653 653 people found this article helpful Updated on November 11, 2021 When you format a hard drive or delete a partition, you're usually only deleting the file system, making the data invisible or no longer actively indexed, but not gone. A file recovery program or special hardware often recovers the information. If you want to make sure that your private information is gone forever, you'll need to wipe the hard drive using special software. Wiping a hard drive should work the same on any operating system, so long as you use a certain type of bootable tool (recommended below). How to Wipe a Computer Hard DriveThis process could take several minutes to several hours depending on how big the drive is and what method you choose.
You can now install Windows on the drive, create a new partition, sell or give away the hard drive or computer, recycle or dispose of it, restore your backed up files, or whatever else you need to do. 6 Best Sites to Sell or Trade Used Electronics A Simple Hard Drive Wipe AlternativeBeginning in Windows Vista, the format process changed and a single write-zero pass is applied to each standard (non-quick) format. In other words, a very basic hard drive wipe is performed during a format. If a single write-zero pass is good enough for you, consider your drive wiped after a regular format. If you want something even more secure, follow the hard drive wipe instructions above. This is a wipe of just the partition you're formatting. If you have more than one partition on a physical hard drive, you'll need to format those additional drives as well if you want to consider the entire physical disk as "wiped." Is Shredding Files What You're Really After?If what you really want to do is just make sure that files you delete on a regular basis are really gone and not retrievable with special tools, a data-wiping program is more than you need. See our list of free file shredder software programs for programs that "destroy" individual files on an as-needed basis. Many of those shredder programs also do what's called a free space wipe, which is a wipe of all the "empty" space on your hard drive. The purpose of this is to ensure that the files you've already deleted are actually deleted for good. Still confused? See Wipe vs Shred vs Delete vs Erase: What's the Difference? FAQ
Thanks for letting us know! What command can be used to completely erase a partition on a hard drive?To delete a partition:. At a command prompt, type diskpart.. At the DISKPART prompt, type select disk 0 (Selects the disk.). At the DISKPART prompt, type list partition.. At the DISKPART prompt, type select partition 4 (Selects the partition.). At the DISKPART prompt, type delete partition.. At the DISKPART prompt, type exit.. How do I clean my hard drive using command prompt?Follow the steps below to format a drive:. STEP 1: Open Command Prompt As Administrator. Opening the command prompt. ... . STEP 2: Use Diskpart. Using diskpart. ... . STEP 3: Type List Disk. ... . STEP 4: Select the Drive to Format. ... . STEP 5: Clean the Disk. ... . STEP 6: Create Partition Primary. ... . STEP 7: Format the Drive. ... . STEP 8: Assign a Drive Letter.. What does clean command do in diskpart?Warning: Diskpart Erase/Clean will permanently erase/destroy all data on the selected drive. Please be certain that you are erasing the correct disk. From the diskpart prompt, type clean and press Enter. The drive's partition, data, and signature is now removed.
What are the Diskpart commands?Section 1.. Delete Volume.. Create Partition.. Format Partition.. Assign Drive Letter.. Extend Partition.. Shrink Partition.. Mark Partition as Active.. |