Hard Drive Wipe For Mac

Unless the new owner is right there already with you, you will probably want to power down the Mac. Press the power button and a dialog box will appear that allows you to shut down. Give your beloved Mac a good physical wipe down with some dry cloths, and wave it goodbye. Create a backup. Make sure that you have a current backup of your important files.

Moving to a new Mac? Before taking these steps, you can use Migration Assistant to move your files from the old Mac to your new Mac.

Create a backup

Make sure that you have a current backup of your important files. Learn how to back up your Mac.

Sign out of iTunes in macOS Mojave or earlier

Remote Wipe your Mac hard drive using the DriveStrike Device page – click Wipe and you will be prompted to enter your credentials again to confirm the remote data erasure action. Once you confirm the remote wipe action DriveStrike issues a secure push command that the Mac will execute. If your Mac is not using an SSD, you can erase your hard drive by following the steps below: Follow steps 1-4 from the previous guide. Select the HDD drive of your Mac and click Erase. Go to Security Options by the lower part of the screen. Select the Most Secure option and click OK. By the lower right side of the screen, click Erase.

If you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes. From the menu bar at the top of the screen or iTunes window, choose Account > Authorizations > Deauthorize This Computer. Then enter your Apple ID and password and click Deauthorize.

Learn more about deauthorizing computers used with your iTunes account.

Sign out of iCloud

If you're using macOS Catalina or later, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Apple ID. Select Overview in the sidebar, then click Sign Out.

If you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Sign Out.

You will be asked whether to keep a copy of your iCloud data on this Mac. You can click Keep a Copy, because you're erasing your Mac later. Your iCloud data remains in iCloud and on any other devices that are signed in to iCloud with your Apple ID.

Sign out of iMessage

If you're using OS X Mountain Lion or later, open the Messages app, then choose Messages > Preferences from the menu bar. Click iMessage, then click Sign Out.

Reset NVRAM

Shut down your Mac, then turn it on and immediately press and hold these four keys together: Option, Command, P, and R. Release the keys after about 20 seconds. This clears user settings from memory and restores certain security features that might have been altered.

Learn more about resetting NVRAM or PRAM.

Optional: Unpair Bluetooth devices that you’re keeping

If your Mac is paired with a Bluetooth keyboard, mouse, trackpad, or other Bluetooth device that you plan to keep, you can unpair it. This optional step prevents accidental input when the Mac and device have separate owners but remain in Bluetooth range of each other.

If you're unpairing Bluetooth input devices from a desktop computer such as an iMac, Mac mini, or Mac Pro, you must plug in a USB keyboard and mouse to complete the remaining steps in this article.

To unpair a Bluetooth device, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Bluetooth. Move your pointer over the device that you want to unpair, then click the remove (x) button next to the device name.

Erase your hard drive and reinstall macOS

The best way to restore your Mac to factory settings is to erase your hard drive and reinstall macOS.

After macOS installation is complete, the Mac restarts to a setup assistant that asks you to choose a country or region. To leave the Mac in an out-of-box state, don't continue setup. Instead, press Command-Q to shut down the Mac. When the new owner turns on the Mac, the setup assistant guides them through the setup process.

No matter the model or condition, we can turn your device into something good for you and good for the planet: Learn how to trade in or recycle your Mac with Apple Trade In.

Last updated on November 15th, 2019 at 02:57 pm

You are definitely on the right place if you are looking for best Hard Drive wipe software (free and paid). There is so many software available online and it becomes really tough to choose one that suits you. For this reason, we are here to provide you with complete and comprehensive detail of hard drive cleaning software.

Recommended: How to uninstall Windows 10 built-in apps?

It is always recommended to go for paid software when it comes for privacy and security of your data as there is much-advanced software available that recover wiped data. But if you have used some of the top nothch hard drive cleaning software then it becomes almost impossible to recover any traces.

There is also a query related to deleting data from a dead computer, for all those who have a similar question, please refer to How to wipe hard drive on a dead computer?

Why use hard drive cleaning software?

Most of the people now switching to cloud storage and the demand for hard drive reducing day by day, those days are gone when everything was stored in hard drive. So people now removing all their personal information, privacy data from the hard drive and keeping them in more secure places. To completely remove everything from hard drive, cleaning software is a must.

Or there might be the reason to sell your old hard drive and you are looking to remove everything permanently from it. For this reason, you need to have a hard drive wipe software.

Most people think that deletion of files, folders, removing password, and other information is enough but the reality is different, you can reconstruct everything you have deleted.

10 Best Hard Drive Wipe Software in 2020

1. MacPaw CleanMyDrive

MacPaw is one of the top recommendations for Mac products. It is well known for CleanMyMac and CleanMyPC. You can use them to speed up your computer. And on the other side, it also offers CleanMyDrive to wipe out everything from your Mac. It has an amazing platform that shows everything you have on your MacBook.

