T~Raw

Level 1 (4 points)

iPhone

Q: I want to erase everything off of my MacBook Air (13in. Mid2012) and reset it up as if it was brand new, but I want to keep certain info. such as my Pictures. Is there anyway I can do erase everything off of my mac, b

I want to erase everything off of my MacBook Air (13in. Mid2012) and reset it up as if it was brand new, but I want to keep certain info. such

as my Pics, in which I have 1,268 photos/videos. Is there anyway I can erase everything off of my mac, re-set it as if I was just taking it out the

box for the first time, but at the same time, keep my pictures? I would also like to keep my pictures the was they are in which they show me the

date, month, year, etc. that they were taken in.

iPhone 5s, iOS 9.2.1

Posted on Feb 21, 2016 8:29 PM

I have this question too

Q: I want to erase everything off of my MacBook Air (13in. Mid2012) and reset it up as if it was brand new, but I want to keep certai ... more

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Helpful answers

by Kappy,

Kappy Feb 21, 2016 8:34 PM in response to T~Raw
Level 10 (271,818 points)

Desktops

Feb 21, 2016 8:34 PM in response to T~Raw

You cannot erase the drive and not erase everything. To do what you want you need to make a backup first. See; Basic Steps for Upgrading OS X.

To reset: What to do before selling or giving away your Mac - Apple Support.
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by Niel,

Niel Feb 21, 2016 8:34 PM in response to T~Raw
Level 10 (314,481 points)

Mac OS X

Feb 21, 2016 8:34 PM in response to T~Raw

Put them as well as any other files you’d like to keep on an external drive before proceeding. You should be backing up your computer anyway in case a problem occurs.

(139808)
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by T~Raw,

T~Raw Feb 21, 2016 8:39 PM in response to Niel
Level 1 (4 points)

iPhone

Feb 21, 2016 8:39 PM in response to Niel

External device such as a(n) hard drive? What external device do you recommend? Also, when you say I should be backing up my computer anyway, backing it up to what? An ex. hard drive?
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by Niel,

Niel Feb 21, 2016 8:40 PM in response to T~Raw
Level 10 (314,481 points)

Mac OS X

Feb 21, 2016 8:40 PM in response to T~Raw

A hard drive. If you have a flash drive which is large enough to hold the data, you can use that instead.

(139810)
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by T~Raw,

T~Raw Feb 21, 2016 8:42 PM in response to Niel
Level 1 (4 points)

iPhone

Feb 21, 2016 8:42 PM in response to Niel

Would I hit Command All, and then drag them unto my flash-drive? If not, what way would you go about doing this?
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by Niel,

Niel Feb 21, 2016 8:45 PM in response to T~Raw
Level 10 (314,481 points)

Mac OS X

Feb 21, 2016 8:45 PM in response to T~Raw

Locate them in the Finder and drag them to it. If you’re moving an iPhoto, Aperture, or Photos library, the volume you’re copying it to needs to be formatted as Mac OS Extended; the libraries will be in the Pictures folder of your home folder by default.

(139812)
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