Utility to properly erase data on a hard drive

[nonplussed]

Evening all,

I've recently taken delivery of a new Dell laptop which I'm returning as I can't get along with the screen. So far so good. However, it's got some stuff on it that I'd like properly deleted. Wiping the HD is not an option as I have to return the machine in the same state I received it.

Is there such a thing as a program that somehow overwrites data on the hard drive, and if so, can anyone recommend one? Ta very much in advance!

[Paul Drawmer]

Google for fileshredder - it's pretty good.



edited - it helps if I spell it correctly!

Edited by Paul Drawmer on Tuesday 2nd March 23:23

[bonsai]

I always wonder what sort of stuff people are looking at that they feel the need to go to such extreme measures.

You're sending it back to a electronics store, not the computer forensics lab of the NSA...

[nonplussed]

Paul Drawmer said:

Google for fileshredder - it's pretty good.

Cheers, I'll check it out!

bonsai said:

I always wonder what sort of stuff people are looking at that they feel the need to go to such extreme measures.

You're sending it back to a electronics store, not the computer forensics lab of the NSA...

I've got thousands of family photos and a stload of company-related stuff that I don't necessarily want anyone to be looking at. Is that so bad? There's nothing offensive, it's just stuff that's private.

[3200gt]

CCleaner gives you the option to wipe the free space.

[Skier]

bonsai said:

I always wonder what sort of stuff people are looking at that they feel the need to go to such extreme measures.

You're sending it back to a electronics store, not the computer forensics lab of the NSA...

You've made the assumption that it's what people are looking at. I would suggest some files that one may want to ensure were properly deleted include:

- All personal information to prevent identity theft
- Personal letters (medical, financial, legal, relationship, divorce etc etc)
- Family photos
- Personal financial information
- Commercial data if you are a company director

....and so the list goes on.

I have used CCleaner for this purpose.

Regards

Skier
-

[Vespula]

Have a look here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[james_gt3rs]

Ccleaner will make it appear to be deleted, but it would still be easy to recover all the data.

The best way is to either physically break the HD (not a realistic option), or use Killdisk to wipe the drive.

[arcturus]

I've always used Eraser for this kind of thing. Always seems to do the trick for me. Plus you get a right click erase option so you can shred single files easily. (As well as all the bulk shredding options)

[DAVEVO9]

DBAN

Google it.

[vdubbin]

CCleaner offers a secure delete function as well.

A simple defrag of the drive should scramble any data left on the HDD itself.

[Skier]

DAVEVO9 said:

DBAN

Google it.

DBAN is excellent but the original poster needs to securely delete files and overwrite all free space leaving his OS intact and, therefore it isn't the appropriate tool in this case. He's not trying to prevent a government agency accessing data, he's simply taking sensible precautions to remove personal or sensitive data before returning the laptop.

Skier

Edited by Skier on Wednesday 3rd March 10:14