How to Wipe a HDD?

[Bilbo Baggins]

I've never really given any thought to how i'm going to Clear all data on my HDD (including W7 OS) before my new PC Parts arrive, and all videos i've tried to look up have been about Clearing it multiple times so it can't be recovered.

So i want to wipe it clean and install it when i build my new PC, alongside the SSD i purchased with it.

Do i use a program to delete the data?

[flibberdipper]

Use the one built into CCleaner. Install the OS on your SSD, hotplug your HDD (plug it in while the system is running) and then use this utility on the 3 passes setting, but change free space to Entire Drive.

 

[Createinator]

I've never really given any thought to how i'm going to Clear all data on my HDD (including W7 OS) before my new PC Parts arrive, and all videos i've tried to look up have been about Clearing it multiple times so it can't be recovered.

So i want to wipe it clean and install it when i build my new PC, alongside the SSD i purchased with it.

Do i use a program to delete the data?

you can use any of the programs listed in those videos and set them to 1 pass ~ your data will get formatted.

[Rorgash]

moist cloth, drag back and forth over it until clean.

[UnknownEngineer]

You don't necessarily need to wipe it yet, you could leave it unplugged for the time you install the OS on to the SSD. Then after you have that done, you can use windows itself to format it, from what I know using a different program to wipe an HDD makes no difference. Just use the full format (or what ever is advertised as slower) so you don't have your D drive letter taken up by the system reserved.

You can still keep working up until the installation, and during the formatting.

[TopplesS]

There's no need to go to these lengths, just repartition the drive once the OS is loaded (make sure you install Windows to the SSD and leave that drive only plugged in, disconnect all other drives) and then assign a letter like D: or K: or whatever you want.

[ManWithBeard1990]

For irrecoverably wiping a drive I usually do a destructive badblocks scan with a linux distro. It writes patterns to all sectors of the harddrive and then reads them to check whether the drive's healthy. It overwrites existing data if you do that so it's gone forever. Since that's not necessarily what you're after and just want a clean install and irrecoverably wiping everything isn't that important to you, just formatting the drive (OS installer will probably let you do this) will do fine.

[Bilbo Baggins]

thank you all for the detailed reply's!

[Tech_Dreamer]

depends on what you mean by wipe, there is the usual

 

1:hey i can't find the files because i formatted the drive kind (quick format)

2:dude i need to wipe the entire drive and start fresh (random pass Standard to guttman)

3:This thing should be extinct method (degaussing/physical destroying)

 

 

Do not sit under the impression that wipping (even wipping records) your drive can be put under clean hard drive, trust me it can be recovered with the right tools & time, if you just want to clean install as close to a new hdd as possible you need to clear it out from the boot option itself including the OS & partitions , wipedisc soft can be helpful that's the only consumer product that can deliver that i believe. otherwise ccleaner or other free/paid softs can do the job.

[Bilbo Baggins]

Use the one built into CCleaner. Install the OS on your SSD, hotplug your HDD (plug it in while the system is running) and then use this utility on the 3 passes setting, but change free space to Entire Drive.

 

thankyou i will be using this method, is there any difference between 1 and 3 passes if i don't care about Data being able to be recovered?

[flibberdipper]

thankyou i will be using this method, is there any difference between 1 and 3 passes if i don't care about Data being able to be recovered?

More passes will be more secure and have a lower chance that data will be recovered. But the more passes you do, the longer it will take.

[LogicalDrm]

You can do it with windows installation also.

 

The title remainded me of old joke when dealing with problematic windows installs, "format c:"

[AlwaysFSX]

I'm surprised nobody has used my option.

 

 

Oh you still want to use it? Darn.

 

I'd do what @LoGiCalDrm suggested. It's the easiest.

[ohJey]

I'm surprised nobody has used my option.

 

 

Oh you still want to use it? Darn.

 

I'd do what @LoGiCalDrm suggested. It's the easiest.

Now on sale at KMart 1$ each or 25.99 for a pack of 30!!!! MURICA

[AlwaysFSX]

Now on sale at KMart $25.99 each or $1000 for a pack of 30!!!! MURICA

Let me fix that for you.

 

Technically these are artillery rounds too. :lol:

[ohJey]

Let me fix that for you.

 

Technically these are artillery rounds too. :lol:

Nah it was a joke because back in the day kmart sold bullets for retarded cheap,

[AlwaysFSX]

Nah it was a joke because back in the day kmart sold bullets for retarded cheap,

If only it still was that way

[ohJey]

If only it still was that way

yeah man I'm feelin like shootin up some schools right now

/s

<_<

[FullNuclearBreakfast]

yeah man I'm feelin like shootin up some schools right now

/s

<_<

Someone's just been added to an NSA watchlist

[ohJey]

Someone's just been added to an NSA watchlist

I use linux so im already there B)

[Tam3n]

You don't need to do any cleaning. When you first time start your new rig and install the OS on the SSD, keep your old HDD still disconnected. After you got Windows updated and running, connect your HDD and check that in the BIOS the SSD is the boot drive option 1 (or the only boot drive, you can disable other drives). In Windows type "harddrive" in the start button search and it'll bring up "Create and format hard disk partitions". Right click on your HDD, and delete all volumes (=partitions) which also effectively quick formats your disk, and then create one big new volume (or whatever you'd like).