How to Reset My MacBook to Defaults
DANIELLE FERNANDEZ
TECH
A factory reset of your MacBook is recommended if you are transferring ownership of the computer, but it is also often effective for resolving complex hardware issues. The process completely restores the laptop to its factory, out-of-the-box settings and clears all data -- including software, files and preferences -- that you have saved on the hard drive. Before performing the reset, you should completely back up any personal files you wish to keep.
- Restore Using Recovery Disk Assistant
- Connect a removable storage device
- Insert a removable storage device
- Double-click the installer icon
- Enter your administrator user name and password
- Restart your MacBook
- Select Reinstall OS X and follow the on-screen prompts to restore your MacBook to its original factory-installed settings
- OS X Recovery
- Connect a removable storage device-2
- Restart your MacBook-2
- Select Reinstall OS X
- Follow the on-screen
- Removable storage device with at least 1 gigabyte of available space
1 Restore Using Recovery Disk Assistant
2 Connect a removable storage device
Connect a removable storage device and back up any data you wish to keep for future use.
3 Insert a removable storage device
Insert a removable storage device -- for example, an external hard drive or flash drive -- and click "Download" on Apple's OS X Recovery Disk Assistant site (link in Resources).
4 Double-click the installer icon
Double-click the installer icon, agree to the installation confirmation screen and then select the removable drive and click "Continue."
5 Enter your administrator user name and password
Enter your administrator user name and password to authorize installation. Allow a few moments for installation to the removable drive to complete and click "Quit" when it is done.
6 Restart your MacBook
Restart your MacBook while holding down the "Option" key. Select the removable drive storing the Recovery Disk Assistant when presented with a list of available boot sources.
7 Select Reinstall OS X and follow the on-screen prompts to restore your MacBook to its original factory-installed settings
Select "Reinstall OS X" and follow the on-screen prompts to restore your MacBook to its original, factory-installed settings. When the process is complete, your hard drive will be completely devoid of any personal information, a state appropriate for ownership transfer or the reloading of backed up files.
8 OS X Recovery
9 Connect a removable storage device-2
Connect a removable storage device and back up any data you wish to keep for future use.
10 Restart your MacBook-2
Restart your MacBook and hold down "Command-R" during startup. Alternately, you can hold down the "Option" key while starting up.
11 Select Reinstall OS X
Select "Reinstall OS X" from the list of available restore commands.
12 Follow the on-screen
Follow the on-screen prompts to restore your MacBook to its original, factory-installed settings. When the process is complete, your hard drive will be completely devoid of any personal information, a state appropriate for ownership transfer or the reloading of backed up files.
- Information in this article applies to MacBook devices running OS X 10.8. It may vary slightly or significantly with other versions or products.
- Because a restoral completely wipes all digital content on your MacBook's hard drive, it is essential that you back up any files before committing to the hard reset. To do this, connect a removable drive and drag and drop any folders or files to it that you wish to keep.
- If your MacBook was originally purchased with OS X Lion or Mountain Lion installed, the external recovery drive can only be used on the system that created it. On the other hand, if you manually upgraded to Lion or Mountain Lion via the App Store, your external recovery drive can be used with any system that was similarly upgraded.
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