Back Up Important Data First
Before wiping your Mac, it is crucial to back up important files and data like photos, documents, music, email, and more. Losing this information would be devastating, so taking the time to properly back it up is a key first step.
The best way to backup a Mac is using Apple’s built-in Time Machine software. Time Machine allows you to back up everything on your Mac – your entire system, apps, accounts, settings, and all of your files – to an external hard drive or supported network location. It runs automatically and continuously in the background, keeping hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups prior to that.
To set up Time Machine, simply connect an external hard drive to your Mac, open System Preferences, click on Time Machine, and select the drive as your backup disk. The initial backup may take hours if you have lots of data, but after that, the incremental hourly backups are quick.
Once fully backed up with Time Machine, you can feel confident in wiping and reinstalling macOS, knowing your data is safely stored and can be easily restored.
Erase the Hard Drive
Before reinstalling macOS, it’s important to securely erase the hard drive. This will wipe all existing data and restore the drive to a blank state for a fresh start. macOS includes a built-in feature for securely erasing drives called Disk Utility.
According to Apple’s Disk Utility support page, when you erase a drive using Disk Utility it writes zeros or random data over the existing information to prevent recovery of deleted files. This is known as a secure erase and helps ensure all previous data is completely removed before reinstalling the operating system.
The benefits of a secure erase before reinstalling macOS include:
- Removes any leftover personal data or system files
- Helps protect privacy by making previous data unrecoverable
- Allows for a fresh install of macOS without outdated files
- Can help improve system performance by wiping corrupted data
So for a completely clean slate before reinstalling macOS, a secure erase is highly recommended. The Disk Utility app makes this process simple and secure.
Reinstall macOS
Reinstalling the Mac operating system is the best way to wipe your desktop and start fresh with a clean install. You can reinstall macOS from the Recovery mode or from a bootable USB drive.
To reinstall from Recovery mode, restart your Mac and immediately press and hold Command-R when you hear the startup chime. This will boot your Mac into Recovery mode. From here, select Disk Utility and erase your hard drive completely. Then proceed with reinstalling the desired version of macOS from the Recovery screen.1
Alternatively, you can create a bootable macOS USB installer drive. Download the desired macOS installer from the App Store. Then use the createinstallmedia command in Terminal to create the bootable installer on an external USB drive. Boot from this drive, erase your internal drive in Disk Utility, and proceed with a clean install of macOS.2
Reinstalling macOS completely wipes the hard drive and provides a fresh start with a clean operating system install. Be sure to back up any important data beforehand.
Restore Data
Once you have reinstalled macOS on your wiped Mac, you’ll want to restore your personal data and files. If you backed up your Mac using Time Machine before wiping it, you can easily restore your data from that backup.
To restore from a Time Machine backup, open the Migration Assistant application on your freshly wiped Mac. Migration Assistant will detect your Time Machine backup and allow you to selectively restore files, applications, settings and more from that backup. You can choose to restore your entire backup, or just specific components like your documents, music, photos, etc. For more details, refer to Apple’s guide on how to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from a Time Machine backup.
If you backed up certain folders or files manually before wiping your Mac, simply copy those folders or files back to your Mac from the external drive or cloud storage where you saved them.
Take the necessary time to restore your personal data and get your Mac configured back to your preferences. With your files and settings restored, it will start feeling like your own Mac again in no time.
Remove Old User Accounts
If you have old user accounts on your Mac that are no longer needed, it’s a good idea to delete them before performing a clean install. This will free up storage space and ensure only the user accounts you actually use are present after wiping your Mac. Here’s how to delete a user account on Mac:
On your Mac, click the Apple menu in the top left corner and select System Preferences. In the System Preferences window, click Users & Groups. Select the user account you want to delete and click the minus (-) button below the list of users. A dialog will appear asking you to confirm the deletion. Click Delete User to confirm.
Deleting the user account will remove the user’s personal files, settings, and other data from your Mac. Be sure to back up anything you want to save before deleting the user. According to Apple’s support article, you may need to enter an administrator password to delete certain users [1].
Once the user account is deleted, only your files and data will remain on the Mac. This helps give your Mac a fresh start when you reinstall the operating system.
