How to completely clean up my MacBook

I am buying a new MacBook so I want to sell my old one. Is there a way to completely clean it up and deliver it to the buyer, so that it will look the same way as he bought it directly new from Apple?

Bought from the OS installer disk that came with your MacBook. Launch Disk Utility. Select Erase. You have options on how intensive that procedure will operate depending upon how sensitive the material was on your Mac. You then want to run the installer and when it finishes and reboots and Mac OS Setup Assistant begins Quit out of it. The next time the Mac is booted Mac OS Setup Assistant will run again and your new owner can set up the MacBook as you did when it was new.

Similar Messages

  • How do i clean up my macbook air to install software updates?

    how do i clean up my macbook air to install software updates? It says that I need to clean up the startup disk because I do not have enough space left but I don't know how to do that. Can anyone help me?

    First, empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. Then reboot. That will temporarily free up some space.
    According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation. You also need enough space left over to allow for growth of your data. There is little or no performance advantage to having more available space than the minimum Apple recommends. Available storage space that you'll never use is wasted space.
    If you're using Time Machine to back up a portable Mac, some of the available space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of files you've recently deleted. The space occupied by local snapshots is reported as available by the Finder, and should be considered as such. In the Storage display of System Information, local snapshots are shown as "Backups." The snapshots are automatically deleted when they expire or when free space falls below a certain level. You ordinarily don't need to, and should not, delete local snapshots yourself.
    To locate large files, you can use Spotlight as described here. That method may not find large folders that contain a lot of small files.
    You can also use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) to explore your volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can delete files with it, but don't do that unless you're sure that you know what you're deleting and that all data is safely backed up. That means you have multiple backups, not just one.
    Proceed further only if the problem hasn't been solved.
    ODS can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.
    Back up all data now.
    Install ODS in the Applications folder as usual. Quit it if it's running.
    Triple-click the line of text below to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C):sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
    Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
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    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
    Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
    The application window will open, eventually showing all files in all folders. It may take some minutes for ODS to list all the files.
    I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything while running ODS as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means.
    When you're done with ODS, quit it and also quit Terminal.

  • How do i clean the Black MacBook?

    hi,
    i was wondering how to clean my black macbook...the flat black paints holds alot of finger prints and they don't wipe right off the way they do on the white macbook with it's smooth finish.....
    any advice is well appreciated...
    thanks...
    MAC BOOK BLACK   Mac OS X (10.4.7)   2 GHz 2GB DDR

    Nothing but a microfiber cloth and a little water if needed - applied directly to the cloth and never anything sprayed on the machine.
    Also, avoid paper products as they are remarkably abrasive.
    Although I am sure it works well, I refuse to pay the price for OmniClean. A microfiber cloth gets rid of everything on my MB and I will never have to buy refills or replacements.

  • How to completely clean install Mavericks?

    Title sums it up...I want to do a completely clean install of Mavericks, making it as if I just bought the laptop with Mavericks installed. I do not currently have access to a big enough USB so if there is a way to do this without one that would be preferable.

    Mr. Gagné wrote:
    I am still running Mountain Lion. So, I need to install Mavericks, then do a standard hard drive wipe/OS re-install?
    If you're on Mountain Lion and you want to do a clean install, the Recovery Partition is available for you to boot into and run the OS X installer. There is no need to install Mavericks if all you want to do is clean install.

  • How to completely reset iMessage on MacBook Pro

    I have tried literally every single thing, including scheduling an appointment with AppleCare... to which I got disconnected and never received a callback.  My iMessages on my Mac is not sending messages to any iphone.  I would just like to simply RESET the whole set up of iMessage, as if I just received this Mac if possible. 
    How do I completely reset iMessage on a MacBook Pro?
    Thank you.

