How to Format and Reset Mac Files Before Selling

Mac users should format the computer and clean the files completely to safely dispose of the device. The procedure requires you to terminate your session from various Apple services, as well as erase the disk and reinstall the system from scratch. With this, it is possible to leave a MacBook, iMac or Mac Mini as new before selling and switching to a newer model, for example. See the step by step to remove your data from the Mac, zero storage and do a clean installation of macOS.

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Here's how to format and reset your Mac files

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Deauthorize Mac in iTunes

Step 1. The first step is to untar the Mac to your iTunes account. To do this, open iTunes and go to the "Account" menu. Then navigate to the "Permissions" option and click "Deauthorize this computer".

Deauthorize your computer in iTunes

Step 2. The program will display an alert that your computer has successfully been disallowed.

Confirm the deauthorization process

Sign out of iCloud

Step 1. Next, you need to log off iCloud on Mac. Start by accessing system preferences.

Access Mac Preferences

Step 2. Access the "iCloud" option.

Access iCloud options

Step 3. In the lower left corner, click "Log Out" and select the "Keep a Copy" option in the sequence.

Sign out on iCloud

Leave Message

Step 1. The Mac Messaging application remains logged in even after you sign out of your account in iTunes and iCloud. To solve, open the app and go to the menu "Messages> Preferences".

Access Messaging app preferences

Step 2. On the "iMessage" tab, click "Log Out".

Log out of iMessage

Step 3. An alert window will open asking you to confirm the request. Click "Log out" again.

Remove your iMessage account

Erase disk

The only way to safely remove your data from Mac is by erasing the disk completely. To do this, you need to access the recovery environment of your computer.

Step 1. Turn your Mac off and then on again. While the machine starts, hold down the Command + R keys to access the recovery. Then select the "Disk Utility" option.

Access the Mac Disk Utility

Step 2. Mark the internal disk in the side menu and click "Delete".

Clean your Mac disk files

Step 3. Enter a name for the Mac disk in the first field. Below, select APFS to configure the disk in the Apple File System format. Click "Delete" to end the procedure.

Set the disk for APFS and delete

Reinstall macOS

Step 1. After deleting the disk, return to Mac recovery and select the "Reinstall macOS" option.

Reinstall macOS on your computer

Step 2. Click "Continue" to begin the system installation process.

Go to start the installation

Step 3. Accept the terms of use to proceed.

Accept Apple's terms of use

Step 4. Select your newly formatted disk and click "Install". From there, wait for the installation to occur on its own.

Select the disk and install the system

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