How to I completely wipe/0 out a computer hdd before selling it?

[FearoftheNight]

How can I safely erase all the hdd of a laptop before I'm about to sell it? Thanks.

 

[Emulex]

hiren's boot cd has a program that boots in dos mode to do a DOD wipe.

ghetto not 1000% safe for government:
re-install the o/s on one big partition. fill up the whole hard drive with (whatever you got), then do a format or sdelete

 

[Szalkas]

check this one: http://www.dban.org/

How can I safely erase all the hdd of a laptop before I'm about to sell it? Thanks.

 

[tweakboy]

Simple, format it and after doing that,, take a magnet and lay it on top of the hard drives while computer is on. the magnet trick.

 

[GaryJohnson]

Simple, format it and after doing that,, take a magnet and lay it on top of the hard drives while computer is on. the magnet trick.

A) a weak magnet wouldn't do anything.
B) a magnet strong enough to do something would fuck up the drive to the point where the new owner couldn't use it.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I like to use DBAN via CD. Download and burn the CD, boot to the CD, type "autonuke" and it will run a 3-pass DoD short process that hasn't failed me yet..

 

[Chiefcrowe]

another vote for DBAN!

 

[Leros]

another vote for dban!

dban++