

Older versions of macOS labelled certain types of storage as System or Other. The question of whether you can reclaim any of the space given over to this class of storage is complicated somewhat by fact that Apple seems to give it a new name with every version of macOS, as you can see from the images below: We’ll assume that you’ve already been confronted by System or System Data taking up an astonishing amount of storage on your Mac and are thinking that you’d quite like that 50GB or so back. If you aren’t sure how to see how much disk space your Mac has read: How to check how much disk space you have. You may also find that you can’t install an update to macOS if you don’t have enough free storage. If your Mac is low on storage it can cause problems – you might see a message that your start-up disk is almost full, for example, and if you ignore that you might find you can’t even start up your Mac! Low storage can also slow your Mac right down and cause other issues stopping it from running at its best. Just press and hold the power button on your Mac until it turns off.Download Free Edition 2023 Can you delete System on the Mac?įirst we’ll address why you might want to delete System or System Data on your Mac – and whether you should. If you're selling, giving away, or trading-in your Mac and want to leave it in an out-of-box state, don't use the setup assistant or your previously connected Bluetooth devices, if any.

If you're asked to sign out of Apple ID, enter your Apple ID password and click Continue.Click Continue to allow your settings, media, data, and the other listed items to be removed.

Or click Continue to proceed without making a new backup. If you're asked to back up your Mac before resetting it, you can open Time Machine and back up to an external storage device.Enter the password that you use to log in to your Mac, then click OK.

An erase assistant asks you to sign in with your administrator credentials.After choosing Erase All Content and Settings, follow these steps to continue:
