How to remove files from mac startup disk mac os x#
You can securely empty the Trash in Mac OS X Panther. Single pass or “Zeroing out” the date is adequate for mostĪlso for those wanting to “Clean” individual files, note this section from the technote: Mac OS X 10.3+ feature – Secure Empty Trash Department of Defense 5220-22-M standard. Writing over the data seven times meets the U.S. Department of Energy standard for securely erasing magnetic media. Writing over the data three times meets the U.S.
How to remove files from mac startup disk full#
If you don’t want data recovered from a solid-state drive, use full disk encryption. You can’t securely erase a CD, DVD, or a solid-state drive. Securely erasing a partition erases all the files on that partition but does not affect other partitions. Securely erasing a disk erases files on all its partitions.
Writing over the files several times is more secure than writing over them once, but it takes longer. You can choose how many times to write over the files. When securely erasing a disk or partition, Disk Utility writes over the erased files, so they can never be recovered. Many commonly available disk recovery apps can easily recover the files. When erasing a disk or partition, Disk Utility does not erase the actual files it erases only the information used to access the files. You can securely erase a disk or partition to make sure the confidential information it contains cannot be recovered. The following is a summary of the Disk Utility help available from the Help menu when running the Disk Utility application: Securely erase a disk in OS X 10.8 or newer A Recovery Disk can also be created on an external hard disk or thumb drive using the Recovery Disk Assistant: All new OS devices come with a built-in Recovery Disk which can be used by restarting and holding down the R key. Disk Utility has shipped on all OS X versions in /Applications/Utilities folder. Secure Erase is documented in the Help menu of the Disk Utility application.
Instead, choose Installer > Open Disk Utilities.
To erase a Macintosh hard disk you can boot with a different disk and use the Disk Utility.