Will sell a PC.

Lot of datas on the disk I don't want next owner will be able to retrieve.

Have found some free softwares that advertise they can definitely erase files on the disk.They ask which files I want to delete

Little problem.Already delete files during PC lifetime.So don't see them anymore but they are still inside the disk

Wish to find a software which will delete all the datas on the old beast.

Any help will be welcomed

Most disk wiping (erasing) software have the option to erase the empty space on a drive...it should be an option so poke around the features. You could also just select the "c" drive and erase it (of course, the os would also be wiped-out).

Eraser, Spybot, Glary Utilities all have the above feature.

You can never I repeat never completely remove your files from a hard disk, this is why you hear of companies that charge high rates to recover "lost" files.

When I sold my old PC I replaced the hard drive with a cheap new one that was blank and installed an operating system only, then sold it on. the old hard drive can be used as a slave on a new pc or you can smash it up and dispose of it!!

Edited December 16, 200817 yr by JohnC

There are some utilities out there that will overwrite the disk multiple times. It is still not guaranteed, but makes data much more difficult to retrieve.

Will sell a PC.

Lot of datas on the disk I don't want next owner will be able to retrieve.

Have found some free softwares that advertise they can definitely erase files on the disk.They ask which files I want to delete

Little problem.Already delete files during PC lifetime.So don't see them anymore but they are still inside the disk

Wish to find a software which will delete all the datas on the old beast.

Any help will be welcomed

I would use KillDisk and then reinstall an Operating System and the computer drivers. Or keep the current hard disk for myself and put a new one (with an OS + drivers) as suggested earlier in the sold machine.

If you want to erase everything on the disk then Darik's Boot and Nuke ( DBAN ) is free and very effective.

It will boot the computer from a CD or floppy disk and delete everything on every hard drive it finds to a level that meets Canadian government agency standards.

If you are really worried about it, put a new drive in the computer before you sell it and keep the old one.

Go F/OSS route.

Boot any old LiveCD and open a terminal. Issue the command

dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/hda && dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda && dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/hda && dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda

Guaranteed that with the exception of those with an electronic scanning microscope NOBODY will be able to read your disk. Of course it will take a while....

Go F/OSS route.

Boot any old LiveCD and open a terminal. Issue the command

dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/hda && dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda && dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/hda && dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda

Guaranteed that with the exception of those with an electronic scanning microscope NOBODY will be able to read your disk. Of course it will take a while....

What if it's a SATA drive?

Go F/OSS route.

Boot any old LiveCD and open a terminal. Issue the command

dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/hda && dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda && dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/hda && dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda

Guaranteed that with the exception of those with an electronic scanning microscope NOBODY will be able to read your disk. Of course it will take a while....

What if it's a SATA drive?

You know that you subsitute sd* for SATA or SCSI or USB drives...