I’ve loved my mid-2010 13″ MacBook Pro since the day I bought her. We’ve been through a ton together. From late-night side-hustle sessions, to schlepping around the county to conferences and events, she has been my gadget of choice for getting stuff done.
But, after a little of over four fabulous years, we knew we both needed a fresh new start. So we amicably made the decision to part ways. But before I could see her in the arms of another, I had to make sure that she wasn’t carrying any old baggage into her new relationship.
No Mac should continue to carry old data around after it’s in the arms of a new lover owner, so here’s the steps you should take to remove your data and restore your Mac to its original settings before selling.
1. Save Your Old Data
I knew exactly what I wanted to upgrade to: 13″ Retina MacBook Pro because…Retina. But, I wanted to make sure I sold my old MacBook first before I bought a new one.
So instead of using Apple’s handy Migration Assistant to transfer files from one computer to another, I decided to clone my data to an external Hard Drive using Carbon Copy Cloner.
With Carbon Copy Cloner, you simply:
- Connect an external Hard Drive to your computer (make sure the external HD has enough space)
- Choose the drive you want to clone (Macintosh HD if you haven’t changed the name)
- Choose the destination drive (the external HD or NAS storage…if you nasty)
- Click “Clone” on lower-right side of the screen…and wait
…And voila! You have made an exact copy of your drive to either restore the entire drive (and its data) to your new Mac, or pick and choose what specific data you want to move to your new Mac.
2. Disable User Accounts
Your Apple ID is the key to using any Apple gadget, and you’d be surprised at how many services utilize your Apple ID. Handing your old Mac over to a new owner without properly removing your account information, could result in “after the sale” customer service calls from the new owner. To make the break up between you an your Mac as clean as possible, here are some key services you need to disable.
Deauthorize your iTunes store account
To make sure the new owner can’t re-download any purchased music you made with your Apple ID, it’s best to deauthorize the computer from using your iTunes account.
Open iTunes and in the menu bar navigate to Store > Deauthorize This Computer…
This will remove your Mac from the list of computers and devices authorized to download and play content purchased with your Apple ID. If you’ve already sold you’re Mac, you can log into your iTunes account on another computer and under Apple ID Summary, click “Deauthorize All Computers”. Of course, you will have to sign back in to iTunes on and reauthorize iTunes on each computer.
Disable iCloud
Signing out of iCloud before you sell your device will make sure any remnants of cloud data (Safari Bookmarks, appointment, documents, message, reminders, notes, etc) isn’t visible by the new owner.
Open System Preferences and click iCloud, and click the “Sign Out” button in the lower-left side of the screen
Confirm that you want to delete contacts from your Mac.
For all the security nuts who encrypted their drive with Apple’s FileVault service, now would be a good time to disable that feature as well
3. Restore Mac Back To Factory
Now that you’ve saved all your data, and removed your account information, it’s time to wipe the slate clean and give your Mac fresh start with a new owner. The following steps will help you wipe the entire drive, and reinstall the operating system.
Make sure you’re connected to the Internet (preferably wired) and BE SURE YOU HAVE CLONED OR BACKED UP YOUR DATA BEFORE DOING THESE STEPS. You’ve been warned…
- Restart your Mac and hold down the “Command” and “R” keys during startup until you Mac is in Recovery Mode
- Select “Disk Utility” and click “Continue”
- Choose your main startup disc (named “Macintosh HD” by default) and click “Unmount”
- Click Erase tab in the upper-middle section of the screen
- Confirm that the format is “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” and the name is “Macintosh HD” and click “Erase” in the lower-right side of the screen
- Quit Disk Utility
- Click “Reinstall OS X” and click “Continue”
UPDATE: If you REALLY want to TOTALLY wipe your drive, during the Erase portion (#4 above), click “Security Options” and you will be presented with multiple options that offer a more comprehensive erase of your data. Shout-Out to Allison Sheridan of the NosillaCast Podcast for reminding me of the secure erase option.
The process should reinstall Mac OS X and prompt you to enter your Apple ID. This is where you shut down your computer, package it up with all the cables and any other accessories, and box it up for the new owner.
