Completely restore mac mini to factory

how do i completely restore a mac mini to factory settings and totally wipe out any casched info?

If the computer has Lion or later, boot into the recovery partition and reformat/reinstall the OS
Some Solutions for Resetting Forgotten Security Questions: Apple Support Communities
- Other do the same with the OS installation disks

Similar Messages

  • Restoring Mac Mini to factory settings - which disk do I select?

    Hello,
    I am trying to restore my mac mini to factory settings.
    I was able to access the disk utility but am not sure which disk I should select before erasing.
    Options in Utilities pane:
    500.11 GB Toshiba MK506GSXF Media
         Macintosh HD
    Disc 1
         Mac OS X Base System
    I want to reformat disk so that no existing data is retrievable AND want to be able to resintall the operating system thereby restoring to factory settings.
    Your help is much appreciated!

    Follow these instructions step by step to prepare a Mac for sale:
    Step One - Back up your data:
           A. If you have any Virtual PCs shut them down. They cannot be in their "fast saved" state. They must be shut down from inside Windows.
           B. Clone to an external drive using using Carbon Copy Cloner.
              1. Open Carbon Copy Cloner.
              2. Select the Source volume from the Select a source drop down menu on the left side.
              3. Select the Destination volume from the Select a destination drop down menu on the right
                  side.
              4. Click on the Clone button. If you are prompted about creating a clone of the Recovery HD be
                  sure to opt for that.
                   Destination means a freshly erased external backup drive. Source means the internal
                   startup drive.
    Step Two - Prepare the machine for the new buyer:
              1. De-authorize the computer in iTunes! De-authorize both iTunes and Audible accounts.
              2, Remove any Open Firmware passwords or Firmware passwords.
              3. Turn the brightness full up and volume nearly so.
              4. Turn off File Vault, if enabled.
              5. Disable iCloud, if enabled: See What to do with iCloud before selling your computer.
    Step Three - Install a fresh OS:
         A. Snow Leopard and earlier versions of OS X
              1. Insert the original OS X install CD/DVD that came with your computer.
              2. Restart the computer while holding down the C key to boot from the CD/DVD.
              3. Select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu; repartition and reformat the internal hard drive.
                  Optionally, click on the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
              4. Install OS X.
              5. Upon completion DO NOT restart the computer.
              6. Shutdown the computer.
         B. Lion and Mountain Lion (if pre-installed on the computer at purchase*)
             Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because
                       it is three times faster than wireless.
              1. Restart the computer while holding down the COMMAND and R keys until the Mac OS X
                  Utilities window appears.
              2. Select Disk Utility from the Mac OS X Utilities window and click on the Continue button.
              3. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the left side list. Click
                  on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
              4. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on the Security button
                  and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
              5. Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
              6. Quit DU and return to the Mac OS X Utilities window.
              7. Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
              8. Upon completion shutdown the computer.
    *If your computer came with Lion or Mountain Lion pre-installed then you are entitled to transfer your license once. If you purchased Lion or Mountain Lion from the App Store then you cannot transfer your license to another party. In the case of the latter you should install the original version of OS X that came with your computer. You need to repartition the hard drive as well as reformat it; this will assure that the Recovery HD partition is removed. See Step Three above. You may verify these requirements by reviewing your OS X Software License.

  • Restoring Mac Mini to factory settings

    I am trying to restore my MAC MINI to factory settings.
    I am unable to access "disk utility" by restarting while holding down COMMAND+R keys.
    I am using a windows keyboard.
    Please help.
    Thanks

    Turn off the Mac. Do not restart.
    Then, with your finger over the Alt key, turn on the unit, and depress the Alt key just after doing so. You should have it depressed well before you hear the chime and keep it depressed until after the list of bootable devices pops up. If you see an apple logo then things have not worked.
    Keeping the key down before you startup often makes computers think that the key is stuck and ignore it altogether. I've not seen it on Macs but I certainly have on PCs.

  • How do I restore Mac mini to factory settings?

    I received a Mac mini from my mom & I want to wipe the entire unit & place my info on it and I'm not familiar with Macs. I could use a little help please

    If it shipped with Mac OS X 10.6.8 or earlier, insert its original disk and restart the computer with the C key held down.
    If it shipped with Mac OS X 10.7 or newer, restart with the Command and R keys held down.
    Use the Disk Utility to erase the partition with Mac OS X installed, and then install a fresh OS onto it.
    (98317)

  • I somehow set portrait lock on my iphone4, and then closed the app by double clicking the home button.  So now how to I access it again? Or do I have to completely restore my ph to factory settings?

