Comments for How should I erase my hard drive before I give it away?

Comment from Jeff R on 2012-02-11

2012-02-11T19:59:44Z

Do you know if a degaussing coil has sufficient strength to erase date on a hard drive? I worked in TV repair years ago and used this regularly to degauss(or rearrange) the magnetic properties of
old CRTs? I am looking for a quick fix obviously, but this may determine whether I donate or recycle. Thanks!

To the best of my knowledge degausing coils (and large magnets) do not have sufficient power to erase today's hard disks. Reformat or use a tool like DBaN to erase the hard drive before donating.

11-Feb-2012

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Comment from Mark J on 2012-01-22

2012-01-22T08:53:40Z

@Ken
That magnet probably did nothing, but if you haven't had any problems 7 years later you're probably OK. HP probably immediately destroyed the drive pretty quickly anyway. It's unlikely they would go to the expense of trying to recover the data as it would have no value to them. Sometimes, unfortunately, we're forced to trust the people who fix our computers. Our data is exposed whenever we bring our computer to a tech for repairs. If you have sensitive data you might want to think about using Truecrypt. Otherwise, after the fact, as Leo said, drilling through the drive may be our best alternative.

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Comment from Ken in San Jose on 2012-01-21

2012-01-22T05:31:32Z

7 years ago after buying a new HP notebook the drive died after just 6 months. The people at HP talked me through trouble shooting the drive and decided it had died, and sent me a new drive, free. I only needed to return the dead drive. Not being able to format the drive, I took a strong magnet and sat it on the drive for several hours. I don't know if this worked, but it was the best solution I could come up with.

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Comment from Connie on 2012-01-12

2012-01-12T20:35:43Z

@Anice
Certainly seems likely that the eraser program deleted everything off the disk, including the operating system. It's unfortunate that you do not have the re-installation media. The computer is still good though. It's just that the new owner will have to get an operating system going on it, and find any necessary drivers.

One thing that many people do is install a non-microsoft operating system in a case like this. Ubuntu is a good choice. So go ahead and give away the computer, and refer them to this article on Ask Leo!

should I convert to Linux?

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Comment from Anice King on 2012-01-12

2012-01-12T19:03:04Z

I want to donate my old computer,I used Gutton eraser and it ran for 48 hours. I was told that it also erased the windows vista ,and it wouldn't be any good.And i don't have the windows cd.would that be true.I thought you could use a pc monitor with any cpu My knowledge of computer is limited,so not sure if the man was telling me the truth.

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Comment from Moiz Mansoor on 2011-12-27

2011-12-27T12:45:40Z

Why not use Secure Erase instead? It's built into almost every contemporary ATA drive and thus, significantly faster as well, since it's the drive doing the work, not the CPU.

http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase.shtml

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Comment from Mark J on 2011-12-13

2011-12-13T22:52:23Z

@Bill
DBAN allows you to choose which drives you want to nuke. As a precaution against human error, it is a good idea to have only the drive you want to erase hooked up to your computer as DBAN is a Linux program and it can be confusing to determine which disk is which.

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Comment from Bill Wright on 2011-12-13

2011-12-13T22:44:35Z

The way Leo writes it, "DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk that it detects.", once you boot from your DBAN CD, it will erase every hard drive on your system! Let's hope he doesn't mean this, and that DBAN asks you which drive to erase. Meantime, though, I would not yet dare to try DBAN. As a constructive further comment, if you have replaced (say) a flakey C-drive, and want to erase it after replacing it with a new one, put the old drive in a USB enclosure (e.g. NexStar-CX, about $50) and (assuming DBAN lets you select the drive) erase it in there.

I was actually quoting the DBAN web site. There is, in fact, an option to do exactly that: automatically erase everything it finds.

14-Dec-2011

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Comment from Mark J on 2011-12-13

2011-12-13T19:52:05Z

When I sold a laptop on ebay, I formatted it (full format from a live Windows CD). Then I reinstalled the OS from the original recovery disk that came with the computer.

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Comment from Art Yaffe on 2011-12-13

2011-12-13T17:44:47Z

On a paranoia scale of 1 to 5, you're a 5 if you overwrite the entire drive several times, then disassemble it, saw the platters into several pieces, and discard the pieces one every month over a large geographic area so they're not all in the same landfill.

I am a 2 on that paranoia scale. I use a run-from-cd version of linux to erase the data.

>dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/xxx bs=1M
(xxx represents the drive id, usually sda but not always.)

