Troubleshoot Best way to erase all data off a HDD?

dragonmew

Level 3
Thread author
Verified
Feb 21, 2013
360
Briefly explain your current issue(s)
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Steps taken to resolve, but have been unsuccessful
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i have eraser and privazer but it still leaves remnents of stuff on the hdd is there a way to just flat out nuke the hell out of it and get rid of everything
 

Exterminator

Community Manager
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Oct 23, 2012
12,527
Ask @MrXidus ,
He has a method that involves an ax, and a desert ;) :D
I like the sledgehammer method myself unless you plan on using it again then there are a fair amount of free options

DBAN
Privazer
CBL Data Shredder (doesn't work with WIN 8)

Some free versions don't offer some of the features that are contained in their Pro versions

i heard of dban can you link me the site please
DBAN http://sourceforge.net/projects/dban/
 
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Warrior

Level 4
Verified
Sep 2, 2014
179
1 power drill , dirll 3 holes in hard drive .
1 Bucket, plastic not metal,
1 bottle of caustic soda , Aka Sodium hydroxide (NaOH)
put hard drive with holes in bucket add caustic soda add Water leave for 1 to 2 hour's
This is best done outside as fumes of Sodium hydroxide are toxic and can kill in inclosed spaces.
Done ,
empty bucket down outside drain it will also clear that lol
use gloves take anything left of hard drive put in trash
Even the Three Letter Agencies anything recover anything after that.

 
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comfortablynumb15

Level 7
Verified
May 11, 2015
326
Um..I think they just want to get rid of the data? Lol. But hey, if not. The answer is a strong magnet and thermite, then you bury the remains. If there is a new building going up in your neighborhood or one being torn down, sneak inside the area at night and bury the thing where the first floor will go or toss it in the rubble of the tear down. But if you want to get rid of the data only? Privazer+DBan will do the trick unless the CIA is after you or you're in one hell of an investigation. Using the equipment required to hunt down traces of properly overwritten data takes a lot of time and a LOT of money. Only the FBI and higher will bother going to that trouble, and only if you're a really important/big fish to catch. And yes, a single overwrite is good enough. Waiting hours for 3 passes or more is just for people who don't understand the process.
 
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comfortablynumb15

Level 7
Verified
May 11, 2015
326
Yeah, Recuva seeing things leftover is not an indication that the file/files will still be readable or usable to any extent. It may still bring up file names, but there's a way around that. Any sensitive information you think about overwriting, rename the files to some random and mundane names before you do the overwrite. That way, if these file names do show up in Recuva, they won't easily be recognized as anything very interesting.
 
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comfortablynumb15

Level 7
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May 11, 2015
326
DBan is pretty much all you need..but who can pass up a chance to play with thermite? I mean, come on, it's a beautiful process to watch :D Of course all this doesn't take into consideration ISP logs if we're talking about hiding things. Thermite and DBan won't fix that one, lol.
 
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WinXPert

Level 25
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Jan 9, 2013
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670px-Destroy-a-Hard-Drive-Step-7.jpg
 
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OokamiCreed

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May 8, 2015
881
I'd like to destroy a hard drive with a 50 caliber rifle... because I love guns... or thermite since it is nice to look at and should melt the metal which would make data impossible to recover.



In terms of just deleting data and not physically annihilating the thing, I personally just like shredding files and writting over freespace. Which I use Privazer for. WipeFile to wipe individual files. Normally with NATO Standard 7x. Gutmann is way over kill but I might use it just because I feel like it sometimes.

Yeah, Recuva seeing things leftover is not an indication that the file/files will still be readable or usable to any extent. It may still bring up file names, but there's a way around that. Any sensitive information you think about overwriting, rename the files to some random and mundane names before you do the overwrite. That way, if these file names do show up in Recuva, they won't easily be recognized as anything very interesting.

I can verify this since I've tried to recover files before and Recuva acted like it could recover them but couldn't. Some image for example would be mostly broken and only show a small fraction of what it should, etc. In fact, I've never found a tool that could recover any file fully with my excessive cleaning habits. When I shred a file that thing isn't being recovered.

DBan is pretty much all you need..but who can pass up a chance to play with thermite? I mean, come on, it's a beautiful process to watch :D Of course all this doesn't take into consideration ISP logs if we're talking about hiding things. Thermite and DBan won't fix that one, lol.

But as you said, if there was information on the internet about the file(s), there very little or just plain nothing you can do to cover your tracks. Even a VPN for the most part won't ultimately help unless there just happens to be no logging left over or no logging at all which seems very unlikely even if they claim that.
 
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comfortablynumb15

Level 7
Verified
May 11, 2015
326
About the only way you'll truly get a no logging VPN is if you use one that is probably already a bit suspicious looking and likely to invite trouble without you even doing anything. You have to watch these "privacy conscious" companies that claim this and that. A lot of folks are cashing in on the privacy wars and using fear as a marketing tool. Some of these guys can actually be worse than the people they claim to protect you from.
 
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StriderHunterX

Level 5
Verified
Well-known
Jan 10, 2015
207
I like the sledgehammer method myself

....I thought I was the only one.

Still remember the face of my boss,as I destroyed one maniacally! :D

On Topic:I've been using Parted Magic for my "eradicating" duties,if I'm giving away a HDD.For $9 bucks,you get a slew of invaluable tools as well...
 
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