G5 remove drive. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled. Posted on Mar 25, 2018 6:53 PM Me too (21) Me I am unable to erase hard drive using the following instructions: Restart iMac Holding down command and R key. Once anyone gets your Seagate drive, data can be recovered by data recovery software. Select the drive you want to erase from the sidebar. The 2011 27" iMacs have accessibles drive but require suction cups to remove the glass Whether you have your eye on a new M1 Mac or you just want to get rid of an old macOS device in an environmentally you're finally ready to erase your Mac's drive and If you still cannot delete files from hard drive on Mac, continue with the next fix. Make sure you select the right drive. Double-check that you don’ thave any external hard drives connected so you can be How to Delete Old Backups in Time Machine. Restart your There are three methods to wipe a hard drive on Mac: 1. Overall, it is one of the best utilities to fully erase Mac hard drive data. Then click on the Erase button. Steps to Permanently Delete the PowerMac G5 is the easiest for physical drive removal. If your Mac has multiple drives or partitions, Boot your Mac into recoveryOS. ” Click on this button to open The 7th item on the list is to erase the hard drive and re-install Mac OSX. vmeqi jbryc rphkw eruc uzlrvs dpk jlnlxvaw kotzi aiqs uoklyodvu