This leaves the drive more empty than when it was shipped from the factory, but the manufacturer's low-level drive info (like the serial number) is still there and the drive is formattable and usable. Theoretically, data could be recovered from the drive using hi-tech sophisticated forensics, but not by the average computer user or even a tech-geek like me, and the folks who could do it wouldn't waste their time recovering my data.

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Comment from Tom Dees on 2011-12-13

2011-12-13T17:44:35Z

I have donated many PC's/laptops over the years and my philosophy is this, simply remove your drive and install a NEW one! Hard drives are cheap. Maybe not so much for laptop drives depending on the size. But for piece of mind it's well worth the added expense. I also would like to think that what I donate is not merely a worn out piece of junk but a machine that someone can rely on for a reasonable amount of time. One last point regarding computer donations and perhaps the most important. Know who you are donating to so you know your donation is not just being resold for profit. Especially in the case of laptops! We started a program at my church to recycle computers and I was stunned at the number of machines which started coming in. We started out with several of us getting together once a month to go through the machines. However there were so many we couldn't keep up. So we recruited the youth groups to help. It gives these kids hands on hardware experience and they also teach us old farts a thing or two. It has been a very rewarding experience and everybody wins!

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Comment from Ralph on 2011-12-13

2011-12-13T16:16:15Z

What ever happened to the bios format? I remember on older machines the Bios setup used to have a format. It doesn't anymore it seems.

I don't recall BIOS's ever having a format option.

14-Dec-2011

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Comment from Ken B on 2011-12-10

2011-12-11T00:37:13Z

It goes without saying (okay, it _should_ go without saying, but I'll say it anyway), but...

If you don't have original install media, see if you can make an install/recovery set of media _before_ you nuke the drive. In fact, even if you _do_ have media, see if there is a way to make an additional set.

Also, if it's not printed on the side of the computer (and sometimes Windows has been upgraded to a version other than the one on the sticker), you should use a utility such as Belarc Advisor -- http://www.belarc.com/ -- which can tell you the key for not only Windows itself, but most applications you have installed. Again, once you've nuked the drive, this information is gone.

Finally, make sure you have backups of anything you might want to keep and/or move to a new computer.

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Comment from Erase Hard Drive on 2011-12-09

2011-12-09T18:23:09Z

To know more about how to erase hard drive easily, go here http://how-what.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-to-erase-hard-drive-how-to-erase.html

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Comment from Lndom on 2011-11-13

2011-11-14T02:03:22Z

Below is a list of the best and completely free Hard drive wiping software available today

http://www.comtips.net/free-data-sanitization-software.html

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Comment from Freddie Daves on 2011-11-02

2011-11-02T23:30:23Z

The smart thing would to get a program (there are free ones) that overwrite the data with random 1s and 0s

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Comment from Wade K Waldron on 2011-09-20

2011-09-20T15:38:01Z

What about using fdisk? does win 95+ (98-win 8) still have it> Will that work (not as good as drill press) but still work than reformat?
I used to use Fdisk then format then install whatever I could and do it again about 3 times then just fdisk and install the basic OS.

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Comment from Abraham on 2011-09-16

2011-09-16T20:46:56Z

If you want to really destroy the information, you dissasemble the HD, take out the disks, and pass some sand paper on them...

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Comment from guest1 on 2011-08-30

2011-08-30T18:25:18Z

If you are *really* concerned, a secure way to do this would be to encrypt it before reformatting it. This will make it impossible to recover the information. This is what I would do:

1. install truecrypt from http://www.truecrypt.org/

2. encrypt your entire hard drive using twofish, Serpent and AES and a 65 character password

3. use a strong password like this: NGeiiyQvCzUkgbDUhH@MKorEgD&j%$XHNDJlSKxN!Q#ZhGGBLg$vfrRPTxAu#a&xn

4. reformat the hard drive

5. burn piece of paper you wrote the password on

I know that is overkill but if you are concerned with the data being recovered after holes are drilled in it, this should technically be more secure.

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Comment from menja on 2011-05-02

2011-05-02T20:22:20Z

Just Reinstall windows

Unfortunately that won't overwrite the entire disk, and thus will leave things potentially recoverable from the free space that remains after the installation.

