I tried to do a secure erase on a Mac Mini M4 last night. When everything was done, there was no setup menu. Instead, it just shows a Mac disk. When clicking on it, it says I need an internet connection. I don't know how to get back to the set up menu to set it up again. It's not like securely erasing an iPhone, where after the iPhone reboots, I can see the setup menu. Help?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Secure erase a Mac Mini M4 and start fresh again?
- Thread starter lsquare
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Use the "erase all content and settings" option in System Settings.
Open System Settings
Enter "erase" in the search box (upper left) -- you should now see the option for erase all content and settings. Select it.
Click the button "erase all content and settings".
Enter your password.
Now follow the instructions. It actually goes quite quickly.
When done, your Mac will be returned to "moment zero" -- the moment you first took it out of the box and pressed the power button for the very first time.
MAKE SURE you have a good backup before trying this.
EVERYTHING will be "gone"...
Open System Settings
Enter "erase" in the search box (upper left) -- you should now see the option for erase all content and settings. Select it.
Click the button "erase all content and settings".
Enter your password.
Now follow the instructions. It actually goes quite quickly.
When done, your Mac will be returned to "moment zero" -- the moment you first took it out of the box and pressed the power button for the very first time.
MAKE SURE you have a good backup before trying this.
EVERYTHING will be "gone"...
Reboot and hold down the option key when you hear the boot chime. It will bring up a boot selector menu. At the bottom is a WiFi option. Put your WiFi credentials and you can access an internet restore from that. Alternatively, plug in an ethernet cable connected directly to your router.
You know it’s 2025 right? You no longer need to live in 2003 reformatting drives and erasing **** and such.
If you have FileVault set up (which you should), then your data is not recoverable without the key or the account password. There is no need to securely erase anything as it technically already is.
macOS is on a read only partition so there is no threat there. Moreover, macOS creates recovery partitions so wiping the entire contents of the drive wipes those out too.
You’ll need to use Internet Recovery now to restore the OS.
In the future, here is the correct way to reset macOS: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102664 Far less of a headache than the way you did it.