How to Wipe Data from Hard Drive?
There are many reasons why someone would want to completely wipe hard drive. Whether you’re trying to sell it, donate it, or give it away. There is always the chance that something important will be on the drive. You don’t want anyone else to have access to your information.
You may also wish to erase data from hard drive for personal usage and avoid any future consequences.
No matter how old or new your computer is, this article will provide you multiple simple ways to wipe data from the hard drive.
Read Also – Know How to Move Files from Google Drive to OneDrive
How to Properly Wipe Hard Drive?
Make sure you follow these procedures so that your hard drive is completely erased. They will assist you in avoiding passed on or losing your inheritance. All of the valuable information that is stored inside of it when saying goodbye to an old device. There are multiple methods available in the online marketplace that claim to wipe files from hard drive completely. But this is true wiping data from computer forever is not an easy task. Wipe hard drive process cannot be considered as complete unless data recovery tools fail to recover data.
1 Step: Take a Backup of your Hard Drive Data
Before your wipe, your computer’s hard drive, make sure to back up all of the details on it. An external hard drive (like one from Western Digital), online cloud storage service like Google Drive. Users can lose the data from hard drive because hard drives can be crashed anytime. Therefore, you need to prepare for this concern.
Before wiping out everything on our computers we always recommend backing up important documents and pictures. To ensure that they are safe should there ever come a time when something causes them not to work properly.
This is also advisable to use cloud-based storage to keep your crucial information. Therefore, you can access the data from anywhere anytime with an active internet connection.
Data storage methods are always changing:
“Cloud backs” is one of the newest ideas. It offers a lot more benefits to you than thumb drives or USB flash drives ever will. Let’s go over how cloud backups work:
To begin, you must first establish an account and complete the necessary basic configuration. You then authorize the transfer of your data to the cloud, which is a network of distant computers. The data that has been backed up does not have a physical place.
Consequently, the danger of it being stolen or damaged by natural disasters such as floods or fires is reduced. In addition, the files are encrypted. Cybercriminals will have a more difficult time accessing or stealing your information as a result.
2 Step: Don’t Simply Remove System Files
When you empty files from the trash or recycle bin, all that is gone are references to them. The computer can no longer see the file because it only has a broken link pointing back to where they were before. But don’t worry! This doesn’t mean your data are deleted forever – most programs can find these lost bits and restore them just fine.
This means that now the space is no longer reserved for this file. However, your data will remain on your hard drive unless you make room there for a new file to take its place. Data recovery software makes it possible to rebuild the header of the deleted files so they are seen again as if nothing ever happened.
Here’s where the danger lies. If you don’t fully erase files from the hard disk. Then hackers can use data recovery software to retrieve your crucial data. Which is capable to recover permanently deleted data from hard drives.
Criminal justice systems use data recovery software to get access to erased material on seized computer systems. Cybercriminals can do identity fraud as well as other types of fraud using the same methods.
3 Step: Software to Completely Wipe a Hard Drive
Darik’s Boot And Nuke (DBAN) is a data destruction program that completely erases all of your files. The software runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems so you can be sure it will work for your computer too. You won’t have to worry about someone recovering any deleted or lost personal information from these programs because DBAN overwrites the drive with zeros and other incomprehensible data making recovery impossible.
With the increasing number of cyberattacks, it’s smart to use a program that wipes your device. Most products offer proof of erasure and some even provide information about what was done with the drive. Its data helps when wiping company laptops or PCs.
4 Step: Manually Wipe Data from the Hard Drive
Some measures are available to double ensure that your hard drive data is wiped or not. For instance, use a screwdriver or an electric discharge device to physically dismantle hard drive.
A rare-earth magnet like neodymium might work well for those who prefer a more hands-on approach though and would love if their computer was completely inoperable without any additional equipment necessary as they place them into another machine where the software will wipe off all of its data automatically after destroying the platters inside.
5 Step: Reinstall the Operating System
Another method to fully rewrite the hard disc is to do a clean installation of the original operating system. This can be especially important if you’re giving your computer away as it would wipe all traces of previous owners from its memory, ensuring comfort for yourself or whoever will use this device next.
6 Step: Hard Drive Data Wipe Software
BitWipe Wizard by BitRecover is a powerful data erasure program that may easily wipe hard drive data and will meet all of your hard drive sanitization needs. It can wipe the HDDs and SSDs in PCs, notebooks, or servers while maintaining functionality. For rules that demand full removal of all traceable data from storage devices before recycling, this software has you covered.
Features of BitWipe Wizard
- By continually filling the amount of binary data with robust wipe algorithms and guidelines, BitWipe effectively solves this.
- It is possible to install and use this HDD drive wipe software for free. It contains 10+ data wiping techniques for writing a series of zeros, ones, or nonsensical data to all sectors of a hard disc.
- Several customization choices are available for wiping sensitive data from a hard drive using the software, including by data range, the mask for files, and overwrite data text.
- Software wipe hard drive data between specific date range even users can choose only required file extensions to erase data from hard drive.
- It shows all physical and logical drives in software GUI from there users can select required drives for wiping your hard drive.
Know How to Wipe Hard Drive Using BitWipe Wizard
What Happens if I don’t Wipe My Hard Drive?
The line between the real world and the digital world is blurring, but it’s important to know how cybercriminals work. If your hard drive has some crucial personal information. Then you can consider yourself at high risk. Hackers can easily get your crucial personal information. After that, they can use your information for illegal purposes.
Cybercriminals can buy a lot of information on the dark web, and they’re doing just that to commit other crimes. They could open bank accounts in your name with all the data needed for identity theft, purchase items at stores using your credit card info, or take out loans against you without even paying them back; leaving you with some hefty consequences.
Thieves can steal all of your data and information, such as private photographs or chat conversations. If you don’t delete information completely then thieves can blackmail the owner of a hard drive.
Conclusion
If you want to wipe hard drive data permanently to protect your confidential information from unwanted users. Then this is advisable to use BitWipe Wizard which is available at affordable pricing and comes with all necessary features. If you used this software to erase data from hard drive permanently then this is impossible to retrieve your confidential data back.