To do this, start your Mac from another disk or start it in recovery mode. Note that by following the steps above, you cannot erase the primary internal drive that contains your boot volume. It will perform a simple wipe and recovery applications will be able to recover the data. In case you don't see it, your Mac will not securely erase the drive. Note:The Security Options button is not available for all types of storage devices. The third option overwrites the data three times, which complies with the US Department of Energy standard for secure erasure of magnetic media.Īnd the SaferThe option overwrites data up to seven times to comply with the US Department of Defense 5220-22-M standard for secure erasure of magnetic media.

The next option writes a pass of random data and then a single pass of zeros to the entire disk while erasing all information used to access your files. He The fastestThe option does not securely erase the files on the disk, which means that a disk recovery application can recover them. Master Boot Record (also known as “fdisk”): Select this to be compatible with all Windows computers.Apple partition map:Select this scheme if you want the drive to be compatible with older PowerPC-based Macs.Newer Windows computers also use this scheme. GUID Partition Map:Select this if you have a Mac with an Intel processor or a recent machine with Apple silicon (M1, M2 and their successors).Or, you can use one of these three schemes: You can leave the schematic box intact and let it be what Disk Utility displays. When you are formatting a drive, you may see the option to select the scheme.

How to add, mount, unmount, erase and remove volumes using Disk Utility on Mac Scheme compatible with Disk Utility on Mac If you want to erase the entire disk along with the partitions on it, make sure you select your storage device in the Disk Utility sidebar, not one of its partitions. Erasing a volume removes all files on that volume, but does not affect other volumes.

Erasing a disk removes all of its volumes and files. Disk and volume wipeĭisk Utility allows you to erase disks or volumes. Failure to unmount an external storage device before unplugging it may result in data loss. Your drive is now erased, reformatted, and ready to use!ĭon't forget to eject your external storage devices when you're done using them.

Erase external disk mac