100's HOW TO TIPS" Lets face it you don't have to be a Rocket scientist to see that things are going to get a lot worse before they improve, as improve, they most certainly will but until then, if it's innovative, clever and saves you lots of money, you'll get it right here. That's my promise to you. Andy H
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
HOW TO COMPLETELY ERASE YOUR HARD-DRIVE BEFORE SELLING OR GIVING IT AWAY
A safe, practical approach: DBAN
Courtesy of: http://askleo.com/how_should_i_erase_my_hard_drive_before_i_give_it_away/
DBAN (which stands for “Darik’s Boot And Nuke”) is a free utility designed to do exactly what we’re talking about by living up to its name: it’s a CD that you boot from that then “nukes” the information on the drive.
Download the DBAN CD image, burn it to a CD, and then boot from the CD. I need to be really clear on what happens next:
DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk that it detects.
DBAN does this not by simply deleting files, but by performing a careful overwrite of the entire hard disk surface. When it’s done, everything is erased.
Everything.
In fact, DBAN has options to overwrite/erase the hard disk multiple times, so as to prevent any possibility of future data recovery. DBAN is now my recommendation when you’re about to dispose of a hard disk or give a computer away.
Over the top: Physical destruction
It’s a common recommendation to use a big heavy magnet to really erase a hard disk. My advice is to forget it. Any magnets that you’re likely to have around the house, even your big speaker magnets, are unlikely to affect your hard disk in any significant way. I believe that there have been studies that show that even some exceptionally large magnets still leave the contents of hard disks in a recoverable state.
Another approach to really, positively, and permanently destroy your data is to physically destroy the disk.
Personally, DBAN is more than enough for me, but if I care enough to go this far, I use a drill press and drill a few holes all the way through the hard drive casing, through the disk platters, and out the other side.
Unfortunately, that level of destruction also makes your gift significantly less useful.
If you want to leave Windows on the machine…
As I said before, it’s common to want to leave Windows installed as part of your gift.
That may or may not be legal (it depends on the terms of the license for your particular copy of Windows). To keep it at least ethical, it means you would no longer keep or use that copy of Windows yourself.
The right and safe way to transfer Windows in this case is to, after running DBAN, reinstall Windows from scratch using your original installation media. If your system didn’t come with installation media, then you could try the restore media that you received or you could restore to an image backup that you took immediately after receiving the machine.
And part of your gift would be to include the product key that activated that copy of Windows.
A product key that, as I said, you would no longer use yourself, having given it away.
(This is an update to an article originally published December 24, 2004.)
Read more:
- DBAN – Darik’s Boot And Nuke When you are about to dispose of a computer or hard disk it’s critical that you erase your data. DBAN does it, simply and securely.
- How do I reformat my machine if I don’t have a Windows CD? Reformatting a machine is a major step that erases everything. Unless you really know what you’re doing, you’re going to want that Windows Setup CD.
- What should I back up before reformatting? Reformatting a machine is a major operation that starts by erasing everything. Having a good backup is critical to preserving your data.
- Must I reformat if I replace my motherboard? Reinstalling Windows is often recommended when replacing a motherboard with a different model. But there are scenarios where it may not be needed.
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