Clean Up the Desktop
A cluttered desktop can slow down your Mac and make it harder to find files. To clean up your desktop:
- Group related files into folders. For example, put all your documents into a Documents folder. Create separate folders for images, downloads, or projects. This makes everything easier to find.
- Use the Finder window’s sort options to sort icons alphabetically by name, date modified, size, kind, tag, or label. This keeps items organized.
- Resize icons to make them smaller and allow more to fit onscreen. Go to Finder > View > Show View Options and reduce the icon size.
- Enable Stacks to organize icon groups into piles. Go to Finder > View > Use Stacks.
- Adjust the Desktop spacing to fit more icons. Go to Apple Menu > System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver then drag the Spacing slider.
- Choose a simple desktop background in a solid color to keep it uncluttered and hide messy icons.
Taking a little time to tidy up the desktop helps you find what you need faster and makes your Mac feel new again.
Clear Browser Data
Clearing the browser data is an important step when resetting a Mac. This removes browsing history, cookies, cache files, and other trackers from apps like Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. According to 9to5Mac, here are some ways to clear the browser data:
In Safari, go to History > Clear History and Website Data. Select the desired time range to erase and click Clear History. You can also go to Safari > Preferences > Privacy to see and clear individual cookies. According to TrendMicro, this will wipe all browsing history and website data from Safari.
In Chrome, go to History > History and select “Clear browsing data”. Choose the time range, check cookies and cache files, and click Clear data. You can also manually delete Chrome’s cache and cookie files in the Chrome app folder.
In Firefox, go to History > Clear Recent History. Select the timeframe and check Cookies, Cache, Active Logins to clear them. Make sure to click “Clear Now” to apply the settings.
Clearing browser data helps ensure no personal information or browsing history remains on the reset Mac.
Uninstall Unneeded Apps
Over time, unused apps can clutter your Mac and take up valuable storage space. It’s a good idea to periodically review your applications and remove any you no longer need. Here are some tips for uninstalling apps on a Mac:
Open the Finder and navigate to the Applications folder. Review all the apps installed here and decide which ones to remove. You can drag unwanted apps directly to the Trash to uninstall them.
For apps installed via the Mac App Store, launch the App Store app and click on the Updates tab. This will show you a list of all your downloaded apps. Find any apps you want to uninstall and click the ‘X’ icon next to them. Then click Delete to confirm.
Some apps leave behind configuration and support files even after you delete the main application. Use a cleaning utility like CleanMyMac X to scan for and remove all traces of the apps you’ve uninstalled.
Deleting unused applications will free up storage space and reduce clutter on your Mac. It also prevents unwanted apps from using system resources in the background.
Update Software
Keeping your Mac’s operating system and software up to date is one of the most important steps you can take before wiping your old computer. Apple releases updates to improve security, fix bugs, and add new features to macOS. You should always install the latest OS and app updates before erasing your Mac.
To update macOS, go to the Apple menu and click System Settings > General > Software Update. This will check for any available updates to macOS and install them. It’s critical to get on the latest OS release, as older versions eventually lose support for security patches and new apps.
You should also check for app updates for any software you plan to keep using after wiping the Mac. Open the App Store app and click Updates to see if any apps need upgrading. Keeping apps up to date can fix compatibility issues and improve performance.
By updating your system software and apps beforehand, you’ll ensure maximum compatibility and security when you reinstall macOS on your wiped Mac. Your fresh OS install will start on the right foot with the most recent updates pre-installed.
Enjoy a Fresh Start
After spending the time to wipe your old Mac desktop and reinstall macOS, you can now enjoy a refreshed computer that feels like new. With clutter and outdated software removed, your system will run faster and more efficiently. Apps should launch quicker, files will open snappier, and you’ll experience less lag and beachballs.
By archiving and deleting unnecessary data, you’ve cleared out hard drive space for new projects and files. The clean desktop provides a blank canvas to better organize your work. And with a streamlined set of programs tailored to your needs, you’ll have a more focused, productive environment.
While wiping a Mac takes effort upfront, the renewed performance and simplicity is worth it. No longer hampered by years of digital bloat accumulation, you can get back to using your Mac the way it was meant to be used. After following the steps to clean reset your desktop, you’ll be left with a satisfied, refreshed Mac ready to handle your needs for years to come.