    Back up all data.
    Quit Messages if it’s running. Force quit if necessary. Relaunch it and test after each of the following steps. If the problem isn't resolved, quit again and go on to the next step.
    Step 1
    Make sure you know the ID and password you use with iMessage. Launch the Keychain Access application in any of the following ways:
    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Keychain Access in the icon grid.
    Use the search box in the toolbar of the Keychain Access window to find and delete all items with "iMessage" or "com.apple.idms" in the name. Log out and log back in.
    Step 2
    Hold down the option key and select
              Go ▹ Library
    from the Finder menu bar. Move the following items from the Library folder to the Trash (some may not exist):
              Caches/com.apple.Messages
              Caches/com.apple.imfoundation.IMRemoteURLConnectionAgent
              Containers/com.apple.iChat
              Containers/com.apple.soagent
              IdentityServices
    Leave the Library folder open. Log out and log back in.
    Step 3
    Go back to the Finder and move the following item from the open Library folder to the Desktop:
              Messages
    Note: you are not moving the Messages application. You’re moving a folder named “Messages.”
    If Messages now works, delete the Messages folder on the Desktop. Otherwise, quit Messages again. Put back the folder you moved, overwriting the newer one that may have been created in its place.
    Step 4
    In the Preferences subfolder, there may be several files having names that begin with any of the following strings:
              com.apple.iChat
              com.apple.ids
              com.apple.imdsmsrecordstore
              com.apple.imessage
              com.apple.imservice
    Move them all to the Desktop. There may also be a file with the name "com.apple.imagent.plist". Move that to the Trash.
    Also in the Preferences folder, there's a subfolder named "ByHost". Open it and do the same thing.
    Log out and log back in. Test again. This time Messages should perform normally, but your settings will be lost. You may be able to put back some of the files you moved to the Desktop in this step. Relaunch and test after each one. Eventually you should find one or more that causes Messages to malfunction. Delete those files and recreate whatever settings they contained.
    If the issue is still not resolved, quit Messages again and put all the items you moved to the Desktop back where they were. You don’t need to replace the items you moved to the Trash. Stop here and post your results.
    If you later decide that you don’t like the results of Steps 3 and 4, you can undo them completely by quitting Messages and restoring the items you deleted in those steps from your backup.

  • How to easily clean under 2012 MacBook Pro trackpad?

    Ok so.... I know it's stupid of me and before I begin, I am ashamed of myself!! *facepalms*
    I spilt a sticky berry drink on my MacBook Pro 2012, I've cleaned under the keys but some are still slightly sticky, but my point is some clearly got underneath the trackpad (it has no button so I can't easily stick a strip of paper under there), and I was wondering, is there any way to clean under the trackpad without any disassembly (at least not much, definitely not from the bottom)? If absolutely necessarry I will take it into my nearest Apple Store, but I'd rather that I could do it at home.
    Thank you for your help
    EXTRA DETAILS
    I wiped the laptop down quickly, tried not to let it soak in too much.
    Both the laptop and the trackpad and mouse are still working fine, and the exterior is clean, but it's simply just annoying as my left click does not feel like it's going down as deep as it should (it doesn't feel like the right click which has not changed).
    I got it in October, but would rather have it fixed than replaced.
    Thanks again,
    opalsasha

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities
    Apple only supports client versions in Macs, but you should be able to install Windows Server. However, note that you may have problems installing Boot Camp drivers in order to make it work correctly.
    If you only want a computer for Windows Server, buy a PC. Macs aren't completely ready for Windows Server editions even if they may work

  • How Do I Clean Up my MacBook Pro?

    Call me dumb, but I don't know how to "clean up" my computer. I am being told I don't have enough memory to open up an extra document. How can I fix that without throwing away a 1,000 pictures? Can I compress anything? Allot memory to different places? I know on my pc there was a way to squeeze it all together every now and again... Does the MacBook Pro have something like that?
    Thank you!

