Disk Erase For Mac

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Erase disk for mac

Sep 03, 2020 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions

DBan (Darik’s Boot and Nuke) This is probably the most popular program and is basically a self. No.5 disk formatting tool for Windows and Mac – Paragon Disk Wiper. Paragon Disk Wipe allows you to create a bootable USB-flash drive or external hard drive that will help you to completely erase a whole hard disk, a separate partition or just clean free space. It is the reliable disk formatting tool for Windows/Mac. Disk Wipe by www.diskwipe.org is a freeware application that will help you securely delete data from your hard drive. Even though Disk Wipe for Mac is not available for download, you can try other similar tools instead. Here is a list of apps that can serve as replacements for Disk Wipe for Mac. In the sheet that appears you’ll see four options—Don’t Erase Data, Zero Out Data, 7-Pass Erase, and 35-Pass Erase. Disk Utility provides a variety of ways to erase your hard drive.

  • How to Wipe Hard Drive under Windows
  • How to Erase Hard Drive on Mac
  • Hard Drive Data Recovery Software

Looking to sell your Windows PC or Mac to another person? Whether it be the need to buy a new device or just for the money, you will do good to remove all previous and existing data from your system. This prevents misuse of the data.

Even if you’re not selling your laptop, it is a wise thing to wipe or erase data on a regular basis to keep your computer working at optimum performance. When virus or another software related problem occurs on your computer, erasing the data will be a great idea. Here are the scenarios when you can wipe or erase the data:

  1. Some times, when you have accumulated lots of data on your computer, it gets sluggish and performance is reduced to great degree. Wiping or erasing data can make your computer faster.
  2. When virus infects your computer, the only option left for you is to erase hard drive data from the computer. This will leave your hard disk as it was new.
  3. For regular maintenance of health of your hard disk. Wiping or erasing the disk will solve lot of fragmentation and many other issues.
  4. If you are looking to merge or create new partition, it might require you to delete some partition on your computer. This will require you to erase hard drive from the computer.
  5. In case you are installing new OS on your computer, you will have to erase the old OS and install new. Hence, you will have to wipe the old data from hard drive, to make way for fresh installation.

There are many more reason for wipe hard drive. There are few way you can erase hard drive both on Windows and Mac. 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 Wipe Hard Drive under Windows?

Windows gives good options when it comes to erasing data from your windows computer. However, you must always back up your data before you erase hard drive data from your computer. You can always use third party software but windows gives you more secure way of wiping data. You can use either old installation disk or new OS installation disk to erase the data from your computer.

You can use the following steps to wipe or erase hard drive data on your Windows computer. You will require back up CD or your windows CD to wipe the data.

  1. Insert the CD in the computer and restart your computer. One the booting starts you will see a function button for entering into boot option. Press that button continuous when computer starts and enter into the boot option and choose CD-rom.
  2. It will start again and boot from the CD-Rom. On next screen you will see various set up options. And also there will the list of the disks on your computer. Select the disk you want to erase and then go to option to Delete The Selected Partition. In case there are more than one partition, you can choose the other also to delete it.
  3. Now choose the NTFS option for drive and choose the formatting option quick or normal.

It will automatically format your disk and it will restart again. Make sure there is an operating system on your computer and boots from that drive. Few options may change from OS to OS but the steps will remain same while erasing the data. You reinstall new OS or use the existing one to access your formatted computer.

How to Erase Hard Drive on Mac?

Erasing or wiping data on Mac is similar but options and steps are little different as it is different OS. However, Mac also gives you inbuilt options from erasing data from your Mac computer. Like in windows, use the back up option first to save your important data. You do not want lose this data because it might become impossible to recover data after it has been erased from the computer.

Here are the steps you can follow to wipe or erase hard drive data from Mac.You will require installation disk of the OS to perform this wipe.

  1. Insert the disc into your mac and restart it. When the computer restarts keep C pressed until the logo of Apple appears.
  2. When the new screens pops, select the appropriate selection. In order to erase select Macintosh HD volume and go to option button at the bottom. Choose to erase and install clean OS of the operating system.

This is the best and easiest way to delete hard disk data on Mac. After the process, your computer will be restarted and it will be fresh installation hence, you will have to restore you original data on your computer from the backup. However, you will require administrative permission before you make this change. Hence, enable the Root user to allow you to make this change.

Both methods are simple and easy to follow. Make sure you have back up your data and use the original installation OS disks to make the process smooth.

