Need to Erase MacBook Pro running older OS, 10.15.7 Catalina. And I have FileVault turned ON. Do I first need to turn OFF FileVault or NO???? After that, what's the best method for preparing that computer to be recycled at an Apple Store??? thanks...
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: Turn off File Vault before deleting all data??? And how best to delete all data on an older MacBook Pro...
Earlier Mac models
You don't have to do anything specific with FileVault.
Leave it on.
What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support
Check the section titled "Before you begin".
And then follow the steps at "If you can’t use Erase All Content and Settings"
You don't have to do anything specific with FileVault.
Leave it on.
What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support
Check the section titled "Before you begin".
And then follow the steps at "If you can’t use Erase All Content and Settings"
Robert Paris wrote:
Does this erase from "Recovery" mode have a decent track record of working to completely erase the internal drive??????
If Filevault is enabled and the encryption process has finished, then erasing the drive as described by @D.I. Johnson in the previous post will destroy the Filevault encryption key leaving the data on the drive inaccessible. The key is Filevault encryption process finished & did not stall out.
because my fear is if something stops short where I no longer have a bootable computer but also don't know the state of the OS on the computer. As likely you can tell I tend to overthink most things... Even have the T-shirt... lol...
After using Disk Utility to erase the internal drive, you can quit Disk Utility and select the "Reinstall macOS Catalina" option to put a clean OS onto the internal drive. When you are presented with the Setup Assistant screen after installation to configure the "new" OS, just select "Shutdown" from the Apple menu (you may first need to select the language before Shutdown becomes an option).
More curious than anything, if I walk in with a MacBook Pro with a "cleaned" internal drive and no OS on the machine, what would a person do if they wanted to use it again and install a new OS. Connect a DV drive and load the OS from there???
They can use Internet Recovery Mode (Command + Option + R) to attempt to access the online macOS installer, or if they have access to another compatible Mac, they can create a bootable macOS USB installer for an OS that is compatible with both the erased Mac and the host Mac.
FYI, the last version of macOS with a release on DVD was 10.6 back in 2010. The 2012 Macs only had access to local Recovery Mode at first, then later a firmware update was released that gave them access to Internet Recovery Mode.
Robert Paris wrote:
1. OK, so I have two MacBook Pro's (both Intel), one that I bought in 2013 (macOS 10.15 Catalina) and the 2nd in 2017. (macOS 12 Monterey)..
I want to be able to walk the two old Macs into an Apple Store, ask for no money as I think they would be worth nothing, and simply as them to recycle them... But I want to be sure my data is all deleted as best as possible...
You've told me above to leave the FileVault ON (it's ON on both of those old Macs)... But...
Do I just want to use disk utility and how would I delete the main data disk if I'm booted from that computer?? Or do I have to use something like Target Disk or whatever it's called that I've never used???
You must boot into recovery mode to erase the internal startup drive.
As our friend, @HWTech, noted, once you've booted in recovery you'll need to launch Disk Utility and click View > Show All Devices so that you can select the Internal drive device and erase it.
You do not need to do anything with FileVault and you do not need to reinstall macOS for a computer that is going to be recycled.
2. Or do I instead boot the computer in "Recovery" mode and do what, reinstall the OS and will it know which one to put on???
To erase the internal drive, yes, you must restart the Mac in recovery mode.
But, again, you do not need to reinstall macOS on a Mac that is going straight to be recycled.
The link I provided in my first post contains the guidance for erasing the Intel Mac.
I've used Macs forever but as you can tell done very little of this sort of clean and recycle work... I see in the newer OS's where you can delete all your data from a system command but not on these older Intel based machines...
Sorry for not knowing what I'm doing but please help me know what to do to clean the machine the best way possible such that I can hand these over to Apple and know that the data is deleted as best as possible... thanks...
You're welcome. 🙂
Robert Paris wrote:
...
So there's the drive and then there's the DATA on the drive... If I choose to delete from Disk Utility, which should I choose ??? Would the top level disk get it all??? Or should I choose Data??? If you can, offer a refresher on the APFS system and why there is a disk and then a DATA disk beneath that??? And if I delete all the data successfully, would I then be able to come in and reinstall an OS...
The first thing you must do is, in Disk Utility, select View > Show All Devices. Only then will you see the internal drive device, the ...Media, and have the ability to select it. That drive device is what you must erase. Macintosh HD and Macintosh HD-Data are volumes, not devices.
In your previously posted image the drive device is TOSHIBA....Media.
Choose the ...Media, then select Erase. In the pop-up window that opens, select GUID as the scheme, select APFS as the format and name the drive Macintosh HD. Then click the Erase button and let disk Utility do its thing.
When that is done, you can quit Disk Utility and move on to installing the OS.
And if I did go into Disk Utility and choose "Reinstall Mac OS" does that require an internet connection which I would trust would be removed after deleting all the data on the disk?? That 2013 Mac, by the way, currently can still access my home network... But after deleting all the data??? thanks for all the help!!!
