How to Erase and Reinstall macOS | Available on Sonoma

Erase and reinstall macOS:

Follow these steps: Choose Apple menu > Shut Down, then press and hold the power button until you see the “Loading Startup Options” message. Select the option, click Continue, and follow the onscreen instructions. In the Recovery app window, choose the version of macOS that you want to reinstall, click Continue, and then follow the onscreen instructions.

Are you selling your MacBook or getting rid of it for personal reasons? It's essential to wipe your Mac before doing so, as it likely contains a lot of personal data. You can't afford to overlook data deletion, as it's necessary. There are several ways to erase and reinstall macOS. But before you follow the steps below, here are four major reasons to wipe and reinstall your Mac.

Step 1: Back Up Your Mac to an External Hard Drive Ahead of Time

Before wiping and reinstalling your Mac, you need to back up your files. Thus, you can choose from two methods to backup Mac.

Option 1: Use Software to Backup Mac to External Hard Drive

The sleek design and great operating system of Mac computers have attracted millions of buyers. However, the information in your laptop is more important than the hardware. To protect your personal data in case of a crash or failure of your MacBook, you should know how to backup Mac without Time Machine.

There are many handy tools that can help you backup Mac to an external hard drive. One of the most efficient is the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Pro. This is a professional backup and recovery tool that allows users to back up files. With this backup software, you don't have to worry about further data loss. It will save a disk image that you can use to restore data from the backup later.

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Backup Your Mac and Never Lose Data

Back up and restore your MacBook/iMac without using Time Machine, iCloud, or an external hard drive.

You can now use this professional data recovery tool to back up your Mac following the tutorial below!

Step 1: Under Disk Clone, click Create Backup and then click Next. You can create an image file of the hard drive backup before data gets overwritten.

Step 2: Choose the internal drive you want to back up, then click “Create Backup.” If you're backing up to and restoring from an external hard drive, USB flash drive, or SD card, connect the storage device to your Mac before you begin.

Select the backup disk and click “Scan”.

Step 3: Choose a location to save the backup file, rename it if you want, and then click “Save.” It is not recommended that you save the backup file on the same storage device from which you plan to recover data.

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Option 2: Back up your Mac with Time Machine

If you restart macOS or your computer, this data will be deleted. So, before you proceed with erasing and reinstalling macOS, back up all your files. The easiest way to back up a Mac is with Time Machine. Follow these steps to back up your Mac:

Step 1: Connect the external drive to your MacBook.

Step 2: Click the "Apple" icon in the top-left corner of the screen.

Step 3: Choose System Preferences.

Step 4: Choose Time Machine.

Select “Time Machine Backup” and click “Next”.

Step 5: Click the “Select Backup Disk” option.

Step 6: Choose a drive and click “Use Disk.”

Step 7. Check the box next to “Back Up Now.” This should start backing up your Mac immediately.

You can also choose to back up all your important files to iCloud. Read the following paragraphs for a detailed tutorial on how to back up your Mac to iCloud:

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Backup Mac to iCloud | Restore Mac from iCloud Backup

macOS features unique backup software to ensure your important files are safe. Keep reading to learn how to backup your Mac to iCloud and prevent data loss. Read More >>

Step 2: Erase Your Mac in Two Ways

I was wondering how to erase your MacBook. There are two main methods: using the Erase Assistant or Disk Utility.

Option 1: Erase your Mac using "Erase Assistant"

If you're starting your Mac up for the first time, or getting ready to sell it, after using Erase All Content and Settings, your Mac appears with the Setup Assistant, ready to be set up like a new computer. Follow these steps:

The first step is to click on the Apple icon in the menu bar.

Step 2: Choose “System Preferences.”

If you're using macOS Ventura or later, select “General” in the sidebar, then choose “Transfer” or “Reset” > “Erase All Content and Settings.”

Select General, then choose the Transfer or Reset option:

Step 5: If you haven't already, back up your important data as described above.

If your data is backed up, tap “Continue.”

Clicking Continue will delete all data and media.

Step 8: Tap “Exit Apple ID,” then confirm by tapping “Erase All Content and Settings.”

Option 2: Erase your Mac using Disk Utility

If your Mac doesn't support Erase Assistant, you can use Disk Utility to erase your Mac instead. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of your Mac's screen, then select “Restart.”

Step 2: When you hear the Mac's startup sound, press and hold the "Command" and "R" keys.

Step 3. Wait a moment until the macOS Utilities window appears. Then, choose “Disk Utility.”

Select Disk Utility and click Continue.

4. Select your Mac's system drive, which should be labeled “Macintosh HD,” and click the “Erase” button.

Step 5: Choose the format "Mac OS Extended" or "APFS".

Step 6: Tap the “Erase” button, confirm your action, and wait for the formatting to complete.

Step 7: You can then reinstall macOS

Read on to find out how to reinstall your Mac!

Step 3: Reinstall macOS using either of two methods

If you want to reinstall macOS, there are two effective ways. You can reinstall macOS in MacOS Recovery Mode, or perform a clean install of macOS with a bootable installer.

Option 1: Reinstall macOS in Recovery Mode

Using Recovery is a painless way to reinstall macOS. Here's how to do it on an Apple Silicon Mac:

Step 1: Restart your Mac.

