I need to wipe the hard drive clean on MacBook Air, how do I do this?

I have a Macbook Air that I want to wipe clean. All the discussions I read talk about rebooting with disk, but Air does not have one?

Reboot the system, hold command-R to boot into Recovery Partition.
Then you can use the recovery system to re-format the partition that hold the main OSX, and re-install OSX using the internet link. That last part may take a bit of time.
See the two DiskUtility screens that will clear that partition. The multi-pass erase adds time, but makes recovery of your data extremely difficult. Note that until you hit the final "Yes, I want to erase it" button, all can be cancelled.

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How do I deauthorize my ibook G4 and wipe the hard drive clean?

How do I deauthorize my ibook G4 and wipe the hard drive clean?

Launch iTunes. From the menu bar click Store / Deauthorize This Computer.
(Mac OS X 10.4): Erasing a disk or volume
Or... Mac OS X 10.4): Erasing disks securely

I am having trouble erasing the hard drive in my Macbook Air

I am having trouble erasing the hard drive in my Macbook Air. When I enter Utilities and attempt to erase the buttons are frozen both security and erase

You need to restart with the Option key held down, boot from the computer's original thumbdrive(if any) or the recovery partition(10.7+), and erase the drive from there.
(71694)

Need to wipe the hard drive

I am selling my 2013 MacBook Air and i need to figure out how to wipe all my information from the computer before selling it.
Any help will be appreciated, im ready to slam this computer through a wall.

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.

How do I wipe the hard drive on my MacBook?

I just sold my circa 2008 MacBook and want to wipe the hard drive prior to handing it over to the new owner. It looks like I can do this using the disk utility. Is that correct?

Complete procedure for an Erase and Install of OSX Snow Leopard here Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard: How to Erase and Install
I assume that you bought the OSX Lion 10.7 Upgrade at the Mac App Store.
If so, then you can't sell it with your MacBook, since the license is tied to your own AppleID and not to the MacBook.
Stefan

How do I acces the hard drive on my Macbook air as a target with out firewire

My Macbook air boots to a blue screen. Can I connect to another Mac via USB or etherent to access the hard drive? I did a disk repair through the disk utility but that did not solve the start up issue.

Clone it using Carbon Copy Cloner. Here's the link:
http://www.bombich.com/
Then to move it to the MBair and boot the Air holding down the Option key between the startup tone and the Logo / pinwheel.
The boot manager will start and then select the external drive as the boot device.
First some qualifying questions:
1. What OSx release is on your other Mac.
2. What MBair do you have.
I want to make sure the OS you're going to clone is more recent then the OSx that your MBair originally shipped with.

How do I mount the hard drive of one Macbook Air onto another Macbook Air?

I did something funny to my Macbook Air (late 2009). However I have a brand new Macbook Air that I just took out of the box today.
I want to check the hard drive of the old MBA and remove some files as I filled up the hard drive by mistake while I was backing it up.
Whenever I start the old Macbook Air, it shows a blue screen. I can see Yahoo Widgets but the dock is off the screen.
How do I mount the HD of the old MBA? I have two USB ethernet dongles. I have an ethernet cord.
Can I simply connect them up via the USB ports? Will that mount the old MBA onto the new MBA?
I am in serious trouble because I don't have a backup. I wrecked the hard drive while I was doing a backup. I am trying to salvage whatever I have on the hard drive of the old MBA.
I think I can salvage a lot. I just can't see the Desktop of the old MBA when I start that computer up.
As my new MBA has 256GB I am going to try and mount the old MBA onto the new MBA and remove some files from there.
Can it be done like this?

Thanks for the reply. I was able to save the data on the Macbook Air whose HD got corrupted by using File Sharing (ethernet connecting two Macbook Airs).
I am also going to make a disk image of the HD using Disk Utility and mount that Disk Image onto an external hard drive. That way I can save the hard drive contents.

How can I upgrade the hard drive in my MacBook Air early 2014 11"?

i have a macbook air with a 128gb ssd drive and want to install a larger drive. where can I buy the drive from and how do I install it?

At the present time there are no third party PCIe SSDs available. Until some are produced for sale, the only alternative is to purchase a MBA with larger storage.
Ciao.

HT1338 erased the hard drive on my macbook air, when it starts up show a flashing folder unable to find wifi to do internet recovery

erased the harddrive on my macbook air when it starts up show a flashing folder unable to connect to wifi to do internet recovery

Reboot holding command and r keys down to boot into Lion Recovery
How to reinstall just OS X or erase/install OS X
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents

I want to wipe the hard drive on my apple G4 powerbook clean. I do not have the original discs that came with the laptop. I do have the OS x 10.4 disc that I purchased. When I reinstall 10.4 will that disc also have itunes iphoto and safari on it.

I have an apple powerbook g4 running 10.3.9 which my daughter gave me. However all the installation discs were lost. I just purchaed OS x Panther for it. I want to wipe the hard drive clean to get rid of all of her personal information as I want to donate the laptop to a needy family. Do I need the installation discs or will the panther os x disc have everything that I need to wipe the hard drive clean and install panther. I do have an external hard drive.

