@rotvalo I'd recommend using Time Machine. It's the easiest way to keep a backup. I do all of may backups manually, but that's because i do a a ton of video editing, so Time Machine isn't a good solution for me. But for regular users, it's an easy way to keep your files safe.
i just used the method of erasing that you used on this video on my hard drive and when i went back on it i cant see my files, theyre ot the most important files but some i do wish to have back, however i did hear you say that it wont get to the data if i click dont erase data, can you please let me know if their is anyway to recover theses files, thanks!
@Beanboyy reformating destroys the table of contents on the disk that lets you access the files. so effectively your data is gone, but you can try a disc recovery software that might be able to index the hard drive and recover some of the data. the purpose of reformatting is to clear off a hard drive and destroy the data on it. never reformat a drive that you don't have backed up.
I bought a black macbook on ebay,and it didnt come with the disks,soo i borrowed my friends mac os x disc and i got it to format but now it shows a folder with a question mark in the middle of it and it blinks,and its not letting me instal,do i need to buy snow leopard or a new hard drive??
@MfTroyboii there's a good chance you may have the wrong discs. in recent years, apple has made installation discs that are specific to the machine they are sold with. so you can't install the new os on the other computers. if you get a retail version, it should install on any machine. i think i would try the software first, but if it is the hard drive, they are super easy to replace. ifixit.com has great repair guides.
@leviasay Soo what should i do?Should i go out and buy snow leopard and see if that installs?
Because when i put the other disk in,and go to disk utility,i can see my hard drive,but i cant verify permission or whatever i can only verify disk and repair disk,cant click on the left side where it says verify permission and repair permission.Soo i dont think the hard drive is ruined,i think i just deleted the operating system,but then again i dont know lol
My computer just finally finished a 35 pass erase to make it faster, but when i reinstalled OS X i couldn't get any of my files WTF?!?! i have very important assignments and shit on there i need asap! how do i repair the disk??
@MakeEveryMomentCount they're gone. if you've done a 35 pass erase, you've just written "0" over the entire disk and everything that used to be on it. there is no way to recover the data.
@leviasay is there any way i can undo it? like reverse? i have a 30 page analysis thats not backed up and im already late to send it in, final deadline is in a couple of days!! theres like 50GB music and over 10000 personal photos as well. I thought this would clear out old junk files and the places where deleted files were set as free space but still on the drive... thats what i tryed to get rid of. if i buy the time capsule thing will i get my stuff back??
@MakeEveryMomentCount no, it's gone. i'm really sorry you're in the position you are, but all the data has been erased. you were thinking of defragmenting which is a windows trick. reformatting clears off all the data. time capsule won't help in your situation, because it only backs up what is currently on the disk. i'm really sorry to say it's gone, and there's no way to get it back.
@leviasay Don't worry about it, I was kidding :P parodying that other guy's (iCravetosing) comment you responded to.
Thanks for the video though, it did help! i have dying hard drive in my imac and want to get rid of all personal stuff before leaving it with complete strangers, this video showed exactly what i needed.
Man, it took 11 frickin' hours to do a 35 pass on my 1TB hard drive.
@MakeEveryMomentCount GOOD! haha! i was starting to think you were completely retarded! cause who actually reformats their hard drive the week before finals. but with that said, i hope you have everything backed up. ;)
@iCravetosing no, it erases everything. if you've done a full erase and zeroed out the disk, all the data on it has been written over and is gone. if you've done a quick format and not written zeros over the disk, you may be able to use a disk recovery software to index the disc and recover some data. i'm sorry you were confused.
Good video. How do you partition if you have formatted with only 1 partition and the decide you want to go back to create 2 or three partitions? The Partition option disappears from your top linej options. How can we get it back?
@xshobobx it sounds like you may have a dead drive. be sure it's all hooked up and powering on properly. if you have a G5, you can reset the SMU switch which should reset your firewire ports.
hey my macbook got Mac OS X 10.5.8. But i have a start up disk of 10.5.6. If i format with my dvd will the system turn back into 10.5.6? and without that version how can i format my drive??
that's no problem at all. you can reformat with any version of 10.5, and when you do all the software updates it should upgrade to 10.5.8. it's only a "downgrade" if you don't install the updates (or if you use a 10.4 install disc).
use the "MS-DOS (FAT)" option instead of one of the Mac OS options. if you're going to use it installed in a windows machine, i'd reformat it using windows. but if you want a drive that the pc will read and the mac can use, then use the MS-DOS (FAT)
do you have a video that shows you how to erase everything but the applications that come with the mac.
im not sure if this video is what i should be doing since i dont have an external drive, i basically want to start over and make my mac work like it did when i got it . i have the 2 start up disc but im kind of a mac newbie and im afraid to mess something up.
you can't actually erase just part of the drive. but to achieve what you want to do you'd follow the same process. put in your start up discs and restart the computer so it starts from the CD/DVD. Then you can reformat the hard drive using "disk utility" (which is available from the start up disc). when you've finished this, reinstall the system software by letting the start up disc finish. when it's done it should be fast again, but BE SURE YOU BACK UP ALL YOUR FILES!