Yeah, I shed one thug tear for my ole’ girl after I sent her off to be with another. But you better believe I was over her quick as soon as I powered up my young and sexy new Bae’
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45 replies on “Selling Your Mac? Here’s How To Restore Your Mac To Factory Settings”
Great walkthrough, Terrance. I always forget to deauthorize iTunes but this time using your notes I finally remembered. Nice job.
Glad it came in handy and thanks for the advice on the extra secure data wipe.
thanks
I think I must be doing something wrong, I just have to be. Command & R, holding down when I hit ‘restart’. Even all the way to the login screen gives me nothing, even after minutes of doing this.
I so just want to get to the next step, any help?
Thanks
Never mind, this setup works for newer Macs, mine happened to be a Mac OS X 10.6.8. Had to find the disk, completed now.
You beat me to the punch. Glad everything worked out. In the future, you can make a restore volume on a USB stick so you won’t have to hunt around for disks
This is such a great article – very timely as I’m selling my Macbook Air for the Retina Pro. One question – the buyer of my Air wants me to keep Microsoft Office on it. Is that possible?
You can reinstall Word after you wipe the computer, if you don’t mind lending out your Microsoft Office Key to somebody else.
Ask them if they have a Microsoft Key
Thank you! Can I use my MS Key on my new computer, if I don’t give it out to them? Also, another question – would copying over my full HD, include all my iMessages too? I’m most concerned about losing my iMessages on Yosemite and my music in iTunes.
MS Key is yours, you can do what you want with it. If you let the new owner use it, and they do something ‘suspect’ with it and Microsoft comes calling, you’re on the hook.
If you backup your computer to Apple Time Machine or clone the Hard Drive before wiping and selling it, it will save everything, including messages, and iTunes
Good point. I’m keeping it then. I’m using your Clone to Hard Drive advice, because I need to sell before buying my new Pro Retina. Do you have instructions on how to get that cloned HD on my new computer? Also, do you recommend the 8gb RAM over 16gb, and 256 vs. 512 SSD? I like to have many windows open at once, as i’m a lawyer and do research. I also have a lot of music and photos, and am thinking of starting a blog. Thanks again!
For the computer, I would go with 16GB RAM, and 256 SSD
You need a clean (not used) separate Hard Drive. If you don’t have one here is an Affiliate link to two 500GB and 1TB
As far as instructions, there are a ton of YouTube videos out there that will walk you through it, OR (Since I do get my consultant on) I can do a Hangout with you and walk you through the steps
My husband backed it up to our shared Toshiba Hard Drive. There were other things on there. Please don’t tell me that I won’t now be able to get it on my new Macbook?! I sold my Macbook Air a couple days ago, and just have that backup. Crossing fingers that’s still okay…
You will have to check the drive and see if both the backup and the old files are there.
Hi I forgot to factory reset my MacBook Pro before selling it. I did everything else. Deleted all AUTOFILL information, deleted all documents, etc. what’s the worst case scenario? I’m scared..
Worse case scenario is the new owner will have a problem completely removing you’re Apple ID login information. If your Apple ID is still on the device, You can go to iCloud.com and see if you can wipe the device remotely.
Hi,
My DVD drive have some problem. Sometime it wont read disk and making noise.
I would like to format and reinstall everything. Can I make USB and restore only the OS.
Now I am backing up 200 gb data which I wont use anymore with mac. But still need in the future. Please let me know how to solve my issue.
thanks in advance,
SHAN
Instead of trying to reinstall everything, have you looked into simply replacing your DVD drive? If the problem is mechanical (hardware), a fresh install of the OS won’t resolve the issue.
i still can’t do anything i hold down the command + R still not showing disk utilities i don’t have the disc anymore. please help
Make sure you’re holding down command+R AS SOON AS your Mac starts to power up…before you hear the “Ding”
Thanks for the walk through! Done this before but always need details. Selling my 2011 / Loving my new MBP.
🙂
Not a problem!