Disk Utility doesn't reinstall the OS.
You will select Reinstall macOS from the choices on the macOS Utilities screen.
Yes, it does require an internet connection.
No, the connection is not removed when you erase the data on the disk, though you might have to select your wi-fi network and enter your wifi password again if you shut down the Mac before you reinstall the OS.
When you select Reinstall macOS, you will be prompted to select a drive to install the OS on. You will select Macintosh HD and follow the prompts to conclusion.
@D.I. Johnson has you covered.
One additional note when using Disk Utility to erase an Intel Mac. With an Intel Mac you can just select the physical drive to erase. However, in Disk Utility you will need to click "View" and select "Show All Devices" before the physical drive appears on the left pane of Disk Utility. Doing this won't require unlocking Filevault.
Robert Paris wrote:
Was finally able to get the ordest of three Macs, one where I believed the hard drive was bad, to boot into Recovery Mode. ...
Any thoughts on what I might try next??? Can get into Recovery mode on this 2011 MacBook Pro with the battery charged to about 80% and with NO NETWORK connection... Thoughts??? thanks...
After rereading the thread, and per your original post, it's my understanding that your goal here is to recycle these old laptop Macs.
To that end, with this 2011 MacBook, you could simply unscrew the bottom panel, remove the drive and destroy it with a hammer. Then drop the carcass off at Apple or at your local e-waste recycler.
As for the other two, honestly, if you aren't a high-level government or corporate manager or a spy with a trove of classified documents stored on those drives or another such high-visibility target which would be worth the time, effort and expense for someone to try to recover that data, then I think you can safely drop those off at Apple for recycling too. You're expending a decent amount of time and effort on devices that are ultimately going to be shredded.
If you really feel you must be absolutely certain there is no recoverable data on those other computers, you can google for teardown guidance specifically for the storage device in each model and then dig into them to remove the drives and destroy them. ifixit.com and macsales.com both have teardown guidance for numerous Mac models.
Or you can simply trust that Apple will do the right thing and recycle them properly as is. Drop them off and be done.
The computers will be recycled, not reused.
Robert Paris wrote:
Got it... Thanks D.I. Johnson... I've booted the older of the two Macs discussed into "Recovery" mode and seen what's there but so far have done nothing other than look and leave...
Does this erase from "Recovery" mode have a decent track record of working to completely erase the internal drive?????? because my fear is if something stops short where I no longer have a bootable computer but also don't know the state of the OS on the computer. As likely you can tell I tend to overthink most things... Even have the T-shirt... lol...
Disk Utility works in recovery mode just as well as it does when the Mac is normally booted. Erasure is thorough. The fact that FileVault has been in use is a plus since without the decryption key any data is just so much garbage. Wiping the drive will only take a minute.
More curious than anything, if I walk in with a MacBook Pro with a "cleaned" internal drive and no OS on the machine, what would a person do if they wanted to use it again and install a new OS. Connect a DV drive and load the OS from there???
If you take a computer to an Apple Store for recycling, then that is exactly what will happen to the device. It will be dismantled, maybe shredded, and recycled for material recovery. It will cease to exist and will not be available for another person to use.
...Thanks again for your help... Much appreciated...
You're welcome.
Robert Paris wrote:
... My one question for you here is what can you say are the 4 media representations that I see in Disk Utility for this 2011 MacBook Pro. I assume the Toshiba is the main 750 Gbyte hard drive... But what is the "MAC OS X Base System" I see beneath that drive and under the Apple Disk Image as well??? And then what is the "Apple Disk Image"??? Is that what allowed me to boot the computer into Recovery Mode??? Is that what Apple stores somewhere that allows one to boot a computer like this even if the hard drive is bad??? thanks...
Yes, the Toshiba drive is the main boot drive. Typically it has a volume on it named "Macintosh HD" that is used to home the OS and user files. Obv yours appears to have a volume named "OS X Base System". This is very unusual, and in this case likely irrelevant. Just another volume to be erased.
If you want to give another go at erasing the internal drive, it is the TOSHIBA MK755... device that you would select and then click erase. If the drive is functioning, this would start the process.
Yes, the other, a disk image, is what the old Mac turns to when booting into recovery mode. It is a read only image and there is no interaction ever allowed to the user. It is immutable and ever present.
OK, so I have two MacBook Pro's (both Intel), one that I bought in 2013 (macOS 10.15 Catalina) and the 2nd in 2017. (macOS 12 Monterey)..
I want to be able to walk the two old Macs into an Apple Store, ask for no money as I think they would be worth nothing, and simply as them to recycle them... But I want to be sure my data is all deleted as best as possible...
You've told me above to leave the FileVault ON (it's ON on both of those old Macs)... But...
I've used Macs forever but as you can tell done very little of this sort of clean and recycle work... I see in the newer OS's where you can delete all your data from a system command but not on these older Intel based machines...
Sorry for not knowing what I'm doing but please help me know what to do to clean the machine the best way possible such that I can hand these over to Apple and know that the data is deleted as best as possible... thanks...
