Jun 08, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
Knowing how to restore Mac to factory settings comes in handy since you will essentially return the computer to the state it was in when you bought it. You must sign out of iMessage before restoring Mac to factory settings. Go to the message app and then follow this path. Another computer or the current hard disk drive.
For many users working on complicated software programs, tampering with the settings of their Mac can get tedious. There are instances after the installation or during the working of an application that the device begins to experience some trouble. While backing up of data beforehand is always advisable, it is not always easy to restore the Operating System.
With a few applications, chances are that you might end up tampering the core settings that include the hardware and software. Therefore, users tend to opt for factory settings that can get them back to square one without having to face much hassle. In this article, we are going to distance various aspects about soliutions: How to restore Mac to factory settings.
Part 1. Why Restore Mac to Factory Settings
The basic reason to restore Mac to factory settings is that over a long period of usage, the Mac gets too many data files and software junk files accumulated. While some of the files are use consistently, there are many files that are rarely or never used. However, the major issues lie in the space that is occupied by these files. This makes the system messy, slow, and often causes other applications to stop working.
When you restore Mac to factory settings, the following events occur:
- Data, software, applications, and files that have been stored on your device will be deleted.
- The modifications for Mac settings will be ended.
- The system will only be left with default apps and software programs.
- The OS X you have been working will be removed, only to be replaced by a fresh copy of the same software.
Users, after restoring their Mac to factory settings, are free to install the software programs that they wish to use. However, there is also a need to take the data backup before restoration Mac to its factory settings.
Part 2. How to Backup Data Before Restoring Mac to Factory Settings
In the following section, we will discuss the procedure to backup your critical data before you move on to restore your Mac to factory settings.
Create A Mac Restore Of Current Settings And Apps Download
In the following steps, we will take the backup by using Time Machine and an external hard drive.
![Create A Mac Restore Of Current Settings And Apps Create A Mac Restore Of Current Settings And Apps](/uploads/1/2/6/4/126406455/965768855.jpg)
1) One needs to have an external hard drive with sufficient storage capacity. Ideally, choose a hard drive with storage twice that of your Mac. We go for this precaution knowing how fast the space gets filled up.
2) The external hard drive must be connected to the Mac. This is usually done through a USB cable, Firewire, or eSATA.
3) It is important to format your external hard drive as that would ensure that the files are properly placed for a Mac in case of retrieval in the future.
4) The next step involves launching the Time Machine application. Fortunately, this comes with the Mac OS X. For the ones who can’t find it, it can be accessed through System Preferences.
5) Please designate your external hard drive as the Backup Disk for your Mac Data when there is a prompt through a dialog box.
6) You then have to turn the Time Machine On. The backup utility will automatically start backing up your Mac. You will need to allot, maybe, an overnight for the backup to take place. This usually depends on the amount of data you carry in your Mac.
7) One can also schedule frequent backups with the Time Machine. Conventionally, the Time Machine would backup your data hourly, unless you have made other customizations. Time Machine helps create incremental backups of the current state of the data stored on your Mac and this helps the user to go back in time and get back any missing file or data.
Part 3. Guide to Restore Mac to Factory Settings
There are a number of ways through which you can restore your Mac to its Factory settings. In the following section, we shall first discuss restoring your Mac from Recovery. This is the simplest method to restore your Mac to its factory settings.
1) Power on your Mac.
2) As you hear the startup sound, hold the Command and R keys on your keyboard.
3) Once the Apple logo appears on your screen, you can release the keys.
4) You can either connect your Mac to the internet using an Ethernet cable, or, when prompted, select the specific WiFi Network.
5) Once the recovery menu appears on your screen, you can opt for the option of installing OS X.
6) You are now required to follow the onscreen prompts and select your destination disk and complete the installation for OS X.
Through these steps, you can reinstall the latest version of OS X that you had previously been using on your Mac. For the ones who are looking to restore Mac to its factory settings using the same version of OS X, they must hold Command-Option-R at startup instead as this starts the Mac from Internet Recovery.