    I somehow set portrait lock on my iphone4, and then closed the app by double clicking the home button. 
    So now how to I access it again? Or do I have to completely restore my ph to factory settings?

    Double click the home button again, slide to the left and tap the screen lock button.

  • How do I restore Mac Mini late 2009 to factory settings. Error occurs.

    I have a late 2009 Mac Mini with 2.26 ghz core and 2 GB memory running Lion 10.7.4. I wish to restore my computer to factory settings but when I put in my Snow Leopard disc I continue to get an error message that reads "You can't use this version of the application Install Mac OS X with this version of Mac OS X. You have Install Mac OS X 23.1.1."
    I wish to restore my Mac to Snow Leopard and then redownload Lion from the App Store and start fresh with 10.7.4 on my restored Mac but I am finding it incredibly difficult.

    You might have to erase the Drive first, but did you try reinstalling Lion from the Restore Partition?
    Hold CMD+r keys at bootup?
    Otherwise...
      1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
       2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu at the top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
          *Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
       3. Click the Erase tab.

  • Restore mac mini snow leopard no administrative privilege

    Would like to reset mac mini (Mid 2007 - Macmini 2,1) to factory settings.  However, don't have administrative privileges.  Tried to boot with os snow leopard and holding alt and c.  It didn't work.

    Clean Install of Snow Leopard
         1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came
             with your computer.  Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.
             After the chime press and hold down the  "C" key.  Release the key when you see
             a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
         2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue
             button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
             After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive
             size.)  Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.  Set the number of
             partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button
             and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended
             (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.
         3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer.  Proceed
             with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
         4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup
             Assistant. After you finish Setup Assistant will complete the installation after which
             you will be running a fresh install of OS X.  You can now begin the update process
             by opening Software Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your
             installation current.
         5. If you are planning to sell or give your computer away, then do the following:
            After you reformat your hard drive and reinstall OS X, the computer restarts to a
            Welcome screen and asks you to choose a country or region. If you want to leave
            the Mac in an out-of-box state, don't continue with the setup of your system. Instead,
            press Command-Q to shut down the Mac. When the new owner turns on the Mac,
            the Setup Assistant will guide them through the setup process.
    Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

  • How can i restore mac back to factory

    I want to restore my mac back to factory settings.  How can I do it?  Thanks

    see posts here
    https://discussions.apple.com/message/18059769#18059769

  • Restore Mac mini server

    I have a mac mini server, which is blocking and I can not restore the password and not use qu DVD drive, I can do in this case?

    xnav wrote:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4718
    The article you linked here describes Internet Recovery and says:
    “If you use Internet Recovery to reinstall OS X, it installs the version of OS X that originally came with your computer.”
    So that would be what I want. Unfortunately, the problem is to actually get into Internet Recovery mode, you’d have to put your Mac in a state where regular Recovery doesn’t work anymore. One article on the topic says:
    ‘You can’t unless you really need to.’ As long as you have a valid Recovery HD partition, trying to boot into Internet Recovery will instead boot your Mac into standard recovery mode.
    Which is what I experienced here. So before killing my Recovery partition and hoping that Internet Recovery will kick in, I’ll do what Joe Bailey suggested: Download the Mountain Lion installer and let the buyer of that Mac decide which OS X flavor he wants.

  • Restore mac mini

    Having various issuses with mac mini,  backed up all to external drive, now what is the best way to restore the machine and recapture apps and updates?????

    Hi Eric,
    What OSX version are you running?

  • Return 2009 mac mini to factory settings without disk

    Hello I just bought a used 2009 mac mini and it has programs and a partion I dont want    command+R    dose not work I dont think it has a recovery   start up + command only shows one harddrive

    If it's running Mavericks but has no Recovery HD, then you need to do the following:
    Use a Snow Leopard retail DVD:
    Clean Install of Snow Leopard
    Be sure to make a backup first because the following procedure will erase
    the drive and everything on it.
         1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came
             with your computer.  Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.
             After the chime press and hold down the  "C" key.  Release the key when you see
             a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
         2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue
             button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
             After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive
             size.)  Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.  Set the number of
             partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button
             and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended
             (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.
         3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer.  Proceed
             with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
         4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup
             Assistant. Be sure you configure your initial admin account with the exact same
             username and password that you used on your old drive. After you finish Setup
             Assistant will complete the installation after which you will be running a fresh
             install of OS X.  You can now begin the update process by opening Software
             Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your installation current.
    Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
    From here you can redownload Mavericks.

  • How can I install OSX lion on my completely wiped mac mini?