Step 2. Hold down the "Command" and "R" keys as soon as you see the Apple logo appear on your MacBook screen. Release both keys once the logo appears.

Press Command + R.

Step 3: In Recovery Mode, click on “Reinstall macOS,” and then click “Continue.”

Step 4: When the installer window appears, click the “Continue” button.

Step 5: Click “Agree,” and then select your hard drive in the next window.

Step 6: Choose "Install" to begin the installation process.

The steps to reinstall an Intel-based Mac are as follows:

Step 1: Use the Erase Assistant or Disk Utility to completely wipe your Mac.

Step 2: Click the “Restart” button on your Mac.

Step 3: Choose Apple menu > Restart, then hold down these keys: Option, Shift, Command, and R.

Step 4: Use “Command + R” to reinstall the latest version of macOS.

Step 5: In the Recovery app, choose Reinstall > Reinstall [your version of macOS] > Continue, then follow the onscreen instructions.

Option 2: Reinstall macOS using a bootable installer

If you want to reinstall the latest macOS Sonoma, you can also create a bootable USB drive to do a clean install of macOS Sonoma. The bootable USB drive will load differently on Macs with Intel chips versus Apple Silicon chips.

On a Mac with an Intel processor, you can reinstall macOS like this:

Step 1: Hold down the “Option” key as soon as you restart your Mac.

Step 2: Release the key immediately when you see a black screen with a bootable volume displayed.

Step 3: Choose the volume to use as your boot installer.

Step 4 Press the Up Arrow key or the Enter key.

Step 5: Choose your “Language.”

From the Disk Utility window, choose Reinstall macOS.

The steps to reinstall macOS on an Apple Silicon Mac are as follows:

Step 1: Turn on your Mac and hold down the Power button until you see the Startup Options window.

Step 2: Select the "Volume" with the bootable installer, then click "Continue."

Step 3: Follow the onscreen instructions when the macOS installer starts.

You can learn more about how to create a macOS Sonoma bootable USB in the following paragraphs:

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How to Create a macOS Sonoma Bootable USB ✨

If you've already installed macOS Sonoma, it's crucial to create a bootable USB for backup purposes in case of any issues with the operating system. Read More >>

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Step 4: Recover Your Data After Erasing and Reinstalling macOS

By using a reliable Mac data recovery tool, you can alleviate your concerns when you lose files after factory resetting your Mac or reinstalling an earlier version of macOS. Hence, we recommend using the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac utility as one of the best available Mac data recovery programs. The Data Recovery Wizard for Mac ensures that your data is restored to its pre-reinstallation state after a macOS reset. The main features of this data recovery software include:

• ✅Recover Files After Reinstalling macOS. You can retrieve lost files after using the Erase Assistant on your Mac.
• ✅Recover Formatted Hard Drive on Mac. You can still recover crucial files even after erasing your Mac disk in Disk Utility.
• ✅Data loss after reinstalling macOS is common. Use a tool to recover files after reinstalling macOS to get your data back.

It helps in file recovery through raw recovery, offline disk recovery, formatted recovery, inaccessible disk recovery, and so on. If you have created a backup using the tool earlier, you can restore from the backup using the steps mentioned below.

Step 1: When you're ready to recover data from the disk image, launch Disk Drill for Mac. Select “Disk Backup” in the sidebar and click “Recover” > “Next.”

Step 2: Locate the DMG file you just created, and click “Open.” If you saved the disk image to an external hard drive, connect that backup drive to your iMac or MacBook now.

Step 3. The tool will immediately start scanning, and you can filter lost files on the left pane. Select all the photos/documents/videos/email you want to recover and hit "Recover". You can save the files to your local/cloud or even restore them back to iCloud by clicking on the "Save" button.

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Regardless of the method you chose, your Mac should now be squeaky clean. You can start restoring your Time Machine files or selling your Mac if that's what you want. If you lost any files during the macOS reinstall, download the tool Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Pro!

Frequently Asked Questions About Erasing and Reinstalling macOS

Please refer to the following FAQ for instructions on how to erase and reinstall macOS:

1. Will reinstalling macOS erase everything?

Will reinstalling macOS erase data? Using macOS Recovery to reinstall macOS is a quick and easy way to replace a malfunctioning operating system. In theory, you could use a macOS reinstall to delete files or wipe a disk.

How do I erase and reinstall macOS Monterey?

All you have to do is boot into “Recovery Mode,” select your “Startup Disk,” click the “Erase” button, and then choose “Reinstall macOS Sonoma.” Click “Continue.”

How do I reinstall macOS on an Intel-based Mac?

Pressing Command-R allows you to boot into the macOS Recovery System from the built-in menu. This key combination also lets you use other utilities in macOS Recovery or reinstall the latest version of macOS that was on your machine. Pressing Option-Command-R boots into a network-based macOS Recovery.

4. Can I recover data from a Mac that has been erased?

Mac computers have a built-in backup feature called Time Machine that you can use to recover deleted data. Otherwise, you can use a tool like Data Recovery Wizard for Mac to retrieve data from a wiped Mac.