How to best securely wipe a couple very old PC laptops/hard disks that I plan to toss out?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 6/17/2023 at 7:12 PM, Pouatchee said:

as kannikap states... you gonna toss them out cos they got problems but you wanna reformat them? 

 

Problems that make me not want to use them for my own use anymore.

 

But not problems that would prevent some Thai person who might pick them up off the street to use them and do who knows what with the hard disks, if I were to leave them not securely wiped.

 

[HauptmannUK]

I use BleachBit to get rid of stuff I really don't want anyone to see. Its recommended by Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump...

[JimTripper]

Smash it. Problem solved.

[Ralf001]

"WARNING: After running this low level format tool, the whole disk surface will be erased.
Data restoration is impossible after using this utility!"

 

 

Low Level Format Tool

[ravip]

In most cases the following should be safe enough. 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/07/08/how-to-secure-erase-your-hard-drive/

 

Add

Also, software such as below mentioned can be used.

 

Free secure erase programs include:

 

BleachBit
File Shredder
Disk Wipe
Active KillDisk Freeware

 

https://www.mail.com/blog/posts/secure-erase-hard-drive/142/

Edited June 21, 2023 by ravip

[save the frogs]

On 6/18/2023 at 2:35 PM, Ralf001 said:

"WARNING: After running this low level format tool, the whole disk surface will be erased.
Data restoration is impossible after using this utility!"

 

 

Low Level Format Tool

I just went to see a tech guy and that's what he recommended. 

He said it's impossible to restore data after a low level format. 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

I just went to see a tech guy and that's what he recommended. 

He said it's impossible to restore data after a low level format. 

 

This may not be meaningful, but it is curious....

 

The software site linked in the prior post doesn't indicate that it supports Windows 10 or 11:

 

HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool

 

"Supported OS: MS Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, Server 2003, 2008, 2008R2"

 

 

[save the frogs]

29 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

This may not be meaningful, but it is curious....

 

The software site linked in the prior post doesn't indicate that it supports Windows 10 or 11:

 

HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool

 

"Supported OS: MS Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, Server 2003, 2008, 2008R2"

 

 

I found one that works with Windows 10/11

It claims to restore the disk to factory settings.

 

Windows 11/10/8/7

 

https://www.easeus.com/partition-manager-software/low-level-format-tool.html

[ravip]

Department of Defence (Of The United States of America) Compliant Best Data Wiping Software?

 

Link

[KannikaP]

On 5/31/2023 at 6:11 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

So no one who might end up with the laptops after I've tossed them

It all depends on where the tossing takes place!

If you are going to smash the hard drives, why not do it to the unwanted laptops as well.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 6/22/2023 at 12:26 AM, save the frogs said:

I found one that works with Windows 10/11

It claims to restore the disk to factory settings.

 

Windows 11/10/8/7

 

https://www.easeus.com/partition-manager-software/low-level-format-tool.html

 

One thing I discovered about this "free" Easeus software is that if you want to nuke a Windows install off a PC OR the PC you're dealing with doesn't have a properly working version of Windows, the free version does NOT support creating a bootable version of their software via USB or CD/DVD. Only their paid version will create a bootable disk.

 

[bignok]

On 5/31/2023 at 7:24 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

You don't HAVE to.... But if you want to be sure no one can access your former data in the future, that's one way to be sure.

 

I think some non-techie folks assume that when they delete files in Windows that those files are permanently and irretrievably gone... And unfortunately, that's simply not the case.

 

What are you worried about?

[roo860]

2 minutes ago, bignok said:

What are you worried about?

'Ya Wanna be in my Gang'.

????

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

6 minutes ago, bignok said:

What are you worried about?

 

"I was getting ready to donate my old Windows 10 PC so I used the built-in Windows reset feature and I clicked "Remove everything," which deletes all of your files and leaves you with a factory default install of the OS.

