Wipe data & Windows install before handing over PC

rikishi19 · 03. Apr 2014, 03:41 AM

I have just sold my Windows 7 PC. It has 2 drives, one a system drive, the other a data drive.

What is the best method of wiping all information from the data drive & wiping the OS from the system drive? I have never had to do this, only reinstall Windows which gives you the option to format a drive before the install starts. But if I do this will the computer be bootable for the new owner to install their OS?

Cheers

Anupam · 03. Apr 2014, 07:34 AM

There are a few free tools available.

Eraser: http://eraser.heidi.ie/

Darik's Boot and Nuke: http://www.dban.org/

Disk Wipe: http://www.diskwipe.org/

Active@ KillDisk: http://www.killdisk.com/eraser.htm

However, please use caution as it is not clear whether these are meant to just wipe the hard drive, so they can be used later... or just trash them totally. So, use them only when you are quite clear of what they do exactly.

Better to wait for someone with a definitive answer on that.

MidnightCowboy · 03. Apr 2014, 08:34 AM

The first item listed here would seem to be the way to go.

http://www.wikihow.com/Permanently-E...f-a-Hard-Drive

rikishi19 · 03. Apr 2014, 10:09 AM

Both suggestions are great. My thinking was that I would use Eraser to wipe the data from my data drive, but I got confused thinking about how to wipe the system drive I have the OS installed on.

Can it be done via the method in the link you posted MC? I'm assuming if I did that the guy that bought the PC would just put his Windows install disc into the PC and boot to install like you would with a brand new hard drive?

Would using my Windows install disc on boot & going through the stage of reinstalling Windows work also? I know the step before actually installing Windows you get the option to choose which disc to install it on & whether to format it or not first, could I get to the stage where it has formatted the drive and then just turn the PC off?

Or is it actually necesarry to wipe the OS drive? I have no personal data on it, only Windows install & program installs.

Anupam · 03. Apr 2014, 10:22 AM

If you didn't have any personal data, then just a format will do the job. There are a number of bootable CDs which you can use for the job.

As in the link that MC provided, Darik's Boot and Nuke(DBAN) will work just fine by making its CD, and booting the computer from it. I checked, and wiping the disk with DBAN, will still leave the hard drive in a usable state. So, that option looks good to me.

Other options are Gparted CD: http://gparted.org/

It's mainly for partitioning, but can format the hard drive too.

Another one is Ultimate Boot CD: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/
which has disk tools which can format the drive. It has DBAN too.

You can also use a hard drive diagnose utility from the drive's manufacturer, like Seagate Disk Tools from Seagate, using which you can perform a low level format of the drive.

sicknero · 03. Apr 2014, 03:52 PM

I'd say it depends how paranoid you are ... while you might have no personal files stored on your system drive, personal details can still be recovered from temp files, swap file, MFT, etc.

Privazeer is very good I think, it can do a complete privacy clean up and overwrite everything it deletes. It includes a free space wiper as well.

I fully appreciate though that I'm generally more paranoid than a lot of people : )

03. Apr 2014, 03:41 AM	#1 (permalink)
rikishi19 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 153	Wipe data & Windows install before handing over PC I have just sold my Windows 7 PC. It has 2 drives, one a system drive, the other a data drive. What is the best method of wiping all information from the data drive & wiping the OS from the system drive? I have never had to do this, only reinstall Windows which gives you the option to format a drive before the install starts. But if I do this will the computer be bootable for the new owner to install their OS? Cheers

03. Apr 2014, 07:34 AM	#2 (permalink)
Anupam Super Moderator Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: India Posts: 15,346	There are a few free tools available. Eraser: http://eraser.heidi.ie/ Darik's Boot and Nuke: http://www.dban.org/ Disk Wipe: http://www.diskwipe.org/ Active@ KillDisk: http://www.killdisk.com/eraser.htm However, please use caution as it is not clear whether these are meant to just wipe the hard drive, so they can be used later... or just trash them totally. So, use them only when you are quite clear of what they do exactly. Better to wait for someone with a definitive answer on that. __________________ Anupam

03. Apr 2014, 08:34 AM	#3 (permalink)
MidnightCowboy Site Manager Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: South American Banana Republic, third bunch from the left Posts: 15,392	The first item listed here would seem to be the way to go. http://www.wikihow.com/Permanently-E...f-a-Hard-Drive __________________ Buy a Hoover and prove technology sucks.

03. Apr 2014, 10:22 AM	#5 (permalink)
Anupam Super Moderator Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: India Posts: 15,346	If you didn't have any personal data, then just a format will do the job. There are a number of bootable CDs which you can use for the job. As in the link that MC provided, Darik's Boot and Nuke(DBAN) will work just fine by making its CD, and booting the computer from it. I checked, and wiping the disk with DBAN, will still leave the hard drive in a usable state. So, that option looks good to me. Other options are Gparted CD: http://gparted.org/ It's mainly for partitioning, but can format the hard drive too. Another one is Ultimate Boot CD: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ which has disk tools which can format the drive. It has DBAN too. You can also use a hard drive diagnose utility from the drive's manufacturer, like Seagate Disk Tools from Seagate, using which you can perform a low level format of the drive. __________________ Anupam

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03. Apr 2014, 10:09 AM	#4 (permalink)
rikishi19 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 153	Both suggestions are great. My thinking was that I would use Eraser to wipe the data from my data drive, but I got confused thinking about how to wipe the system drive I have the OS installed on. Can it be done via the method in the link you posted MC? I'm assuming if I did that the guy that bought the PC would just put his Windows install disc into the PC and boot to install like you would with a brand new hard drive? Would using my Windows install disc on boot & going through the stage of reinstalling Windows work also? I know the step before actually installing Windows you get the option to choose which disc to install it on & whether to format it or not first, could I get to the stage where it has formatted the drive and then just turn the PC off? Or is it actually necesarry to wipe the OS drive? I have no personal data on it, only Windows install & program installs.

03. Apr 2014, 03:52 PM	#6 (permalink)
sicknero Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: England Posts: 657	I'd say it depends how paranoid you are ... while you might have no personal files stored on your system drive, personal details can still be recovered from temp files, swap file, MFT, etc. Privazeer is very good I think, it can do a complete privacy clean up and overwrite everything it deletes. It includes a free space wiper as well. I fully appreciate though that I'm generally more paranoid than a lot of people : )