How to completely delete hard drive?

[computernewb]

hi. i have a laptop hard drive that i want to sell because im getting an SSD. So before i sell it, i want to completely delete the contents of the hard drive so the buyer doesnt have access to any of the information. What is the most effective way of doing this?

thanks!

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

How to Use DBAN

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

DBAN's website is: http://www.dban.org/
How to Use DBAN to Securely Erase a Hard Disk Drive

Turn on computer and boot from the DBAN CD.
The DBAN application opens. DBAN is a simple, text-only application.
You will see a boot: prompt and a menu of options.
Press the Enter key to start DBAN in interactive mode.
DBAN continues to boot. This will take a few moments.
You will see a screen listing Options, Statistics, and Disks and Partitions.
Leave the defaults for Options.
From the Disks and Partitions list, select the hard drive you want deleted.
Move the cursor up and down using the J and K keys, and select the drive with the Spacebar.
When the drive you want to erase is selected, press F10 to start the wipe.
The time required to wipe your drive will depend on the size of the drive. DBAN offers an estimate on the Statistics pane.

www.it.cornell.edu


How to wipe a hard drive
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/wipe-hard-drive.htm

Free tools to wipe a hard drive
http://www.pcworld.com/article/254509/free_tools_to_wipe_your_drives_securely.html

 

[computernewb]

hmm that seems like a lot of work.

how does CC cleaner driver wipe do? i already have it installed.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

It's ok but DBAN gets the job done right.It's easy.

 

[Hawkeye22]

Most new drives have a secure erase function, but windows doesn't have the command to issue to the drive. Use a 3rd party utility to have the drive erase itself.

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

 

[vince2611]

I would used DBAN. But because how cheap HHD is now days, don't you think people would just buy a brand new one instead (better performance and lifespan). You can always use your old hard-drive as an external drive.

 

[j2j663]

To completely erase a HDD you will need a third party app that can access the drive outside of windows (a live CD). I personallly use Killdisk which is very similar to DBAN. Blackbird gave very good directions on how to use the disk and it is really not hard at all. If you go to the website they should even have instructions on how to burn the disk to be bootable.

This is the best way to remove all the data from a disk and much better at it than any software that will run inside of windows.

 

[Neo Jensson]

You can use ErAce. It will over write hard disk 1-100 times. It is downloadable from erace.it and sourceforge

 

[popatim]

Just keep it.
What are you going to get for an old used hard drive? $20?

Consider what you are going to do if your SSD fails? I'll bet you that $20 that you'd wished you had kept that drive rather than go without a pc for a week. Remember - its already bootable and has all your stuff on it...