Formatting a Hard Drive?

eich82 · Addict Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 860 City: MTP

So long story short, my AC adapter on my laptop broke and it cost 100 dollars to replace it so I just bought a new laptop for 300. My old laptop was in the process of dying anyways. However, I found a website that buys laptops and they're going to pay me 200 bucks for my computer, I'm assuming to either fix it and resell it or to part it out. However, before I send it to them I want to format the hard drive so they can't get any sensitive information off it. So far I found this: www.dban.org It has the canuck's stamp of approval so I'm assuming it's pretty good. Anyone have any better ideas or programs that are out there for free? Anyone ever used DBAN? Thanks in advance...

Jensen · Posted: Feb 25, 2009 8:43 pm Post subject:

some sort of utility that will write zeroes to it

ChrisG · Posted: Feb 25, 2009 9:03 pm Post subject:

Can't you just start sending files to the trash?

Are you sure you aren't getting a refresh on your work laptop and your paranoid about them finding porn on the old one?

Very Happy

Wakebrad · Ladies Man Joined: 11 Dec 2003 Posts: 12257 City: Dallas

If you have the Windows disk it has everything you need. Just put it in the drive and re-boot. Then when your computer is booting it will ask you if you want to boot off the disk. Say yes. If there is the option choose to over-ride the windows installation (not dual-boot or whatever). Then you should get to the part where it shows you the partitions you have on your hard drive. Delete your current partition (after you're sure you got everything you need off it). Then create a new partition with the full amount of space on the drive. Then choose quick or full format. Once it gets done formatting it will reinstall windows ( you can just turn your computer off if you don't care ) or you can let it install a fresh version of windows.

If you have a CD from DELL or HP or someone the options may be a bit different. But you should always be able to format and reinstall windows with your Windows or restore disk.

There may be programs that do this easier, I've just always done it from the disk.

DRAGON88 · Posted: Feb 25, 2009 10:40 pm Post subject:

The data will still be intact if you reformat. I don't know why someone would go looking for your data, but if you really want to get rid of it you need to reformat followed by using a program that zeros out the empty space on the drive. (preferably more than once)

I used http://www.heidi.ie/node/6 on some terminals from my parent's store before I sold them on CL. I think I usually did 5 passes, just because one of the machines may have had at some point customer information like CC's and such.

pet575 · Posted: Feb 26, 2009 9:43 am Post subject:

+1.

All a format does is tell the computer that the spaces on the hard drive where data exists are available for overwriting with new data. You have to actually use software to replace all of the data with gap-fillers (zeroes) so that your old data can't be recovered.

This is how pedophiles and people storing other incriminating evidence on their computers, get caught. Computer forensic experts can easily recover the data, because all that "deleting" a file or formatting a hard drive really does is re-organize the data on your hard drive so that the computer will overwrite it the NEXT time it saves some data. Until that time comes, all of your old data is still sitting on the drive-the computer is just fooled into thinking it is not there.