How can a reset my mac to factory settings.

How can a reset my mac to factory settings.  I have done something wrong and I think at this point it would be better to start form scratch

Restart holding both the Command and R keys.  That will boot the machine to the recovery hard drive, a hidden partition that starts cleanly to the Mac OS X.  You can then choose from the Utiltities drop down, Disk Utility.  From that you can format the hard drive...you will then have to choose to Reinstall Mac OS X...doing this erases the hard drive and you lose all content.  Make a backup on an external hard drive first so you can restore your applications and so you don't lose your data.

Similar Messages

  • How can I reset my Mac to default settings? Or how can I reset it to a prior date? My Mac has a virus and I would like to get rid of it. I would appreciate your help concerning this matter.

    How can I reset my Mac to default settings? Or how can I reset it to a prior date? My Mac has a virus and I would like to get rid of it. I would appreciate your help concerning this matter.

    To restore it follow these instructions: What to do before selling or giving away your Mac.
    Before you do the above check out the following;
    Helpful Links Regarding Malware Problems
    If you are having an immediate problem with ads popping up see The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide, AdwareMedic, or Remove unwanted adware that displays pop-up ads and graphics on your Mac - Apple Support.
    Open Safari, select Preferences from the Safari menu. Click on Extensions icon in the toolbar. Disable all Extensions. If this stops your problem, then re-enable them one by one until the problem returns. Now remove that extension as it is causing the problem.
    The following comes from user stevejobsfan0123. I have made minor changes to adapt to this presentation.
    Fix Some Browser Pop-ups That Take Over Safari.
    Common pop-ups include a message saying the government has seized your computer and you must pay to have it released (often called "Moneypak"), or a phony message saying that your computer has been infected, and you need to call a tech support number (sometimes claiming to be Apple) to get it resolved. First, understand that these pop-ups are not caused by a virus and your computer has not been affected. This "hijack" is limited to your web browser. Also understand that these messages are scams, so do not pay any money, call the listed number, or provide any personal information. This article will outline the solution to dismiss the pop-up.
    Quit Safari
    Usually, these pop-ups will not go away by either clicking "OK" or "Cancel." Furthermore, several menus in the menu bar may become disabled and show in gray, including the option to quit Safari. You will likely have to force quit Safari. To do this, press Command + option + esc, select Safari, and press Force Quit.
    Relaunch Safari
    If you relaunch Safari, the page will reopen. To prevent this from happening, hold down the 'Shift' key while opening Safari. This will prevent windows from the last time Safari was running from reopening.
    This will not work in all cases. The shift key must be held at the right time, and in some cases, even if done correctly, the window reappears. In these circumstances, after force quitting Safari, turn off Wi-Fi or disconnect Ethernet, depending on how you connect to the Internet. Then relaunch Safari normally. It will try to reload the malicious webpage, but without a connection, it won't be able to. Navigate away from that page by entering a different URL, i.e. www.apple.com, and trying to load it. Now you can reconnect to the Internet, and the page you entered will appear rather than the malicious one.

  • How can i reset or restore to factory settings my macbook pro 7.1?

    Guys, I need your help.. any genius out there who can help me?? i just want to reset/restore my macbook pro 7.1 from its orginal factory settings... how can i do this without deleting my OS and words and excel? thank you so much.. any help is very much appreciated.. Thanks again!

    noodetcha wrote:
    and  is there anyway just refresh the system with out delete any program or saved file ?
    just make the system setting like form factory.
    Can't have it both ways.  "Refreshing" w/o deleting programs and restoring to factory level are 2 different things.  Also, it depends on which OS system you have.  You did not mention this in any of your postings nor have you included your system info.
    You have to decide which do you actually want to do?
    Archive & Install (if your OS allows)
    Erase the HD (restore to factory level)

  • How can I reset my imac to factory settings without the ilife cd?

    I have an iMac that I bought in 2006. I recently purchased a macbook pro for college, so I thought it would be nice to give my old iMac to some family friends. However, I don't want them to have all of my information that's still on the computer. I have already backed up all of the files that I need, so I'm prepared to erase the hard drive. I've been reading online that you need certain things to do so: startup dvds and ilife dvd/cd/whatever. I have the first, but not the second. Is there a way to erase the HD without the ilife? Can I use a newer ilife dvd? Or is there an easier way to do all of this??

