Restore your Mac to the original factory settings:

[Poison]

Hello ForumKorner!

This is my first tutorial on how to safely reset and restore your Macintosh computers and desktops to their original "out of box" settings.

This may help if you have recently received the computer or desktop from a relative, friend, or simply purchased a used Apple computer and you wanted to get the computer completely wiped clean.

Here is my in-depth 7-step process:​

Step 1: Clone your hard drive (Optional)

The process of resetting a Mac to factory settings gets rid of all your data from the Mac. obviously you should transfer data from your old Mac to a new one, but it’s worth making a clone of the whole hard drive and keeping it around for a while. The best way to do this is using a program like Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper along with an external hard drive. Choose your main hard drive in the source, and your external hard drive in the destination. Now click on Clone. This step is only required if you are moving YOUR information from an older Mac to a new one.

Step 2: De-Authorizing iTunes

You should deauthorize your computer from iTunes. This means that it will no longer be linked to your iTunes account. You can only use up to five Macs to play music and movies that are locked to your iTunes account, so you shouldn’t pass that on to another person. Open iTunes and click Store > De-authorize this computer. Enter your Apple ID and password and click De-authorize.

Step 3: Turn off FileVault

FileVault encrypts the files on your hard drive, and it’s better to turn it off before going any further (you'll be wiping the files soon so security shouldn’t be a concern). Open System preferences and click on Security & Privacy and FileVault. Check that it says FileVault is turned off the for the disc [main hard drive]. If not click on the padlock icon in the bottom left, enter your password and click on Unlock. Now click Turn Off FileVault.

Step 4: Disable iCloud

Open System Preferences and click on iCloud and tap on Sign Out Now. To remove all your personal data click on Delete From Mac (although you’ll be wiping the hard drive in the next step). This is just an extra precaution to deleting all of your personal information. Safety is never too high.

Step 5: Restart the Mac in Recovery Mode

First of all make sure you are connected to the Internet (open Safari and browse around). You need an internet connection to install Mac OS X. Restart the Mac by clicking on Apple > Restart and hold down the Option key until the Recovery Mode Utilities window appears.

Step 6: Erase the drive

Select Disk Utility and click on continue. Now choose your Startup Disk in the sidebar on the left, and click on the Erase tab. If you want to securely erase the drive choose Security Zero Data One-Pass. Click Erase to delete the hard drive. Note that this permanently erases all data on the hard drive so don’t do this unless you’ve cloned the drive or are happy to never have to get something from that drive again. When it’s finished exit the program by choosing Disk Utility and Quit Disk Utility.

Step 7: Select Re-install Mavericks and Install

Now click on Reinstall OS X and continue. This will download and install a blank copy of Mac OS X Mavericks on the Mac. Do not enter your Apple ID and password though, and setup Mac OS X: allow the person to finish the setup process themselves. Once you have finished the setup, then you can finish it off by entering in all your information, and completing the switch with your copied materials.

And there you have it folks, your Mac tutorial on how to safely and quickly reset your Macintosh computers to factory defaults.

Credits: macworld​

 

[Phormick]

Nice tutorial Nicholas! You competing with @Deuce? lol ;P

 

[Poison]

Nice tutorial Nicholas! You competing with @Deuce? lol ;P

Haha! Not at all! @Deuce is my bae.
I am simply just taking over the other part of the spectrum here with Macintosh, whilst he does Windows.

 

[Damian]

Haha! Not at all! @Deuce is my bae.
I am simply just taking over the other part of the spectrum here with Macintosh, whilst he does Windows.

This is my section, back off..
Kidding, nice tutorial babe, I'm sure it'll help a lot of users.

 

[Poison]

This is my section, back off..
Kidding, nice tutorial babe, I'm sure it'll help a lot of users.

We can run this section together.
Maybe even have a computing group together
Maybe, just maybe...

 

[Sapphire]

Great tutorial @"Poison". You should be able to get the Tutorial Award for this.

I can vouch that it works because I did this to my MacBook like a week ago.

 

[Poison]

@Mac - Thank you.

I appreciate the read guys. If you have any other issues, let me know.

