I have a leased laptop and i have to returned it in a week or so. Is there any sort of util that will clear the entire thing. (not a low level format...that only writes zeros...)
How do I clear off a hard so it can't be recovered.......
- Thread starter CaptainGoodnight
- Start date
If you know anyone with a norton utilities CD you can "wipe" the CD. It supposedly meets all governmental regulations as far as completely wiping away empty hard drive space.
Fdisk and Format will not clean a drive. I guarantee you, you can format a drive and I can come behind you with a program and recover most of what was there.
The only way to do it is use a government rated wipe. This zero fills the drive a few times.
The wipe utility that comes with Norton Utilities works well for this. I have tested it, using the government wipe and have not been able to recover data behind it.
The only way to do it is use a government rated wipe. This zero fills the drive a few times.
The wipe utility that comes with Norton Utilities works well for this. I have tested it, using the government wipe and have not been able to recover data behind it.
Magnets. Save electricity. Please refrain from sticking metal objects in the microwave. For your own health. And the earth's.
a combination of multiple zero wipes and magnets rotated around it is what my teacher told us in class a few months ago. btw its an assembler language class and he's worked for some pentagon related stuff so he cant really say too much beyond that. if its good enough for hush hush pentagon boys, it should be good for you.
You don't have to reinstall the OS if you Del all files that you want ot distroy, then fill the hdd by copy any unimportant disks/CDs that you have. Then Del all the un-wanted files and defrag to wipe all info in your partition.
You only need to do the above step once for most purposes...Even the gov will not be able to recover the infor if you repeate them a few times. (It is way of wipeing your drive similar to low level formatings)
so other than norton's and lowtech's idea of writing over the deleted area (did I understand it right?)- how would I do it?
(I'm sorry I'm dense- this is new stuff to me). I thought I could just insert the CD that came with it and say 'restore factory settings' and it was all done.
I am going to donate some old PCs when I backup the drives. Thanks
(I'm sorry I'm dense- this is new stuff to me). I thought I could just insert the CD that came with it and say 'restore factory settings' and it was all done.
I am going to donate some old PCs when I backup the drives. Thanks
A hammer works... or a drill bit... kinda fun, I have done both... but seriously, a low level wipe of the drive is the best, basicly writes 0's to the entire drive, a couple times is best!
The NSA has the ability to recover information from disks in excess of 20 writes overtop. The military wipes classified disks with a government appproved method then burns the disks. (They only destroy disks that contain highly classifed information) Only surefire way to eliminate the information is to complete destroy the media. As far as a leasing company goes, just use norton utils or one of the other million wipe disk programs...
Yeah.... put the HD near a Big car speaker's magnet.... I am SURE nothing will survive..... or... you could create a "bobine"... large one..... put your HD near.... put 120 V on it.... BANG !!!!!! Fuse out..... but HD data too.... just replace the fuse and your HD is empty ! 
Hehe.... or write and copy stupid stuff on it and delete it after... that should be enough.
And how the NSA can read the old data that has been written over 20 times ? They can't do magic man... HD is HD.... its oxyde of iron inside... when you change the way it is.... you can't go back... its physically impossible.. well... maybe I am wrong..
Hehe.... or write and copy stupid stuff on it and delete it after... that should be enough.
And how the NSA can read the old data that has been written over 20 times ? They can't do magic man... HD is HD.... its oxyde of iron inside... when you change the way it is.... you can't go back... its physically impossible.. well... maybe I am wrong..
stingygrrl, one other way is to go to the drive manufactuers site and download their "zero-fill" utility. This is sometimes called a low-level format. (though that has a different meaning for us older guys). It will write all zeros to the drive.
Nortons, has a disk wipe program as previously mentioned.
I wouldn't worry if you do either Nortons disk wipe or the zero-fill method. Once those are done the only way to recover any data is in specialized labs that cost a small fortune.
Maxtor
Western Digital
IBM
One advantage to downloading the manufactuers program are the diagnostics that come with it. Run them on the drive before you sell or return from lease. Keep a copy and you have some proof that the drive was in good shape when it left your hands.
The BCwipe program also looks like a secure way to clear a disk.
Nortons, has a disk wipe program as previously mentioned.
I wouldn't worry if you do either Nortons disk wipe or the zero-fill method. Once those are done the only way to recover any data is in specialized labs that cost a small fortune.