Hello again,
Some of those applications you mention will not be on the recently purchased OS 10.3 Panther disk so you'll need to make a copy of them so you can restore them later.
Copy to your external drive;
iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes* and you may also have World Book 2003 depending what bonus software was installed when new. There may be other Non Apple applications you want to keep also.
*You could probably still get a download of iTunes but because it is such an old version, to save searching for it, make a copy of it while it is in front of you.
Everything else will be the 10.3 Panther disk including Safari.
Ideally with original disks, the process would be:
Insert your Install disk 1 into the drive and then Restart, and hold down the C key to take you to the installation windows.
Select your language, the start up Disk and choose Erase and Install.
At the point your registration process starts, abandon the registration, quit and eject the disk and switch of the computer.
This will allow the new user a freshly installed system, whereby they can complete the registration process themselves.
However...
But as you want to add back iPhoto and iMovie etc, you'll proceed to create an Admin account, in order to add back those applications, by copying them from the external drive back to the Applications folder. After doing that you are finished.
Instruct the new user can create their own Admin account, (more than one can exist) and thereafter deleting the first one you created.
This would achieve a fresh setup akin to the original.

Wipe my hard drive clean except for the OS whats the best way?

I need to wipe my hard drive clean except for the OS whats the best way?

From Kappy (note: with this method, you will need to update to the present OS version using the appropriate Combo Update from Apple Downloads.)
Boot from the OS X Installer Disc One that came with the computer. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities (Installer menu if using Panther or Jaguar) menu. After DU loads select the startup volume from the left side list then click on the Erase tab. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) then click on the Options button. Select the one pass Zero Data option and click on the OK button. Then click on the Erase button.
Note: You can skip the Zero Data option if you are not concerned about removing sensitive personal data from the hard drive. If you choose to skip this part of the process then it is possible for others to recover data from the hard drive. The Zero Data procedure will prevent others from getting access to your personal information.
This process will take 30 minutes to several hours depending upon the size of the hard drive. After formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Now complete the OS X installation. At the completion of the installation do not restart the computer. Instead just shut it off. The next user will be presented with the Setup Assistant when they turn on the computer just as it would if new out of the box.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/12364050?messageID=12364050#12364050

How do I Wipe the Hard Drive?

I want to get rid of an old iMac CRT that I have had since 2000 and need to make sure I wipe the hard drive clean of any personal information, etc. Are there any tried and tested methods to do this, short of removing it and destroying it with a hammer? Thanks

There are software solutions for wiping the drive, beyond Apple's utility that can reformat with a write zeros option. As for physically disabling the drive, you could remove the top cover and then the platters. A less invasive method of destruction would be to drill a few holes through the top cover and the platters. Depending on the capacity of the drive, you could reformat it, then remove it and use it for other backup needs. An IDE-to-USB adapter with power supply (about $15) enables use of the bare drive for quick connection to a USB port. The more expensive (about $30) option is installation in an external enclosure, but that would only be cost-effective if the drive capacity makes it worth the effort/expense.

How do I wipe my hard drive clean so I can sell my iMac G3?

I have an iMac G3 (model #5521) with OS 9 and need to know how to wipe the hard drive clean so I can safely sell it. I tried following the advice someone gave to an earlier post, but was unable to find the security screen for the Zero All Data option or even Disk Utility on the Installer menu for that matter. I have these discs: Software Install, Software Restore and Apple Hardware Test. If someone would be so kind as to walk me through the process step by step, I would greatly appreciate it. I know very little about Apple computers.

You need to boot to the Software Install CD-ROM that came with the iMac. To do so boot the computer off the CD-ROM by holding down the C key. Once it boots up open the Utilities folder displayed in the open CD-ROM window. Open Drive Setup. Open the Functions menu. Select the option labeled Options. In that window select the Zero All Data option checkbox. Open the initialization menu. Select initialization options. You want to make sure the iMac formats its hard drive in HFS+ or Mac OS Extended. Once you've selected all the initialization options click the Initialize button. It will then format the hard drive & check it for bad sectors. Then reinstall the Mac OS. Then it should be ready to sell.

How can I completely wipe the hard drive with out the Mac OS X disc? I don't need any of the info on the computer.

How can I completely wipe the hard drive with out the Mac OS X disc? I don't need any of the info on the computer.

You can't unless you have a bootable system on an external drive you can use. Otherwise, you need either the original disc that came with your computer or a retail copy of Snow Leopard DVD. The latter contains 10.6.3, so your model must be capable of booting from that or an earlier version of OS X.
You can purchase replacement discs from Apple:
Apple Store Customer Service at 1-800-676-2775 or visit online Help for more information.
To contact product and tech support: Apple - Support - Contact Apple Support.
You can purchase Snow Leopard through the Apple Store: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.). The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will be sent physical media by mail after placing your order.
After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store. Access to the App Store enables you to download Mountain Lion if your computer meets the requirements.

HT4848 Hello- My laptop needs the OS X recovery run. Can I download the software directly to a thumb drive without affecting my desktop unit? The Geek Squad said they need to wipe my hard drive and re-install the operating system. Thanks.

Hello- My laptop needs the OS X recovery run. Can I download the software directly to a thumb drive without affecting my desktop unit? The Geek Squad said they need to wipe my hard drive and re-install the operating system. Thanks.

They already damaged you Mac by fooling with the BootCamp partition without knowing what they were doing. I wouldn't suggest haveing them help you do anything.
Here is the article that describes the Recovery HD: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
First, see if you can boot into the Recovery HD. Restart and hold down cmd-r until you see the gray screen. It should boot into Recovery. If your Mac shipped with Lion or Mountain Lion, it will boot into Internet Recovery if it cannot boot into the Recovery HD on the hard drive.
They should have tried this at the store.

I need to wipe the hard drive clean on MacBook Air, how do I do this?

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