Wiping hard drive - new Vista install

[elcholo]

Hi,

 

I am considering selling my laptop in the future. I undersand that when you 'delete' a file from the recycle bin that it still traceable on the hard drive if you really needed to.

 

My question though, is - if I install a new copy of windows before selling will it remove all traces of my personal files or could someone still get them if they went to the time and effort?

 

I was planning to use the supplied CD recovery disks to install windows again.

 

Any advice will be appreciated.

 

Many thanks

[KenB]

Hi and welcome to FPCH

 

if I install a new copy of windows before selling will it remove all traces of my personal files

If you format the drive it is still possible to retreive data. I must stress that whoever tried to get at the data would need to be very determined - but it is possible.

 

You could use a piece of software like Kill-Disk ( there is a free version )

This effectively wipes the drive completely clean.

Kill Disk. Erase Hard Drive Completely. Eraser Cleaner. IDE SATA SCSI

 

There is other free software available to do the same thing.

[Plastic Nev]

Hi, and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help, all good advice there from KenB.

I will try to explain what happens to any file on your hard drive.

When you first create a file, either a simple word document, or a massive half hour of video and anything in between, the system gives that file an address, this is similar to the name you might give it, and is actually closely linked together and does carry that name as well.

When you delete a file, all that happens is the address is removed from the system, the actual data is still there on the disk.

However because the address has gone, that is a bit like the little overwrite protection switch on a memory card or on the old floppy disks, the overwrite protection is gone, so new files can be written over the space occupied by the old file.

However if nothing new is added, that old file is still there on the hard drive, no address to it, but still there all the same.

There is actually software available that can hunt out, find and then show those files and contents, even though the address is gone. Those programs are known as "Data recovery programs" and are available for free as well as paid for versions.

In order to remove all personal data from a hard drive you do need to use something similar to the "Kill Disk" that Ken mentions.

These programs work by overwriting random data over the entire disk, thereby "killing" any data.

However, because of the data tracks and its width on the disk, it can still leave information on the edge of that track that the overwrite doesn't quite clear. The determined individual with complex equipment can still retrieve data from a hard drive, even after a random data overwrite, because of this small amount on the edge of the original file.

 

The only sure way to remove the risk of data recovery in cases where it is of vital importance that it isn't recovered, is by physically destroying the drive itself.

 

However, for normal cases such as yours where you wish to just sell on the machine, a run through with that "Kill Disk" is more than sufficient. I believe that one does multiple passes of overwrite, therefore making data recovery more difficult.

The normal person doesn't have access to the sophisticated equipment that would be needed to get at any data after that treatment.

 

Hope that gives you a better idea and knowledge of how it all works,

Nev.

[Tootech]

Another wipe tool is Boot n Nuke

 

Darik's Boot And Nuke | Hard Drive Disk Wipe and Data Clearing

 

All of the freeware products will do a good job, only clever police types could retrieve data after that. Even then, files are not often available, more filenames, part files and date/time stamps.