Securely erasing HD - write zeros enough?

adhunt · 10-16-2009, 11:41 PM

Hi - I'm wanting to erase a HDD that I'm returning for a replacement as it is stuffed. Want to be sure the data on it's erased. Also want to be able to preferably use a DOS function as I don't like having my other HDDs attached to the computer (ie doing it through windows)...

I've seen Active Killdisk and the free version only writes one pass zeros.. Is this enough - or is there a better free utility (or should I fork out the $$ for the Killdisk premium which I know is super dooper)?

Cheers ;)

serbofind · 10-17-2009, 02:27 AM

For securely deleting my files, I use Recuva. It's free and you have the option to choose the level of security when it comes to overwriting (no.of overwriting passes) from just one to 35. Even though it has the option to drive the entire HD clean, I wouldn't recommend you do that, in case it wipes out the op system files (including the installation files) meaning your retailer will refuse to take it back.

However, be careful even when you are selectively deleting the files - by default the option to wipe out app data (firefox history,recent docs,recycle bin etc) is ticked on, so be sure to untick them all and also remember to click on the analyse button and see if it matches the file size of what you want to be deleted.

**raptor_pa** · 10-17-2009, 06:13 AM

Sounds like you want to do a full disk overwrite, d-ban is a bootable cd and does a great job on whole disk zero writes. A faster way is using the internal ATA 'secure erase' command and allowing the disk to overwrite itself. Secure erase is a lot faster than a software erase because the drive basically overwrites itself. You can download hdderase from here to implement the securwe erase command. http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase.shtml
And yes a single pass of zeros on modern drives is plenty to ensure data is gone provided the overwrite is done correctly.

10-16-2009, 11:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
adhunt Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Canberra, Australia Posts: 25 OS: XP SP2	Securely erasing HD - write zeros enough? Hi - I'm wanting to erase a HDD that I'm returning for a replacement as it is stuffed. Want to be sure the data on it's erased. Also want to be able to preferably use a DOS function as I don't like having my other HDDs attached to the computer (ie doing it through windows)... I've seen Active Killdisk and the free version only writes one pass zeros.. Is this enough - or is there a better free utility (or should I fork out the $$ for the Killdisk premium which I know is super dooper)? Cheers ;)

10-17-2009, 02:27 AM	#2 (permalink)
serbofind Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 3 OS: Windows Vista	Re: Securely erasing HD - write zeros enough? For securely deleting my files, I use Recuva. It's free and you have the option to choose the level of security when it comes to overwriting (no.of overwriting passes) from just one to 35. Even though it has the option to drive the entire HD clean, I wouldn't recommend you do that, in case it wipes out the op system files (including the installation files) meaning your retailer will refuse to take it back. However, be careful even when you are selectively deleting the files - by default the option to wipe out app data (firefox history,recent docs,recycle bin etc) is ticked on, so be sure to untick them all and also remember to click on the analyse button and see if it matches the file size of what you want to be deleted.

10-17-2009, 06:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,930 OS: XP	Re: Securely erasing HD - write zeros enough? Sounds like you want to do a full disk overwrite, d-ban is a bootable cd and does a great job on whole disk zero writes. A faster way is using the internal ATA 'secure erase' command and allowing the disk to overwrite itself. Secure erase is a lot faster than a software erase because the drive basically overwrites itself. You can download hdderase from here to implement the securwe erase command. http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase.shtml And yes a single pass of zeros on modern drives is plenty to ensure data is gone provided the overwrite is done correctly. __________________