Again, formatting a drive will erase it completely, so make sure you have everything backed up that you want to keep. To format a drive on a Mac, you’ll need the built-in Disk Utility application. Press Command+Space to open the Spotlight search dialog, type “Disk Utility”, and press “Enter” to launch the app. Apple’s MacBook Air has always been a solid and reliable little laptop — even more so when the company ditched the hard drive that was in the original for solid state storage.
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Erasing your disk: For most reasons to erase, including when reformatting a disk or selling, giving away, or trading in your Mac, you should erase your entire disk.
Erasing a volume on your disk: In other cases, such as when your disk contains multiple volumes (or partitions) and you don't want to erase them all, you can erase specific volumes on the disk.
Erasing a disk or volume permanently deletes all of its files. Before continuing, make sure that you have a backup of any files that you want to keep.
How to erase your disk
![Hard Hard](https://www.igeeksblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Click-on-Reinstall-Mac-OS-X-on-Mac.jpg)
- Start up from macOS Recovery. Then select Disk Utility from the Utilities window and click Continue.
If you're not erasing the disk your Mac started up from, you don't need to start up from macOS Recovery: just open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. - Choose View > Show All Devices from the menu bar in Disk Utility. The sidebar now shows your disks (devices) and any containers and volumes within them. The disk your Mac started up from is at the top of the list. In this example, Apple SSD is the startup disk:
- Select the disk that you want to erase. Don't see your disk?
- Click Erase, then complete these items:
- Name: Type the name that you want the disk to have after you erase it.
- Format: Choose APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Disk Utility shows a compatible format by default.
- Scheme: Choose GUID Partition Map.
- Click Erase to begin erasing your disk and every container and volume within it. You might be asked to enter your Apple ID. Forgot your Apple ID?
- When done, quit Disk Utility.
- If you want your Mac to be able to start up from the disk you erased, reinstall macOS on the disk.
How to erase a volume on your disk
- Start up from macOS Recovery. Then select Disk Utility from the Utilities window and click Continue.
If you're not erasing the volume your Mac started up from, you don't need to start up from macOS Recovery: just open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. - In the sidebar of Disk Utility, select the volume that you want to erase. The volume your Mac started up from is named Macintosh HD, unless you changed its name. Don't see your volume?
- Click Erase, then complete these items:
- Name: Type the name that you want the volume to have after you erase it.
- Format: Choose APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Disk Utility shows a compatible format by default.
- If you see an Erase Volume Group button, the volume you selected is part of a volume group. In that case, you should erase the volume group. Otherwise, click Erase to erase just the selected volume. You might be asked to enter your Apple ID. Forgot your Apple ID?
- When done, quit Disk Utility.
- If you want your Mac to be able to start up from the volume you erased, reinstall macOS on that volume.
Reasons to erase
You can erase at any time, including in circumstances such as these: Receipts 1 9 7 9.
- You want to permanently erase all content from your Mac and restore it to factory settings. This is one of the final steps before selling, giving away, or trading in your Mac.
- You're changing the format of a disk, such as from a PC format (FAT, ExFAT, or NTFS) to a Mac format (APFS or Mac OS Extended).
- You received a message that your disk isn't readable by this computer.
- You're trying to resolve a disk issue that Disk Utility can't repair.
- The macOS installer doesn't see your disk or can't install on it. For example, the installer might say that your disk isn't formatted correctly, isn't using a GUID partition scheme, contains a newer version of the operating system, or can't be used to start up your computer.
- The macOS installer says that you may not install to this volume because it is part of an Apple RAID.
About APFS and Mac OS Extended
Disk Utility in macOS High Sierra or later can erase using either the newer APFS (Apple File System) format or the older Mac OS Extended format, and it automatically chooses a compatible format for you. Wondershare photo cutter 1 0 70.
Can't Erase Mac Hard Drive
How to choose between APFS and Mac OS Extended
Disk Utility tries to detect the type of storage and show the appropriate format in the Format menu. If it can't, it chooses Mac OS Extended, which works with all versions of macOS. If you want to change the format, answer these questions:
- Are you formatting the disk that came built into your Mac?
If the built-in disk came APFS-formatted, Disk Utility suggests APFS. Don't change it to Mac OS Extended. - Are you about to install macOS High Sierra or later for the first time on the disk?
If you need to erase your disk before installing High Sierra or later for the first time on that disk, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled). During installation, the macOS installer decides whether to automatically convert to APFS—without erasing your files. - Are you preparing a Time Machine backup disk or bootable installer?
Choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for any disk that you plan to use as a Time Machine backup disk or as a bootable installer. - Will you be using the disk with another Mac?
If the other Mac isn't using macOS High Sierra or later, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Earlier versions of macOS don't work with APFS-formatted volumes.
How to identify the format currently in use
If you want to know which format is currently in use, use any of these methods:
- Select the volume in the Disk Utility sidebar, then check the information shown on the right. For more detail, choose File > Get Info from the Disk Utility menu bar.
- Open System Information and select Storage in the sidebar. The File System column on the right shows the format of each volume.
- Select the volume in the Finder, then choose File > Get Info from the menu bar. The Get Info window shows the Format of that volume.
If your disk or volume doesn't appear, or the erase fails
- Shut down your Mac, then unplug all nonessential devices from your Mac.
- If you're erasing an external drive, make sure that it's connected directly to your Mac using a cable that you know is good. Then turn the drive off and back on.
- If your disk or volume still doesn't appear in Disk Utility, or Disk Utility reports that the erase process failed, your disk or Mac might need service. If you need help, please contact Apple Support.
Learn more
- If you can't start up from macOS Recovery, you can use a different startup disk instead.
- If Disk Utility shows a Security Options button in the Erase window, you can click that button to choose between a faster (but less secure) erase and a slower (but more secure) erase. Some older versions of Disk Utility offer the option to zero all data instead. These secure-erase options aren't offered or needed for solid-state drives (SSDs) and flash storage.
Sep 21, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
When it comes to erasing the data stored on your MacBook pro, people come across many issues since they don’t know what to do to get rid of all the data for good. In such sort of scenarios when you need toerase MacBook pro hard drive, the best and safest course of action is to completely erase its memory so that your data might never be misused by anyone.
How To Erase Everything On A Mac
Part 1: How to Erase all Data from MacBook Pro
If you are planning on erasing all your data from a MacBook Pro, you have come to the right place. This article discusses various details on how you might be able to do so. Go through the below-mentioned tutorial to find more.
- The first step requires you to reboot your MacBook
- When it is booting up, hold the CMD + R keys at once. You will enter the OSX utility section.
- Click on the ‘Disk Utility’ button and hit ‘Continue’.
- Now go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
- Make sure to unplug all the external drives from the MacBook.
- Check out the list. You will see the name of the hard drive twice. Click on the second one.
- Hit the ‘Erase’ tab.
- Select the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) option under the Format tab.
- Before running the final steps, run the 'Erase Free Space' feature as well.
- Hit ‘Security options’ to select the level of security you want for your drive. In case you are planning on selling the Mac, drag the slider towards the right direction as it overwrites 7 times.
- When you are all set, hit the ‘Erase’ button to say goodbye to all of your data for good.
- Wait for an hour or two until the process completes.
Macbook Pro Hard Drive Failure
Part 2: How to Erase MacBook Hard Drive on Windows
If you want to erase the data on your MacBook hard drive using a Windows-powered computer, you need a good tool to do so. Stellar BitRaser for file is one of the best choices in this regard. It helps you in erasing all the drives, internet activities, system traces, and your entire data permanently. It makes sure that the data is lost completely and that there is no room for any recovery. Some notable features offered by this tool are listed below. Dropshare 5 0 2 – secure file sharing tool.
How To Erase Macbook Air Hard Drive Completely
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- Allows you to permanently remove all your data and make it unrecoverable
- Removes all the internet and system activity
- Allows scheduled removal of data
- Single right-click solution
- Features 17 different file erasing algorithms
- Supports almost all variants of Microsoft Windows
To completely erase all of your data from a MacBook hard drive using BitRaser for file, you need to follow the steps listed below.
- Download Stellar BitRaser for a file on your windows, and connect your Mac hard drive to your PC.
- Launch Stellar Eraser and click the 'Erase Now' section and select your Mac hard drive.
- Click 'Erase Now' button to start to erase the MacBook hard drive on Windows
- It will take a couple of minutes to completely erase.
Tips:In case you are planning on selling your MacBook and you believe that there is some sensitive data present on it, the right course of action is to go for multiple deletions of the data. To do so, it is strongly recommended to make use of the BitRaser for the file to carry out the above-mentioned process two to three times at the very least. Doing so will eradicate any chances forMacBook data recovery.
![How to erase hard drive on a macbook air How to erase hard drive on a macbook air](https://techowise.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/erase-macbook-data.png)
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