    Hi Jacob: There is no requirement of the iLife DVD to wipe the computer. If you have the original install DVD, that is all you need.
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  • How do I unlock macintoch HD hardrive in order to reset the mac to factory settings?

    How do I unlock macintoch HD hardrive in order to reset the mac to factory settings?

    Try this thread >  https://discussions.apple.com/message/23874937#23874937

  • How do I reset Apple Mail to Factory Settings?

    How do I reset Apple Mail to factory settings? I had 7 emails accounts on there and was about to add my school email address. It wasn't going through though, so I went to the school's IT department to ask them to do it. Unfortunately, the IT guy couldn't fix the school email and worse, now ALL my emails accounts won't go online. They all have exclamation points to their right, and are constantly asking for passwords. No matter how many times I put in the right password, it still keeps asking for it. I tried fixing it from Mail Preferences and System Preferences but nothing works. It keeps saying Connection Error. I don't know what the IT guy tweaked but it messed up everything.

    Please read this whole message before doing anything.
    This procedure is a diagnostic test. It won’t solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
    The purpose of this test is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account. Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”
    While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
    Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?
    After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
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  • How do i reset/restore computer to factory settings???

    how do i reset/restore computer to factory settings???

    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.
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              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.
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                  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.

  • How can i restore ipod touch to factory settings in not able to connect to itunes? forgot pass word that unlocks ipod to connect to itunes

    how can i reset ipod touch to factory setting with out using itunes? message on ipod states that ipod is disabled conect to itunes, however when try to connect to itunes message saying i can not connect to itunes b/c ipod is locked with pass code and i need to enter pass code into ipod.
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    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1212?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
    Also, see #4 in link below for iTunes connection problem.
    Basic troubleshooting steps  
    17" 2.2GHz i7 Quad-Core MacBook Pro  8G RAM  750G HD + OCZ Vertex 3 SSD Boot HD 
    Got problems with your Apple iDevice-like iPhone, iPad or iPod touch? Try Troubleshooting 101
     In Memory of Steve Jobs 

  • How can I reset my Mac Book Air in to original/back to factory settings

    hi .. I got my New Mac Book Air in US (Ralehi) 2 weaks back only. Actually in the box the apple has not provided any recory disc or restoring discs. plese any boady can guide me how to create my restore disc aor how to i can rest my mac book air bac to factory rests. without disc how can i rest my mb air to factory settings.

    If it shipped with Lion, restart with the Option key held down, tab to the recovery partition, press Enter, and erase the drive from there. Install a new OS.
    (62586)

  • How can I reset the Mac App Store?

    Hello!
    For some time now, I did not get any update in Mac App Store meaning that there was nothing when klicking on "Updates". Yesterday, I finally looked under "Purchases" (or how is it calles in the English version?) and saw that there were a couple of updates. So, I updated all of them. When returning to the purchases, they were still marked as Applications to update. After repairing the rights in Disk Utility, I got a new update this morning using the "Update" Button again. But all other programs do still have the update button as described even as they are updated already. The version of those I checked was the new one.
    What I did already:
    - I deleted 2 Apps in finder and installed them again - afterwards, again the Update-Button
    - I deleted cache and resetted everything in iTunes
    - I activated the debug menu and deleted the cache and resetted
    - I deleted files in ~/Library as described in https://discussions.apple.com/thread...art=0&tstart=0
    It seems as if the MAS saves somewhere again which programs are installed in what versions. Probably it couldn't modify that file and is still showing the wrong details. Where can I reset that file? It's just not good if you don't know which App is updated and which one isn't.

