Best way to wipe an M1 MBP

[stevearm]

I've been having a few bugs with my M1 MBP and would like to (securely) wipe the SSD. I've heard about holding the power button on start-up and going into Disk Utility that way to wipe but an Apple Store Genius also mentioned the ability to use a second Mac with Configurator to do a better job?

Also, my M1 came with Monterey, but I've since upgraded to Sonoma, if I use the Disk Utility method, which of those two OS's will it prompt me to install? Is there a way of clean installing the newest version of Sonoma by default?

Many thanks!

 

[Bigwaff]

Settings > General > Transfer or Reset > Erase All Content and Settings...

You don't need to "wipe" the SSD w/ Apple Silicon Macs. The disk is encrypted by default. When you "Erase All Content and Settings" the current encryption key is deleted and a new encryption key is created. W/out the original encryption key, the data is lost forever.

 

[stevearm]

Regardless of the security, I'm just wary of carrying over any software bugs from the current install into the new one, hence wanting to wipe the drive using Disk Utility outside of the OS, not just an option in settings.

 

[chrfr]

Regardless of the security, I'm just wary of carrying over any software bugs from the current install into the new one, hence wanting to wipe the drive using Disk Utility outside of the OS, not just an option in settings.

The operating system is sealed and signed. Those files can't change without causing the computer to fail to boot, so there's no need to do a full reinstall.

 

[stevearm]

Appreciate the replies, but if I wanted to do a full reinstall...?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Appreciate the replies, but if I wanted to do a full reinstall...?

It would be a waste of time. Once you do as previously mentioned, your Mac will be as new with the latest version. There will be no left over files from what you have now.

 

[Bigwaff]

Appreciate the replies, but if I wanted to do a full reinstall...?

Use macOS Recovery on a Mac with Apple silicon

Learn how to use macOS Recovery on a Mac with Apple silicon.

support.apple.com

 

[stevearm]

Use macOS Recovery on a Mac with Apple silicon

Learn how to use macOS Recovery on a Mac with Apple silicon.

support.apple.com

Thank you.

Would this reinstall put Monterey back (what my MBP came with) or would it put the latest version of Sonoma (that I'm currently running)?

 

[Mike Boreham]

Appreciate the replies, but if I wanted to do a full reinstall...?

Apple Configurator 2 will wipe the System volume and firmware from the boot drive, but as others say is only necessary as a last resort and needs a second Mac. Erase All Content and Settings returns machine to factory state.

 

[stevearm]

Apple Configurator 2 will wipe thew System volume and firmware from the boot drive, but as others say is only necessary as a last resort and needs a second Mac. Erase All Content and Settings returns machine to factory state.

Because I had issues with my firmware and a Monterey 12.7 bug bricked my laptop for a few days, I'm keen to start as fresh as possible. I know going through Erase All Content and Settings should do that but the Apple Store person told me that there are better, albeit more complicated, ways of doing of it.

Whether I use Configurator 2 or use Disk Utility from Recovery I don't mind though. What would be the difference between those two options?

 

[Mike Boreham]

Thank you.

Would this reinstall put Monterey back (what my MBP came with) or would it put the latest version of Sonoma (that I'm currently running)?

You will need a bootable Monterey Installer to do that and you willed to erase the drive. Erase all Content and Settings is not appropriate if you want to roll back to an earlier OS.

 

[Mike Boreham]

What would be the difference between those two options?

Configurator 2 will restore Firmware which Disk Utility erase won't.

https://iboysoft.com/wiki/apple-configurator-2.html

 

[stevearm]

Configurator 2 will restore Firmware which Disk Utility erase won't.

Sounds like Configurator is the best bet then, and so I can erase a hard drive and do a clean install of the latest Sonoma version using that?

 

[Mike Boreham]

Sounds like Configurator is the best bet then, and so I can erase a hard drive and do a clean install of the latest Sonoma version using that?

Yes. But you could try Erase all Content and settings first.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"I had issues with my firmware and a Monterey 12.7 bug bricked my laptop for a few days"

Interesting that you post that, because I had a very similar problem trying to do a 12.7 to 12.7.1 upgrade. (I think that's what it was)

Something went wrong during the upgrade (firmware update failure?). Came back to a black screen, and afterwards MBP wouldn't boot.

I got it connected via Apple Configurator 2, and tried both "revive" and "restore".
Both failed.
Nothing else would work using AC2.

Had to take it to Apple to get resolved, even they seemed to have a bit of a time with it.

Finally got it back with Sonoma installed, they said they couldn't get either Monterey OR Ventura to run on it.

However, it's doing well enough under Sonoma.

My advice would be to try:
First:
Try the "erase all content and settings" path mentioned by others above.
If that's not good enough for you, then...
Next:
Put together a bootable USB flash drive installer and try a COMPLETE erase and re-install.

 

[ChrisA]

Regardless of the security, I'm just wary of carrying over any software bugs from the current install into the new one, hence wanting to wipe the drive using Disk Utility outside of the OS, not just an option in settings.

It sounds like possibly you were a former Windows user. This is not Windows.

Dropping the key or just creating a new filesystem effectively fills the storage with random bits.

Also, this is an SSD, the concept of running the read/write head over the entire media is gone too.

 

[Ben J.]

Also, my M1 came with Monterey, but I've since upgraded to Sonoma, if I use the Disk Utility method, which of those two OS's will it prompt me to install? Is there a way of clean installing the newest version of Sonoma by default?

If you hold down the power button, the mac will boot into 'Recovery'. You get the option to boot from any available bootable volume, or go to 'Options'. In options you have Disk utilities, Terminal, and a few other things. To your question; here you can use Disk utilities to erase the internal drive. This will erase the whole 'volume group' that constitutes your startup drive: the signed and secure 'Macintosh HD' volume that contains the OS, and 'Macintosh HD - Data' that contains everything else; installed apps, user files, etc.

When you start the mac without an installed OS, it takes you to the 'Recovery' partition again, and you will be able to install a new OS over the internet. This will always install the latest version. If you're not online, you will need a 'USB bootable installer' to install macOS, and this could be an older version, as long as it's compatible with the mac model.

Apple support: How to create a bootable installer.
This is also how you downgrade to an earlier version of macOS.

After installing the macOS, on first boot it will act as if fresh from the factory, with the "hello" screen, and let you create a new user, or import user data from a Timemachine or other backup.

 

[cipherneo]

Given your tendency for wanting to do the "cleanest" macOS install then download a IPSW file of your choice compatible with your M1 MacBook Pro, gain access to a second Mac capable of running the Apple Configurator 2 application and install the IPSW which will reload the macOS version and its firmware which will restore your Mac to a "fresh from factory" state.