Last thing first
I typically save the laptop ‘s physical clean until last ( why clean your fingerprints off twice ? ), but you may want to start there — particularly if it ‘s been gathering dust in the back of a closet/under a bed/in the garage for the past several years. The basic equipment required for a good laptop clean is a can of compressed air and some bactericidal or alcohol wipes. For a slenderly thick clean, you may besides want to grab a screwdriver and remove the bottom traverse of your laptop ( if possible ) so you can carefully blow out any scatter that ‘s accumulated on the fans and vents. After the laptop is cleanse, you can besides wipe down the power adapter and any related accessories. It ‘s besides a good idea to ensure the power arranger is still in good, working condition. If you ‘re hush not quite certain where to start with the clean, check out our dispatch scout to getting your laptop looking its best .
Gifting a used MacBook
Óscar Gutiérrez/CNET Before you even think about doing a factory reset on your MacBook, you need to save any data you want to keep. You may have already done this at some point if you migrated data from this old MacBook to a new one using using Apple ‘s Migration Assistant. If that ‘s not the case, it ‘s clock to hook up an external driveway and practice MacOS ‘ built-in Time Machine tool to create a stand-in. If you have an iCloud report, you can back up your data there arsenic well .
Sign out of everything
You ‘ll besides want to log out of all accounts before wiping your MacBook ‘s force. Start with iCloud, Find My Mac and iMessage. then search for individual software accounts you may need to deregister. If you use a browser early than Safari, such as Chrome or Firefox, you should sign out of those as well. Basically, if it ‘s got personal report information, you ‘ll want to sign out. ( here ‘s how to find report settings in MacOS. ) Two other things you should do before a factory reset : Unpair any Bluetooth devices — particularly if the MacBook is being gifted to person in your family — and reset the NVRAM. The latter is memory that holds onto settings that the MacBook needs before loading MacOS. On startup, weigh and hold Option-Command-P-R to reset the NVRAM .
Perform a factory reset
If you ‘ve done everything above, you ‘re ready to return your MacBook to its out-of-the-box submit. On an Intel-based Mac, reboot the arrangement and press and hold Command-R to enter Recovery Mode. ( Accessing Recovery Mode on newfangled MacBooks running on the company ‘s M1 chips is different, however. ) Read more: Before selling your MacBook, you need to factory reset it once in Recovery Mode, you ‘ll see a windowpane of MacOS utilities. Use the Disk Utility to erase your drive. When that ‘s complete, you ‘ll be able to reinstall MacOS. After it ‘s done reinstall, you ‘ll reach the Setup Assistant. From there you can stop and shut it down or set it up for the recipient role .
Gifting a used Windows laptop
Screenshot by Josh Goldman/CNET As with gifting a MacBook, begin by backing up any significant folders and files on your old laptop to cloud storage or an external drive. If you ‘re doing the latter, go to Settings > Update & Security > Backup > Add a drive and select the external drive. then click on Backup now.
Sign out of all your apps
A bunch of paid software requires you to sign in with an account, a product samara or both. Before you wipe your laptop ‘s storehouse, sign out of any accounts and deregister software licenses ( if possible ). If you need those intersection keys to re-register software on a new laptop, be sure to save that information. If you use a browser other than Edge, such as Chrome or Firefox, sign out of those as well. Basically, if it ‘s got personal bill information, sign of the zodiac out .
Reset the laptop
ready to clean the drive and reinstall Windows ? Go to Start > Settings > Update and security > Recovery. At the top of the window, you ‘ll see Reset this personal computer. Click on Get Started and select Remove Everything from the box that appears. From there, you can select to reinstall Windows from the local drive or download from the cloud. After that, Windows cleans the drive of all software, settings and data. When it ‘s done, the laptop will start in its apparatus adjunct mode. You can then stop and shut it down for a fresh-out-of-the-box experience or do some setup, which is decent touch, particularly if it ‘s going to a syndicate penis so they can use it properly away .
Unlink from your Microsoft account
If you used a Microsoft score to sign in to the laptop, the last thing you ‘ll want to do is remove the laptop from that score. sign of the zodiac in to your bill from another computer and snap on the Devices yellow journalism at the top of the page. Find the laptop that you ‘re gifting on the list of devices, and at the bottom of the list, you ‘ll see the option to remove the device. Click it and you ‘re done .
Gifting a used Chromebook
Sarah Tew/CNET Chromebooks are the easiest to refresh for gifting. That ‘s chiefly because of their cloud-based invention. Google besides makes it highly easy to wipe your data and securely clean the internal storehouse american samoa well as remove the Chromebook from your Google account .
Check the AUE first
Before you even consider gifting an old Chromebook, check its auto-update exhalation. Google only guarantees Chrome OS and browser feature back on non-Google hardware for so long. Every device has a date on which it stops receiving updates, aka its AUE date. current models receive updates for eight years ; older models could potentially be a year or two away from reaching their AUE. Google maintains an AUE list, so finding the date your Chromebook will stop receive updates is a easy as locating your mannequin on that list. The AUE can besides be found in your Chromebook ‘s settings. here ‘s how to find the AUE from Google and in your Chromebook .
Give it a Powerwash
Powerwash is Google ‘s built-in factory reset tool for Chromebooks. Once you ‘ve backed up folders or files stored on the Chromebook ‘s internal repel, running Powerwash will securely scrub the system and boot. When it restarts, it ‘ll be just like the day you unboxed it. The actual Powerwash typically takes less than a hour to complete. A elementary search for “ pressure-wash ” in your Chromebook ‘s settings will bring you right to the feature, but here ‘s everything you need to know about the procedure .
Remove the Chromebook from your Google account
Although you ‘ve removed your history from the Chromebook, you have n’t removed the Chromebook from your account. Start by signing into your Google bill and head to the Security settings. If you use the Chrome browser, you can besides click on your account embodiment and choose Manage your Google Account from the drop-down menu. once you ‘re in the Security section, scroll down until you see a box labeled Your devices, which lists all the devices attached to your history. At the bed of the box, chatter on Manage devices and find the Chromebook you ‘re gifting and choose Sign Out. Give the Chromebook a adept external clean, gather up any accessories and it ‘s ready to hand off to your giftee.
Read more: How to regift a game comfort
