How to wipe hard drive??

[tazo2675]

Have to take my laptop back to the shop for a replacement today.....

Whats the best way to wipe your hard drive so no-one can retrieve the data at a later date???

 

[NLC]

Really the only way to do it properly is to have a software program rewrite the gibberish back on to the drive. When you erase a hard drive it really only overwrites the directory and then starts overwriting. If you are using a Mac secure erase does this automatically. Not sure if Windows has the same feature. What I do is usually drill three 20mm holes through it.

 

[tazo2675]

What I do is usually drill three 20mm holes through it.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for that.....don't think they will replace it tho if they find holes in it..

I'm running windows 7.....

 

[Blind Lemon Ade]

There are some Freeware packages for deleting data - "Eraser" and CCleaner" are two I use for regular clean-ups...

I take it you're just deleting your "User data" and not removing the operating system from the disk?

For the former, I'd delete all the files as normal, then run CCleaner to "wipe free space" by writing shite all over the deleted files.

You might like to run Windows "Disk Cleanup" and Disk Defragmenter" as well, and do something to erase "cluster tips", which I believe are small areas of disk, too small for Windows to use, which are flagged as unuseable, therefore the old data in them is still recoverable.

Security experts may differ, but the above should put your financial data beyond the reach of nosey scrotes; however, expensive forensic software can recover almost anything from a disk... as Gary Glitter and his mates have found.

After that, I take a sledgehammer to the drive, and smash it to smithereens...

 

[cookie]

this is good, but to be 100% sure you need to physically destroy the discs.

 

[Myke Rocks]

Very easy:

Pick a few photos you have no interest in.
Copy them multiple times till hard disk is full, then delete the lot.
That way all deleted files are overwritten with something useless. No matter how big the drive, can be done in 10 mins or so.

Myke

 

[WellyGoG]

Download Privacy Eraser Pro from http://www.privacyeraser.com/

It has a trial function of about 15 days I think, there is a menu for deleting data on selected discs/folders.

Hope this helps,

WellyGog.

 

[cookie]

Pick a few photos you have no interest in.
Copy them multiple times till hard disk is full, then delete the lot.
That way all deleted files are overwritten with something useless. No matter how big the drive, can be done in 10 mins or so.

Myke

that'll be quick.

...and old data still recoverable.

 

[Northern Monkey]

Spybot ( free from www.downloads.com) has a file shredder feature if there are particular things you need getting shut of but the best option is to remoe the drive and use it as a slave on another pc and format it then zero fill it ( the Internet is full of program that can do this) it fills every part of the drive with zeros - then repeat as many times as your paranoia dictates

 

[Myke Rocks]

How will the old data be recoverable?

that'll be quick.

...and old data still recoverable.

Since it has been overwritten with soemthing else.
Data is only recoverable when the file is deleted & the location not overwritten. Photos are large files and therefore easy to use to overwrite.

Myke

 

[Northern Monkey]

Since it has been overwritten with soemthing else.
Data is only recoverable when the file is deleted & the location not overwritten. Photos are large files and therefore easy to use to overwrite.

Myke

To a degree!!! It all depends how much money you want to spend recovering it!! Two or three passes or writing is usually sufficent unless u are looking at forensic recovery!

 

[red1]

Reformat the drive

 

[Northern Monkey]

Reformat the drive

A somewhat simplistic view... But effective for the majority of folk

 

[cookie]

Since it has been overwritten with soemthing else.
Data is only recoverable when the file is deleted & the location not overwritten. Photos are large files and therefore easy to use to overwrite.

Myke

not the case.

data can still be recovered if overwritten. it's expensive, but it can be done. the only sure way is physical destruction.

i admit your way is an adequate, if extremely cumbersome, method for most people's needs, but as Northern Monkey has said, it does not make the data unrecoverable if you someone is prepared to chuck enough money at it.

 

[Myke Rocks]

not the case.

data can still be recovered if overwritten. it's expensive, but it can be done. the only sure way is physical destruction.

Data is stored as a series of 0s & 1s. If the sequence is changed, as I suggested, by copying in photographs to overwrite the sequence, I am at a loss as to understand how the data may be recovered.

However, in most non domestic environments, data is backed up multiple times.
The first time this came to light in an obvious way was with Cl. Oliver North, Ronnie Reagan & the Iran/Contra affalr. Ollie deleted all the files from his computers and then told porkes to the enquiry. He did not realise all the files had been backed up 6 times, and he was seriously caught out.

I accept that data which has been deleted but not overwritten may be easily recovered. I have done it many times myself, but I would suggest that the commonly held belief that it can be recovered after overwriting is an exaggeration.

As someone who has bought dozens of computers from Ebay, usually wth hard disks not even wiped, I have never, over the years, found anything on them worth looking at. Mostly out of focus photos, and totally irrelevant spreadsheets.

Unless one is into pornographic photos, it is an irrelevance, and anyway, I don't have a pornograph to view them on if I buy such a computer!

Myke

 

[judge]

I use Darik's Boot n Nuke as I am generally passing on others computers for re-use through recyling/donor programs.

I run DBAN and then supply the pc with its OS/OE disks and all parties are happy.

 

[STUBBS]

Have to take my laptop back to the shop for a replacement today.....

Whats the best way to wipe your hard drive so no-one can retrieve the data at a later date???

a nice strong magnet

 

[TJ]

Have to take my laptop back to the shop for a replacement today.....

Whats the best way to wipe your hard drive so no-one can retrieve the data at a later date???

Have a look at Evidence Eliminator

Not cheap though...

 

[Higgy]

Just burn it!

 

[bowser]

depends on how parinoid you are about the data, I would suggest that if you are concerned (I would be) then just take the hd out and put a new one in before it goes back. A 600gb 2.5 hd at a shop near me is only 55 quid.