No matters how tiny the file is, it wipe out everything and left no traces. Let is check some of its features

Clean Junk files: CleanMyDrive intelligently remove every junk for your drive which are hard to locate.
Copy your drive: Suppose if you are looking to transfer your important data to another hard drive, simply drag and drop the files to copy instantly.
Multiple language support: CleanMyDrive works with different languages so you need not worry about this.
Compatible with all hard drives: CleanMyDrive works with SSD, external hard drives, SD cards, USB flash drives.

Pricing

CleanMyDrive is free to use and available in the Mac App Store, install it and start using it.

2. CCleaner Drive Wiper

CCleaner is another one of the top-rated software recommended to wipe out hard drive data. CCleaner is widely use for removing junk, hidden, temporary, duplicate files to remove unnecessary data from your computer. It also offers Drive Wiper to remove everything from your hard drive.

CCleaner Drive Wiper uses advanced algorithms to permanently delete everything. Once you download CCleaner, go to tools tab, Choose the type of wipe you require: Free Space Only or Entire Drive, it will warn you before proceeding.

You can either clean a specific partition of the entire drive as per your need. Complete wiping of the drive takes some time and you have to be on hold for a while.

Pricing and plans from CCleaner

CCleaner Drive Wiper is a part of CCleaner application and you can get if for free. CCleaner comes in the paid and free version, but for unlocking its feature, Pro version is the best choice. Our readers get a special discount on CCleaner, check out the latest pricing and discount offer here.

3. Eraser

Eraser is an advanced security tool specifically designed for Windows to remove sensitive data from your hard drive. It overwrites it several times with carefully selected patterns to ensure complete data removal. It also supports Windows file systems including FAT32 and NTFS. Along with your PC’s hard drive, it also works with other drives that work with Windows PC.

It offers you a feature that let users schedule disk wiping as per there timings. User can set up a data destruction task to repeat itself.

Pricing

Eraser is a free and open-source software for hard drive data cleaner. Download it for free from the official website. Eraser update the software from time to time.

4. KillDisk

KillDisk is a paid software that has tons of feature along with just erasing hard drive. So far we concluded that KillDisk is one of the fastest cleaning software and the best thing is its ability to work in erasing disks parallel. KillDisk works for Windows and some of its version works for LINUX Operating System. It has the ability to start programming form the bootable disk or the USB to erase the disk.

KillDisk shows the current status of disk health and this is good for Disk Examination for bad sectors & Examine Grading.

KillDisk Features

Supports 32-bit PC architecture
Erasing disks in parallel
Business usage
Automatic Mode allows to discover & erase hot-swappable disks
Disk Wipe sanitation of unused clusters on live volumes for most file systems

Pricing and Plans

KillDisk comes with different plans such as Active@ KillDisk, Industrial Software, Desktop / System. You can check out the latest pricing. You can also try the demo version for free to test KillDisk.

5. Disk Wipe

Disk Wipe is a free and portable Windows application for permanent data removal. It also uses advanced algorithms to destroy every trace of data such that recovery is almost impossible. The best thing is, it does not contain adware or malware. Let us check out some of its feature here

Disk Wipe Features

Delete data permanently from volume disk
No installation required to delete data
Works with NTFS, Fat, Fat32 (all major File Systems)
Lightweight, add free application
Works with external hard drive

Pricing

As already discussed, Disk Wipe is completely free to use and you can download it from the official website.

6. DBAN

DBAN is widely used open–source data wiping software for personal use. You get the benefits of two with using DBAN. Firstly, you can delete every bit of information and secondly, it also removes viruses/spyware from Microsoft Windows installations. DBAN clearly claims that it does not provide any certificate of data removal from a drive and for this, you have request Blancco Drive Eraser Trial.

Pricing

There are two plans, first DBAN and secondly Blancco. DBAN is completely free to use and recommended for personal use. On the other side, Blancco is recommended for business purpose and you can use its trial version.

7. PCDiskEraser

PCDiskEraser is another free application that wipe out hard drive permanently in the for of partition or completely. It is fast in process, easy to use and one of the best tool in its category. You do not worry if you have erased your data through PCDiskEraser. It permanently deletes the information by actually overwriting all of the data on your hard drive.

PCDiskEraser Feature

Runs Offline
Supports File System NTFS, FAT16, FAT32, EXT3, EXT2, Linux swap, Reiser FS and so on.
Easy to use and processes quickly
Wipe in a partition and complete drive

Pricing

As already discussed, PCDiskEraser is completely free to use and you can download the latest version from the official website.

8. Super File Shredder

Super File Shredder keeps its place under top 10 best hard drive wipe software. The reason is its advanced security tool for Windows that removes all the data by overwriting it many times. All you need is to install this amazing application and remove all your sensitive data and stay with peace of mind.

Pricing

Super File Shredder is completely free to use and you can download it from here.

9. Windows Built in hard drive wiper

Most of us are not known about the in-built option for hard drive wipe tool. Windows offers this feature to completely erase the hard drive data. You do not require to download any external application once you use security tool from Windows 10.

Follow some simple steps to erase hard drive completely

Open Settings> Update & Security > Recovery.
Under Reset this PC, go to Get Started button.
From the following options, tap on Remove everything.

This completely remove your hard drive data and your computer works as it is new.