03-May-2011

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Comment from Rick S on 2011-03-08

2011-03-08T21:25:30Z

I am NOT an expert it's just a hobby to me.
A fellow brought is hard drive to me and said I could have it if I did a complete format infront of him. I did the complete format then overwrote it with a large Linux OS then formatted it again then overwrote it with a different OS then formatted it again. Then I installed an OS system on it so I don't think anybody is going anything off that thing. Besides nobody knows where the thing is. Not even me, It's in somebody's computer and I don't keep track of that stuff. Poor mans method. lol. PS. Make sure you overwrite the WHOLE hard drive.

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Comment from Albert Shurgalla on 2011-03-06

2011-03-06T08:04:40Z

Formatting a drive will NOT I repeat will NOT destroy files on the drive even if it is an unconditional format.

The proper way is to overwrite each and every sector on the drive with random data. Once is enough for all but perhaps an intelligence agency to recover BUT there is a defense department method that uses rewriting seven times with different data that will ensure even the NSA won't be able to do it.

A free software that does all of the above is available here:

http://eraser.heidi.ie/

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Comment from ashish on 2011-02-16

2011-02-16T10:51:39Z

its is very easy to recover data even after it is format. most secure way is to download a software which provide complete delete.

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Comment from Jimmy G on 2010-11-25

2010-11-25T09:50:26Z

While I enjoy taking power tools to my redundant electronics (who doesn't?!), I can recommend this company's Data Destruction services for anyone who needs it done in a more sustainable fashion.

Jim

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Comment from C Gebele on 2010-11-19

2010-11-19T15:55:48Z

I removed the hard drive, the mother board is fried, what can be discovered on the RAM?
We are selling it with full disclosure. We figure the buyers want the parts, screen, etc. We were suprised that anyone wants this stuff, but happy to keep it out of a landfill.

Nothing. RAM is completely erased within seconds of removing the power to the machine.

20-Nov-2010

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Comment from gidey on 2010-11-09

2010-11-10T04:57:30Z

i do'n undersand clearly that is WipeDrive is ?

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Comment from Chris Hansen on 2010-07-20

2010-07-20T20:10:53Z

I had reformatted a hard drive for someone and reinstalled windows xp. Then my friend tells me his wife wanted music and pictures on it. I could not retrieve them. So, after some researching I bought a program for $70.00 called Power Data Recovery that retrieved all formatted data to an external hard drive as long as the original data was not rewritten over. I was able to retrieve all her pictures and music. Then I burned them all to 2 DVD's for her (or it would have been like 6 cdr's). So,yes, it is possible with the right tools to retrieve data unless it is completely rewritten over with a data destroying program.

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Comment from james kingston on 2010-07-19

2010-07-19T09:09:16Z

Yeah it is very imp to delete all the sensitive data b4 u get rid of ur hard drive.The simplest way to do this is by formattng the drive...but that too may not delete all the data and there are always chances to recover them.I can suggest you 1 tool that will remove all ur data permanently forever and no other tool can also be able to recover it.Advanced System Optimizer...there is this tool named Secure Delete in ASO that does the permanent deletion of the data...but be cautious once the data removed can not be recovered anyhow.
its free version is also available at cnet

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Comment from Seth Brown on 2010-06-15

2010-06-16T02:29:32Z

Long-time fan, first time caller . ..

If you are looking to erase and recycle your laptop, we offer a free and secure service at www.EraseMyLaptop.com

Please support our goal of keeping laptops and smartphones out of landfills. Our goal is to be sure your personal information is completely erased in the process.

Thanks for the great article and many years of excellent computer advice Leo, you are a legend!

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Comment from Patti on 2010-05-21

2010-05-22T01:46:21Z

i have a laptop that the screen is broken on. i want to erase the hard drive, but cant see anything to do it. i used to work at a drs office that has an MRI, if i have them put it in the room while its one will it do the trick? if so, how long should it be in there and how close? thanx!

I think you risk damaging the MRI (there's a reason they say NO METAL). I'd remove the drive and perhaps use another machine to wipe it.

22-May-2010

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Comment from Tommy Lewis on 2010-05-12

2010-05-12T20:51:18Z

Just write zeros to the disk. Takes a long time but it's worth it, WD has a utilty that can accomplish this. http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=609&sid=3&lang=en

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Comment from cjwolfer on 2010-04-24

2010-04-25T02:29:05Z

ya i would use dban's boot and nuke which will render anything that was on on the hard drive useless and plus all u have to do is put it on a disk boot off the disk confirm that you really wana get rid of everything and let it do its thing

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Comment from Nancy Johnson on 2010-02-10

2010-02-10T10:41:16Z

Formatting and deleting the data from the hard drive does not removes the data completely from the hard drive. It can be recovered easily using any recovery software, so removing the data in that manner will not be safe.

