SO it is that time again when you are planning to change your old Mac with custom feature new Mac. It requires certain precautions to be taken before you actually hand over your old system to the new user. First, it requires clearing your Mac from all personal data and information. To clear your Mac before selling it to the new user you can follow below-mentioned steps.
Backup your data: This should be the first step to follow when you decide to sell your Mac. Take a backup of all your necessary data and other files for future reference. You can take data backup in various ways like on external drives, another hard drive, iCloud servers etc. Time Machine backup is another effective way to take backup of your important data. To do this go to Apple menu > System Preference > Time Machine. Now turn the Time Machine slider ON and click on Select Backup Disk to select the disk you wish to use as a Time Machine backup drive. This way Time Machine will format your hard disk for backups and will start taking backup.
Sign Out of everything: The software you are using on your Mac is licensed to you except operating system on it. It means it should not be transferred to the new owner of your Mac. To avoid complications when the new owner tries to install new software you should sign out of everything from your system. This way you can keep your digital identity safe. To sign out from your various accounts you can follow below-mentioned steps.
To sign out from iTunes, open iTunes and click on Account in the Menu bar on the left side of your screen. Now click on Sign Out.
To sign out of iMessage, open Messages on your system. Now click on ‘Messages’ in the menu bar at the top left corner of your screen. Now click on Preferences from the drop down menu and select iMessage account and Sign out.
To sign out of iCloud, click on the Apple icon > System Preference (from the drop-down menu) > iCloud. Now Un-tick the box for Find My Mac and enter your System Password when prompted and click on Sign Out. Click on Remove data from this Mac when prompted.
Reformat Mac’s hard drive: Once you have taken the whole data backup and signed out from everything that might connect your old Mac to your personal information, it’s time to erase everything from your Mac’s hard disk by reformatting it. It is similar to cleaning your Mac with Mac cleaner apps or similar software. To do this, turn on or Restart the Mac and hold down Command + R key simultaneously after you restart your Mac. Hold these keys until you see the Apple logo. Now select Disk Utility in the Utilities windows and click on Continue. Next is to select your Startup disk (probably ‘Macintosh HD’ or similar), click on Erase from the buttons given at the top of the Disk Utility window. Now select Mac OS Extended from the drop-down list and click Erase. Once the process is complete select Quit Disk Utility from the Disk Utility drop-down menu.
Reinstall a clean Mac OS: Once you have reformatted your Mac it is good to go for clean OS installation. To do this, restart your system and hold down Command + R keys simultaneously until you see the Apple logo. Now click on Reinstall OS X or macOS to reinstall your Mac’s operating system. Hold down the Command + Q after the installation is complete.
You can follow these simple steps to clear your Mac for a new user. Providing clear Mac to a new user for use may avert situations like ‘startup disk is almost full’ to the new user. Where system starts creating issues due to over occupied disk space.
Summary: When you plan to sell your old Mac it requires to clean it first from all personal data and information. You can follow certain steps to clear your Mac before selling it. These steps are discussed in this article.
Author Bio:
Yogesh Sharma is working at Systweak Blog, as an SEO analyst and technical Content Writer. His forte of writing is ransomware, virus, windows and mac and he is keen interested in writing other technical blogs. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.