How to make sure all data is erased on a computer hard drive
Updated: 03/06/2020 by Computer Hope
If your concerned with data being read or recovered from your hard drive after it is sold or given away, we recommend trying the following utilities. These utilities remove all your existing data and make it impossible to be recovered or read. After your data is erased or overwritten, you can then reinstall Windows or another operating system.
Warning
If you have an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) computer (e.g., Acer, Dell, Hewlett Packard, etc.), the hard drive may have a hidden system recovery partition. Using the utilities below may erase this partition, making it impossible to restore your computer without a disc.
Product | Web Page | Info |
---|---|---|
DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) | DBAN official website | Free |
Blancco | Blancco official website | Free and commercial version |
Disk Wiper | Disk Wiper official website | Cost |
Eraser | Eraser official website | Free |
ArcticSoft FileAssurity | ArcticSoft FileAssurity official website | Cost |
Harddisk Eraser | Harddisk Eraser official website | Free |
Permanent Erasure | Permanent Erasure official website | Free |
SDelete | SDelete official website | Free |