So, to remove the data completely from the hard disk any special softwre is required and Wipe Mac is simply perfect which I used as well. It removes the data at changes the hard disk format in its native state that is to 0 and 1. I am sure it will help you out as well.

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Comment from renardo on 2010-01-05

2010-01-05T09:04:48Z

WHEN I TrY TO FORMAT THE HARD DRIVE, I GET A Message that" says format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process , format may run if this volume is dismounted first, would you like to force a dismount" Then "cannot lock the drive volume is still in use"

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Comment from Alex on 2009-12-15

2009-12-15T09:17:31Z

If you want to be sure of total data loss, disassemble the hard drive, remove and destroy the discs.

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Comment from James on 2009-11-06

2009-11-07T01:43:21Z

Formatting Doesn't Erase the Data,it can still be recovered.Use a Program called "Dban" which Overwrites the data with Random data several times...rendering it USELESS!!!
It's an Iso Image file,so you have to get a free program like "BurnAware" and burn the file to a Cd-r or Dvd-r.And boot it from System Start up.
This goes to Jeff,the System might be too infected to just format,you might want to wipe the drive all together and then try to re-install Windows.

Dban
http://sourceforge.net/projects/dban/files/dban-beta/dban-beta.2007042900/dban-beta.2007042900_i386.zip/download

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Comment from Brian on 2009-10-07

2009-10-07T23:26:40Z

I am trying to wipe my hard drive as i have a worm and my comp is shutting down every half hour or so i tried to format it and reboot from windows disc but nothing works i have tried webroot washer also but nothing seems to boot when i switch on can you help please

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Comment from Jeff on 2009-09-04

2009-09-04T20:52:58Z

Now that I have erased my HDD how do I get the new OS to install?
When I insert the Windows or Linux install disc, it gives disc error and will not load. I have used a partition floppy to install a MBR partition but the OS will not start.

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Comment from Ed on 2009-08-27

2009-08-27T12:03:40Z

Dear Leo,
Great info here about wiping a drive. I've got two older HP laptops I'd like to sell, but they don't work, so I have to either sell 'em without the HD, or wipe the drives by other means. I have access to some huge magnets (think "MRI")and I'll do it that way. I know it might not be enough, and I know that I won't even be able to know that, but I'll take the risk (I'm not too paranoid)
My question: Assuming I can successfully scramble the drive, should that drive be able to be reformated by the new owner?

Thanks!
Ed

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Comment from Doug Nichols on 2009-08-07

2009-08-07T22:28:19Z

Try using WipeDrive - software which erases all data on your storage devices.

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Comment from James Lloyd on 2009-06-11

2009-06-11T18:54:52Z

I would advise degaussing the drive. After all it is a magnetic storage device. Had a quick google read more here...

http://www.pureplanetrecycling.co.uk/data-destruction.htm

I would not rely on degaussing. Do it, that's fine, but it's notoriously unreliable unless you've got a truly industrial strength degausser. Better to run software to clear the disk first.

- Leo
12-Jun-2009

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Comment from Sethgo on 2009-03-16

2009-03-17T00:58:03Z

Hi! I have a failing external hard drive that I want to give to a local computer recycling center. I want to do this safely and I'm wondering if I can use a bulk eraser - the kind that radio stations used to use to erase reels of audio tape? Thanks.

I wouldn't. The hard disk media is more protected - by its case if nothing else - than bulk audio tape. Those magnets are still not strong enough to penetrate the case and layers of platters in the drive.

- Leo
17-Mar-2009

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Comment from Barrh on 2009-02-03

2009-02-03T19:13:04Z

Does formatting the hard-drive during reinstallation of the operating system via the original CD (vista or XP) adequately erase the HD

Depends on what you consider "adequate". I consider it enough, as long as it's not a "quick" format.

- Leo
06-Feb-2009

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Comment from sandy on 2009-01-18

2009-01-18T20:39:01Z

I have gone to c:\ and put in "format/u". It keeps telling me I have wrong or missing parameters... Please help I am trying to erase a hard drive so that I may give the computer to someone else. Thanks

You must tell it what drive to format: "Format D: /u" for example.