Part 4. How to Recover Lost Data after Factory Settings
Now, the next issue that we all face is to restore our data after we have successfully manager to restore our Mac systems. While users might be confused between quite a few third-party applications that promise to achieve this functionality, there are not many that can get the job done. Therefore, we take this section to discuss Recoverit Data Recovery for Mac specially designed for the Mac Users.
For the ones looking for tedious and complicated methods, we recommend some other Mac data recovery software.
Here are the steps to help you restore your data with Recoverit Data Recovery for Mac:
Step 1 Launch Recoverit Data Recovery for Mac, go to select a hard disk drive where your data lost. Click 'Start' button to process.
Step 2 Recoverit data recovery will start to scan your hard disk drive, it will take a little time to search your lost data from computer.
Step 3 After deep scan, you can preview the recovered file and click 'Recover' button to save another safe storage device.
Restoring your Mac to its factory settings is not difficult. What matters is how you manage your data in the entire process. Using Time Machine, you can take a backup. But if you use your data before that due to application bugs, errors, and unforeseen shutdowns, you have the luxury of Recoverit Data Recovery for your device. Download it and recover lost files within 3 steps.
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May 12,2020 • Filed to: Mac Recovery • Proven solutions
“How do I reset my Mac so that I can sell it? I wish to restore Mac OS x system to completely wipe my data off the Mac and return it to its original state. My question is, how do I do a system restore on a Mac computer?”
Plenty of reasons can make you reset a Mac. Maybe, after years of use, you are finally ready to sell it or give it away. And for security reasons, you know it isn`t enough to delete your files and call it a day before handing your machine off.
For extra security, you find it comfortable to restore your Mac to default settings. And completely wipe all personal data on it. And that`s true, the safest way to resolve your data-privacy worry is to system restore your Mac.
The System Restore attribute undo changes you`ve made on your Mac. However, you might not know or be sure of how to execute the Apple system restore.
But here is the thing: It is not complicated to restore Mac OS. And this step-by-step guide will walk you through the entire process.
Part 1: First and Most Important: Backup Your Mac before System Restore
Like the many of Mac users, plenty of essential files reside in your machine storage device. And serious repercussions would follow in case of losing the data.
But here`s the good news: You don’t have to lose your crucial data. Instead, you can back you Mac first before you system restore it. And there are 2 reliable ways to back up your Mac:
- Use Time Machine to Backup your Mac
- Backup your machine to an Online Backup Service
Let`s dip our feet a little deeper into each of these.
1.1 Use Time Machine to Backup Your Mac
Mac has the ease to harness functionality to meet plenty of computing needs. And for backup, Mac presents Time Machine—an outstanding backup utility that quickly takes a quality backup of your system data recovery.
Step-by-Step Guide to Backup Your Mac Using Time Machine
Step 1 Connect your storage device to Mac and format it as Mac Os Extended (Journaled) Disk.
Step 2 After connecting your storage device, Mac will ask you if you want to use the storage device to backup with Time Machine. Time Machine will then present an option to encrypt your backup (recommended) before advancing to “Use as Backup Disk” option.
Suppose your computer doesn`t automatically recognize your drive, head to Time Machine, and manually add your disk as a backup target.
Step 3 Once you`ve successfully selected the backup disk, Time Machine will instantly begin creating a backup and will take some time depending on the number of your files.
And that’s all with Time Machine. It is super simple.
Now let`s move to the second alternative to back up your data.
1.2 Backing up Your Mac on an Online Backup Service
Online backup is a modern way of safeguarding your data to the cloud. It comes with 2 prime advantages that override the traditional backup method:
- It requires no physical storage. Instead, you`ll use the service provider storage online.
- You can access your backup anytime regardless of where you`ll be so long as you have a network and a computer with you.
