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How do I wipe my hard drive before selling my laptop?

I need to know how to zero out my hard drive before selling my Mac Book Air.

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3), How to clean hard drive before sell

Posted on Apr 22, 2015 9:04 AM

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3 replies

Apr 22, 2015 12:13 PM in response to gerald182

I suspect your Macbook Air has an SSD, and I think Disk Utility disables the erase with zeros and secure erase for an SSD.


I took the approach that I would encrypt my SSD via System Preferences -> Security -> FileVault so that all data is encrypted, such that when I pass the system along, all I need to do is install the OS clean, and all residual data will be encrypted gibberish without a decryption key.


I suppose you could install a clean copy of the OS, then get a huge file (maybe the OS installer) and keep duplicating it until the disk is full. While that disk would not be all zeros it would have data you do not care access it, as it is just stuff they can get on the internet and nothing of yours.

How do I wipe my hard drive before selling my laptop?

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