Permanently erase a hard drive. Closed

Question

Hello everyone,and thank you in advance for any possible responses.Here is my question, which may seem very simple, but I still haven't found the solution.Is it possible to permanently erase the contents of a hard drive?Let me explain.....Having already reformatted my hard drive several times, I notice, by using software such as Easy Recovery Professional, that Windows actually compresses all the data on a hard drive and that it is possible to recover even 80% of the data after formatting.So, is there any software that truly erases all data?A big thank you in advance and please, if you respond, don't be too technical; you will have understood that I am not an expert in this matter :-) PS: If it can be useful: my PC = Packard Bell which contains a recovery partition of the computer, which I burned to DVD.Thanks in advance,René

Michel LATOUFFE · Accepted Answer

@@ HUG ! @@

The only solution to my knowledge is to perform a low-level formatting using software that you will download from the manufacturer's website of your hard drive.

Now, having never recommended, purchased, or had much experience with Bell/Dell/Packard/Hewlett (...) branded PCs, I'm afraid I can't help out much.

;)
--
Please do what I wrote, answer my questions, and indicate
if the problem has been solved. Thank you very much in advance! ;)

MaGrandMereChinoise · Answer

Hello,

It is important to distinguish between disk wiping and file wiping.

1) Disk wiping
It is indeed necessary to perform a low-level format. This is related not to the machine manufacturer, but obviously to the disk manufacturer.
There are also utilities that can take care of this. There are quite a few in Linux and also this one, which is very good
http://www.killdisk.com/killdisk-home.htm

2) File wiping
One may want to permanently erase certain data. Again, there are utilities for this. For example, Norton WipeInfo.

--
The candle does not lose any of its light by sharing it with another candle.

M&M · Answer

Before throwing away an old PC, you take a big nail and perforate the hard drive with a good blow from a hammer. That will be the end of it. There are shredding tools that write white between the files on a hard drive. Back in the Watergate days, when Nixon was spying on his political opponents, they said that the videotapes found had been erased 18 times. On a hard drive, writing over it once will already be enough, but for the military, they write zeros, ones, and ones, but they have a lot of time to waste. Let them do it; as long as they're playing with that, they're not causing any other damage.
By chance: http://www.majorgeeks.com/Security_Toolkit_d4849.html
eraser on http://www.pricelessware.org/thelist/fil.htm
http://www.freewarefiles.com/cat_9_95_Encryption-Security.html
_ç_§:
(.)#(.)

lapagemagik · Answer

Hello,

Thank you all for your valuable responses :-)
I'm going to check out the links you provided and get a sense of things.
I’ll keep you updated.

PS: if I don't write a response in the next 1 or 2 days, I would have simply blown up my hard drive trying to erase it, at least then it will be cleaned up :-)

Let's pray that the backup (DVD) of the Packard Bell recovery system, which includes Windows, works.....

Ah..... the good old days when Windows was sold separately on a CD-ROM, maybe that's why most of you don’t buy single-brand PCs (I don't know if that's the correct term) but prefer to buy and assemble your own computers.....

Thanks again, you are nice & efficient, hats off,
René

le druide · Answer

Hi,  Attention! Packard Bell = tattooed disk, so after a low-level format, goodbye tattooed sector. -- The druid without the potion.

La loupiote · Answer

Hi

I've found two indispensable tools for permanently erasing a hard drive

http://photo.ortho.free.fr/images/outils/masse.jpg

http://images.google.ch/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ribbands.co.uk/images/prodimgs/C...

:o)
--
Keep us posted Regards

le druide · Answer

There's something easier, and it also compresses the files >>> http://www.simplex.ca/new/fr/vendre/roulcomp.htm -- the druid without the potion.

MaGrandMereChinoise · Answer

http://main.halodev.org/videos/images/hd.jpg  And now, what do I do?  :-))  -- A candle loses nothing of its light by sharing it with another candle.

^^Marie^^ · Answer

Have you seen the time.............
Sorry, my son passed by here............
--
The most obvious sign of a social cancer... is the disappearance of a sense
of humor, too bad it's the healthiest form of clarity I don't care about the mistakes......

Julien311 · Answer

You have an article on the subject with a free software that allows you to do that here: https://www.commentcamarche.net/faq/8784-effacer-de-maniere-sure-un-disque-dur

Permanently erase a hard drive.

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