wiping a hard drive on a laptop

me ^ | 4-15-11 | wobbly bob

[WOBBLY BOB]

I have a friend willing to GIVE me a free laptop but wants assurances it will be thouroughly wiped 1st.

since I have no deniro , is there an easy , free , portable way I can take something to his locale to do this there and in person so he can see that it's done?

(not a computer guru so a step by step printable guide would be best)

thanks in advance to all . my previous FRiends have been quite helpful in computer matters.

[chuckles]

I bought a new laptop at WallyWorld for $300. It had a 160gig HD in it. I wanted more so I bought a 500 gig on Ebay with a larger cache and a faster spin speed,( 7200rpm vs 5400) for $49. You remove 1 or 2 screws and remove drive and hand it to him and say thanks. Ask him for the restoral disks if he has them for the drivers or if you don’t own an operating system disk. If he is willing to give it away, I can almost assure you that the disk will be smaller than what most people use today. The whole deal would cost $50. Not bad.

[commish]

DBAN is an excellent wipe product.

[Ouderkirk]

if it is a couple of years old it’s probably SATA 3

go to http://www.pricewatch.com/hard_removable_drives/

bought this from this guy a few weeks ago for $49.99 and his price went up a couple of bucks since

http://3btech.net/hipeseata3002.html

[tacticalogic]

If I want to make sure it's really erased, I use an arc welder.

[smokingfrog]

http://www.linux.com/archive/feature/135944

[Lees Swrd]

Darik’s Boot And Nuke works every time full instructions at the website.

http://www.dban.org/download

[Lees Swrd]

Sorry I just noticed this video it will take you thru this step by step!

http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=videos/using-dban-to-wipe-a-drive

[bajabaja]

A different suggestion:

1. Investigate Linux, search terms for popular distributions:

Ubuntu

Mint

2. Download (for free) onto a CD (not DVD); CDs are cheaper; the operating system itself is free per a public license. The various distributions have many programs that are also free and mimic what you are used to on Windows.

3. Run the operating drive as a test from the CD/DVD player. It is a free version. See if you like it. You don’t have to install it but you can if you wish.

4. Give the donor back his hard drive, the ultimate security action.

5. Install a new hard drive of your own and format.

6. If you want a cheap, cheap version of a solid state hard drive (electronic, NOT a rotational disk) let me know and I will give instructions for a simple, cheap solid state drive.

You would be surprised how well it all works and how cheaply it can be accomplished. But it takes a few hours, but not more than that.

Good Luck.

[Renderofveils]

If I want to make sure it's really erased, I use an arc welder.

I find a tight grouping of .270 works as well.

[Oztrich Boy]

[tacticalogic]

I find a tight grouping of .270 works as well.

I don't like leaving litter at the range, and I'm too lazy to go hunt for the pieces.

[mmichaels1970]

Most laptops come with recovery cds or have a recovery option during bootup that allow you to return the laptop to its factory restored state.

Does your friend have those cd’s? If so, you can have all of his stuff off of it and have a laptop that runs exactly the way it did when he purchased it within about 30 minutes for no additional cost.

[WOBBLY BOB]

I will ask. thanks

[WOBBLY BOB]

I will ask. thanks

[JRios1968]

...since I have no deniro...

Here, you can have this one.

[Made In The USA]

Remington Wingmaster.

Hire a nephew or a drunken neighbor (for more fun) to chuck ‘em into the sky when you yell PULL.

[ShadowAce]

Post #12, DBAN is a very good option. It will wipe it beyond the ability of NSA to recover, if you have the time.

Another option is Knoppix. Boot it up on the CD, open a terminal, and run the "wipe" command on the main drive. It'll wipe it enough that most people won't even try to recover any data.

Barring those two options, I'd suggest taking a Windows disc to the computer and your friend, and re-installing Windows on top of what you have. The install program should take care of everything for you.

[freedomlover]

There is of course reformatting, and there is destroying.

I have an old microwave in my basement I use to fry any media before it goes in the trash. Including hard drives. Sure it sparks but the old microwave hasn’t busted yet.

For enclosed drives, its
1) magnet
2) microwave
3) hatchet

If that is not enough I guess I am screwed.

And BTW frying CDs or DVDs is sorta fun.

[FreedomGuru]

Make sure the laptop has a cd drive and it works. Some laptops may not have a built in cd drive, you will need an external USB drive. And to do any kind of wipe or format you will have to boot from a seperate drive.