And there are several options to choose from. But let`s consider the frequently used and well-founded options.
i. iCloud
To use iCloud, you need an Apple ID and a password which give you a free 5 GB cloud storage. You can then create folders on your iCloud drive and manually copy your files to the cloud location.
However, 5 GB might not be enough to backup all your data. But iCloud presents the option to expand your storage capacity using their paid option. Their offer starts from 50 GB at $0.99 extending to 1 terabyte at $9.99 a month.
Apart from iCloud, another reliable cloud storage giant is Google Drive.
ii. Google Drive
It is similar to iCloud, but only offers a much bigger free storage of 15Gb. Like iCloud, you`ve got the freedom to upgrade depending on your space need. Their cloud space storage starts from 100 GB at $1.99 and stretches to 1 terabyte at $9.99 a month.
iii. Dropbox
It is another alternative to backup your data. Signup gives you a free space of 2gb. And if 2Gb is not enough to back up your Mac, you can upgrade to 1 Terabyte space which will cost you $9.99 or 2Tb at $19.99 a month.
Part 2: Sign Out of Apps
Now that you`ve back up your data, the next thing to securely restore your Mac is to sign out of apps. Start with turning off the File Vault.
2.1 Turn Off File Vault
Step 1 To turn off File Vault, head to “Apple menu” and select “System Preference.”
Step 2 Then click security and privacy.
Step 3 Under the “Security & Privacy” window, click on the “File Vault” tab.
Step 4 Then click the “Lock” button and enter the administrator name and password.
Step 5 And select the “Turn off File Vault” option.
Step 6 A screen will pop up asking you to Restart & Turn off Encryption. Select the option, and your Mac will restart.
When your computer switches on again, the window will show you File Vault decrypting. It will pause and ask you to connect a charging cable.
2.2 Sign Out of Email
Signing out of email deletes all the setting in the email account and remove all associated with the Mail app in Mac.
- To sign out, pull down the Apple Menu, and select system preferences
- Then select the “Internet Accounts” option
- Choose the email account that you want to delete
- Hit the delete key on the keyboard or click at the [-] button
- A screen will pop up, asking you to delete all the information associated with the email. Press the “Ok” tab, and your email account will vanish from the Mac
2.3 Sign Out of iMessage
- To sign out of iMessage, launch the Message app on your Mac
- On the Message menu, click Preference, on the left-hand pane, click the account you want to Sign Out and press the “Sign Out “option next to your Apple Id
- In the pop-up window, click “Sign Out” to move ahead.
- Uncheck the box of the “Enable this Account” option
2.4 Sign Out iTunes
- Go to iTunes
- On the top of the iTunes window, select and click on the “Account” option
- Then press the “Sign Out” button
2.5 Signing Out of iCloud
- Head to Apple menu
- Go to system preference
- Click iCloud
- Then press Sign Out
After signing out of all apps, you are safe to head to the next step of system restoring Mac.
Part 3: Securely Wipe Out Your Hard Drive
Now that you`ve successfully backup all the crucial data, and log out of your apps, it is time you permanently wipe out personal data from the hard drive. And there is a far less destructive way to ensure that your data is gone for good.
Let`s start from the bases: Which type of Hard Drive Do You Have?
Before wiping out your Hard Drive, you need to know whether you have HDD or SSD. To find out or at least to make sure, head to the Apple Menu, and select “About this Mac” then select the “Storage” tab to see what type of hard drive you`re having.
For example, the picture below shows a HDD type of hard drive.
And this one shows a type of an SSD hard drive.
Let`s start with the HDD (Hard Disk Drive).
3.1 How to Wipe a Mac Hard Disk Drive?
Step 1 Switch off your computer
Step 2 Press the Power button
Step 3 Instantly, hold down the “Command” and “R” keys simultaneously
Step 4 Wait until the Apple Logo Appear
Step 5 Then select “Disk Utility” from the OS X utility lists and click “Continue.”
Step 6 Select the disk you`d like to erase by clicking it on its sidebar and Click the “Erase” button
Step 7 And head to “Security options.”