    Empty the trash!
    Open up your application folder & go through all your apps. Trash all the apps you no longer want and/or use.
    An easier way to do this is to open the Application folder in list view & press the Command+j keys.
    In the the dialog that appears, click the "This Window Only" button & the "Calculate All Sizes" check box.
    Wait a bit until your file & folder sizes have all been calculated, then click the "Size" column to sort your apps from the fattest to the most anorexic.
    Get rid of all your photo files you don't want and/or need. Same goes for those pics off the websites you downloaded (gifs, jpegs, etc.).
    I'm old fashion. I still keep my photos in a photo album. So when people come over my house, they can actually "touch" & "feel" my photos without me running to my computer to "show my photos".
    Get rid of all your music files you no longer listen too. Especially, if you already have the actual CDs and/or DVDs or you can later redownload from a website.
    Use Spotlight to make sure you got rid of everything. You can even trash directly from Spotlight!
    Drag what you don't want and/or need to the trash. Better yet, download this neat little shareware app demo called AppZapper. It basically does all the work for you by not only trashing the apps but the apps preference files, caches & all its associated files.
    Another software that does the above is AppDelete. Best of all this software is free!
    Burn what you want and/or need onto CDs or DVDs.
    Not everyone has the luxury of purchasing an external HD and/or a .Mac account to store their "stuff, junk, music & photos".
    You can check with your ISP to see if they offer free storage space. Most if not all do now-a-days. I store all 5000+ of my music (mp3s) files & 500+ music videos in my ISP storage bin.
    There are thousands if not millions of free storage facilities on the web also. Use your favorite search engine, Google &/or MacGoogle to search them out as they come in different storage sizes to fit your needs & wants.
    Check for duplicate fonts.
    Applications>Font Book
    Select “All Fonts”
    If you see any “black dots” next to any fonts this mean you have duplicates and/or multiple versions of these fonts.
    To clean this up, select a “black dotted” font or the Apple + click to select multiple dotted fonts;
    Edit>Resolve>Duplicates.
    What the above does is turns off the duplicates & multiple version fonts. Not delete them.
    More than likely the “extras” were installed by other programs and/or other users.
    Clear out font caches
    Use FontNuke. It does all the work for you. And, best of all it’s FREE.
    Printer Drivers
    Get rid of all the printer drivers you don’t need & use except the ones for your current printer(s)/scanner(s).
    HD>Library>Printers Folder
    If you accidently threw something out that you needed for your printer/scanner it can be easily obtained from the manufacturer’s website and/or from the CD that came w/the printer/scanner.
    Garage Band
    Has about 1GB of loops stored. Get rid of some some them. You surely don’t use, like and/or need them all.
    HD>Library>Audio/Apple Loops>Apple>Apple Loops For GarageBand
    Or just get rid of the Garage Band app altogether if you don’t use it.
    Get rid of extra languages
    Strip your computer down to your “native” tongue.
    You can do this with a FREE utility called Monolingual. Another app that apparently does all the work for you. I’ve never used it. However, a lot of users here swear by & recommend it highly.
    However, there is a warning for *native English speakers*. Make sure you keep BOTH English and English (United States).
    Other Resources:
    Knowledge Base Article http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303602 Mac Maintenance Quick Assist
    Scroll down to "4) Prune Through Your Files".
    Slimming your hard drive
    Rule of thumb: You should never let your hard drive get to where you have only 10-15% of space left.

  • How to completely clean previous Primavera P6 and OracleXE ,SQL server 2005 for fresh new re installation

    Hi
    I am using XP SP3 and I had previous successful installation for Primavera P6 8.3 with samples in the past, until my hard drive gave a message that’s its almost full, I tried to move the database to D:\ but I was stuck and lost connection with data base, I made uninstall for Primavera from add remove programs then made "Deinstalling Oracle Database XE" and followed all steps in the article http://docs.oracle.com/cd/B25329_01/doc/install.102/b25143/toc.htm#CIHDDHJD
    to clean the registry and all traces of the old installation, and uninstalled Microsoft SQL server 2005 with all components,
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    When I run Primavera I am not able to connect to Database, even traces of old installation like Alias names which was previously used exists .
    When I connect to database through web home page I can log in as “system” but it has only HR in it, and users are 12 internal and 1 HR with no ADMPRM$PM.
    I don’t think that sample projects are downloaded,
    How to reconnect with database and install the Primavera sample projects. or even to clean all traces for the Primavera and data base oracleXE then make fresh re install , Thanks. Zeyad

