I'm about to sell my HD...

[Clair de Lune]

Boot up to XP CD and do format (non quick).

Is that all? Is repeating that more than once make it more effective? What's a good standard method so files cannot be recovered? Thanks.

 

[amdskip]

Google drive eraser and find something.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

You have to do something more than Format it. You need something that will write 0's and 1's to each sector on the drive. The amount of passes will make it harder to recover.

 

[Arcadio]

Originally posted by: amdskip
Google drive eraser and find something.

x2. Eraser overwrites every sector multiple times. A full format doesn't delete your data permanently.

 

[mikecel79]

DBAN will do exactly what you need. Download and burn it to a CD, boot the machine from the CD and wipe the drive securely.

 

[evident]

Eraser ---- http://heidi.ie/eraser/ a little bit easier to use than DBAN.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

another vote for DBAN. i use it often and it's probably the safest way to securely wipe the disk without damaging it.

 

[eternalone]

But its also hella slow so expect 2-3 for maximum effectivness.

 

[Red Squirrel]

There's also a program called shred on most linux systems, you can plug in the drive to a linux server and run it for a few days. I usually do about 15 passes or so to be extra safe.

Note that to recover beyond 1 pass requires very expensive equipment so the odds of it are very slim, but better safe then sorry.

 

[wayliff]

vote for DBAN

 

[C1]

WIPE (also known as ZAP).

It's free and also very useful for clearing the HDD prior to a new install.

 

[derdrache]

western digital has a write zeros application you can run from windows. Not sure about recovery afterwards but at least your computer isnt out of commission. Even though it is a WD utility it works on all drives.

Here's a link after some searching
http://www.softpedia.com/get/S...-DLG-Diagnostics.shtml

 

[JasonCoder]

I used to call these "low level formatting" tools. Back in the day it was recommended to do it to a drive when going or coming from a linux to windows os. Rumors abounded that you could sometimes zap your drive and/or the controller. Even heard it would sometimes "mate" your drive to the controller it was using if you used these tools.

Anyone know anything about these claims? Myth?

 

[Chiefcrowe]

No truth to those claims as far as I've heard/read.

 

[mc866]

+1 Dban

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: Clair de Lune
Boot up to XP CD and do format (non quick).

Is that all? Is repeating that more than once make it more effective? What's a good standard method so files cannot be recovered? Thanks.

Common misconception.

Format does not erase data, even non quick.
It just erases the table that tells where the files start and stop.

You only need to erase the sector one time.
Doing it more times doesn't make it more secure unless you plan the drive to be put under an electron scanning microscope.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: JasonCoder
I used to call these "low level formatting" tools. Back in the day it was recommended to do it to a drive when going or coming from a linux to windows os. Rumors abounded that you could sometimes zap your drive and/or the controller. Even heard it would sometimes "mate" your drive to the controller it was using if you used these tools.

Anyone know anything about these claims? Myth?

Way back when drives were RLL and MFM you could low level format.
You were essentially telling the drive where the sectors started and ended, what sectors were good/bad. Now that is done in the firmware of the drives. And yes you could kill a drive by using the program incorrectly.

 

[Quiksilver]

dBan.

 

[whoiswes]

dBan - we don't trust anything else in our corporate environment.

 

[biggestmuff]

dban

 

[boomhower]

Another vote for dban.