What to do before selling or giving
away your Mac
When you get ready to sell or give away your Mac, there are some
steps you should take. You'll want to back up your computer, disable
some features and services. This article shows you the steps you
should follow.
Moving to a new Mac
Learn how to move your files to your
new Mac. Do this before you erase the hard drive or follow any other steps.
Create a backup
Be sure you have an up-to-date backup of your
important files and data. Learn how to back up your data in OS X.
Sign out of iTunes
Open iTunes. From the menu bar at the top
of your computer screen, choose Store > Deauthorize This Computer. When
prompted, enter your Apple ID and password. Then click Deauthorize. Learn
more about deauthorizing your computer using iTunes, including how to
deauthorize all the computers you've used with your iTunes account.
Sign out of iCloud
If you use Find My Mac or other iCloud
features on your Mac, you should first archive or make copies of your iCloud
data. After that, choose Apple Menu > System Preferences, click iCloud, and
then deselect the Find My Mac checkbox. Finally, sign out of iCloud. In System
Preferences, click iCloud, and then click the Sign Out button. When you sign out
of iCloud, you're asked whether you want to remove iCloud data from your Mac.
Your iCloud data will remain on any other devices that are using the same Apple
ID.
Sign out of iMessage
If you're using OS X Mountain Lion or
later, sign out of iMessage. In the Messages app, choose Preferences >
Accounts. Select your iMessage account, then click Sign Out.
Checklist - from Asianefficiency.com
If you are planning to reformat your Mac, we recommend you save /
bookmark this post. We also have a checklist for you to use that you
can download here. Just print it out, tick each box and you’re good to
go.
Simple checklist for reformatting your Mac.
Requirements:
■ External hard drive (we use this one and this one).
■ Bonus: Dropbox , iCloud or any other cloud storage you use.
■ OS X on USB drive.
■ Optional: 1Password.
Planning
One thing to keep in mind is that reformatting is something you have to carefully
plan. You might accidentally erase very valuable files like pictures and videos, if
you don’t plan your reformat. Most of your time will be spent downloading files
for preparation and transferring files to and from your external hard drive. The
rest of the process fairly quick.
1. Backup important files
The external hard drive is important for backing up your important files that you
will be using again. Anything that is not stored in the cloud should be backed up
on your external hard drive. A list of files is included below:
■ /Pictures/ folder
■ /Movies/ folder
■ /Music/ folder (contains iTunes settings and data too)
■ /Documents/ folder
■ Database files (1Password, Devonthink, Bento, etc)
■ ~/Library/Keychains/ folder (contains all your WiFi passwords and
passwords used by other programs).
■ Your Dropbox folder.
Here’s a quick guide to backing up your 1Password keychain. If you are not using
1Password, we recommend you start using it. It’s allows you to store sensitive
information such as passwords, serials, licenses, etc in one encrypted database
that’s quick and easy to access.
2. Backup settings
The applications will take up the bulk of your time but it’s the finer details of
specific settings you really want to back up. Almost every single must-have app
you have has its own fine-tuned settings and you definitely want to save those.
Most apps will allow you to export settings but if one of your apps doesn’t, the
easiest solution is to make screenshots of your settings and store
those on your external hard drive. Also, if you have any specific settings in
System Settings, it’s worthwhile screenshotting (is that even a word?) those too.
3. List of widgets, snippets and plugins
Another important aspect of your favorite programs are its widgets, snippets and
plugins. Make a list of them and back those up on your external hard drive too
(put them in the same folder of your app).
Examples:
■ TextExpander snippets (storing via Dropbox is even better)
■ Hazel rules
■ OS X Dashboard widgets
■ Your browser (Safari/FireFox/Chrome) extensions / plugins
■ Fonts
4. Deauthorize iTunes
iTunes only allows you to use up to five computers to use stuff from your Apple
ID. When you format your Mac and you forget to deauthorize your iTunes, as
soon as you authorize your iTunes again it will think you’re using another
computer. This means your count goes up which is not what you want. Before you
format your Mac, always deauthorize your iTunes!
It’s simple: 1. Click iTunes Store on the left side of iTunes. 2. If you’re not signed
in to the store, click the Account button, then enter your account name and
password. 3. Click the Account button again (your Apple ID appears on the
button), enter your password, and then click View Account. 4. In the Account
Information window, click Deauthorize All.
Restoring Dropbox
One note about restoring your Dropbox folder. Make sure you first install
Dropbox. Only after you’ve installed it, pause the syncing, copy the Dropbox files
back and then resume syncing. This will avoid you having to re-download all your
files. What will happen is that Dropbox will go through all your files and do a
version check. Anything that is newer will be synced accordingly.
Restoring Keychain
The last step is restoring your Keychain. Copy the keychain file on your external
hard drive and copy it to ~/Library/Keychains/. Now you want to import that
data. Launch Keychain Access (Applications > Utilities > Keychain Access), go to
File and Add Keychain. Select the keychain file you just added and now you will
have all your WiFi passwords back.
Manually Migrating to a new Mac
http://mattgemmell.com/manually-migrating-to-anew-mac/
Backup Checklist (OSX Leopard or Lion - older but
still helpful)
❏ Prepare your iTunes Library For Backup (only complete this step if you’re
transferring iTunes from one computer to another)
❏ Insert your backup device (Click here to learn how to set up Time
Machine)
❏ Open your backup device and create a new Backup folder on the device
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
Back up the following Items, if you use them:
Chrome Bookmarks
Safari Bookmarks
Firefox Bookmarks
iCal
Notebook Gallery: (if you have added custom content to the Gallery)
Stickies
❏ Deauthorize your iTunes (Only if you use iTunes on your computer and
you are turning in your computer for a new one)
❏ Copy your files to the device:
❏ Documents (if you still use this folder)
❏ Google Drive (your files are also available via Drive cloud storage on
the web, but it is still best practice to backup your files to an
external device)
❏ Movies
❏ Music
❏ My Apps
❏ My Local Docs (if you have this folder)
❏ Pictures
❏ Downloads
❏ Desktop
❏ Any other folders that you have created on your hard drive (PPT,
Notebook, etc)
❏ Check your files/eject the device
References
Checklist for Reformatting Your Mac OS X. (2012, July 11). Retrieved May 10, 2016,
from http://www.asianefficiency.com/technology/format-mac-checklist/
How to set up Time Machine on your Mac. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2016, from
http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-set-up-time-machine-on-your-mac/
Manually Migrating to a new Mac - Matt Gemmell. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2016, from
http://mattgemmell.com/manually-migrating-to-a-new-mac/
What to do before selling or giving away your Mac. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2016, from
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201065