Video Tutorial on How to Format an External Hard Drive

Hard Drive Data Recovery Software

Here We recommend a powerful Hard Drive Data Recovery Software for you.Recoverit and Recoverit for Mac is a safe and effective hard drive data recovery software. It supports to recover lost data from hard drive,flash dirve,external hard drive and any other storage devices.

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  • Supports to recover data for sudden deletion, formatting, hard drive corruption, virus attack, system crash under different situations.

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If you’re selling your computer or trading it in for something newer, you’ll probably want to wipe your hard drive.

After all, you don’t want to give it to its new owner with all your pictures and documents on it — or lose those things!

But how do you wipe it? How do you erase everything on your Mac and restore it to factory settings, so the next person gets a clean computer with none of your documents?

We’ve got all the answers right here!

Read on to find out how.

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Backup Your Computer Using Time Machine

Before you even think about wiping your hard drive, make sure that you have everything backed up.

After all, even if you don’t want the computer anymore, you probably want all of the stuff on it.

And once you restore your computer to factory settings, all your photos, videos, documents, and downloads are going to be gone.

Whether you’re 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.

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.

Read Related Article: Hard Disk Drive vs. Solid-State Drive (SSD)

Here’s how you use it to back up your computer:

  1. Open System Preferences, located on the Apple Menu bar.
  1. Select the Time Machine icon in the System Preferences folder.
  1. Click Select Backup Disk, located in the top-middle of the window.
  1. Choose the disk you’d like to use to back up your computer. Typically, you’ll want to plug in an external hard drive and select that. This will create a copy of your internal hard drive and write it onto the external one.
  2. It’s a good idea to do this regularly even if you don’t plan on wiping your hard drive. By plugging in an external HD and backing everything up to Time Machine on a regular basis, you’ll create a copy of it that you can use in case you lose your data for any reason (it happens, believe us).
  3. If you’d prefer not to use Time Machine for any reason, you can use alternative methods. For example, you can use iCloud or another cloud storage solution to store all of your files online.

Click here to learn how to back up your computer to iCloud.

Deauthorize Your iTunes Account

If your iTunes account is connected to your computer, then the next owner will be able to access it.

So, you need to deauthorize the account. That way, your account will no longer be linked to the machine.

Here’s how you do it:

  1. Open iTunes on your computer
  1. Select Account from the options on the Menu bar.
  2. Scroll down to Authorizations and select Deauthorize This Computer.
  1. iTunes will ask you for your Apple ID and your password. Once you enter that, it will give you the option to Deauthorize your account. Click that, and you’re all set.

Log Out of iCloud and iMessage

Similar to iTunes, you have to sign out of your iCloud account, too. Otherwise, the next owner may be able to access it.

Luckily, it’s pretty simple.

Here’s what you do:

  1. Select System Preferences from the Menu bar.
  2. Click on the iCloud icon.
  1. Click the Sign Out option on the bottom-left side of the window.

Once you do that, you’ll be signed out!

Reformat Your Hard Drive Disk (HDD)

“Reformatting” is a fancy tech word for wiping the hard drive clean and reinstalling the operating system. Once you reformat it, everything will be gone, and the computer will be restored to factory settings.

The first step in the reformatting process is erasing the drive.

You can erase your computer by using the Disk Utility feature in any version of Mac OS.

Here’s how you do it.

  1. Turn your computer off entirely.
  2. Boot it up again by pressing and holding the power button, just like you would if you were starting it up for normal use.
  3. This time, however, you want to hold the command and R keys down simultaneously. Press and hold them as soon as you hit the power button.
  4. An Apple logo should appear on your screen. Once that appears, you can let go of the buttons.
  5. The Apple logo should be followed by a Mac OS X Utilities Menu with several different options. Select Disk Utility (it’s a little hard drive with a stethoscope) from the Menu and click Continue.

    Screenshot via Macworl

  1. Once you enter the Disk Utility, you’ll have to select the drive you want to erase.

In this case, you’ll want to choose Macintosh HD to wipe the entire drive.

  1. Then, click the Erase button at the bottom of the window.

Note: The Erase option will only appear as a clickable button when the computer is booted up using the command + R keys. If you attempt to reformat your hard drive after starting your computer as you normally would, this option won’t be clickable.

  1. Once you click the Erase button, you’ll have the opportunity to choose from a range of different security options. The security options window contains a sliding bar that allows you to select the comprehensiveness of the erasure.

