Mosio - Mosio Mobile Search // bcrayner: What program would you use to securely erase personal data from a Windows harddrive before selling the computer? Looking for something free and fairly simple to use. Thanks!

bcrayner's Questions | Answers | Friends | FYIs

Home | Questionarium | Apps | FYI | Search

Question

What program would you use to securely erase personal data from a Windows harddrive before selling the computer? Looking for something free and fairly simple to use. Thanks! Join or Log In to answer.

-bcrayner (283Q / 541A)
Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:22am

if you have the windows install disk, format the entire hard drive and reinstall windows...

-chriswible (64Q / 242A) Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:26am

No Windows disk available, and we want to do a SECURE wipe. (7 pass)

-bcrayner (283Q / 541A) Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:31am

www.killdisk.com has good software for that. Completely formatting it would be nice. but this erases EVERYTHING, you would have to reinstall the operating system and drivers.

-confucius (101Q / 835A) Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:26am

Try Secure Erase: http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase.shtml
Free, but you will need to create a boot floppy.

-kinetta (99Q / 1406A) Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:33am

Can I do a boot CD instead? Computers don't often have floppies any more.

-bcrayner (283Q / 541A) Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:46am

To run the utility make a floppy, recordable CD-R, or USB DOS bootable disk;
HDDerase.exe must be run from an actual DOS environment and not a Window based DOS command prompt environment.

-kinetta (99Q / 1406A) Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:51am

It offers the option to run the drive internal secure erase command, security erase unit, based on the ATA specification by the T13 technical committee.

-kinetta (99Q / 1406A) Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:52am

Permalink

Join or Log In to answer.