- Leo
19-Jan-2009

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Comment from Kilroy on 2009-01-05

2009-01-05T18:06:21Z

DBAN works well but has limits too.. here is a good versus article. DBAN Versus Wipedrive

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Comment from Tim Carter on 2008-12-09

2008-12-09T16:28:45Z

To erase the data on my old hard drives, I strip out the hard drive from the computer and then use a screwdriver to open the hard-drive case. I then light up my acetylene torch and cook the actual platter.

Within a few moments, it's melted and virtually destroyed. I can't believe for a second that any data is still there.

I also have a giant magnet that weighs about 20 pounds. I've often wondered what might happen if I put it in contact with the platter.

Yep, like I said in this article, I'm partial to a drill press myself. (Though I recently posted a new article recommending DBAN - Darik's Boot And Nuke, a tool for securely erasing hard drive contents without actually destroying the drive.

(BTW: Tim's a friend, and posts less destructive home-improvement tips over at Ask The Builder.)

- Leo
10-Dec-2008

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Comment from Erase hard drive data on 2008-08-01

2008-08-01T07:00:20Z

Why erasing hard drive is required ?

Get your answer here...

http://www.eraseharddrivedata.com/wiping-hard-drive-process.php

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Comment from Simon on 2008-07-29

2008-07-29T11:46:50Z

>Amanda Stephen:
>can I ask a question. I had a new hard drive with >new bios put in. If I erase the HD will the BIOS >be left so I can reinstall the OS.

The Bios isn't saved on the hard drive. It's normally saved on a chip on your motherboard. This chip can be overwritten or in some cases physically replaced. Without a bios a normal PC is useless, because is can't load an operating system and thereby can't be operated ;-)

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Comment from Simon on 2008-07-29

2008-07-29T11:32:49Z

What about encrypting the data? then I would think it could (in many cases) become an impossible task to decrypt the data, from the partly recovered data you get from the drive.

As long a you've chosen a strong passphrase, and as long as you're certain that the unencrypted data was never temporarily outside of your encrypted container (like, say, the Windows swap file or a temporary file) then yes, encryption could be a viable solution.

Specifically I think if you used whole drive encryption from day one on the drive you might be ok.

But if you're suggesting to encrypt just prior to disposal, I'd just format instead. Or break out my drill press. :-)

-Leo

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Comment from Leo on 2008-06-08

2008-06-09T04:28:40Z

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Erasing your hard disk does NOT erase your BIOS.

Leo

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Comment from Amanda Stephen on 2008-06-08

2008-06-08T22:19:23Z

can I ask a question. I had a new hard drive with new bios put in. If I erase the HD will the BIOS be left so I can reinstall the OS.
Thanks

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Comment from Leo on 2008-06-07

2008-06-08T04:24:03Z

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

DBAN is Darik's Boot and Nuke available at
http://dban.sourceforge.net/ - and yes, it's another good
solution.

Leo

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Comment from Mobius on 2008-06-07

2008-06-07T23:26:49Z

Look for DBAN... by far the best nuke program I've ever seen. I don't know anyone that's been able to recover data off a DBAN'd drive. And trust me, I know "social engineering" people who do it all the time on weak reformats.

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Comment from vish on 2008-06-05

2008-06-05T12:18:11Z

very nice article about how to erase your hard drive permanently. formatting can erase disk but not permanently as you said data recovery software recover these files. SO in this situation you could try drive wipe software which rewrite and overwrite the data by special algorithm so that it couldn't be recovered by any recovery software.

More information: http://www.drive-wipe.com

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Comment from Leo on 2008-06-01

2008-06-02T03:22:10Z

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There's a space between format and /c.

Leo

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Comment from Sharon Beckham on 2008-06-01

2008-06-01T22:23:01Z

tried "format/c" - the system cannot find the path speicified - now what

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Comment from semsols on 2008-05-15

2008-05-16T05:22:23Z

Know & learn more about wipping the Hard drive
http://www.eraseharddrivedata.com

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Comment from PK on 2008-05-14

2008-05-14T20:43:41Z

Please add WipeDrive you list. www.wipedrive.com

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Comment from Gordon Ashe on 2008-03-25

2008-03-26T06:12:55Z

It's easy to securely erase your hard drive. First, simply perform an erase on the entire drive (no need to really erase anything - just makes the allocation table identify everything as unused space) then copy other information that you don't care about onto the drive until it is full). And the simplest way to do this, is to copy very large files, I would recommend movie files (ATI, WMV, MPG etc etc) and you can even copy the same file many times provided you give it a different name, otherwise it will just keep overwriting the same disk space. If you are still paranoid, then do this

(1) do a full, low-level format
(2) fill the disk up with junk
(3) do another full, low-level format

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2008-02-10

2008-02-10T17:12:53Z

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Yes and no. But 99.99999% yes :-)

The "problem" is that seriously advanced, expensive and time
consuming techniques could, perhaps, recover data everywhere
there's not a hole in the disk platters. It's HIGHLY
UNLIKELY - more like the stuff of spy movies and bad TV
shows - but remotely possible.