There are four different levels you can choose from, ranging from fastest to slowest. If you select the slowest option, you’ll erase the maximal amount of data. But, the process takes a little longer.

If you choose the fastest option, however, the process goes quite quickly. But, the data is not removed as thoroughly (and could be restored through a file recovery application).

  1. After you’ve determined the level at which you want to erase your computer, click Erase. The operating system will proceed with the erasing process.

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Erase

How to Secure Erase a Mac SSD

Newer MacBooks don’t have a traditional hard disk drive. Instead, they have a solid state drive or SSD.

Now, the process for wiping your solid state drive is the same as erasing a hard drive.

So, if you want to clean it, go ahead and follow the steps outlined in the section above.

It’s important to note, however, that erasing an SSD completely is not recommended.

Here’s why:

Solid state drives can only be rewritten a certain number of times. In other words, the more times you rewrite your drive, the worse it’s going to function.

So, even if you reformat your drive just once, you may notice that it functions slightly worse afterward.

Of course, there may be cases in which you have no choice but to erase your drive. If you’re getting rid of your Mac, for example, and you want to be sure that every tiny bit of data is wiped clean from it, then you’ll probably want to erase it.

But, if you’re erasing the entire thing with the intention of restoring it afterwards — don’t.

It’s going to do more harm than good. You can either erase as many files as possible on your own or take it to the Apple store directly (provided that it’s still under warranty) and ask them to help you with whatever problem you’re experiencing.

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Don’t know if your computer has a solid state drive or not?

Here’s how to figure it out:

  1. Press the F4 key on your keyboard (the one with the six little squares on it).
  2. Select the Other icon.
  1. Click the System Information icon.
  1. Select the ATA option from the Hardware drop-down menu on the left side of the window.
  1. A profile of your device should appear on the right-hand side of the window.
  2. Look for the row that reads “Model.” The corresponding product number should have either an HDD or an SSD in it.

These letters will let you know whether your device is equipped with a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD).

You should approach the erasure process accordingly.

Reinstall the Mac OS

The second half of the reformatting process is the reinstallation of the operating system.

When you erase your data, you also delete the OS that allows you to use the computer.

So, you’ve got to install it again if you want the computer to work.

Even if you’re selling the computer to someone else, it’s a nice courtesy to reinstall it beforehand so that they don’t have to do it themselves. After all, not everyone will be able to figure out how.

Here’s what you do:

  1. You’ll need internet access to do this. It’s going to be impossible otherwise, so make sure that the wifi connection is turned on.
  2. Boot the computer up by pressing the power button.
  3. Hold command + R, the same way you did when you erased your drive.
  4. Let go once the Apple logo appears.
  5. In the Mac OS Utilities Menu, select Reinstall MacOS.
  1. Click Continue.
  2. You may need to enter your Apple ID upon installation. Only do this if you intend to use the computer yourself. If you plan on selling it or handing it off to another person, you can end the process here.
  3. Once the installation is done, you’ll be free to start using your freshly-cleaned Mac.

FAQS

Can you reset a MacBook without losing data?

The only way to reset your computer without losing data is to back it up first. Once you’ve erased your hard drive, that data is gone.

You might be able to use a recovery app to restore your files if you ran a fast, low-level erasure. But most of the time, the data is completely cleared from the device.

Erase A Disk For Mac

Do you have to wipe a Mac’s hard drive before you sell it?

No law says you have to. But it’s smart. Unless you erase it (and erase it thoroughly), the next owner could get access to your files.

Can you erase your hard drive and keep the same programs?

Once you reinstall the OS, your computer will be loaded with all of the programs that come with that software. Any programs you installed on your own before erasing the drive will be gone.

Of course, if you’ve backed up your drive, you can reinstall them using Time Machine.

Can you wipe a Mac without the password?

No. To erase the hard drive, you’ll have to enter the owner’s Apple ID and password. Otherwise, you will not have the option to wipe the drive.

Can you install Windows on a Mac after you erase it?

Yes. You can use Boot Camp to install Windows on your Apple computer if you’d like to. Please note, however, that not all Apple products support Windows.

Disk Erase For Mac Os

Wiping Your Hard Drive is Simple

Clearing the hard drive may seem confusing at first, especially for the average Mac user, but it’s not.

Just a few clicks and you’ll have your computer restored to factory settings in no time.

Always remember to back up your data.

Whether you’re using the computer again in the future or moving onto a new model, you’ll probably want to hold onto those files.

Disk Utility Erase For Mac And Pc

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