How to Format a Mac
Formatting a computer will erase all files, documents and data stored in the future making it impossible to access these data.
For a Mac is rarely a need to resort to formatting, this happens in most cases when you want to sell your computer or throw it, so that third parties can get hold of our personal data.
Important: Remember to make a backup of your data!
1.) Insert the DVD into your Mac or USB Flash Drive containing the installation files for OS X and reboot your computer. In case you did not have neither the DVD or the USB Flash Drive you can still proceed to use the recovery partition on the hard disk of your Mac.
2.) When your computer is off, press (and hold) the Alt key, until it appears on the screen the list of boot devices, such as DVD or USB Flash Drive, depending on what you’re using. Once the device you have to click on the arrow below the device itself, so start the process of installing OS X.
3.) Now you need to set the language of the new OS, then select ” use English as their main language ” and press the arrow to continue. Then select the icon for the utility disk and click ” Continue ” to enter the control panel of the hard disk. In the left navigation bar, you have to select your hard drive, then open the ” Initialize ” Disk Utility. At this point, from the drop-down menu ” Format “, you must set the ” Mac OS Extended (Journaled) .” In the field ” Name, ” you can enter a name of your choice, which will later be assigned to the hard disk after formatting. Now click on the ” Initialize ” button (located at the bottom right): this will start the process of formatting your Mac.
4.) After a few minutes, the operation is completed, you can then quit Disk Utility, go back to the main screen and select ” Reinstall Mac OS X “. Then press ” Continue ” three times in a row and accepted the conditions of use. Now select the hard drive of your computer which you have just formatted, so that one can be installed on the new operating system. Click on ” Install ” and then ” Restart ” when prompted (twice in the process). At the end of the procedure to start the initial setup where you can choose the language of the new OS, import any backups and create the new user account.