    Sorry, that's not it:
    If you have updates available there will be a red badge where you see Updates in the menu top of the App Store window.
    That's what I did not have for a few weeks. That was the start...
    I finally looked under "Purchases" (or how is it calles in the English version?) and saw that there were a couple of updates
    Updates are not available from the Purchases tab.
    Maybe I did not call that correctly, but updates are shown in Parchases tab as well:
    Usually, the "Aktualisieren" Button is shown only, if there is an Update in Update tab as well. But that's exactly the thing that does not fit any more for a couple of Apps.
    Just dragging the apps to the Trash does not delete all the associated files.
    Download and install this free utility to uninstall apps > Download AppCleaner for Mac - Uninstall your apps easily. MacUpdate.com
    I know that and I have AppCleander installed. But that's not the point since I do want to have a correct view inside the App Store. Instead of the red circles, there should the the word "installed".
    Now when you re download an app, the latest version will be installed.
    Disk Utilty / Permissions has nothing to do with your updates from the App Store.
    Correct for the Application itself but all the data used by the App Store needs to be saved somewhere - that's what I'm talking about.
    I hope I could make this a bit clearer now!
    Thanks for your quick answer!

  • HT5624 How can i reset my mac book pro 13 password, i totally forgot it and on the log in screen there are now options to do so. I tried my apple ID, my email, nothing worked. Is there a way to do so without having to change my apple ID password? Thanks

    I forgot my password for my macbookpro. I tried many options, but nothing is working, ow can i reset it without changing any other info on my apple ID?

    Follow the instructions in ths article.
    http://www.coolestguidesontheplanet.com/reset-forgotten-admin-password-osx-10-8- mountain-lion/

  • How do you reset DSC-RX100 to factory settings?

    How do you set a DSC-RX100 to factory settings? Also is there a basic how to manual for this camera? Thank you in advance, Annie

    Hi Annie! You can reset the RX100 back to factory settings by going into the camera MENU. Below are the steps.
    MENU   3  [Initialize]  desired mode  [OK]
    Reset Default
    Resets all settings to default settings.
    Rec mode reset
    Resets only major shooting settings to the default values.
    Custom reset
    Resets only custom settings to the default values.
    NOTE: Make sure that you do not remove the battery while initializing the camera.
    If my post answers your question, please mark it as "Accept as Solution"

  • How can I restore my stystem to factory settings if I replaced the internal hard drive

    My computers been runing slow and its time for a factory reset. I only use the computer really as a media center hooked up to my tv since I built my desktop a year or so ago. I already copyied everything I wanted to keep off the laptop. A year or so ago I had to replace the internal hard drive because there was a problem with it. i don't have a restore disk and the partictian didn't get copied to this hard drive. how can i restore to factory settings? the computer is a toshibia qosmio x 505 q885.

    Qosmio X505-Q885
    If you failed to burn recovery discs, you can obtain them from Toshiba at Get Recovery Media here.
    For instructions, see the section Restoring from recovery DVDs/media, which begins on p. 70 of the User's Guide.
       Qosmio X500 Series User’s Guide
    -Jerry

  • How do i reset an iPad to factory settings without knowing the passcode?

    We laid off an employee but don't have his passcode to reset the ipad to it's factory settings.  Is there anyway I can do this?  I tried following the directions I found:
    If you don’t know the passcode to go into the ipad and reset it, you simply need to connect the iPad to iTunes.
    Connect your iPad to the USB port on your computer, open iTunes and on the left side of the panel will appear a category for Devices... select the iPad. The summary window will have the information on the iPad and below that the choice for Restore. Select Restore, and you will have to do some confirming usually, and the system will go to work restoring the iPad to the factory settings.
    But it says it won't connect to iTunes until I enter the passcode:  "iTunes could not connect to the iPad ****** because it is locked with a passcode.  You must enter your passcode on the iPad before it can be used with iTunes."
    Any ideas?
    Marcine

    Put the iPad into Recovery Mode and then try the Restore again:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1808
    If that still doesn't work, as a last resort try DFU mode:
    http://osxdaily.com/2010/12/04/ipad-dfu-mode/
    Regards.

  • How do I reset an imac to factory settings? version 10.5.8

    I am selling my IMac, and I need to reset to factory settings before doing so, it is backed up entirely and ready to go. I have followed intructions to hold command-r on boot up and it hasnt worked the last 10 time of me trying it. any suggestions?
    Mac OS X
    version 10.5.8
    Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
    Memory 3GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

    Insert the computer's original disk and restart with the C key held down. The Command and R shortcut is only for computers with 10.7 or newer installed, and in the case of a factory restore, for Macs which originally shipped with those OS versions.
    (92517)

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