Keep in mind that securely wiping your entire computer will take several hours – it’s not something you can do as you rush out the door on your way to drop off your computer for donation. Under Security Options, choose how many times the erased date should be overwritten.Click Erase and select a file system format.In the sidebar, select the drive you want to wipe.Hold down Command + R to start recovery mode.Click Change settings and make sure that Clean data is activated.

Here you should activate Clean data and Delete files from all drives.

To ensure that all data is removed, you’ll need to go to Change settings in the Additional settings screen.

Under Reset this PC, select Get started.

Go to your settings and click Update & Security and then Recovery.

So check – and double-check – that you have stored any data you need on a separate device before you proceed. Keep in mind that this is the nuclear option: Once you have wiped a disk, your data is gone for good. Whether your computer is going to the recycling center or to another person, you can wipe the entire drive by following the steps for your specific computer below. You’ll find a utility for the secure erasing of the computer’s drive(s) right in the settings. Secure delete of your data on a computer that still worksįor a laptop that can be booted up and is still working, wiping the drive is a straightforward procedure. The most cited security standard is that the data should be overwritten three times in order to truly erase a disk. The fact is that the drive has to be completely overwritten before your old data is securely destroyed, a process known as a disk wipe or a hard wipe. And this can even apply if you’ve emptied your computer’s recycle bin, because there are a variety of utilities out there for recovering deleted data.īefore you start enjoying your new laptop, do a hard wipe of your old one This means deleted data can still be restored – a feature we appreciate in other circumstances, like when we accidently erase that report that’s due tomorrow. Even if you conscientiously deleted all your files, operating systems often don’t completely wipe away the data instead, files are kept on the disk until they are overwritten with new data, even if you can’t see them.

Secure erase hard drive