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Mr Crowley
Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Location: Suwon
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Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 3:35 pm Post subject: Formatting a computer |
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I am going to sell my computer, and I need to erase everything (passwords, etc.). How do I format it ? |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 4:55 pm Post subject: Re: Formatting a computer |
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Mr Crowley wrote: |
I am going to sell my computer, and I need to erase everything (passwords, etc.). How do I format it ? |
Even a hard format won't completely clear the data (it can still be recovered off of a formatted drive).
To format a HDD you need to boot from another device (flash drive, CD or DVD).
from a command line prompt type " format c:\ "
Done.
Alternatively, if you have a bootable windows install disk you can boot from that and remove the partition with the data on it. Then install the partition (as a new partition) and reinstall windows. This will effectively remove the data from all but a serious attempt to use a bit counter to recover data off of the platters.
If you can put the drive into another computer as a non boot drive you can use the control panel admin tools to remove the partition, install a partition and format the drive (don't just do a quick format - do a full format).
Depending on the size of the drive, a full format (not a quick format) will take a couple of hours to complete.
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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 10:15 pm Post subject: |
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Download D-Ban (Darrick's Boot Nuke)
Make a DVD from the ISO and run overnight. It writes over the entire drive 3 times. |
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wishfullthinkng
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
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Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 10:53 pm Post subject: |
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gauss gun.
seriously. |
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Skippy
Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Daejeon
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Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 12:13 am Post subject: |
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wishfullthinkng wrote: |
gauss gun.
seriously. |
thermite would be better.
I am surprised the OP did not just google this? I mean there a multitude of guides and videos that would explain this. |
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