kiyshooter Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I just bought a new Vista System and want to donate my old pc or just throw it away. How do I erase all memory from the computer. I have heard it is impossible to delele all memory. Should I just bust the thing up so, no one can ever use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiDale Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Unless you are a terrorist, pedaphile or other major criminal just format the drive. If you are send it to the FBI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbs007 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 (edited) Shoot it! Download a trial version of killdisk and run it three times. Active KillDisk Edited July 24, 2007 by norbs007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XA180 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 There is only one way to erase the disk and that its to destroy it or keep it in a good place at home When you format the harddrive you can easily restore it. There is software that could do a better job but they will cost $ and its easier to buy a new disk Harddrives are so cheap these days so if you cant stand the thought that anyone could restore your drive buy a new one (the cheapest you can find) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vluc Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Store it in the garage to use after you shoot vista.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLC Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 hi kiyshooter, the key word(s) is: NSA Data Overwrite Standard may be you will find information over a program there: http://clean-hard-disk.qarchive.org cu Sven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maineshootah Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I just bought a new Vista System and want to donate my old pc or just throw it away. How do I erase all memory from the computer. I have heard it is impossible to delele all memory. Should I just bust the thing up so, no one can ever use it. The easiest thing to do to gaurantee that your data will not be floating around out there is to pull the hard drive out of the system. Toss/sell/donate the computer. It will take less time than obtaining, installing,& running cleaning software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandormen Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 (edited) Hmm, format the drive, and just install it in the new 'pooter, perhaps? Otherwise, drive a 12" nail through the plates. Should be sufficient! Edited July 24, 2007 by Sandormen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam B Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 just hit the hard drive with a hammer, several times! If someone whats your data bad enough they can recover it with the right software and a lot of work, even after it is formatted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinMike Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 (edited) Don't get me started on how companies mystify erasure of data to sell what are really very simple programs for outrageous prices. These programs just write a pattern to files or disk repeatedly. The purpose of the multiple write passes is to make sure you're overrunning file system or device cache and getting the bits committed to the media. This is really only an issue with file systems or caching drive arrays, IMO. Erasing a hard drive is as simple as putting it in another system as a secondary drive and using a program that will run directly to the physical drive, writing across the whole drive, with Force Unit Access enabled on the write commands. One pass is sufficient if the device honors the request and most do these days. If you want to be absolutely sure, run a couple of times. Run a hundred times if it makes you feel better. Once you've reordered the magnetic signature on the disk one time, it doesn't matter how many more times you do so after that. Some utilities have already been recommended and I'd say go with one of those as long as they are free or a very nominal cost. The nicer utilities have a boot floppy or CD so you don't have to move your drive into another system as a secondary drive and that's worth paying a small fee for the convenience. I think I need to write one of these drive blend-o-matic utilities one o' these days and sell it to the government for a bazillion dollars. I've already got the functionality in other programs I've written, just need to wrap it in a pretty, user friendly package. Might be my retirement plan right there, hmm..... Edited July 24, 2007 by AustinMike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 (edited) Otherwise, drive a 12" nail through the plates. Should be sufficient! You'd be surprised how much is actually recoverable from those platters by a determined person with the right knowledge and equipment... Not that any of our hard drives are likely to contain something that important, but.... Mike's got the best advice (he does this sort of thing for his paycheck, in addition to being a sharp cookie... ). Edited July 24, 2007 by XRe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Shooting it may be rewarding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bberkley Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I would use Darik's Boot & Nuke Disk Wiping utility from http://dban.sourceforge.net/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Ellis Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I would use Darik's Boot & Nuke Disk Wiping utility from http://dban.sourceforge.net/ +1I've been using this FREE utility for years. The algorithm is good enough for all but the most paranoid. It will work on floppy drives, USB flash drives, and CD/DVD drives. The interface is old school Linux text but its easy enough to figure out without reading the documentation. For routine drive wiping just use the default settings. I highly recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 The dban option is a good one. But I like what vluc said. A friend of mine just e-mailed me this morning with the universally-happening list of complaints about the Vista system he just bought this week. I'd hold off on Vista if I were you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Norton SystemWorks had a cleaner and you had 2 choices. The first wrote 1's and 0's across the HD 3 times and the second, called a government wipe wrote 1's and 0's 7 times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eager Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Remove hard drive and shred/chop into small peices. Digest/dissolve peices in strong acid. Neutralized and dispose of residual liquid. This worked for us at the nuke plant lab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iweiny Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 First use this... http://www.llnl.gov/linux/scrub/scrub.html The do: Remove hard drive and shred/chop into small peices.Digest/dissolve peices in strong acid. Neutralized and dispose of residual liquid. This worked for us at the nuke plant lab. That is real security... Ira Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoShooter Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 ... ....I found that as I get older my memory just kind of deletes on its own. Or you could just put your computer in front of the TV for a few days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandormen Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 BCWipe is a free program that works too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedb Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 22 cal. won't quite do it, but 40 and 10mm do just fine. I did it to mine and it wasn't because I had a replacement. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 How do microwaves affect hard drives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bberkley Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 There is a way to use the debug command to write zeros to a disk, I haven't done it in years, and can't recall the exact syntax. http://www.fdisk.com/fdisk/HardDrive.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geezer-lock Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Use fdisk and format to clear the drive and partition it to the maximum size. The put it in your new box and use it as a mirror/storage drive. The ONLY sure way to destroy residual data on the drive is to physically destroy the drive. Might make for some quality range time. David C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 What AlamoShooter said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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