Got it... Thanks D.I. Johnson... I've booted the older of the two Macs discussed into "Recovery" mode and seen what's there but so far have done nothing other than look and leave...
Does this erase from "Recovery" mode have a decent track record of working to completely erase the internal drive?????? because my fear is if something stops short where I no longer have a bootable computer but also don't know the state of the OS on the computer. As likely you can tell I tend to overthink most things... Even have the T-shirt... lol...
More curious than anything, if I walk in with a MacBook Pro with a "cleaned" internal drive and no OS on the machine, what would a person do if they wanted to use it again and install a new OS. Connect a DV drive and load the OS from there???
Need to buy a new Mac soon as my 2021 version is starting to show signs but I want to walk in there with these two MacBook pro's just to have them gone... So gonna step up my effort here shortly... Thanks again for your help... Much appreciated...
Was finally able to get the ordest of three Macs, one where I believed the hard drive was bad, to boot into Recovery Mode. This Mac, I can see, is NOT connected to the internet and won't be ever again. Of two possible le choices, I first asked it if it could macOS Sierra (it put that up, not me). When I said "continue" it said it needed to verify the Mac through Apple... But how could it possibly do that without any internet connection?? It's not even a functional computer so how would that EVER work??
I then asked it to just Disk Utility to erase the hard drive. It shows both the Toshiba (old spinning drive) 750 GByte internal drive (the one I would want to erase) with an "OS X BASE System" showing under that... Then there was also a much smaller (recovery partition maybe??) under Disk Images called "Apple disk image" and under that, again, "OS X BASE System". I only tried erasing the the Toshiba drive but no matter what I entered, the moment I would ask it to erase it would immediately put up "Erase Process has failed", within one second of clicking to start the erase process...
Sadly, this is what I expect from things I don't understand all that well... And then put me up against a world full of people who know even less that me and you get the idea of why I truly dislike trying to deal with these end of life computers...
Any thoughts on what I might try next??? Can get into Recovery mode on this 2011 MacBook Pro with the battery charged to about 80% and with NO NETWORK connection... Thoughts??? thanks...
Hi... Thanks for endeavoring to help me with this task. I spoke previously about wanting to recycle TWO old MacBook Pro's, one from 2013 and one from 2017. But there was actually a 3rd, from 2011, that I was just playing with a couple days ago (believed and still believe its hard drive is corrupt) when I was able (finally) to get it to boot into recovery mode... That Mac is just for trying to learn as I do intend to take the back off that Mac and remove its discreet, spinning hard drive, destroy that drive and then hand the rest of it over to Apple... But while I had it in Recovery Mode, I chose to see what, if anything, I might be able to learn... As I said above, any attempt to "erase" the hard drive instantly failed (within 1 second)... So that was that... My one question for you here is what can you say are the 4 media representations that I see in Disk Utility for this 2011 MacBook Pro. I assume the Toshiba is the main 750 Gbyte hard drive... But what is the "MAC OS X Base System" I see beneath that drive and under the Apple Disk Image as well??? And then what is the "Apple Disk Image"??? Is that what allowed me to boot the computer into Recovery Mode??? Is that what Apple stores somewhere that allows one to boot a computer like this even if the hard drive is bad??? thanks...
Got it, thanks... Gonna deal with that old (spinning disk) Mac later and separately. Enough learning on it... So now I've moved to the next MacBook Pro, a 2013 model that I can still boot fully and also, just now, booted up in to Recovery Mode... This is the first Mac I had after Apple switched to APFS... See pictures...
So there's the drive and then there's the DATA on the drive... If I choose to delete from Disk Utility, which should I choose ??? Would the top level disk get it all??? Or should I choose Data??? If you can, offer a refresher on the APFS system and why there is a disk and then a DATA disk beneath that??? And if I delete all the data successfully, would I then be able to come in and reinstall an OS... And if I did go into Disk Utility and choose "Reinstall Mac OS" does that require an internet connection which I would trust would be removed after deleting all the data on the disk?? That 2013 Mac, by the way, currently can still access my home network... But after deleting all the data??? thanks for all the help!!!
Robert Paris wrote:
Got it, thanks... Gonna deal with that old (spinning disk) Mac later and separately. Enough learning on it... So now I've moved to the next MacBook Pro, a 2013 model that I can still boot fully
If you can still boot this 2013 laptop normally, then you should definitely create a bootable macOS USB installer for this laptop and your other 2011 & 2017 Macs. This 2013 laptop is compatible with both macOS 10.13 High Sierra (last OS for the 2011 laptop) and also your 2017 Mac. The 2017 Mac & 2013 are both compatible with macOS 10.15 Catalina.....possibly 11.x Big Sur depending on whether the 2013 is a "Late" model.
The following article has the proper instructions as well as links to each installer.
Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
@D.I. Johnson has you covered on the rest.
How do I erase an older MacBook Pro with FileVault enabled?
