Because storage is always encrypted on Mac systems with Apple silicon or the T2 chip, the system is instantly and securely 'erased' by destroying the encryption keys.

Since macOS Monterey, however, Apple has included a third option for newer Macs that offers a very simple and straightforward way to erase your Mac without needing to reinstall the operating system.įollowing in the footsteps of the iPhone and iPad, Apple silicon Macs and Intel Macs with a T2 security chip (2017-2020 models) now have an 'Erase All Content and Settings' option available in macOS Monterey and Sonoma. However, even if neither of these issues have arisen for you, sometimes it's just nice to start afresh for that 'brand new Mac' feeling and then migrate your apps, documents, and data, either manually, or by migrating from a Time Machine backup.Ĭlean installing previous versions of macOS usually involves creating a bootable copy of the macOS installer on a flash drive or USB stick and then reformatting your drive before installing the bootable copy on your Mac, or using macOS Recovery to reinstall the Mac operating system over an internet connection. This article explains how to perform what is effectively a clean install of Sonoma using a built-in option that's available on Apple silicon-powered Macs and Intel Macs with a T2 security chip.Ĭlean installing macOS is often done to remove annoying quirks and strange behaviors that a Mac may have inherited over time, and can also help to reclaim disk space caused by junk files left by third-party apps. Apple is set to release macOS Sonoma on September 26, and whenever a new operating system is released for the Mac, some users prefer to perform a clean installation.

CyVenge instal the new for mac