HD Sterilization

[imported_Meridian]

I would like to completely remove all data from my hard drive. Is it neccessary to purchase a program to do this, or is formatting sufficient? I'm not selling my HD or anything, i just have so much crap -- viruses, spyware, adware, etc. -- that I want to eliminate. Permanantly. If necessary, what program is the best? Thanks.

 

[Bootprint]

dban

It's a bootable linux diskette, just make sure you wipe the correct drive.

It will write multiply times over the drive, then zero everything out.

 

[mundane]

For just deleting the contents of a drive, a format should be sufficient. However, if you want to remove *all* traces from potentially prying eyes, you'll need additional software. The term "securely" in your topic suggests you might be more interested in the latter.

 

[redbeard1]

Let DBAN run on it for a couple of days and no one will be able to afford a recovery on it.

 

[imported_Meridian]

Thanks guys.

 

[SemperFi]

I like to get the utilities disk from manufacturer. They usually have a utility on it to write 0's to the drive. I know that maxtor and WD have it. I haven't owned a different drive so I don't know about the others.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Fire.

- M4H

 

[bleuiko]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Fire.

- M4H

water. BIG magnet. throw it around. repeat.

ohhh... did you mean you want to use it again??