How to delete ALL data and restore to factory settings?

[entatlrg]

I've tried the cmd R and erased but after the reinstall the files are still there.

I've searched here and on the Apple forums and can't find a solution.

The first problem I have and the reason i want to reinstall Lion is I have only about 70gb of data on a 256 ssd, but it shows it has 230gb of data used.

It shows something called 'other' is occupying 160gb of space, I have no idea what 'other' is, not a time machine back up or anything.

I tried reinstalling Lion but all data/apps werent deleted ... I want to delete ALL the files and reinstall Lion.

Thanks

 

[Heebeejeebies]

If you're going to reinstall Lion, you can just format the drive when the installation process begins.

 

[entatlrg]

Thanks, but I can't find a way to do that.

 

[Heebeejeebies]

Thanks, but I can't find a way to do that.

How are you installing Lion? A USB stick? Or an upgrade from SL?

Other is just filetypes that Lion doesn't really understand. You may have a bunch or movies in .mkv format which would fall under "other."

Try using programs like DaisyDisk or DiskInventory X to see what is taking up all that space.

 

[Weaselboy]

Thanks, but I can't find a way to do that.

Once you get to the beginning install screen look under the Utilities menu for Disk Utility and use that to reformat.

Make sure you have a backup because this will wipe the OS and all your apps and data.