I’m selling my iMac (’09 with Yosemite) and want it wiped clean of my data. I followed steps 1-6 but having trouble with step 7. When I click to install OS X it asks me to sign in with my Apple ID and password. I did that and it installed OS X but afterwards it still had things like my safari bookmarks and some applications installed (word, excel, etc). I thought it would be look just like the day I got it without those things. Any idea of where I went wrong? Thanks for your help!
I’m 100% positive you can skip signing in when you reinstall OS X. Double check all your options when you get to #7. Here’s a link from Apple on the reinstall process http://techb.ro/1GizERC
When I get to the Disk Utility screen I do not have the Erase tab, am I doing something wrong?
Just tried to factory reset, after the reset a file with a question mark appeared in the background.
Did I do something wrong?
You may need to reselect the startup disk in Startup Disk preferences. Here’s a link to how to do so. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204323
I have a MacBook Pro 2010 Mid with 13 inch screen. I have found your article very useful but have a couple of questions. If I wipe my drive clean and hold down the Command and R Key. It not clear by reading the articles if I will need a start up disk or not. Do I? If so how do I get around this situation if I don’t have it?
The short answer is yes you will need a startup volume, but Mac OS X has a hidden recovery volume for those “just in case” moments when you’ve done something wrong. You can boot from the recovery volume and install your current OS X via the web.
If you boot from Recovery, will the new owner then have access to your information?
As long as follow all the instructions user step 3 in my post, you should be good.
I’m sadly not a fan of my MacBook Air which I purchased less than a year ago… If I save all my data to an external hard drive am I then able to view/reload what I’d like on a windows based computer? Assuming so but I’d like to be sure so I don’t lose anything. Thanks!!
Yes, you can use the Migration Assistant on your Windows PC to migrate just want you want from your MacBook.
Follow this link and use “Method 4”: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2636421
Terrance,
I think to re-install OS X I have to use my Apple ID to log in to the App Store so that OS X can be downloaded from the App Store. At least this is what the YouTube videos are showing me. But this doesn’t mean that once OS X is installed, the new installation is associated with my Apple ID, right? I only used my Apple ID to get OS X from the App Store, in place of a CD containing OS X.
George
George
Upon further reading, I have learned that entering my Apple ID to download OS X from the App Store DOES associate OS X with my Apple ID, so this is not what I want if I am selling my Mac, since it would mean that the new owner would need my Apple ID to do any upgrades. I have read that restarting the mac and then pressing Cmd-Option-R will put my Mac in Internet Recovery Mode, where steps 2-7 as written by Terrance will work, only this time the original OS X that came with the Mac when it was purchased from Apple will be installed (e.g. Mountain Lion) with NO requirement to enter my Apple ID. This is the procedure I am following and it seems to be working.
Exactly, pressing Command and R keys on startup (after you’ve removed your Apple accounts and wiped the drive) will offer you the ability to re-install the original OS that came with the computer and will not require your Apple ID.
If you want to install a fresh copy of a more current OS without requiring your Apple ID, here’s how to create an install drive from a USB stick
the OS X Utilities Window shows up but I cant click on ano of the options (Reinstall OS X oR Disk Utility). I try to click but it doesnt select anything and the “continue” option is grey.
Please help!!!!
Will the macbook be restored to its original version of OS X or the latest version?
It will restore the current OS X on your computer. If you want to restore to something than the current OS, you will need to create an install disk for whatever version you want.
Hey Terrance, happy Labor Day, my daughter downloaded safesearch on her laptop and its taken over as the primary search engine. I tried but can’t remove it, any suggestions?
To remove your daughters malware/adware, try http://www.adwaremedic.com/ They were bought up by malwarebytes but if you go to their website first, it links you to the free download that will fix it.
What he said, lol!
Hi, I’m planning to back up my files by using Apple Time Machine instead of Clone the Hard Drive; is that okay? and if so, how do I restore everything to my new Mac?
Thanks.
Apple Time Machine to an external Hard Drive will work as well…It just takes a little longer to retrieve/restore your data than cloning. If you still want to use Time Machine, here’s how you restore your data using Migration Assistant