Whether you’re selling your old PC, donating it to a school, or recycling a laptop, simply deleting your files isn’t enough. Anyone with basic recovery software can retrieve “deleted” data in minutes.
Securely erasing deleted data on a drive without deleting the current files on it. how to wipe a hard drive windows 10
If you want to ensure that your data is completely erased and unrecoverable, you can use a third-party data erasure tool. Some popular options include: Whether you’re selling your old PC, donating it
| Your Situation | Recommended Method | |----------------|--------------------| | Selling your PC to a stranger | Reset This PC with “Clean drives” ON | | Donating to a friend or family | Reset This PC (no need for extra passes) | | Recycling an old HDD with sensitive data | DBAN or Command Prompt “clean all” | | Wiping an SSD | Manufacturer’s Secure Erase tool | | Erasing a secondary external drive | Eraser or Command Prompt format /p:3 | If you want to ensure that your data