Does the MBA usb restore let me wipe my MBA?

[ReallyBigFeet]

I've decided the 13" MBA just isn't powerful enough for my day to day needs. I've tried it for a month and my unique needs just require the power of a i7 or higher processor. But I love the thing and don't want to sell it.

That said, I am going to give it to my secretary who hates the 11" (too small even for her) and then return that one, giving her the 13" MBA instead.

I want to do a clean wipe and reinstall of the OS for the 11" before I take it back. Does the USB key "restore" function effectively wipe out the data on the drive or do I need to go for more exotic utilities to do this?

 

[millerb7]

I've decided the 13" MBA just isn't powerful enough for my day to day needs. I've tried it for a month and my unique needs just require the power of a i7 or higher processor. But I love the thing and don't want to sell it.

That said, I am going to give it to my secretary who hates the 11" (too small even for her) and then return that one, giving her the 13" MBA instead.

I want to do a clean wipe and reinstall of the OS for the 11" before I take it back. Does the USB key "restore" function effectively wipe out the data on the drive or do I need to go for more exotic utilities to do this?

Under disk utilities you can zero it out... I haven't tried this, was just told this info today as I'm getting ready to do it on my MBP before I sell it.

 

[bcaslis]

Boot from the USB stick, after the language selection screen choose Utilities-> Disk Utility. Erase the SSD, choose under security options to zero the data or more if you want a secure erase, then quit Disk Utility and continue the install. After the install you have an effectively new system. The only thing missing is after setup you will need to reinstall iLife 11 from the USB stick. I've done this, so I know it works.

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

Done. Thanks!