@WTF1233 - you don't. you have to back up everything beforehand. when you reformat the drive, it clears off everything. then you reinstall everything.
be sure you have the drive selected. you have an icon for the physical device and another icon for the partition (even if you only have one partition).
I just wanted to be sure I was on the right track reformatting an external drive from Windows to Mac so clicked on this video. Ended up watching the whole thing even tho you covered my question within 30 seconds. Lots of good info, much easier than reading instructions. Thanks and I like your hat.
The only thing a person did is copy updates of snow leopard creating a file so I could update my snow leopard because its not working after installed.
hay thx for the vid it helped a lot but i was wandering if you had any suggestions for my macbook cus it seems to be running kinda slow. i was wandering what i should do reinstall mac os x? or if there is something else better?
thanks man. i keep having problems with USB flash drives that say they have 0 items on them, but capacity wise it says its full up. now im able to erase and start again with them. cheers!
once you've erased the hard drive, put in the installation dvd and shut down the computer. then start it up and hold down "C" on your keyboard while it starts up. this will force it to boot up from the cd/dvd drive. the installation dvd will guide you through the rest.
I forgot to add to this question that for windows PC to read/write from HFS+ (Mac format) it needs "Macdrive6" or Macdisk to allow for the cross platform?
yeah, it's pretty much the same process, but you'd choose your internal hard drive. this would require you to restart your computer with the installation dvd.
Nice informative tutorial. Just FYI, the exact size of the partition can be seen when you hover over the respective partition resizing blocks (you can see it at 4:10).
try it again. sometimes it will fail, but if you try it again immediately, it is able to unmount the disc. otherwise, i would be sure to start up from the installation dvd, that way the hard drive is not in use and can be ejected.
i would like to completely reformat my mac os x desktop. the only problem is the security options button is not highlighted. but the erase free space button is available.i don't know if its locked somehow to where it won't let me reformat. i am on the admin so i figured it would let me, but i was wrong. so could you please tell me how to get the security options button unlocked, or if i should just click the erase free space button. thanks.
If I've already been backing up my Mac hard drive to my new hard drive via enclosure, how do I know when I am done backing up all my files?
rotvalo 3 weeks ago
@rotvalo I'd recommend using Time Machine. It's the easiest way to keep a backup. I do all of may backups manually, but that's because i do a a ton of video editing, so Time Machine isn't a good solution for me. But for regular users, it's an easy way to keep your files safe.
leviasay 2 weeks ago
i just used the method of erasing that you used on this video on my hard drive and when i went back on it i cant see my files, theyre ot the most important files but some i do wish to have back, however i did hear you say that it wont get to the data if i click dont erase data, can you please let me know if their is anyway to recover theses files, thanks!
Beanboyy 7 months ago
@Beanboyy reformating destroys the table of contents on the disk that lets you access the files. so effectively your data is gone, but you can try a disc recovery software that might be able to index the hard drive and recover some of the data. the purpose of reformatting is to clear off a hard drive and destroy the data on it. never reformat a drive that you don't have backed up.
leviasay 7 months ago
@Beanboyy why on earth did you do that?
I hope you got back your stuff.
dwward 6 months ago
I bought a black macbook on ebay,and it didnt come with the disks,soo i borrowed my friends mac os x disc and i got it to format but now it shows a folder with a question mark in the middle of it and it blinks,and its not letting me instal,do i need to buy snow leopard or a new hard drive??
MfTroyboii 9 months ago
@MfTroyboii there's a good chance you may have the wrong discs. in recent years, apple has made installation discs that are specific to the machine they are sold with. so you can't install the new os on the other computers. if you get a retail version, it should install on any machine. i think i would try the software first, but if it is the hard drive, they are super easy to replace. ifixit.com has great repair guides.
leviasay 9 months ago
@leviasay Soo what should i do?Should i go out and buy snow leopard and see if that installs?
Because when i put the other disk in,and go to disk utility,i can see my hard drive,but i cant verify permission or whatever i can only verify disk and repair disk,cant click on the left side where it says verify permission and repair permission.Soo i dont think the hard drive is ruined,i think i just deleted the operating system,but then again i dont know lol
MfTroyboii 9 months ago
@MfTroyboii if you don't think it's the hard drive, then definitely try the retail version of 10.6.
leviasay 9 months ago
My computer just finally finished a 35 pass erase to make it faster, but when i reinstalled OS X i couldn't get any of my files WTF?!?! i have very important assignments and shit on there i need asap! how do i repair the disk??