    Hi
    I am using XP SP3 and I had previous successful installation for Primavera P6 8.3 with samples in the past, until my hard drive gave a message that’s its almost full, I tried to move the database to D:\ but I was stuck and lost connection with data base, I made uninstall for Primavera from add remove programs then made "Deinstalling Oracle Database XE" and followed all steps in the article http://docs.oracle.com/cd/B25329_01/doc/install.102/b25143/toc.htm#CIHDDHJD
    to clean the registry and all traces of the old installation, and uninstalled Microsoft SQL server 2005 with all components,
    When I re installed Primavera with sample projects everything was ok until the mid of oracleXE installation  I had an error message , I run Primavera P6 8.3 setup again and chose to repair installation , this time gave me installation finished.
    When I run Primavera I am not able to connect to Database, even traces of old installation like Alias names which was previously used exists .
    When I connect to database through web home page I can log in as “system” but it has only HR in it, and users are 12 internal and 1 HR with no ADMPRM$PM.
    I don’t think that sample projects are downloaded,
    How to reconnect with database and install the Primavera sample projects. or even to clean all traces for the Primavera and data base oracleXE then make fresh re install , Thanks. Zeyad

  • HOW TO COMPLETELY DISABLE PASSWORD IN MACBOOK PRO RUNNING MOUNTAIN LION?

    i am quiet annoyed with my mac because everytime i want to isntall something it asks me for password
    i have deleted the password, now i dont have to type it anymore but simply have to press enter
    but is there any way to completely disable this thing?
    its my computer and i want to do whatever i wish and i know what i am doing, is there a way?
    this thing is like using windows VISTA !
    please help !

    You may have one of the 2010 models with the 'bad' GPU - see http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4088?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US.
    If so, it should be fixed for nothing. Read the Knowledge Base article and call support to schedule a time that you can take your machine in and have it diagnosed.
    Good luck,
    Clinton

  • How can i clean up my MacBook Air?

    I have a 64 Gb laptop. It keeps telling me i am running out of space. It got so bad i couldnt open more then 3 applications at a time, and then i couldn't open ITunes. That's bad. I checked my usage and here it is:
    Audio- 9.7 mb
    movies- 0 kb
    photos- 10.7 mb
    apps- 0 kb
    backups- 0kb
    other- 56.95 Gb
    What the heck is using all of my space!? Help please

    Katrina416 wrote:
    What the heck is using all of my space!?
    See this discussion...
    https://discussions.apple.com/message/21218286

  • Do I need to clean up my MacBook Air? It is solid state, not disc drive. How do I do it?

    How do I clean up my MacBook Air? Not familiar with solid state...do I get something online? Is Mac Keeper safe?