For all practical purposes, though, drilling a few holes
works just great. :-)

Leo

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Comment from John Smith on 2008-02-07

2008-02-07T16:43:18Z

Drilling right through the disk will completely kill the entire drive correct?

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2008-02-04

2008-02-05T04:15:26Z

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Before you do the format do a "Dir C:" - the result will
start with something like this:

Volume in drive C is XXXXXX

where XXXXXX is replaced by the volume label for that drive.

Leo

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Comment from Bob on 2008-02-03

2008-02-03T18:59:08Z

I tried to run format c:/u and it's asking me for the volume label for drive c but I do not know what that is. How do I find it?

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2008-01-22

2008-01-23T01:54:34Z

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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For the record, it's quite possible to reconstruct the
original picture even after you've "deleted" it the way you
describe. The actual data on the hard disk has not been
erased by your actions. It's not easy to recover, but to
someone dedicated enough to the task it might be.

Leo

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=DewF
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Comment from digo on 2008-01-22

2008-01-22T20:26:31Z

Here is what I do, to delete my Ex: nakedPic.jpg: Before deleting it, I look for an innocent picture like: tree.jpg and I rename it nakedPic.jpg.The system tell me that that name already exist and if I want to replace it. I click yes. Now, if I open nakedPic.jpg, I will see a tree instead of my wife's naked body. Now I delete it. If somebody recover this picture, all they see is a tree. No trace of other picture. You can replace an important doc,txt,jpg,mp3,... for a insignificant doc,txt,jpg,mp3,... save it and delete it after.

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Comment from Sean on 2008-01-15

2008-01-15T18:01:24Z

quote"what is about the DD command, "
if you're using dd, it'd be better to use urandom rather than null as you input file and do it a few of times

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Comment from Jorge on 2007-12-29

2007-12-29T22:16:09Z

Gina, the parameter missing is the drive letter.

Example: format c: /u

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Comment from Gina S. on 2007-12-27

2007-12-28T01:49:52Z

In MS DOS mode i typed in FORMAT/U and it says "required prameter missing-" what now?

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Comment from Greg D on 2007-12-20

2007-12-20T21:21:53Z

Empty your trash bin and the space will then show up on your pie chart. When you delete something, it doesn't free up your space until you empty the recycle bin.

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Comment from Gordon on 2007-10-24

2007-10-24T17:38:05Z

With regards to using magnets to erase your files. Even if you have a powerful degausser, if you want to give the drive away or have it usable afterwards, don't use a magnet. The manufacturer stores important data on the disk for the drive itself to function. Erasing that will render the drive unusable.

Also, it takes a strong magnetic field inside the drive to actually erase the data on the disk. Even magnets that you or I consider very strong typically don't project the magnetic field strongly enough far away from it's surface. And by far away, I mean about half an inch.

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Comment from schidtskatze on 2007-09-21

2007-09-21T11:35:56Z

what is about the DD command, so far as i know this is safe as well, isn't it ?

e.q.
dd if=/dev/null of=/dev/hda

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Comment from Thor West on 2007-09-13

2007-09-13T22:16:26Z

I read your comment about a large magnet not being effective at erasing a hard drive. I have one of those "lift an outboard motor" magnets. I was hoping it would erase a notebook drive I have to return to H.P. because it failed. Because it had failed I was unable to use a program to erase it. I obviously can't damage it because they want it back (or I pay for a new one - even though the in-warranty replacement they sent was apparently used (scratched). I have a lot of pesonnal info on it so I'll try the magnet anyway - and hope for the best.
Thank you,

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Comment from Dan on 2007-09-10

2007-09-11T05:49:21Z

Here's some advice on using geek squad if you're computer literate enough to be posting and reading comments on this web site. Don't. And as for their use of "clean rooms", most of their techs don't even bother with discharging electricity.

