- 'NSA' level wipes take 6-8+ hours to fully write to the drive the required number of times. Simply writing over the entire disk once will make it safe from anyone who lacks specialized and costly tooks to manually read the data from the drive.
- Hard Drive Eraser Disk Wiper CD + USB 2-in-1 32/64 Bit with DBan Boot and Nuke Hard Drive Complete Erase for Windows, Mac and Linux Hard Drive Eraser USB CD (Latest Version) by IMPEX Source 3.6 out of 5 stars 7.
Susan Lawlor writes in with a common problem:
I’m trying to securely erase my poor sad iMac before donating or recycling it. It’s my old workhorse—running 10.6.8. Disk Utility’s Erase Security Options is grayed out. I have no OS X disk, and there’s no Recovery HD.
It’s admirable to erase your system before you sell—especially with secure erasure—to avoid leaking personal data to someone who buys it or obtains the disk drive. While the odds are likely very low someone would be able to extract data (or be interested in it), you can try to reduce those odds to what is effectively zero.
Susan has a number of options of how to proceed, but there’s a bit of navigation along the way. She’s running 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard), which didn’t include Recovery HD. Security Options in her version of Disk Utility is grayed, because you can’t erase a disk from its startup volume. (That option is always unavailable for SSDs, but an older iMac won’t have an SSD.)
Here are the easiest ways to erase that drive securely by degree of difficulty:
Use Target Disk Mode. With two Macs that both have Thunderbolt or FireWire ports, connect them with the appropriate cable, and follow Apple’s instructions (either hold down the T key after restarting the one to erase or use Startup Disk on that computer before restarting it). The Mac to erase mounts as a drive, and Disk Utility can be used with it.
Install OSX on an external drive or borrow one with OS X installed. Booting off that drive will also allow erasing via Disk Utility.
Upgrade to a newer version of OS X and use Recovery HD. Snow Leopard with the Mac App Store installed should let you download at no cost a later version of OS X. All versions after Snow Leopard include and will install Recovery HD, from which you can then boot and run
iMac models released starting in 2010 can use Internet Recovery, but first have to be upgraded at least to Lion and some need a firmware update installed, so that’s not the simplest path to pursue.
A related question came in from Becky Steinke, who was trying to erase a 2008 MacBook. She tried to use the Recovery HD startup (holding down Command-R after restarting) and had no luck. Every 2008 and later MacBook Pro and MacBook can install Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, which should be able to install the Recovery partition. If possible, upgrade it to Lion, restart, and use Recovery HD to erase, or use one of the other options above.
Ask Mac 911
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In this digital age, we all are pretty much acquainted with the storage media forms. From online/cloud storage to portable devices, we depend on all. However there are many reasons why you would want to erase the hard disk drive on MacBook Pro. If you don't properly delete the data, that data can be stolen. Once the data gets stolen you will regret it. The stolen data can be your personal pictures, videos, bank details etc. Sensitive data can be used for personal benefits. You would not even dare to imagine these things happening to you, so it's better not to take risk like this. Regardless of your reasons, make sure that you backup the data before wiping the drive clean.
Here are some of the ways to erase everything on MacBook pro hard drive.
To use PrivaZer to wipe away a whole drive, choose Delete without a trace from the main menu, select Sensitive directories, and choose a hard drive. Data Sanitization Methods: AFSSI-5020, AR 380-19, DoD 5220.22-M, IREC (IRIG) 106, NAVSO P-5239-26, NISPOMSUP Chapter 8 Section 8-501, NSA Manual 130-2, Write Zero.
Method 1: Format Your Hard Drive on MacBook Pro
Let's say you wish to erase only a particular partition volume instead of the entire hard disk. This is the simplest way to erase the hard disk on your MacBook Pro. Here is how you can do that.
1) Access Finder menu by clicking on the Dock icon. You can also access it through Spotlight.
2) On the left click Applications, scroll down a bit to the Utilities. You will need to double click on it.
3) Once the folder opens you will the Disk Utility application. Again, you will need to double click it to launch it.
4) Choose the hard disk drive you wish to erase. The drive names will appear in the left sidebar.
5) Click the Erase tab as shown in the image above.
6) In the erase tab you will see the Format section. Next to this option is the dropdown from where you can choose how you wish to format the drive. For instance, if you wish to use the drive only for one of the Mac OS versions, select Mac OS Extended. If you wish to install the Windows OS on the hard drive, then choose MS-DOS (FAT).
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7) You can also give the name to the partition in the Name text box (under Format option).
8) Once you have chosen the Format type and given the name to the partition, click on 'Erase...' button.
NOTE: Remember that this method can only be used to erase the hard disk drive which does not have the Mac OS installed on it. This method uses the utilities which can be run only on the Mac OS. If you need to remove the hard drive with OS files, you can use Method 2.
Method 2: Erase Everything on MacBook Pro with Data Wiper (Recommend)
The problem with the Method 1 we discussed above is that once the data has been erased it can still be recovered. The next owner can use some free or professional data recovery software to retrieve your already deleted or formatted data that may still be on your hard drive somewhere. We need to protect our data and personal information. Especially if you are giving the MacBook Pro to someone else, you will need to make sure that your information remains safe.
This is where Safewiepr Eraser for Mac comes into picture. This application not only erases the hard drive but also makes sure that it becomes unrecoverable.
Safewiper Data Wiper for Mac
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- The program includes powerful as well as fast wiping algorithms that can permanently erase everything from hard drive . Completely destroy and erase all existing data, deleted/lost data and traces on MacBook Pro
- Wipe your MacBook hard drive and files/folder data with advanced algorithm which overwrites data with 7 times.
- Wipe exactly what you need - hard disks, separate partitions or free space
- Compatible with macOS Sierra and OS X 10.11 El Capitan, 10.10, 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, 10.6
Step 1 Download and Install The Safewiper Wipe Mac Application, Run It.
First of all, you need to download and install the program on your MacBook Pro, then launch the program. The while installation process is very easy.
Step 2 Select the File Type You Need to Wipe
In the last update, you may have noticed that the program provides three wiping options, 'Erase File/Fodlers' and ' Wipe Drive' and 'Wipe Unused Space' . Here, to completely destroying your all data on MacBook hard drive, just select the second wiping option.and click on 'Next' option.
Before starting to wipe your MacBook pro, a window pops up asking you to choose a 'wiping method', it offers 4 wiping algorithm. 7 wipe and 35 wipe will take much time to erase your MacBook Pro. So, we recommend you select 3 wipe.
Step 3 Start to Wipe Your MacBook Pro Hard Drive Data
Upon confirming your Wiping Mode, click the Start wiping button to being wiping your MacBook Pro. After the wiping process is complete, an intimating message will be displayed.
If you need to erase everything on MacBook Pro, only formatting the hard drives separately is not a good choice. It is best to use the Data Wiper to wipe clean everything. This way the data will be rendered unrecoverable and your personal information will remain safe. You can reinstall the OS afterwards.
Erase Hard Drive Mac 10.6
After wiping your MacBook Pro hard drive, you will get a totally new MacBook without any personal information in it. The software will destroy, shred your data and overwrite the disk space of the data for many times. After the process finished, the data in your hard drive will be lost permanently without recovery, you will get a totally new MacBook without any personal information in it.