Windows secure erase hard disk

Again, we suggest at least three. Be sure to select your operating system when downloading the utility; Windows 10 users can choose the Windows 8 option. A note on whole-disk wiping software: Wiping entire drives requires slightly more complicated solutions than the easy-to-use apps mentioned previously. Once DBAN is up and running in all its blue-and-white glory, you simply select which disk to wipe, and press the M key on your keyboard to select an erasure method.

Press F10 to start the wipe once everything looks good. Depending on the method you choose and the size of the disk, erasing the data can take hours or even days. Bring a sandwich and your phone, or better yet, walk away and do something else while DBAN does its magic. If the drive is removable, you can plop it into an external drive case , and connect it to another PC via USB to wipe it from there.

The easier option is the go-to third-party utility, Parted Magic. This, however, is where we run into a paywall. The utility is awesome and easily worth the price. The only difference is that the free tool erases your data permanently by writing random numbers, not binary one or zero. Do make sure you have backed up all the needed files on the hard drive you are going to erase. To back up a whole disk effectively, you can use the free backup software to do it for you.

Once it's done, the data stored will be lost forever. Generally, it's longer than simply delete files due to the additional overwriting process. Thus, if you have a large-size disk to wipe, wait patiently for the process to complete.

EaseUS Partition Master is powerful software that will fulfill many of your disk-related needs. With the free software installed, you can:. If you upgrade to the Pro version, there will be more useful features available, like OS migration , partition recovery, and bootable disk creation. That depends on how many times does the Secure Erase overwrite the cells on the disk. Too many overwrites might lower the lifespan of the SSD.

But don't fret. Thus, feel free to secure erase the SSD because there is no detrimental effect on the storage device as you may expect. Given that, it's a good choice when you want to sanitize the drive and recover its performance. To reach the disk erasing goal, you'll need a professional disk erasing tool for help.

EaseUS Partition Master with its bootable disk can make the goal come true. Prepare a disc or drive. Correctly connect the drive to your computer. Click on it. Step 2. However, if you do not have a storage device at hand, you can also save the ISO file to a local drive, and later burn it to a storage media. Once made the option, click "Proceed". Step 3. Connect the WinPE bootable disk to the computer. Press "F10" to save and exit. And right-click to choose "Wipe Data".

Set the number of times to wipe data. You can set to 10 at most. Then, click "OK". Step 6. Check the message. A message tells you that the computer would restart after the disk erase is recommended. Then click "OK". Step 7. Click "Execute the operation" and then click "Apply" to start wiping data. If your computer is dead due to a dying or not working hard drive, you can wipe the hard drive to reinstall an OS to bring your computer back to life.

Note that if you have vital files on the disk, you should first recover data from the dead computer at first. After safely getting data out of the drive, you can turn to EaseUS Partition Master with its bootable disk for help. Just revert to steps shown in the second situation of wiping disk with OS installed on for help.

It's not recommended that you directly dump the dead hard drive or SSD. Your data or confidential information may get lost when someone who have ways of repairing a dead disk. Therefore, to take care of your privacy and data security on the dead disk, you must know how to deal with the dead disks. Here are two tips for you to try:.

If you have important data saved on the drive, you can take the disk for repair first.