How to erase a hard drive?

[elninoalex]

So how do you do it? I'm selling my older computer and would like to get rid of all the personal stuff. Thanks.

Stephen

[rufus]

How "erased" do you want it to be? If you are really worried about security, there are utilities available that write multiple passes of random data to the drive, making it very dificult to impossible to recover the old data.

If you are not that worried about security, just format the drive.

[Mr. Pockets]

If you want the stuff on the drive to be basically unaccessible by most people, then a simple format will do.

Of course, that makes the machine totally useless to most users, since you're erasing the OS (unless the drive you are erasing is not the system drive).

How you go about formating the drive depends on how old the machine is.

If the machine is from a brand name, like Dell or Compaq for example, then it's possible that it came with a 'restore CD' that you can use to 'reset' the machine to the configuration it was in when you bought it.

[mohrds]

Darik's Boot and Nuke ("DBAN") is a self-contained boot floppy that securely wipes the hard disks of most computers. DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk that it can detect, which makes it an appropriate utility for bulk or emergency data destruction.

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

Download at:
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/d...use_mirror=umn

Just make sure you give them the original CDs or let them know that the hard drive contains no operating system.

Doug

[elninoalex]

Thanks for the input. Forgive my ignorance, but if I wipe the drive clean, will the Restore CD bring back the DOS?

[mikecg]

I find that the magnets for large speakers do one hell of a job at cleaning a harddrive.

[Andy]

Thanks for the link Doug, very useful

[Alycone]

You could just lend it to me for a few months, I seem to have a fatal effect on HDs.

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by elninoalex
Thanks for the input. Forgive my ignorance, but if I wipe the drive clean, will the Restore CD bring back the DOS?

Eh, that's tough to say. Some manufacturers used to split the drive into two partitions. The main partition was what the machine booted from and was more difficult for the end user to mess with.

But I haven't seen a manufacturer do that in awhile.

If your system drive is one partition, then you'd need to boot off the 'restore CD' (if you have one) or the OS install CD. I haven't had to install an OS since NT4, so I couldn't tell you exactly how to go about this.

If it is a brand-name computer, I'd call or write to the manufacturer for advice.