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Comment from Piyush on 2007-08-20

2007-08-21T04:53:17Z

for wiping your hard drive data... you can Stellar Wipe - An advanced safe data eraser.
Download the software from here

http://www.stellarinfo.com/file-eraser.htm

It's free for 30 days...

Give a try.. it is a wonderful software

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Comment from bearded_oneder on 2007-02-01

2007-02-01T19:32:28Z

DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) is a free, easy to use tool, that performs hard drive wipes up to DoD (Department of Defense) specifications. It's similar to the technique used to destroy data on computers that store secret defense information. Just run the boot disk builder utility, stick the disk in the drive of the computer in question, reboot and follow the on screen instructions. You can download it here ... dban.sourceforge.net

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2007-01-02

2007-01-03T06:29:28Z

I believe those are roughly equivalent to the multiple-format option mentioned in the article.

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Comment from CM on 2007-01-02

2007-01-02T20:05:39Z

What about tools designed to permanently erase files from hard drive? There's no mention of them here.

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Comment from Leo Notenboom on 2006-12-21

2006-12-22T04:34:56Z

You have Windows running - windows has the volume in use.

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Comment from MP on 2006-12-21

2006-12-22T04:08:54Z

My request to format the hard drive is met with "Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another porcess" I have nothing else open or running. Any idea why I am getting this response?

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Comment from VICTOR on 2006-11-13

2006-11-14T02:57:59Z

I inadvertently formatted my hard drive with the system rescue disk. THE GEEK SQUAD assures me they can have all my photos and videos rescued by a level three retrieval.

A level 2 is $500, but a level three in a clean room is $1500. I this even possible, or am I getting ripped off?

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Comment from Hyipo Network on 2006-10-28

2006-10-29T06:20:41Z

I would recommend using a Overwriting software.

That's what Leo should have mention is Erase a hard drive using a Boot-Up Hard Drive Erasing Software (like Active Killdisk, etc etc.), erase it Guttmann method, then erase it with other methods, then when your done you erase with One Pass Zeros so it looks like you never erased, or written data.

Then after that Reformat, then install the Operating System (95,98,XP,2000,2003,Vista) not to mention you overwite when you reinstall your Operating System too.

Now you know how to erase everything without destroying the hard drive. I need to have a data erasing service. Maybe computer repair shops can have a erasing service and make some $$$.

Another way to destroy data from recovery is to put all data in a (Strong 128-Bit) or more encrypted container and reformat-it because you can recover files but never destroyed strong encrypted files from a deleted encrypted container. That's the reason why Strong Cryptology is Banned in certain countries.

Don't use magnets, don't destroy you Hard drive. It's not nessisary.

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Comment from Corey Gray on 2006-09-22

2006-09-22T08:06:19Z

format it several times, wipe it several times then , and then smash it

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Comment from Bill Tkach on 2006-05-05

2006-05-05T22:57:38Z

IBM has a free (Anyone can download and use it) software program that you can download from their website called "IBM(R) Secure Data Disposal (SDD) Version 1.2.". It runs from a boot disk/CD, and a will wipe out your drive by copying, sectory by sector, track by track, random data onto the hard drive. It will overwrite everything that is there, as many times as you want. So there would be no chance of someone every reading what was on your disk drive.
Caveat - doesn't work with RAID systems very well, since it needs drivers to read them.

Bill Tkach
System Administrator

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Comment from PWard on 2005-10-12

2005-10-12T14:12:22Z

Both 'DriveScrubber' and 'KillDisk' have functional demos for download- the file you download creates a bootable floppy disk that will overwrite the entire surface of whatever drive you choose-erasing data, partitions, etc. You would then have to create and format a new partition. It would take special hardware to retrieve any data after that. Takes about 2-1/2 minutes per GB on an average HD/machine.

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Comment from Paul Chapman on 2005-10-03

2005-10-04T05:55:13Z

I want to agree with leo it is all about how paranoid you are. If you know that you have something on there you shouldn't. Or are worried about someone finding it out. Then my advice is just get a 5 puond sledge hammer from home depot and beat the living crap out of it on the side walk. However if you just want to donate a computer. Get partition magic 8 and delete the partitions and recreate them, then use a 98 boot disc to format the drive and format it 5 times in a row. If anyone can recover your data after that, they worked hard enough for it I say let them have it. In all seriousness most people don't know how to access the data on their computer that wasn't erased. So don't freak out I am the lead PC Tech for a Circuit City located in Countryside,IL. You would be amazed at how little the average person knows. Data Retrieval is not even in there vocabulary. So format it or smash it if you are that worried, Otherwise you could leave everything on there and for the most part no one would find anything anyways.