Step 8 The Security Option presents options on how thorough you want to clean your hard disk drive
The Security Option gives four notches sliders. The fastest option is quicker but insecure—a file recovery app could potentially rebuild your files. Moving the slider to the right unlocks more secure erasing. The safest level of the Disk Utility erases the information used to access the files on your disk, then write zeros across the disk surface seven times to help to remove any trace of what was there.
Step 9 Once you`ve chosen the level of the secure erasing that fits your needs, press the “OK” button
Step 10 Then click the Erase button to start wiping out your data.
When your Mac finishes, your hard drive will be clean and set for its next purpose.
But if you have the modern hard drive—SSD, here is how to erase your data permanently.
3.2 How to Safely Erase SSD (Solid State Drive)?
Most new Mac ships with SSD. In fact, only iMac and Mac mini ship with regular Hard Disk Drive any more.
If your Mac comes with SSD, Apple Disk Utility software won`t let you zero the hard drive.
Yes, when using SSD, Apple Disk utility lacks “Securely Erase” and “Erasing Free Space” option. You won`t need them as Standard Erase, which makes it complex to recover data from SSD.
So, let`s move to the fourth step of restoring Mac`s system.
Part 4: Reinstall Mac Operating System
Reformatting hard drive keeps it set for a new Operating System. Your Mac will start in Recovery mode. Starting on recovery mode ensures you install Mac Os and OS X without your computer asking you to sign in using Apple ID and Password.
Here`s how you`ll go about it.
Step 1 Restart your Mac.
Step 2 Start up from MacOS Recovery—hold down the Command and R keys simultaneously. Let go of the keys when the Apple logo appears. You`ll know you`re on recovery mode when you see the utility window below.
Step 3 Click reinstall macOS (or reinstall OS X) to reinstall the operating system that came with your Mac.
Step 4 Click Continue.
Step 5 Select your Hard drive (Apple SSD or something similar) when asked to select your disk. vi. Click the “Install” button to install the most recent OS that was on your computer. Your Mac will restart after the operating system has fully installed.
Do not close the lid or put your Mac on sleep amid the installation session. This will stop the installation process, and you`ll have to start over.
Bonus Tips: How to Recover Lost Data After System Restore
Suppose you forgot to back up your files—or maybe you assumed that System Restore would keep personal data, but instead, it deleted all. A professional data recovery tool will be handy—a tool like iSkysof Data Recovery for Mac.
Recoverit (IS) for Mac
Called-for reasons why Recoverit (IS) for Mac is the perfect choice at hand
- This software rescues data when you meet any data loss—recovering data from Mac, Memory cards, hard drives, among other storage devices.
- It is easy to use but powerful software that retrieves from both internal and external devices. Follow 3 simple steps to restore all of your lost data on Mac.
- Use it to recover data lost from any scenario such as from a system crash, operating errors, macOS reinstallation, among other cases.
- It doesn’t matter the type of file that you need to recover. This tool will successfully recover your audio, images, video and documents. Here is how to use it.
3,015,629 people have downloaded it
Recover Deleted Files by Recoverit (IS) for Mac:
Step 1 Select mode.
Run the software on your Mac and choose a mode that suits your need.
Step 2 Hit the start button to preview recoverable files
This tool gives you the liberty to select which data for recovery. Check all the corresponding boxes on all the files that need to be restored.
Step 3 Select the required files and launch the recovery process
As soon as the recovery process is launched, you should retrieve your files and save them for future purposes.
Conclusion
There are plenty of reasons why you`ll want to system restore Mac. You may want to give out your old Mac, sell it, or fix misbehaving Mac computer. Under these situations, wiping your Mac can be a necessary process. And Mac OS Recovery has tools at its disposal that allow you to check for problems with your Mac`s hard drive, reinstall Mac Os and restore from a Time Machine back. Tools that make it possible securely system restore Mac in case any need arises.