There are 2 solutions provided to factory settings on iMac. You can use the system tool Erasure Assistant tool to reset the iMac or just reinstall the macOS via Recovery mode. In both ways, you can get a new fresh system on iMac and remove all the old data. If the reset iMac will be transferred to another people, it's important to wipe the data permanently first to protect your privacy information. DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac will help you wipe the data and ensure the data is gone for good.
Updated by Shirly Chen on April 1, 2025
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iMac is usually reliable. But as with any computer, every so often matters go wrong. Before you spend massively on a new iMac, though, attempt to reset iMac to factory settings, which wipes your computer and reinstalls an easy model of macOS. A manufacturing unit reset is additionally the fine way to put together your historical PC for a new proprietor.
The manner has been equal for years on Macs with Intel processors, however, the go-to Apple silicon has barely altered the approach for wiping and reinstalling the OS. And with the bounce to macOS Monterey, positive computer systems attain a new alternative to erase all content material and settings. Here's how to erase your challenging force and reinstall the working device on your iMac, whether or not it has Apple silicon chip or elements Intel components.
Be conscious that as soon as your iMac has been reset, you will no longer be in a position to get back any deleted information that was once left on the drive. If you assume you may additionally still want what is on your difficult drive, we recommend you to first again it up thru Time Machine or with the aid of syncing essential archives to iCloud. You also can back up iMac data to an external disk with Mac disk cloning software.
Certain Macs have a new choice for erasing data, if you are walking mac OS Monterey on an Apple silicon-based Mac or an Intel-based Mac with the Apple T2 chip, you now have the Erase Assistant tool. Now open System Settings > General > Transfer or Reset > Erase All Content and Settings in the menu bar. It can help you quickly wipe iMac data.
Enter your admin password in Erase Assistant, then evaluate the gadgets that will be removed. Along with erasing all settings, media, apps, and records for all debts and volumes on the drive, the device will additionally signal you out of iCloud, delete Touch ID fingerprints, disable region services, unpair Bluetooth devices, and get rid of Apple Wallet items.
At this time, you have one last danger to create a Time Machine backup earlier than continuing. Click Open Time Machine to create it, if you have not already performed so.
Enter your password to signal out of your Apple ID, then let the erase system finish. Once complete, your Mac will be lower back to manufacturing facility settings. If you do not format on retaining this computer, you are done. Otherwise, you can go thru the setup assistant as if you are putting up your Mac for the first time.
The different alternative for resetting your iMac is Disk Utility, which is on hand to all users. In order to get entry to the selections for wiping your facts and reinstalling the running system, you want to enter macOS Recovery. How you do this relies upon the chip interior of your computer.
If you have an Apple silicon iMac or Intel-based iMac with the T2 chip, shut down your iMac totally and preserve the Power button till "Loading startup options" show up on the screen. Select Options to enter the healing screen.
🎯 Tips: If your iMac has an Intel processor, restart your computer. From here, maintain down Command + R keys till the Apple brand appears. Release the keys and enable the iMac to boot up it will go into Recovery.
Once wholly in macOS Recovery, choose Disk Utility.
Select Macintosh HD and click on Erase in the top toolbar. A dialog box will pop up asking for the drive name and format, you must keep the name as Macintosh HD and make certain the layout is set to APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Click Erase button to wipe the drive.
You must additionally make certain any different inside drives are additionally erased in order to definitely wipe the iMac and keep away from any errors throughout the reinstall process. Exit the Disk Utility window and go lower back to the Recovery screen. Then select reinstall macOS to reinstall the system on the iMac.
If you are just trying to fix iMac issues or start a fresh new start by resetting the iMac, it's enough to reset or reinstall the macOS on the iMac. However, if the reset iMac will be resell or donated, it's not enough. After a reset or reinstallation, the removed data on the iMac is still recoverable. With professional Mac data recovery software or methods, it's easy to get back the files on a factory reset iMac.
Two Methods to Recover Lost Data after Reinstalling macOS
If you have a Time Machine backup, you can restore lost files via backups after resetting or reinstalling macOS. Otherwise, you can use a Mac data recovery app - such as Do Your Data Recovery to recover the missing files.
So you will risk data leakage if you give the iMac to another people directly after a simple reset. How to make sure it's secure enough to avoid the potential risks? We suggest you wipe the data permanently after a reset on iMac, which can make positive no leftover statistics fall into the incorrect hands.
How to wipe the data permanently from iMac after a factory reset? You can use the professional data erasure software DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac. It's a trusted tool that can ensure the data is wiped permanently and no software can recover the erased data.
The software is equipped with international data erasure algorithms, which can ensure to wipe data permanently on iMac or other Mac computers. It can wipe data from SSD, HDD, USB flash drive, memory card, etc.
There software offers 3 different modes to wipe data on Mac. You can use the software to shred specified files or folders, wipe an entire hard drive, or erase the removed/missing files by wiping free space of a hard drive. The software is also very easy to use. Here we will show you the simple steps:
Step 1. After downloading and installing the software on your iMac, start it from launchpad. To wipe the factory reset iMac, you can choose the Wipe Free Space mode. It will wipe the data removed while resetting the iMac. Just select the Mac drive from the list and click Wipe Now button.
Step 2. To wipe data permanently, you will be asked to select a data erasure standard. You can check and select one from the drop-down list. If you want to make sure the data will be wiped more completely, you can select a standard with more passes. Please note that it will then take more time to complete.
Step 3. At last, start the data wiping process by clicking on the Continue button. It will take some time depending on the size of the free space on the drive and the data wiping algorithm you selected.
Once the wiping process is done, all the removed data on the iMac drive is wiped. The wiped data is gone forever and there will be no chance to recover the data in any way. You can feel free to sell or give away the iMac to anyone without worrying about data breach.
A factory reset for iMac would be useful to fix some issues. If you just want to remove all data and begin a new start on iMac, you can also reset or reinstall the macOS on iMac. Before you reset the iMac, it's important to back up the important data to a safe place, like iCloud, using Time Machine, or manually copy to another hard drive. Then you can follow the guide to reset or reinstall the macOS on iMac.
It's enough to reset or reinstall macOS on iMac if you will reuse the machine by yourself. However, if the iMac will be given to a new owner, it's necessary to wipe the data first as the removed data would be recovered and cause security risks. If you don't want the private, financial, or sensitive data be recovered and used by other people, use DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac to wipe the free space on your iMac drive even after a factory reset. It can protect your privacy and provide peace of mind.
DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac
DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac is a 100% safe, powerful and easy-to-use data erasure program. It offers certified data erasure standards including Peter Gutmann, U.S. Army AR380-19, DoD 5220.22-M ECE to permanently erase data from Macs and external devices, making data recovery be impossible.
Written & Updated by Shirly Chen
Shirly Chen has been writing data recovery, data erasure articles for DoYourData over 4 years. She has been working as a professional website content writer & editor for quite a long time. She also writes articles about disk clone, Mac optimization, disk backup, etc.
