How to do a secure erase on a Macbook Pro?

Question

I have a Macbook Pro with SSD and I would like to completely erase every single bits of data on it. How would I do that? On a PC, I would just run Darik's Boot And Nuke, but can I run it on a Mac too, or is there a better alternative?

Answer 1

If you want to erase the boot disk, you will have to boot from the Mac OS X install CD (one should have come bundled with your Mac) and run the Disk Utility program on it. If you want to erase a hard drive that isn't your boot disk, you can run the Disk Utility program that can be found in Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility.

To do a secure erase like you want:

1. Open Disk Utility

2. Choose the hard drive you want to erase from the list

   

3. Choose "Erase" from the bar at the top

   

4. Click "Security Options" and choose which erase method you want to use. Make sure you choose one of the "# pass erase" options to do what you want.

   

5. Click erase, and the disk will be erased after being written over with zeroes.

Answer 2

It looks like normal secure erase procedures are less effective on SSDs. Try this procedure after wiping the volume in Disk Utility.