Restoring your computer to factory settings is a good idea if you’re thinking of selling it or giving it to a friend or relative. It’s easy to do on both a Mac and PC. Before you begin the reset process, ensure that you have successfully backed up all files, photos, and music you want to keep, as you will not be able to recover anything from the computer after the factory settings have been restored.
First deauthorize your iTunes account by selecting Account, then Authorizations, then Deauthorize This Computer in the iTunes menu. Enter your Apple ID and password when prompted, then select Deauthorize. This will separate your iTunes account from the computer. You will also want to deauthorize your computer from any third party apps you have downloaded. If you are signed into iCloud, sign out by selecting iCloud in the System Preferences, then clicking Sign Out Now.
After you are signed out of iCloud, restart your computer in Recovery Mode. To do this, restart the computer, pressing the Command and R key while the computer is restarting. Once the computer has restarted, select Disk Utility then select Continue. Select your hard drive, and click Erase. This will delete all the contents of your hard drive. After you delete the hard drive’s contents, select Reinstall OS X and follow the instructions that appear onscreen. Your mac will then be ready for the next owner.
In order to reset your computer running Windows 10 to its factory settings, first navigate to the Settings menu, which can be found in the main Start menu. Select the gear icon to open the Settings menu, and click on Upgrade and Security, then click on Recovery. Under the option labeled Reset this PC, click Get Started. If you wish to remove all files from the computer and make it like new, select Remove everything, then select Remove files and keep the drive. When prompted, select Next, then select Reset. After Windows restarts, select Continue out of the options that appear. Your computer will then be restored to the factory settings.
