How to Erase Mac Using Disk Utility or without Disk Utility

Updated to Mac Disk Clean Tips by Amy on Jan 3, 2024 | Approved by Christian Cawley

Learning how to delete Mac for a new user or how to erase your Mac computer is very necessary since there is privacy everywhere on your Mac. It’s important to protect privacy. Here in the following, we’re going to talk about how to erase Mac using Disk Utility and Terminal. Besides, you can try iBeesoft iClear for Mac to clean up your Mac daily.

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Why did people want to learn how to erase Mac? It does not only mean how to delete Mac for a new user, but also for fixing problems or prevent risks.

There are basically 2 ways for built-in Mac to erase Mac. Check out the details below.

Quick Navigation
Part 1. How to Erase Mac Using Disk Utility
Part 2. How to Erase Mac Hard Drive Using Terminal
Part 3. How to Make Sure Mac is Fully Erased/Deleted
Part 4. How to Delete Mac Temp Files

Part 1. How to Erase Mac Using Disk Utility

If it is not clear for you how to delete Mac for the new user, and the only way is to follow the instructions for ensuring an appropriate response to commands. The procedure described here gives how to erase Mac using Disk Utility.

  1. Select the Apple symbol from the Mac screen at the top left corner and click the "Restart" button.
  2. Press and hold together the "Command" and "R" keys as soon as you hear the rebooting sound.
  3. macOS will load the Mac with the macOS Utilities screen. You will see the following screen from which you must click the "Disk Utility" option.
  4. You must select the internal drive of the Mac, which is usually named Macintosh HD. After then, click the "Erase" button.
  5. You will notice a small window emerge on the screen, asking you to choose the name and the file format. Input any name and select the Mac Extended or APFS format.
  6. Click the "Erase" button again to proceed to format the hard drive. Wait until the process is complete.
  7. After completion of the format, close the window and open the macOS Utility window. In the list, select the "Reinstall macOS" option.
  8. You can follow the instructions on the screen to set up and complete how to erase Mac using the Disk Utility option.

Part 2. How to Erase Mac Hard Drive Using Terminal

Besides using Disk Utility to erase Mac computer, you can also try Terminal. We present you with a simple procedure that helps you erase your Mac's hard drive with ease. Before starting with the actions, ensure that you have administrator rights or logged in as an administrator.

The process helps delete the content securely and free up space on the drive. Although it is not necessary, according to Apple, the process is tedious for using the Terminal. The Terminal is the command interface. You must reboot the Mac into the recovery partition and select the Terminal to launch the command interface.

Once launched, input the following to learn how to erase Mac using Terminal:

diskutil secureErase freespace VALUE /Volumes/DRIVE

The VALUE mentioned here is the number of passes that Mac uses to wipe content. You will use between zero and four, for which the number of passes is as follows:

Additionally, you must change the DRIVE to the drive letter or name of your drive.

Part 3. How to Make Sure Mac is Fully Erased/Deleted

Learning how to erase Mac is a simple procedure. It’s better to help you understand whether there is any data left. The best method to ensure that there is no data left is to use iBeesoft Data Recovery for Mac, and with its help, you can check whether the hard disk on the Mac has any files. If the software shows any content, you must use a file eraser to delete the files again.

iBeesoft Data Recovery for Mac is professional software that helps scan lost or deleted content. It supports over 200 file types, covering almost all the files you use on a Mac. By using it, you can see whether the file erasing is succeeded or not. Here are the simple steps to prove it.

  1. Download and install the software on your Mac.
  2. Launch the software and keep all the file types selected. Click "Start".
  3. Next, select the hard drive on Mac you have erased. After then, click "Scan".
  4. Wait for the scanning process to finish. Scanning will take a few minutes. If there are any files, iBeesoft will arrange files according to the file type and organize them for easy access. You can select a folder to view the files present on the Mac hard drive. If there is no data found, it means you have successfully erased Mac.

Part 4. How to Delete Mac Temp Files

Learning how to delete Mac Temp files benefits in several ways. These include:

A better and recommended product to delete temp files on Mac is iBeesoft iCleaner for Mac. The program helps clean temporary files, improve performance, and protect the Mac user's privacy. It uses the latest technology and supports every file format for a clean wiping of the Temp files.

How to Use iBeesoft iCleaner for Mac to Clean up Mac

Download and install the software on the Mac. You can then follow the steps below to delete all the junk files on your Mac.

  1. After launching the program, click the "Start Analyze" button to check the amount of junk on your Mac collected in different categories.
  2. After completion of the scan, preview the junk collected in different categories. Select or unselect "icons" based on requirement and click the "Clean Junk" button to clean up junk from the Mac.