I need to reset my Mac to factory settings, can I do this without losing my data?

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jasondkite Author

Level 1

4 points

I need to reset my Mac to factory settings, can I do this without losing my data?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.2

Posted on Mar 25, 2022 3:09 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

picas

Level 7

20,859 points

Mar 25, 2022 3:16 AM in response to jasondkite

No, it will completely wipe your Mac. You need to:

use an external storage device to back up your files, or use Migration Assistant to move your files to your new Mac

as in the article.

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Answer 2

jasondkite Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 25, 2022 3:35 AM in response to picas

Won’t my data be backed up in the cloud? I’m not very computer savvy. During Covid we had to work remote, our group was using a Google Suite account, in order for me to be able to present and join discussions, changes were made to my computer. I had to go into settings and enable and disable things…my computer has not been the same since. Have tried on two different occasions to have this remedied by Apple! This computer is basically a paper weight, I feel a factory reset is my best option.

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Answer 3

ku4hx

Level 7

23,586 points

Mar 25, 2022 3:45 AM in response to jasondkite

Only if you have up-to-the-minute backups to restore your data . Erase is erase ... all gone!

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Answer 4

picas

Level 7

20,859 points

Mar 25, 2022 3:52 AM in response to jasondkite

It's up to you if you want to rely on iCloud (which isn't even a backup service, but a syncing service). If something goes wrong you need all your data on an external storage device to restore from.

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I need to reset my Mac to factory settings, can I do this without losing my data?

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