    NO, thats the worst thing that exists, dont dare install Mackeeper
    There are endless mountainous piles of data here warning people to never use that.
    What is the issue with your SSD / data?  Bloat?
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    see here:
    Your Solid State Drive and having enough space inside your Macbook Air & Pro
    Solid State Drive usage premise, or the “more space / upgrade SSD” question
    There have been questions posed and positions taken by many people who are trying to use their Macbook Air or Pro’s solid state drive (SSD) as a mass media storage device, for either pictures, videos, massive music collections or all three combined; but this should not be the working premise of a ‘limited’ SSD and its use.
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    Realistically, you should at most coordinate roughly 20 to 25% of your total SSD space to all audio-video personal use media (picture / music / video collections), leaving the remaining amount on an external HD.
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    A Professional Example
    In the case of a Macbook Air or Macbook Pro Retina with ‘limited’ storage on the SSD, this distinction becomes more important in that in an ever rapidly increasing file-size world, you keep vital large media files, pics, video, PDF collections, music off your SSD and archived on external storage, for sake of the necessary room for your system to have free space to operate, store future applications and general workspace. 
    You should also never be put in the position of considering “deleting things” on your Macbook SSD in order to ‘make space’. This is especially what your external HD is for.
    Professionals who create and import very large amounts of data have almost no change in the available space on their notebooks internal SSD because they are constantly archiving data to arrays of external or networked HD.
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    Slim USB3 1TB external hard drive
    External Hard Drives
    External hard drives are both extremely cheap and regardless of the size of your internal SSD (or even internal hard drive if the case), you need an external hard drive with your SSD equipped Macbook for several reasons:
    1. Data backup and protection.
    2. Redundancy for important data.
    3. Necessitated ideal space for large media files for collections of pictures, videos, and music etc.
    While ever changing in price, typical portable 2.5” external hard drives in USB3 run roughly $65 for 1TB or $120 for 2TB small portable USB3 hard drives. Such drives range in thickness between 5mm and 15mm, with recent improvements in storage of 500GB drives in 5mm profiles.
    There is almost no premise in which a small 12mm thick 1 Terabyte USB hard drive cannot be taken along with any Macbook as an external large storage extension inside any Macbook carry case or pouch. Typically such external HD profiles are not much bigger than a deck of cards.
    External hard drives are a foregone necessity for purchase with any Macbook for at the very least Time Machine backups, data redundancies, and ideally for large media storage.

  • How do I clean the fans on my 2011 macbook pro 13inch

    I have a early 2011 macbook pro 13 inch. It travels with me every where I go. I have had the computer almost three months now and have not had a problem with it.  Some how, debris got in to the fans. I am thinking it some how got sucked in to one of the intake vents. I hear it  (not often) ratteling when I move the computer or tilt it ECT.  It sounds like somthing is blowing around in the fan.  It is a scarry sound.  At first I thought it was the hard disk.   I know it is not the hard disk because I was listening to the computer  when it was making the sound and it is comming from the back end of the computer, nowhere near where hard disk is located. My question is, How do I clean/ remove the debris? should I be concernd?  other than that the computer runs normaly

    Personally, I wouldn't touch them directly.  Use a vaccum (don't use one of those compressed air cans) to vacuum out all the stuff/dust/hair/etc.  Do not try to remove them.  Do not try to shove a stick or something in it.

  • How can I clean my Mac Book Pro completely to hand it over to an other user ?

    How can I clean my Mac Book Pro completely to hand it over to an other user ?

    Follow these directions:
    http://www.thesafemac.com/how-to-prepare-your-mac-for-sale/
    Ciao,

  • How to completely remove mac os and install windows 7 on macbook pro with retina display 15 inch

    how to completely remove mac os and install windows 7 on macbook pro with retina display 15 inch

    There's not much sense in purchasing a Mac to run only Windows on it.  Keep in mind that drivers for Windows are a secondary concern for Apple.  While Windows will typicall run fine, things like power managment are not optimized under Windows (you'll get less time on battery while running Windows).  You will also not be able to install firmware updates.  Firmware updates might be necessary whether you run Windows or OS X as they are updates to the code in your hardware and are not OS-specific.  You must be running OS X in order to install a firmware update.  You can do this even if you boot off of an external drive with OS X installed on it.  At the very least, you should keep just a small partition for OS X on your internal drive. 

  • How do i clean spots on monitor of macbook pro with retina display?

    how do i clean spots on monitor of macbook pro with retina display?

    Light alcohol cleaners, like what you use for camers lenses, works.  Just do not have the soft cloth cleaning pad dripping wet ... dripping wet will allow fluid to get onto internal components.

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