Just my opinion, I could be wrong

Paul
PC Tech

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Comment from Leo on 2005-09-17

2005-09-17T21:50:15Z

Yeah, a strong magnet won't. It's pretty amazing, really - I've seen some interesting examples on TV of things that you would expect to be demagnetized by a high powered magnet that just keep on working.

It depends on how paranoid you are about the old data. Putting the drive into a machine and simply performing an unconditional format would be enough for most. Otherwise, anything that you can do to destroy the disk physically (open the case, bend the platters, whatever) would be the near-ultimate.

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Comment from k on 2005-09-17

2005-09-17T19:45:28Z

at the risk of looking like i didn't read the above comments (I did)...I gave away the desktop monitor years ago and kept my compaq hard drive out of fear of data security...it was purchased in '99 and has a very old Windows on it...there's no chance of buying or using any of the cleaning software - so are you saying the rumor of strong magnets won't work? I live in an apt, I'mnot about to be drilling into anything...HELP! Anyone know of companies that come take away and clean hard drives???someone once said tat HP had a day when people could drop off old machines but I've never seen it advertized. What can a paranoid do with an old drive lying around the apt that htey are dying to ditch???

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Comment from Leo on 2005-09-07

2005-09-08T04:34:22Z

That's what formating does ... it erases your disk.

You can try googling for "unformat", and you may find some tools that can help, but I would not be hopefull.

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Comment from Ashish Tyagi on 2005-09-07

2005-09-07T15:36:20Z

I format hard disk by command (format c:/q/u/s)
after that i loss my data can you suggest me any process for recovery data

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Comment from Brent Anderson on 2005-08-22

2005-08-22T14:31:39Z

I've used the Web-deployable EraseYourHardDrive.com and found it to be an efficient and effective method of conducting a three-time disk overwrite and verification pass. The software automatically produces a Certificate of Data Erasure - guaranteeing success of hard drive erasure. I tried three off-the-shelf data recovery programs and could find no trace of data. I liked the fact that the software was Web-deployable so that I could erase the drive immediately and did not have to download an .exe file nor did I have to wait for a CD to arrive in the mail. Quick, convenient and obviously effective.

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A comment on: How should I erase my hard drive before I give it away?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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Comment from Leo on 2005-07-09

2005-07-09T15:35:39Z

I think reformatting and reinstalling is a great way to start clean. Make sure to install anti-virus and anti-spyware software right away. A couple of articles that may help:
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_keep_my_computer_safe_on_the_internet.html
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_set_up_my_computer_simply.html

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A comment on: How should I erase my hard drive before I give it away?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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Comment from Jonathan E on 2005-07-08

2005-07-08T23:51:01Z

My sister inlaw gave me her comp. but it has a virus on it that i cant get rid of. I was wondering if i could erase or reformat my hardrive to reinstall WindowsXP without the hard drive still having the virus on it. Im not to sure what kind of virus it is, but im pretty sure its some kind of spyware or adware.Your comments would greatly be appreciated

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A comment on: How should I erase my hard drive before I give it away?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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Comment from Frank on 2005-05-05

2005-05-06T06:01:23Z

If you want to erase your hard disk, simply throw it into an incinerator. That way, theres no freakin way thanyone will ever get to your stuff.

oh yeah!!

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A comment on: How should I erase my hard drive before I give it away?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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Comment from Jamie The Hutt on 2005-01-05

2005-01-05T13:16:58Z

Darik's Boot and Nuke is a free tool for doing just this.

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

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A comment on: How should I erase my hard drive before I give it away?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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Comment from Leo on 2004-12-27

2004-12-28T01:51:42Z

Yes, there are various utilities out there that will do varying degrees of data "wiping" to help decrease the chances that the data can be recovered. And if an unconditional Format isn't enough for you, then they might be worth checking out. But remember that there are few guarantees ... they only decrease the probability of recovery, not neccessarily eliminate it. Format takes care of the 99% case ... the rest of you need to decide how much trouble you want to take.

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A comment on: How should I erase my hard drive before I give it away?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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Comment from EJ on 2004-12-27

2004-12-28T01:44:03Z

Maybe this would work:

http://eraseyourharddrive.com

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A comment on: How should I erase my hard drive before I give it away?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.