MakeEveryMomentCount 9 months ago
@MakeEveryMomentCount they're gone. if you've done a 35 pass erase, you've just written "0" over the entire disk and everything that used to be on it. there is no way to recover the data.
leviasay 9 months ago
@leviasay is there any way i can undo it? like reverse? i have a 30 page analysis thats not backed up and im already late to send it in, final deadline is in a couple of days!! theres like 50GB music and over 10000 personal photos as well. I thought this would clear out old junk files and the places where deleted files were set as free space but still on the drive... thats what i tryed to get rid of. if i buy the time capsule thing will i get my stuff back??
MakeEveryMomentCount 9 months ago
@MakeEveryMomentCount no, it's gone. i'm really sorry you're in the position you are, but all the data has been erased. you were thinking of defragmenting which is a windows trick. reformatting clears off all the data. time capsule won't help in your situation, because it only backs up what is currently on the disk. i'm really sorry to say it's gone, and there's no way to get it back.
leviasay 9 months ago
@leviasay Don't worry about it, I was kidding :P parodying that other guy's (iCravetosing) comment you responded to.
Thanks for the video though, it did help! i have dying hard drive in my imac and want to get rid of all personal stuff before leaving it with complete strangers, this video showed exactly what i needed.
Man, it took 11 frickin' hours to do a 35 pass on my 1TB hard drive.
MakeEveryMomentCount 9 months ago
@MakeEveryMomentCount GOOD! haha! i was starting to think you were completely retarded! cause who actually reformats their hard drive the week before finals. but with that said, i hope you have everything backed up. ;)
leviasay 9 months ago
i thought you said an erase only erases the table of content but doesn't wipe out your data? How do I retrieve my data? it's completely blank now :/
iCravetosing 10 months ago
@iCravetosing no, it erases everything. if you've done a full erase and zeroed out the disk, all the data on it has been written over and is gone. if you've done a quick format and not written zeros over the disk, you may be able to use a disk recovery software to index the disc and recover some data. i'm sorry you were confused.
leviasay 9 months ago
Good video. How do you partition if you have formatted with only 1 partition and the decide you want to go back to create 2 or three partitions? The Partition option disappears from your top linej options. How can we get it back?
mcclinto9 1 year ago
I plugged in my hard drive that was formatted for windows but it doesn't show up at all on the desktop or in disk utility. What can i do?
xshobobx 1 year ago
I plugged in my hard drive that was formatted for windows but it doesn't show up at all on the desktop or in disk utility. What can i do?
xshobobx 1 year ago
@xshobobx it sounds like you may have a dead drive. be sure it's all hooked up and powering on properly. if you have a G5, you can reset the SMU switch which should reset your firewire ports.
leviasay 1 year ago
hey my macbook got Mac OS X 10.5.8. But i have a start up disk of 10.5.6. If i format with my dvd will the system turn back into 10.5.6? and without that version how can i format my drive??
lawahang1 1 year ago
@lawahang1
that's no problem at all. you can reformat with any version of 10.5, and when you do all the software updates it should upgrade to 10.5.8. it's only a "downgrade" if you don't install the updates (or if you use a 10.4 install disc).
leviasay 1 year ago
how do i format it to work back to windows??
IRVINGTEXAN 1 year ago
use the "MS-DOS (FAT)" option instead of one of the Mac OS options. if you're going to use it installed in a windows machine, i'd reformat it using windows. but if you want a drive that the pc will read and the mac can use, then use the MS-DOS (FAT)
leviasay 1 year ago
Thank you so much. Very useful info.
SuperDee1978 1 year ago
do you have a video that shows you how to erase everything but the applications that come with the mac.
im not sure if this video is what i should be doing since i dont have an external drive, i basically want to start over and make my mac work like it did when i got it . i have the 2 start up disc but im kind of a mac newbie and im afraid to mess something up.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
500passwords 1 year ago
@500passwords
you can't actually erase just part of the drive. but to achieve what you want to do you'd follow the same process. put in your start up discs and restart the computer so it starts from the CD/DVD. Then you can reformat the hard drive using "disk utility" (which is available from the start up disc). when you've finished this, reinstall the system software by letting the start up disc finish. when it's done it should be fast again, but BE SURE YOU BACK UP ALL YOUR FILES!
leviasay 1 year ago
@leviasay
thank you
500passwords 1 year ago
How do i get my files back?
