Erasing a Hard Drive by Deleting Each File and Folder Individually The Federal Government requires old hard drives to be written over with Disk Sanitizer software at least 7 times, but users can use disk sanitizer software to write over data more than 100 times.ĭisk Sanitizer Software is relatively affordable and in many cases can be downloaded for free. When data is written over, it is much more difficult for others to access old deleted data.

So anyone who buys the computer can hack the hard drive and remove personal data from it including credit card info, emails, etc. It is important to understand that files on hard drives, although deleted, can still be accessed with certain data recovery tools. Disk Sanitizer software does not just erase the hard drive, it also writes over it many times. If erasing a hard drive because the computer or hard drive is being sold or it is being thrown away, erase the hard drive with Disk Sanitizer software. Erase the Hard Drive by Using Disk Sanitizer Software

While this method is simple to complete, personal files on the computer can often still be accessed. The Windows Restore Disk will erase all personal files and applications then reinstall the Windows operating system, restoring the factory (default) settings. If using Windows XP or Vista, this can be accomplished with the Windows Restore Disk. Reformatting wipes the computer of practically all malware and viruses. This method is extremely popular, especially for those users that have had significant problems with their operating system or computer in general. The simplest way to erase a hard drive in Windows is to reformat it. Below are few methods for reformatting, using disk sanitizing software, or specifically deleting files.

There are several ways to erase a hard drive and each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. Erasing a hard drive is relatively straight forward and only takes about an hour to accomplish.

How to reformat hard drive in vista