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Q: El Capitan: How do I securely delete a Time Machine backup from an old Time Capsule?

Just replaced a 2nd gen Airport Time Capsule with a 5th generation Time Capsule (mid-2013 model).

 

The Time Machine backup is in progress to the new Time Capsule.

 

When it finishes, what is the secure way to delete any traces of the backup on the old Time Capsule?  The goal is to clean it as if I were going to sell it.

 

Thank you

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Jan 3, 2016 2:18 PM

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Q: El Capitan: How do I securely delete a Time Machine backup from an old Time Capsule?

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  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jan 3, 2016 2:19 PM in response to sb15820
    Level 10 (270,190 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 3, 2016 2:19 PM in response to sb15820

    Secure Erase has been removed in El Capitan. To erase your old Time Capsule use Airport Utility to erase the drive.

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Jan 3, 2016 2:33 PM in response to sb15820
    Level 10 (104,968 points)
    Wireless
    Jan 3, 2016 2:33 PM in response to sb15820
    what is the secure way to delete any traces of the backup on the old Time Capsule?  The goal is to clean it as if I were going to sell it.

    Open AirPort Utility

    Select the old Time Capsule

    Click Edit in the smaller window that appears

    Click the Disks tab at the top of the screen

    Click Erase Disk

     

    Erase Disk 1.png

     

    In the next window, select the Zero Out option. This will replace everything on the drive with zeros

    Click Erase

    Screen Shot 2016-01-03 at 4.32.51 PM.png

     

    Allow 3-4 hours on average for the process to complete

     

    Once you have done that, click the Base Station tab at the top of the screen

    Click Restore Default Settings

     

    That will reset all the network settings back to new, out of the box factory defaults.

     

    Restore Default Settings.png