WTF1233 1 year ago
@WTF1233 - you don't. you have to back up everything beforehand. when you reformat the drive, it clears off everything. then you reinstall everything.
leviasay 1 year ago
I just wanted to thank you for the help C:
twilightchick09 1 year ago
@twilightchick09 - you're very welcome. i'm glad the video helped.
leviasay 1 year ago
yay thank you sooo much!
sak868 1 year ago
Showing clearly. Good Job and Thanks a lot.
karen20100702 1 year ago
i got a bigger problem. When i plug in my external hard drive i cant even detect it. And i cant even erased it on disk uitility
noxvamp 1 year ago
sounds like your drive may be dead. :(
try a different enclosure, but don't get your hopes up.
leviasay 1 year ago
@noxvamp - try watching my "SMU Reset" video. if it's a firewire drive, this may fix it. but your drive may be dead :(
leviasay 1 year ago
thanx man :)
Paolisj 1 year ago
Good job.
thedarkness97 2 years ago
I can't press the erase button. It's greyed out. How do you solve this?
Azureluck 2 years ago
be sure you have the drive selected. you have an icon for the physical device and another icon for the partition (even if you only have one partition).
leviasay 2 years ago
I just wanted to be sure I was on the right track reformatting an external drive from Windows to Mac so clicked on this video. Ended up watching the whole thing even tho you covered my question within 30 seconds. Lots of good info, much easier than reading instructions. Thanks and I like your hat.
macdeb1000 2 years ago
glad i could help. :)
leviasay 2 years ago
thanks sooo much!
octo613 2 years ago
you're very welcome
leviasay 2 years ago
Thanks a million - I hate reading instructions so watching someone show me what to do really helped. Really Helpful. Thanks, Pip (UK) x
WhyPippski 2 years ago
Comment removed
WhyPippski 2 years ago
mannnnnn! thanks alotttt!
BigGunPromo 2 years ago
Followed it, it worked real easy - great.
Thanks
theredapartment 2 years ago
thanks for the video! you just got yourself a life long subscriber
TheFakeMarkGonzales 2 years ago
glad you found it helpful.
leviasay 2 years ago
Why do bootcamp say I need to reformat it?
The only thing a person did is copy updates of snow leopard creating a file so I could update my snow leopard because its not working after installed.
1969vonchita 2 years ago
So great, thanks so much man!
saynething0 2 years ago
hay thx for the vid it helped a lot but i was wandering if you had any suggestions for my macbook cus it seems to be running kinda slow. i was wandering what i should do reinstall mac os x? or if there is something else better?
DarkDay19088 2 years ago
Thanks man
Enderwiggan1 2 years ago
what if u forgot your password on a g3 laptop
iseecheese 2 years ago
thx dude it helped alot
macf4life 2 years ago
thanks man. i keep having problems with USB flash drives that say they have 0 items on them, but capacity wise it says its full up. now im able to erase and start again with them. cheers!
xmjox 3 years ago
i'm glad it helped.
leviasay 2 years ago
How do you make the disk a FAT32 Format?
coolmjr 3 years ago
under erase, you can choose volume format. i am pretty sure that you can select FAT32 there.
leviasay 2 years ago
i have an imac g5 with osx10 which i will be selling, once i have done the 7 pass erase, how do i install osx again, thanks.........
blondfist 3 years ago
once you've erased the hard drive, put in the installation dvd and shut down the computer. then start it up and hold down "C" on your keyboard while it starts up. this will force it to boot up from the cd/dvd drive. the installation dvd will guide you through the rest.
leviasay 3 years ago
Great tutorial. Have you just described how to format the harddrive to "HFS+" and does this allow Windows to read/write the drive?
dinasaur2 3 years ago
I forgot to add to this question that for windows PC to read/write from HFS+ (Mac format) it needs "Macdrive6" or Macdisk to allow for the cross platform?
dinasaur2 3 years ago
Hey nice vid but would I do the same thing if I wanted to reformat the computers internal hard drive or is this only for externals?
gamemasta771 3 years ago
yeah, it's pretty much the same process, but you'd choose your internal hard drive. this would require you to restart your computer with the installation dvd.
leviasay 3 years ago
Nice informative tutorial. Just FYI, the exact size of the partition can be seen when you hover over the respective partition resizing blocks (you can see it at 4:10).
meggiepoo 3 years ago
Thank You! This video was EXTREMELY helpful for a first time mac user :]
dogonthehorizon 3 years ago
Thanks a lot! It really helped me!
cgobar 3 years ago
try it again. sometimes it will fail, but if you try it again immediately, it is able to unmount the disc. otherwise, i would be sure to start up from the installation dvd, that way the hard drive is not in use and can be ejected.
leviasay 3 years ago
believe it or not, i just powered down the harddrive and was able to reformat it from that point on, no problems. regardless, GREAT tutorial. thanks!
piceras 3 years ago
i would like to completely reformat my mac os x desktop. the only problem is the security options button is not highlighted. but the erase free space button is available.i don't know if its locked somehow to where it won't let me reformat. i am on the admin so i figured it would let me, but i was wrong. so could you please tell me how to get the security options button unlocked, or if i should just click the erase free space button. thanks.
queenfan181 3 years ago