Wiping an old MacBook before selling

AJWNZ21 Said:

"Wiping an old MacBook before selling: I have just wiped my old MacBook before selling and have reinstalled OS X. How can I make sure it is definitely cleared of all my information? It is a MacBook air early 2015 with OS X Yosemite 10.10.5. Thank you."

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Verify this is no longer in iCloud and iTunes:

It is extremely important that you disassociate this from your apple account, prior to selling it.

I. iCloud:

Go To: appleid.apple.com. Log in an see if it is no longer associated to your Apple Account. Look under Devices and see if it is seen. Click on the devices to view each one's serial number. If it is no longer associated to your Apple Account, then you should be good from there. If not, then logbook in as a new set up, and then perform the reauthorizations and reauthorizations.

II. Verify this is Rid from iTunes

1. Open: iTunes, TV App, or Music app
2. Go to: Account menu
3. Select: View my Account...
4. Scroll to: Downloads and Purchases
5. Click: Manage Devices
6. Verify that this Mac is no longer in it.

A. Deauthorize it Through iTunes:

1. Sign Out: of iCloud and iTunes, and deauthorize this device it in iTunes.
2. Open: iTunes, Music, or TV app
3. Click: Account menu
4. Select: Authorizations
5. Select: Deauthorize this Computer...
6. Proceed from there as necesary

B. Sign Out of iTunes:

1. Open: iCloud and iTunes, and deauthorize this device it in iTunes.
2. Open: iTunes, Music, or TV app
3. Click: Account menu
4. Select: Sign Out

All the erasing does is reformat the drive and delete the disks directory it does not delete all the files on your mac,

it just arks all the files with a trash identifier so the files can be overwritten.

When you erased the Disk did you not see the Security Options button,

there are 4 levels to choose from the highest the most secure overwrites your data 7 times,

this can take several hours depending on the size of your disk.

If you sell your mac on to someone you do not trust or a disreputable firm then your data is at risk.

De-authorising just disassociates your AppleID from your mac.

You would need to either select disk o1 or OSX Base System before the Eject button becomes live.

When you installed Mac OS X Yosemite a Recovery HD is created, in order to Erase and or Securely Erase

your internal drive you would need to boot to the Recovery HD.

To do this restart your mac while pressing and holding the Command and R keys after a couple of minutes you

will restart to the Recovery HD. Select Disk Utility from the Utilities panel and press Continue.

Highlight the Apple SSD and click on Erase, now see if you can select Security Options.

AJWNZ21 Said:

"Wiping an old MacBook before selling: I have just wiped my old MacBook before selling and have reinstalled OS X. How can I make sure it is definitely cleared of all my information? It is a MacBook air early 2015 with OS X Yosemite 10.10.5. Thank you."

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Did you Deauthorize this?

If you deleted the hard drive and deauthorized it from your Apple Account, then nothing would be on it, that pertains to you.

What OS did you put back on the mac.

If it is Mac OS X Yosemite then Disk Utility should look like this.

If it is Mac OS X El Capitan the Disk Utility should look like this,

Please note that to get the Security Options button the Volume Untitled has been selected rather than the Disk (SanDisk Cruzer) which has been selected in the Yosemite Disk Utility screenshot above.

It would be helpful if you could share a screenshot of what you are seeing.

I also notice your internal drive is an SSD, I was working on the assumption your mac had a Fusion drive.

There is a train of thought that if an SSD has been erased the data that was on it is irrecoverable.

You may want to read this to either give you peace of mind or cause even further confusion.

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/269863/can-the-data-on-an-macbook-pro-ssd-be-recovered-after-formatting-using-disk-util

Interesting, it may well be that because it is an SSD you are not getting the Security Options,

Apple may have put in a measure to ensure SSDs do not get securely erased as they deem it unnecessary.

It is now up to you to wonder if your simple erase is really enough to protect your data or to decide whether

buying a new SSD and replacing the older one is the best option.

Does it become available if you highlight the Disk (251GB Apple SSD) and not the Volume.

Did you actually reinstall an OS onto the mac after erasing it.