A question (that's probably been answered 100 times)

M

mattimer

New Member
I'm paranoid, forgive me.

I bought a new PC so I'm donating this one. I don't want some... files... to be discovered. I've deleted and reformatted, but I've heard that some things can still be uncovered if somebody really wanted to search for them.

I've also heard that your Eraser program completely solves that problem. If I run this can I completely (COMPLETELY) erase ALL currently active files as well as ones I've already deleted? To the point where nobody can retrieve them again?
 
Ah, is that what "Darik's Boot and Nuke" does?
Rewrites everything multiple times so it's basically impossible to recover?
 
Yes. It completely "nukes" whatever hard-drive it's used on beyond recovery.

You can then donate it, sell it or whatever.

Make sure you read the instructions carefully - print them out before starting. Pete
 
How do I Erase my entire hard drive(s) on my PC?
Eraser uses the 'Darik's Boot and Nuke' disk option to erase all your hard drives.
To use this option:
1. Place a floppy (or CD) in your a: drive.
2. Click on the Start button and then choose Programs->Eraser->Create Boot Nuke Disk.
3. Ensure 'Writing on Floppy' is ticked. Tick 'Formatting' if your floppy needs to be formatted.
4. Click OK. Result: Your Boot Nuke Disk has now been created.
5. Boot up your PC with the floppy still remaining in your a: drive.
Remember: If you wish to erase the Hard Disk of another PC, then bring this Floppy to the PC, insert it into the a: drive and Boot it up.
Also, if you need to if you need to boot from CD (because you don't have a floppy drive) then you will have to set your PC to boot from CD within the BIOS of the PC.




That?
 
And erasing unused disc space is basically destroying everything I've previously deleted, right?
Does it completely delete my cookies as well? Like, if I delete cookies on Firefox this completely destroys them, right?
 
mattimer said:
And erasing unused disc space is basically destroying everything I've previously deleted, right?
Does it completely delete my cookies as well? Like, if I delete cookies on Firefox this completely destroys them, right?
Click to expand...
it does, yeah. It overwrites any files in freespace. It doesn't delete the freespace itself - that would be impossible!

But what is left after a freespace wipe is unrecoverable, as secure you can get, unless you use DBAN.
 
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