    I have a 2011 mac mini server edition (Without CD drive), and tried to partition it to a RAID0 last night. I reformatted both drives (Just the inner partitions, so It shouldn't have affected the recovery partition), and now it will not boot.
    When I turn the computer on, it flashes a question mark folder, and when I boot with option, it gives me a list of wireless networks on a grey screen. When I select my network, it logs into it, but doesn't do anything further. It will not let me boot into the recovery partition at all.
    How can I re-install lion on this computer? I do have a firewire cable, so I could do target disc mode if that's even possible.
    Thanks!

    DopeyBovineMan wrote:
    That just isn't practical for me, to be booting off an external.
    Would a flash drive work, or something to that effect?
    nope, you need a external drive 1TB in size to hold all the data from the 2-500GB's and double as a backup when the RAID 0 fails which they are twice as likely to do.
    you can only install OS X on a Mac, so once it's there you clone it to the 1TB, option boot from it, create the RAID and reverse clone.
    no  Lion Recovery, that's why you need another way to get Lion back, that's why you got to make the Lion Recovery USB first before doing anything.

  • Completely control Mac Mini with a MacBook?

    I have wifi setup at home, a MacBook and a MacBook Pro. If I purchased a Mac Mini, can I wire it to one of the MacBooks to set it up with full sharing by using the MacBook keyboard and display?  If this is a possibility, can the Mac mini then be setup with no keyboard/display to control / use it wirelessly with the MacBooks?
    The main goal is to set up an outdoor surveillance system using SecuritySpy with either a Mac mini to store and handle the cameras or if it cant be done without buying so much stuff I'd need to select a Mac compatible DVR.
    Thanks in advance for any advice.

    You can use the built-in screen sharing application. It lets you view the what is being displayed on the Mini and you can control it with mouse and keyboard commands.

  • In restoring my mac mini to factory specs-what is considered "free space" as in the question of erasing free space.

    When you go to do a factory restore what is erasing "free space?
    Plus, I have no Command keys on my keyboard-how to do Command R without a Command Key?
    Carol

    CarolF5 wrote:
    When you go to do a factory restore what is erasing "free space?
    Don't bother with that option, unless you are going to sell your computer and want to be sure that your data can't be recovered.
    To be more specific it securely erases the unoccupied space of your hard drive, leaving the rest of your data intact.
    I have no Command keys on my keyboard-how to do Command R without a Command Key?
    You mean you have a PC keyboard? If that is the case the Command key translates to the key with the Windows flag.
    The Alt key is the Option key on an Apple keyboard.

  • Restoring Mac Mini - Urgent advice needed

    Whilst attempting to create a boot camp partition this morning my Mini had a kernel panic. After powering down, when turned back on I have no display so cannot see if any message is being displayed.
    Fortunately I'm fully backed up with Time Machine, but when attempting to insert the Leopard install DVD to try to recover, the disc won't physically load into the drive. I don't have a wired keyboard either so I'm assuming entering any commands at this stage will be impossible (I have 2 Apple wireless keyboards if that's of any use!)
    Can anyone suggest a way to at least get the Leopard disc to insert so that I can attempt recovery?
    And before you ask the machine is out of warranty so Applecare/phone support is not an option.
    Thanks in advance,
    Tom

    The drive first: If Disk Utility reports an error on exit and does not complete repairs, run it again just to be sure. If it continues to report error on exit it means there is damage to the drive which is greater than Disk Utility can resolve, and you with either then need to get a third party utility such as Disk Warrior or TechTools Pro, or perform a full erase and install of MacOS from your Leopard disk in order to resolve the problem. Obviously if the latter, then you should attempt to back up your data first, since the erase and install involves a full reformat of the drive.
    The fan: This is caused by the fact you performed a PMU reset on your system when in fact it doesn't have a PMU! This procedure causes the fan to run up to full speed at all times. Unfortunately, there is no guaranteed solution, but many report that an SMC reset (the Intel system equivalent of a PMU reset which is actually only for earlier PPC systems) works.
    To reset the SMC on an Intel mini:
    -From the Apple menu, choose Shut Down (or if the computer is not responding, hold the power button until it turns off).
    -Unplug all cables from the computer, including the power cord and any display cables.
    -Wait at least 15 seconds.
    -Plug the power cord back in, making sure the power button is not being pressed at the time.
    -Then reconnect your keyboard and mouse to the computer.
    -Press the power button on the back to start up your computer.
    You'll see the only difference really between the PMU reset you performed and the SMC reset you should now do is that the SMC reset does NOT involve holding the power button in while reconnecting power.

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