If you have an older Apple Mac computer that you may be handing down to a family member or friend or perhaps selling to raise funds to purchase a new one. This quick guide will take you through the process of how to factory reset Macbook Air or MacBook Pro laptop computers and Apple desktop systems.
There are a number of ways depending on the age of your computer that you can use to make sure that all your personal data is correctly and securely removed from the hard drive storage on your old Apple Mac computer. First we will start with the more modern Apple hardware that is capable of running the latest macOS operating system such as Ventura and Monterey. These methods will only work with Apple MacBook Air or Pro computers that are equipped with Apple silicon or the Apple T2 Security Chip.
If your Apple Mac is running macOS Ventura
1. Select the Apple menu in the top left corner of your computer screen.
2. Select the option for System Settings.
3. Select the option for General.
4. Select the option to Transfer or Reset located on the right side of the menu.
5. Finally select the menu option Earse All Content and Settings.
If your Apple Mac is running macOS Monterey
1. Select the Apple Menu in the top left corner of your computer screen.
2. Select System Preferences from the menu bar
3. Select the option to Erase All Content and Settings.
If neither of these solutions work or you find that the options listed are not available to select you may be running an older Apple Mac Air or Pro system as the ability to Erase All Content and Settings is available only in macOS Monterey or later and requires that your system is powered by the latest Apple Silicon or is equipped with the Apple T2 Security Chip. If it is not then you will need to follow the instructions below using the Disk Utility to arrays older and Intel-based Mac computers.
Checklist before selling or gifting
If you are thinking of selling or gifting your Apple MacBook Air or Pro here is a quick checklist of everything you need to do.
1. Do not forget to backup or transfer your files to your iCloud account or an external hard drive to make sure they are safe before attempting any factory resets.
2. Do not forget to sign your Apple ID out of iTunes, iMessage and iCloud.
3. Do not forget to cancel your AppleCare coverage if you have opted for this.
4. Finally carry out a factory reset on your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro or Apple computer.
It is worth mentioning and noting that reinstalling the macOS on your Apple Mac computer will not remove personal data from your Mac.
How to factory reset Macbook Air & Pro with Intel CPUs
1. Turn off your Apple Mac computer
2. Turn on your Apple Mac computer back on and immediately press and hold Command (⌘)-R until you see the Apple logo.
3. You might be asked to enter the administrator password for the computer
4. Select the option for Disk Utility in the menu
5. Once the Disk Utility application has opened select the Macintosh HD in the sidebar of Disk Utility. If you do not see a drive listed as Macintosh HD this might be because you renamed it to something else.
6. Press the Erase button in the toolbar and select the following format : APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), as recommended by Disk Utility
7. Press the Erase Volume Group option or simply the Erase button if shown
8. Once again enter your Apple ID if you are prompted to
9. Once complete the Disk Utility application will return to the utilities window signifying that the process of erasing the contents of your Macintosh HD is complete
10. You will now need to reinstall the macOS operating system back onto your computer as there is recurrently nothing loaded onto your computer at this time. Or you can leave this for the next person to do if preferred.
11. To install the supported macOS operating system onto your newly factory reset MacBook Air or MacBook Pro select the option from the utilities window menu and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.
Points worth mentioning
During the macOS installation process from the Recovery system Apple will offer you the current version of the most recently installed macOS although it is worth noting that
– On an Intel-based Mac, if you use Shift-Option-Command-R during startup, you might be offered the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available from Apple.
– On an Intel-based Mac, if you use Option-Command-R during startup, Apple might offer you the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.
– If you just erased your entire startup disk, you might be offered an earlier compatible version of macOS which you can then update to a later edition once installed.
– Finally if the Mac logic board was just replaced, you might be offered the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.
If you are still experiencing problems when trying to factory reset a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro it might be worth jumping over to the official Apple online support site or booking an appointment with an Apple Genius Bar representative to help sort your issue.
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