Maxtor
Western Digital
IBM
One advantage to downloading the manufactuers program are the diagnostics that come with it. Run them on the drive before you sell or return from lease. Keep a copy and you have some proof that the drive was in good shape when it left your hands.
The BCwipe program also looks like a secure way to clear a disk.
you dont have to resort to govt level tactics. a simple wipe by norton will do just fine.
the NSA and CIA and other bodies can indeed read those disks that have been wiped. magnetic disks have a type of 'resonance' that is kinda like a faint memory of what was on that disk (think of a ghost ya know). in addition to the steps i listed above, my teacher said that they usually do something to the effect of taking a sledgehammer to them after all the zero writing and magnets are done with sounds like fun.
funny enough, another teacher of mine worked for the CIA and developed techniques using strong acids that could destroy the data in 20 seconds.
the NSA and CIA and other bodies can indeed read those disks that have been wiped. magnetic disks have a type of 'resonance' that is kinda like a faint memory of what was on that disk (think of a ghost ya know). in addition to the steps i listed above, my teacher said that they usually do something to the effect of taking a sledgehammer to them after all the zero writing and magnets are done with
sounds like fun.funny enough, another teacher of mine worked for the CIA and developed techniques using strong acids that could destroy the data in 20 seconds.
hey, how can i restore data w/o going to one of those places that does it for gabillions of $$'s? I've formated a few times, or just plain deleted.. and later realized, i never backed it up (thru dos and the wonders of deltree)... is there some simple way to get at least some of it back?
Some of these places (especially the more established ones), have websites. I downloaded a utility about a year ago from one of those sites which would do it, but it was only the demo, so the features were greatly diminished: could only copy 1 file at a time, and only to the disk which it was running on (the program installed itself to a bootdisk and you had to boot up w/the disk to use it).
<< Stick it in a microwave for a few seconds. >>
Hehe, this is a good suggestion, i really liked it... ;-)
All of your suggestions would ruin ALL of the data on the Harddrive, and if you are going to do that, then use a sure tool, low level format it, fdisk it, high level format it and then reinstall.
If you do not wish to go the long way, just remove the files and fill the HDD with junk files, that will do the job.
Patrick Palm
Am speaking for PC Resources
search for a program called tiramisu it is used to restore formatted hard disks. there are others, but this is the most popular i think
Try uninstalling any programs and deleting any files you put on the drive, and then defragment it, specifying that you want the unused clusters to be erased. Norton System Works and McAfee Nuts & Volts (sometimes free after rebate when part of Office 2000) can do this. Nuts & Volts also has a "shredder" feature to completely erase files.
Norton has a utility that erases hard drives to NSA standards, at least if it's run at least 4-5 times.
Microwaving the drive may destroy its electronics, but the data may remain untouched because it's housed in aluminum, which blocks all microwave energy. It's possible that the wiring to the heads may send some energy to them and erase tiny spots, but more likely it will just destroy heads.
IBM Storage Products has a free program, WIPE, that will write zeros to the entire drive. Their version of Disk Manager includes diagnostics that can do read/write testing, but IBM's Drive Fitness Test may be faster (I don't remember if it can do write testing). But don't use any of these unless you can reinstall the operating system.
Norton has a utility that erases hard drives to NSA standards, at least if it's run at least 4-5 times.
Microwaving the drive may destroy its electronics, but the data may remain untouched because it's housed in aluminum, which blocks all microwave energy. It's possible that the wiring to the heads may send some energy to them and erase tiny spots, but more likely it will just destroy heads.
IBM Storage Products has a free program, WIPE, that will write zeros to the entire drive. Their version of Disk Manager includes diagnostics that can do read/write testing, but IBM's Drive Fitness Test may be faster (I don't remember if it can do write testing). But don't use any of these unless you can reinstall the operating system.
If you're really paranoid, just replace the drive with another one of the exact same type.
Otherwise, unless you had some very illegal or questionable stuff on the drive, the chances are that you'll be fine...most companies won't spend the resources to recover and check the contents of a leased laptop, or have cia technology to physically check what the contents were before you formatted.
Otherwise, unless you had some very illegal or questionable stuff on the drive, the chances are that you'll be fine...most companies won't spend the resources to recover and check the contents of a leased laptop, or have cia technology to physically check what the contents were before you formatted.
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