

Open Disk Utility, select the Macintosh HD volume, open the erase tab, and press the erase button.If others search for how to do a normal erase and reinstall, erase the main OS X partition (like Macintosh HD) instead of the whole drive: If you have one of those Macs, you erase the whole drive from the recovery partition, and it is not in fact possible to reinstall OS X without starting up in Internet Recovery mode after that, you can probably use Recovery Disk Assistant instead. Some older Macs support a recovery partition but not Internet Recovery mode. But if you restart the Mac, it will start up in Internet Recovery mode, which means that it downloads a disk image of the recovery system from Apple's servers, and you can then install OS X on the empty drive. When I did this with my MacBook Air, I restarted it after I had erased the drive, so I don't know if it is possible to reinstall OS X from the recovery partition without relying on Internet Recovery mode. It also erases the hidden recovery and EFI partitions. Open Disk Utility, select the drive (not the Macintosh HD volume), open the erase tab, set the format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), and press the erase button.Start up from the recovery partition by holding command-R.You can erase the drive and reinstall OS X using the recovery system: If you think you may still need what is on your hard drive, we advise you to first back it up through Time Machine or by syncing important files to iCloud.You don't need any external drive. Here's how to erase your hard drive and reinstall the operating system on your Mac, whether it has Apple's M1 chip or features Intel components.īe aware that once your computer has been reset, you will no longer be able to recover any deleted data that was left on the drive. And with the jump to macOS Monterey, certain computers gain a new option to erase all content and settings. The process has been the same for years on Macs with Intel processers, however, the move to Apple silicon has slightly altered the method for wiping and reinstalling the OS. A factory reset is also the best way to prepare your old computer for a new owner to make sure no leftover data falls into the wrong hands. Before you spend big on a new Mac, though, try a factory reset, which wipes your computer and reinstalls a clean version of macOS. But as with any computer, sometimes things go wrong. How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac.

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