How can I erase my hard drive without using something like Kill Disk?

C

ciaobella1017

New Member
Hi, I'm not very "computer savvy" so please bear with me (and, if you're kind enough to respond, I'd appreciate it if you could EXPLAIN or use "simple" language). :)

Okay, my question: how can I erase my hard drive WITHOUT using something like Disk Scrubber or Kill Disk?

I sold my computer but I need to erase the hard disk before I ship it. I don't have any of the system recovery CDs or the Windows XP reinstall CD, so don't want to use Kill Disk or something, because I won't be able to reinstall Windows. My plan is to use Ctrl+F11 to do a system recovery, but before that, I want to make sure I've sufficiently erased the hard disk.

Someone on Yahoo said that the best way to erase my hard disk without using Kill Disk is to delete all of my personal files, do a disk defrag., then to repeatedly copy a large file (like music or a movie) until it takes up all or most of the disk space.

Apparently, recopying the larger file would overwrite everything else on the hard disk, thus "erasing" it. Can someone tell me whether or not this will work?

(Obviously, after recopying the large files to take up space, I'd go through and delete them--I just want to erase the hard disk sufficiently).
 
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Will that work?
 
Only thing you can do is delete what you don't want them to see. BUT even if you format the disk, that personal data can still be recovered by professionals, its hard so someone would have to be desperate. So basicly the only way to permanently delete those files are to physicly destroy the hard drive.
 
tuxify said:
Will that work?
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It needs to be in working order, hes selling it.



On Windows XP, you'll need to download the disk information. Go to BootDisk.com and click "DOS — Windows 9X/NT4/2000/XP Excellent Bootdisks." Download the Windows XP Custom Install Disk and save it to a floppy.

On all systems, shut down all open programs. Restart the computer with the floppy in the A: drive. At the A: prompt, type Format: C. Answer "yes" to the warning; you want to wipe out all the data. When the reformat finishes, put the Windows installation CD in the CD drive and remove the floppy. Restart and re-install Windows.

Reformatting will keep most people out of your old files. But specialised shareware exists to reclaim files after reformatting. If you do not know who will get the computer — or you do know and you don't trust them — stronger measures are required.
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From http://www.microsoft.com/australia/smallbusiness/issues/technology/protect/harddrive.mspx
 
ThatGuy16 said:
So basicly the only way to permanently delete those files are to physicly destroy the hard drive.
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And even then, many pro's claim they can still restore a majority of the of the data. I read about a lady getting back most of her data after melting the disk in a house fire.
 
Yeah, like in those CSI shows, they get a bunch of files off of the burned laptops. I bet if you tried you could get information off them.
 
Okay, um, thanks for the replies, but:

1. I don't want to destroy the hard drive, I just need to erase it so I can ship it to the person who bought the computer.

2. Can someone answer the original question of whether or not recopying a large file on the hard disk will overwrite the hard disk and "erase" the majority of my files.

I'm not really looking for a 100% clean sweep, just something that'll erase the majority of content and make it relatively difficult to recover for the layperson.
 
ciaobella1017 said:
Okay, um, thanks for the replies, but:

1. I don't want to destroy the hard drive, I just need to erase it so I can ship it to the person who bought the computer.

2. Can someone answer the original question of whether or not recopying a large file on the hard disk will overwrite the hard disk and "erase" the majority of my files.

I'm not really looking for a 100% clean sweep, just something that'll erase the majority of content and make it relatively difficult to recover for the layperson.
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1. Yes, my method does not destroy the disdk, it simply erases it.
Keep in mind reformating will cause you to loose windows.

2. Do you mean overwriting your files with a larger file?
I dont think this would do more than just dragging them in recycle bin and clicking empty.
 
the system recovery utility will reimage the computer which will wipe the partition tables clean. The data is technically still there, but someone would have to go to the trouble of recovering it. There is no way to truly erase all your data because there are so many ways of recovering it. I mean you could do a 8 way secure erase and rewrite all sectors with zeros, but even then there have been proven methods of recovering that data. I recommend that you just use the system recovery utility and do an erase and restore and be done with it.
 
epidemik said:
I read about a lady getting back most of her data after melting the disk in a house fire.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like in those CSI shows, they get a bunch of files off of the burned laptops. I bet if you tried you could get information off them.
Click to expand...

I'm willing to bet otherwise. Recovering from a damaged HDD is one thing, but from a melted/burnt/seriously physically damaged unit is something else.

On newer HDD's magnets will not remove the data.

I recommend a disk shredder utility. McAfee has a nice one included in there Security program (if you have Comcast High-speed, you have it). Not too sure on any free ones.
 
imsati said:
I'm willing to bet otherwise. Recovering from a damaged HDD is one thing, but from a melted/burnt/seriously physically damaged unit is something else.
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Its possible, but it requires a lot of time, money and resources. If you were on trial for something very large, like being a terrorist or murder or whatever, then I would see someone using those resources. However, for your average user, there is no way they would waste using million dollar machinery to get your tax return info and your internet porn.
 
What id do is a complete format of the hard disk drive (boot up off a Windows CD) and if your really concerned, get a Windows 98 floppy, run fdisk and delete the full partition.
 
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