I needed to reset my MacBook Air, this wasn’t going to anyone else so didn’t worry about a complete data format like I would do if I was selling it. I didn’t even realise this but in macOS (I’m on Ventura) you can now erase all content and settings just like you do on an iPhone or iPad.
This is a big win for this sort of task.
- Open the SYSTEM SETTINGS app
- Click on GENERAL
- Click on TRANSFER or RESET
- Click on ERASE ALL CONTENT AND SETTINGS
That’s it, took about 5 minutes on my M1 MacBook Air.