Erasing a hard drive

[Vidar]

Hi Guys, sorry if it's been asked before or is in the wrong section but I used to have a program called kill disk that permanently destroyed all data on a hard drive with the same software as used by intelligence agencies around the world, is there anything similar available to buy these days? Am looking to sell a hard drive and want to make sure it's utterly wiped!

 

[bledd]

dban

Or you could format it, then use ccleaner to 'wipe free space' you can do this from within Windows

dban is a live boot disc, takes a while.

 

[Raumarik]

+1 for dban just don't use it on the wrong drive

 

[Uhtred]

I think post xp that a full format will zero the white space. I'd still use dban or a tool from ultimate bootcd for peace of mind though

 

[bobuk]

I use a hammer for piece of mind.

 

[iainho00]

fire is the best lol

 

[BlackAle]

How about hydrofluoric acid (Breaking Bad style!)

 

[dreep]

seconding dban.

 

[Raumarik]

I use a hammer for piece of mind.

Read his post? Just a couple of points.

1. Using a hammer doesn't erase a drive.

2. Using a hammer doesn't really benefit resale values

 

[SourChipmunk]

1. Using a hammer doesn't erase a drive.

Actually, it can. Severe shock to magnetic media can misalign the particles, causing data loss. Of course, it would take a lot of whacks to make it completely irrecoverable.

 

[KIA]

dban & drill.

 

[darael]

dban & drill.

Do drilled harddrives sell these days?

Am looking to sell a hard drive and want to make sure it's utterly wiped!

 

[Neil79]

CCLEANER -

Wipe Free Space = Overwrite 7 or 35 if you are REALLY paranoid
ERASE drive = Completely erase and overwrite with 0000's, again 7 or 35

Then use Recuva to see what's left behind that COULD be recovered

 

[httk]

CCLEANER -
Then use Recuva to see what's left behind that COULD be recovered

That's a nice extra touch, although hopefully it's unnecessary where CCleaner is involved.