 

After the reset process completed, my personal files were erased as was all the software I had installed. However, after I installed and ran , a utility that finds and undeletes files, I located all my old files. To prove my point, I recovered a file called mypasswords2.txt that had lived in the Documents folder and I was able to read everything inside of it."

 

https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/secure-erase-ssd-or-hard-drive

 

[save the frogs]

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

To prove my point, I recovered a file called mypasswords2.txt that had lived in the Documents folder and I was able to read everything inside of it."

It's probably best to change all your passwords after donating a PC just in case. 

 

[scottiejohn]

1 minute ago, save the frogs said:

It's probably best to change all your passwords after donating a PC just in case. 

 

And also ditch and renew your tinfoil helmet!

[SpaceKadet]

Like I said before. Extreme violence with a screwdriver and a hammer in case of spinners.

Microwave for the SSD's.

Kill them all!!!!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

OK.. think I've finally successfully worked things out now (without resorting to power tools!) ... by using the free Darik's Boot and Nuke software, which gives me the ability to boot my old laptops from a USB drive or a CD/DVD drive outside of Windows, and thus SECURELY nuke, without any ability to recover, the entire hard disk including the existing Windows installs there.

 

https://sourceforge.net/projects/dban/

 

Download the .iso file on a regular working PC, and then select the file in Windows file explorer, right click with the mouse, and choose "burn disk image" from the context menu to create a bootable source on either a blank CD/DVD or a blank USB drive that you'll then use to boot the device you want to wipe the disk on.

 

Had a bit of a complication as first, as it turned out the internal, built-in CD-ROM drives on both OLD laptops were no longer working properly... So I had to use an external USB CD/DVD drive that I had handy, and set that as the primary boot device in the laptops' BIOS, and then re-boot the laptops using the DBAN program running off the external drive.

 

DBAN launched and ran just fine. The menu is pretty simple and clear. I chose the default 3 passes DoD short wiping method. And on my first OLD laptop with an old slow processor, it's going to take about 2-1/2 hours to totally and securely wipe the laptop's built in 160 GB hard disk.

 

The more detailed instructions on setting up and using DBAN are toward the end of the following article linked below:

 

https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/secure-erase-ssd-or-hard-drive

 

 

Edited June 23, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[save the frogs]

I did another search.

I'm guessing this web site is an official Microsoft web site, but not sure. 

 

https://www.windowscentral.com/what-do-selling-your-old-pc

After you complete the steps, the hard drive will be wiped out beyond recovery, removing your files, accounts, settings, and apps, and then Windows 10 will apply a fresh installation. The process could take a few hours, but it's worth it, as it'll be almost impossible for most people to recover your data.

 

[elfpattaya]

Why don't you re-format it using this method

 

[ravip]

Whist on this subject, here's another tool that can be used.

 

Hiren’s BootCD PE x64 (v1.0.2) – ISO Content

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

10 hours ago, elfpattaya said:

Why don't you re-format it using this method

 

I'm not sure if that's a so-called Low Level Format that really permanently erases the data in a way that makes it unrecoverable.

 

But either way, he's also doing that while running the OS on his PC, meaning the disk he's wiping isn't the one currently being used to run the PC....  In his example, he's already removed the disk he's wiping from his operating PC.

 

So it's not the case example of the kind I was asking about in the thread, where you want to prepare an old PC/laptop for discard or donation in a way that wipes its operating hard disk so that all content is unrecoverable.

 

[JackGats]

They're difficult to destroy. I've read a strong magnet can remove the data, but where do you get a strong magnet these days? Could heating them in a fire for some time do the trick?

[save the frogs]

I found a charity online that takes in used PCs to donate to schools.

 

They use the following software to wipe the disks. 

 

KillDisk

http://www.killdisk.com/killdisk-home.htm

 

Dban

https://dban.org

 

edit: but they use an additional software to wipe the disks even further ... this is messed up complicated sh*t. 

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by save the frogs

[lopburi3]

Simple and easy step by step guide - nothing extra needed - Windows does the work.