Wipe HDD before selling machine

[snagrat]

What software do people use to wipe hard drives prior to selling or scrapping machines?

 

I currently use ERD Disk Wipe but it can be slow. Anyone know anything faster?

 

Also if I wipe a disk on one machine and reinstall Windows, if I then copy that to another hard drive using Ghost disk to disk imaging would the second hard drive be safe to sell on?

[kmount]

DBAN tends to be a favourite but to do the job properly it will take time so it's hard to say whether ERD Disk Wipe is any better or worse.

 

If ghost alters every single block/sector then it should be fine if every single one is touched but I can't imagine from a 'normal' (read: not your requirement) use this would be desired (for performance reasons) if it didn't /need/ to happen.

 

I personally would prefer to run disks through something like DBAN to 'sign' the disk as clean before doing anything else with it, but that's just the paranoia in me.

[Arthur]

Anyone know anything faster?

The hard drive has its own secure erase feature built-in. See the article below for more details on how to use it.

 

https://tinyapps.org/docs/wipe_drives_hdparm.html

 

Secure erase overwrites all user data areas with binary zeroes. Enhanced secure erase writes predetermined data patterns (set by the manufacturer) to all user data areas, including sectors that are no longer in use due to reallocation.

 

If you have a suitable edition of Windows you could also encrypt the whole drive via Bitlocker.

Edited December 6, 2014 by Arthur

[psycho98]

D ban wipes hard drives at military encryption level

[cctvfitter]

I find a claw hammer to be the best and most effective method.

[m25man]

I normally put decent size drill through my scrap HDDs then dump them in the electricals bin at the local tip.

[snagrat]

Drill is a good idea if I'm scrapping but some of the machines will be sold. I'll look into the software mentioned and see if it's quicker than ERD

[abillybob]

Dban nuke and boot is very good. Quick question as it's the same topic would you have to do the same if it's an SSD?

[Arthur]

would you have to do the same if it's an SSD?

You definitely wouldn't want to use DBAN on an SSD. Either use the secure erase utility provided by the drive manufacturer or a bootable Linux disc like Parted Magic.

 

[AdamzB]

Scrapping or selling, makes no difference, Just remove and destroy the drive with a club hammer.