 

[Sapphire]

No problem man! I'm glad to know we have a community filled with such nice users. :smile:

 

[Poison]

Bumping this for everyone to see this tutorial.
Hopefully you can Bookmark or Favorite this for quicker access.

 

[Michael]

Err what if your Mac isn't turning on?

 

[Earl]

Beautiful tutorial, I hope to see more from you in the future.

 

[Poison]

Err what if your Mac isn't turning on?

Have you tried turning it off and then turning it back on again?

If not, then I would try hitting it with a hammer. That always works.

 

[Miles]

Have you tried turning it off and then turning it back on again?

If not, then I would try hitting it with a hammer. That always works.

VOUCH, this method has worked for me 10/10 times. If hammer does not work though, you probably aren't hitting it hard enough.

 

[Michael]

Have you tried turning it off and then turning it back on again?

If not, then I would try hitting it with a hammer. That always works.

Like, it literally is not turning on. I was hoping you knew how to do it with it not being able to turn on.

 

[Poison]

Like, it literally is not turning on. I was hoping you knew how to do it with it not being able to turn on.

Ok, I have your solution here:

What you need to do is you need to reset the SMC (System Management Chip) inside of the computer. That chip is what controls all electric components of the computer; (screen, keyboard, microphones, ports, etc...). To do this, you need to plug your power brick into an outlet you know has power going to it (may sound stupid, but this happened to my Mac at one point where the outlet was the problem). When you plug your Mac into the power brick, you need to press these buttons simultaneously: shift + control + option + command + eject + power button. You should hear your computer click from the inside, as if you turned your computer on and off really quick. Then your charging light should flash green, then red (to charge the computer). This should then reset the component that allows electricity to flow into your Mac. If this does not work, let me know what Mac you have so that I can go further into your problem.

 

[Michael]

Ok, I have your solution here:

What you need to do is you need to reset the SMC (System Management Chip) inside of the computer. That chip is what controls all electric components of the computer; (screen, keyboard, microphones, ports, etc...). To do this, you need to plug your power brick into an outlet you know has power going to it (may sound stupid, but this happened to my Mac at one point where the outlet was the problem). When you plug your Mac into the power brick, you need to press these buttons simultaneously: shift + control + option + command + eject + power button. You should hear your computer click from the inside, as if you turned your computer on and off really quick. Then your charging light should flash green, then red (to charge the computer). This should then reset the component that allows electricity to flow into your Mac. If this does not work, let me know what Mac you have so that I can go further into your problem.

Did not work, unfortunately.

I'm pretty sure it's a Macbook Pro Mid 2009, 15".

 

[Poison]

Did not work, unfortunately.

I'm pretty sure it's a Macbook Pro Mid 2009, 15".

The only other option I would have to say is that the battery has to be disconnected from the computer, and then plugged back in. That may work, but otherwise, I would keep trying to reset the SMC while you have it plugged in.

But I am pretty sure it has something to do with the battery in this type of issue. I would get that replaced, which is a simple fix.

 

[Michael]

The only other option I would have to say is that the battery has to be disconnected from the computer, and then plugged back in. That may work, but otherwise, I would keep trying to reset the SMC while you have it plugged in.

But I am pretty sure it has something to do with the battery in this type of issue. I would get that replaced, which is a simple fix.

How would I go about taking it out and putting it back in? I know nothing of this stuff and there's no chance I am going to Apple.

My laptop is already on 100%.

 

[Poison]

How would I go about taking it out and putting it back in? I know nothing of this stuff and there's no chance I am going to Apple.

My laptop is already on 100%.

I believe the '09 models are still the unibody style
So in this case:

Flip the laptop over, and find a phillips screwdriver that can fit the small screws. Take them all out, and then you should be able to take off the bottom shell of the computer. The battery is the longest black bar on the top of the body. There should be a wire that connects to the motherboard circuit in which you could just unplug, then re-plug it in.

Edit: use this.

 

[Michael]

I believe the '09 models are still the unibody style
So in this case:

Flip the laptop over, and find a phillips screwdriver that can fit the small screws. Take them all out, and then you should be able to take off the bottom shell of the computer. The battery is the longest black bar on the top of the body. There should be a wire that connects to the motherboard circuit in which you could just unplug, then re-plug it in.

Edit: use this.

Unfortunately this also didn't work.