2007-03-14 14:14:17 · 7 answers · asked by skeezycheeses 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Cleaning & Laundry
Formatting your drive, only deletes the "table of contents" of the drive, if you'll pardon the analogy. This will allow you to use your disk again, and it will appear empty to an operating system.
However, you said "wipe", in IT terms this means completetly overwriting the entire disk several times, to make sure NOTHING remains on it. In the book analogy, this equates to painting over each page in first black, then white paint, a couple of times. This is the option you want if you have something to hide.
Try the link below for a free tool that does the job perfectly.
2007-03-14 14:24:37 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Download Active Kill Disk it's free..run it once and you are probably safe..run it 3 times and even the FBI says you are good to go.. Obviously your computer will not boot after you are done..there's nothing wrong with the hardware it just doesn't have any software.
Here's the website for Kill Disk
http://www.killdisk.com/
2007-03-14 21:20:49 · answer #2 · answered by DrK 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Actually, if you really want to destroy your hard drive, pry it out of its casing then strike the plate with a hammer. Just wear safety goggles, because those things shatter like glass... worse than glass even.
Formatting the hard drive will not get rid of deleted files. The FBI loves people who think that it will.
2007-03-14 21:21:43 · answer #3 · answered by This Is Me Being Grumpy 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Open the cabinet and remove the hard drive.... heck, remove everything that you can get out of it with a screwdriver.
Once removed, hit the harddrive with a hammer and a good hissy fit and bingo!, No problem.
2007-03-14 21:18:25 · answer #4 · answered by 6kidsANDalwaysFIXINGsomething 4 · 3⤊ 2⤋
open up the tower, hard drive and pull parts out. Have 2-5 boxes/bags. Throw one of each item in each bag. throw it out seprately.
2007-03-15 00:08:08 · answer #5 · answered by acooper718 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Don't just discard it. I'll take it.
2007-03-14 21:22:35 · answer #6 · answered by almighty_malachi 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Format the hard drive.
I am of course assuming you have a PC.
Here are the instructions: http://www.microsoft.com/australia/smallbusiness/issues/technology/protect/harddrive.mspx
2007-03-14 21:18:40 · answer #7 · answered by shoestring_louise 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