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14 July 2020  Ashley S. Miller  Specialist of Customer Service Dept.
 

Summary
MacBook runs so slow, but don’t know how to reset it to factory settings? Read this article and you will learn about detailed guide for factory reset. It also works for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.



Preparations of Resetting MacBook/MacBook Pro/MacBook Air to Factory Settings

When MacBook runs so slow and has an issue with system crashing, or you are going to sell it, it’s necessary to perform the factory reset. And the data in the MacBook should be backed up before you reset it. Besides, if you intend to sell it or give it to someone as a present, it would be better if you could disable all services associated with the system before the MacBook is reset to factory settings.

1. Back up Your MacBook with Time Machine

Time Machine, a built-in tool in macOS, can back up applications, music, photos, system files, etc. An external storage device like USB drive or FireWire should be prepared before you perform the backup.
Step 1: Connect the external storage device without any data to the MacBook. Then click “Use as Backup Disk”.

Note: if the external hard drive can’t be recognized, please refer to the instructions on how to fix the external hard drive that’s not recognized in Mac.

Backup MacBook with Time Machine
Step 2: Click the Apple menu on the top-left corner of the screen. Then click “System Preferences” and choose “Time Machine”.
how to factory reset macbook pro with Time Machine
Step 3: Click “Select Backup Disk”.
select backup disk
Step 4: Select target external drive and click “Use Disk”.

If the disk you selected isn’t formatted as required by Time Machine, you’re prompted to erase the disk first. Please confirm whether there’s any important file in the external hard drive before you erase it.

Back up MacBook
Step 5: Time Machine will start a backup once you select the disk for backup. If you intend to back up the MacBook manually, you could uncheck the box “Back up automatically”. Then click the Time Machine icon from the menu and select “Backup now”.
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Back up MacBook manually

2. Sign out iTunes /iCloud /iMessage /FileVault

Before you sell your MacBook and reset it to factory settings, you should disable some features and services. It will be convenient for the next user to use it and you could avoid the trouble of removing the Apple ID from the MacBook later.
Deauthorize iTunes

You can authorize iTunes up to 5 computers. If you are going to sell or give away your MacBook, you should make sure your iTunes account is not linked to the computer.

  • Firstly, open iTunes on your MacBook. Click Account in the menu bar. Then choose “Account”> “Authorization”>”Deauthorize This Computer”.
  • Enter your Apple ID and password. Then click “Deauthorize”.
Deauthorize iTunes in computer
Disable iCloud

Generally, photos, videos and music are stored in iCloud. Just sign out of iCloud and make sure any information in iCloud is invisible.

Click “Apple menu” > “System Preferences”. Then select iCloud and click “Sign Out”.

sign out iCloud
Sign out of iMessage.

If you are using the version of OS X Mountain Lion or later, you could choose to sign out of iMessage.

  • Click “Messages” app, click “Messages” > “System Preferences”.
  • Click “Account” and select your iMessage account. Then click “Sign Out”.
sign out iMessage
Turn off FileVault

FileVault can encrypt the data on your hard drive to prevent the unauthorized access. If you turned on it before, it’s suggested to turn it off before you wipe the MacBook.

  • Click “Apple menu” > “System Preferences” > “Security and Privacy” > “FileVault” tap.
  • Click the lock icon and enter the administrator account name & password to unlock it. Then click “Turn Off FileVault”.
Turn off fileVault
After you complete the above steps, you could reset the MacBook/MacBook Air/MacBook Pro to factory settings according to the method as below.

Step-by-Step Guide to Reset MacBook/MacBook Air/MacBook Pro to Factory Settings

This guide also works for MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook. Please remember to plug in your laptop and make sure it has connected WIFI properly before you perform the followings steps.
Step 1: Restart the MacBook. Press “command” + “R” key to enter recovery mode when the MacBook boots.
press command and r
Step 2: In the “macOS utilities” window, select “Disk Utility” and then click “continue”.
macOS disk utility
Step 3: Choose your hard drive (system disk) and click “Erase” tap. Then select “Mac OS Extended (journaled)” from the drop-down menu of “Format” and click “Erase” button. The erasing process will proceed.

Note: The name of hard drive is Macintosh HD in default if you didn’t rename it.

wipe a Mac
Step 4: After the erasing process completes, please click “Disk Utility” in the top-left corner of the screen. Then click “Quit Disk Utility” and go back to the “macOS Utilities” window.
quit disk utility on mac
Step 5: Select “Reinstall macOS” and click “Continue”. Next, please follow the on-screen instructions to complete the options. The macOS will start to reinstall.

Note: Please confirm whether your MacBook connects to the Internet properly.

reinstall to factory reset macos

How to Recover the Missing File

If you don’t back up the MacBook before you reset it to factory settings, all data including persona files in the MacBook will be erased. In this case, you could use powerful data recovery software to recover the file as long as it doesn’t get overwritten.

It’s recommended to use Renee Undeleter. On the one hand, it can recover damaged or unexpectedly deleted data. On the other hand, it can also recover data from bad sectors or formatted hard drive. Besides, Renee Undeleter supports free trial for recovering the size of 20 MB missing files.

download software button win
download software button mac clear2

Step 1: Launch Renee Undeleter and select “Whole Partition Scan” function.

launch Renee Undeleter Mac version

Step 2: Choose the partition where you save the deleted files to scan.

If the files were saved in desktop or system disk, please stop using the computer and disconnect it from Internet. Because any Internet surfing operation will create cache which will overwrite your lost files. Then you may lose the chance to recover the data back.
select the target drive to scan in renee undeleter

Step 3: Preview files after the scan process completes. Then select target file and click “Recover”.

preview scan result before recovery
If the target file can’t be found, it’s suggested to go back to the above step 1 and perform a whole disk scan.