How to completely format a hdd?

[Gamer? LETS!]

I have an HDD that i would like to use as a external storage but i dont know how to erase all the data on it effectively. Any help will be greatly appreciated! 

[Necrovarius]

You can never fully erase an HDD, however,

Just right click and Format it.

[Gamer? LETS!]

1 minute ago, Necrovarius said:

You can never fully erase an HDD, however,

Just right click and Format it.

Really? That sucks... So no way to just like nuke it? lol

 

[Uptivuptiz]

To erase all partitions on a disk quickly, open CMD and type "diskpart". This will open DISKPART. Type "list disk" and then find the disk that fits the specs of the one you want to erase. Then type "select disk X"  replace X with the number of the disk. The last command is "clean". This will wipe the drive.

[minibois]

2 minutes ago, Gamer? LETS! said:

Really? That sucks... So no way to just like nuke it? lol

 

If you don't intend on using the drive ever again, destruction is the only way to really get rid of the data.

Long story short, when you normally format a drive, you're telling the drive "everything is empty", but the old data will only be gone once it has been overwritten.

A tool like DBAN will write, rewrite, erase (and do the rewrite stage a couple times as far as I know) until the data is truly difficult/impossible to find. (not recommended to do on an SSD)

 

But why go through that hassle, when you are the one using the drive? Just do a normal format.

[Gamer? LETS!]

Just now, minibois said:

If you don't intend on using the drive ever again, destruction is the only way to really get rid of the data.

Long story short, when you normally format a drive, you're telling the drive "everything is empty", but the old data will only be gone once it has been overwritten.

A tool like DBAN will write, rewrite, erase (and do the rewrite stage a couple times as far as I know) until the data is truly difficult/impossible to find. (not recommended to do on an SSD)

 

But why go through that hassle, when you are the one using the drive? Just do a normal format.

True aight. Thanks!

 

[Gamer? LETS!]

2 minutes ago, Uptivuptiz said:

To erase all partitions on a disk quickly, open CMD and type "diskpart". This will open DISKPART. Type "list disk" and then find the disk that fits the specs of the one you want to erase. Then type "select disk X"  replace X with the number of the disk. The last command is "clean". This will wipe the drive.

Perfect I will try this out. Thanks bud!

[Necrovarius]

3 minutes ago, Gamer? LETS! said:

Really? That sucks... So no way to just like nuke it? lol

 

For security, the only way to remove data fully from a drive is to take it out back, and put so much ammo through it as possible, 

(I like using slugs myself, but my friend uses .45 or 30-06 rounds.)

[Uptivuptiz]

2 minutes ago, Gamer? LETS! said:

Perfect I will try this out. Thanks bud!

I should mention that this is not a secure-erase tool. This just marks the disk as empty and all the data on there will be overwritten slowly over time when the disk is used. If you want to secure erase it use the tool @minibois recommended. DBAN

[rEkmAInc1csBnlM6C85H]

12 minutes ago, Gamer? LETS! said:

Really? That sucks... So no way to just like nuke it? lol

 

Define erase, you can use a program like CCleaner to do a secure erase, all it dose is overwrite the entire media with garbage data over and over until it is technically nuked. (Someone who wants the data theoretically could pull it with allot of time and effort. But it is as clean as you are going to get the drive.)

 

I like CCleaner because it has an easy to understand UI and good documentation on using its "Drive Wipe" feature.

 

But as others have stated true secure erase is mechanical destruction.

[nox_]

2 minutes ago, Necrovarius said:

I like using slugs myself, but my friend uses .45 or 30-06 rounds.

Americans and their guns...

[Gamer? LETS!]

5 minutes ago, Necrovarius said:

For security, the only way to remove data fully from a drive is to take it out back, and put so much ammo through it as possible, 

(I like using slugs myself, but my friend uses .45 or 30-06 rounds.)

LOL that sounds FUN! But sadly i dont own a gun and i do plan on using it haha

[Tan3l6]

There's an actual program called eraser, where you could reach even higher security:

many-many sweet algorithms

[TechyBen]

1 minute ago, Gamer? LETS! said:

LOL that sounds FUN! But sadly i dont own a gun and i do plan on using it haha

If you plan on keeping using it, but it has sensitive data, use an "erase" program on the entire drive. If you plan on using it, and it never had sensitive data, just do a quick format.

 

Change the recommended correct answer, as secure erase and "delete" are two different things.

 

I use Eraser for data destruction: https://eraser.heidi.ie/

[Slayerking92]

https://helpdeskgeek.com/free-tools-review/5-free-programs-to-completely-wipe-a-hard-drive/

 

There are several tools out there that can DOD wipe a drive, DBAN works fine for a 7 pass wipe.