Wiping a hard drive clean cheaply

[dawson5]

No problem. I vowed to learn more about computers after paying BB $40 to install a graphics card on a brand new pc. There wasn't any need to back-up anything because it hadn't been used. I learned later how easy it was to install. For the most part I can take care of my own now, if I can't, I ask my son (if he's home). It's not hard, just takes time and finding the right information. If it wasn't so cheap to buy them pre-assembled, I really wanted to build one someday.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Thank you dawson...good grief my initial reaction was it would be easier to just have DH run the whole thing over with a tractor trailer but I thank you if I had to remove it I could, appreciate this

Hehehe, DH would love to do that!

 

[Mom21]

Thanks to everyone for help. I am going to try the dban thing in the next few days when I get time. I'll report back (or yell for help!!!).

Dawson that is a good graphic. Would work for the one I'm cleaning off, but my new computer is one of the all in ones, touch screen. No tower. Wonder how hard it will be to work on when I need it on this one? After dealing with idiot techs on the phone for weeks and weeks hours at a time that I pay and still get no help, I think it's time for me to learn this stuff on my own. My ex was a computer techie type that built his own computers until, like you said, cheaper just to buy together. So for 15 years I never had to mess with this stuff. Divorced 3 years so it's time.

 

[dawson5]

I'm not seeing anything about that. I really can't imagine not being able to. I've been meaning to go into a b&m store to look at it. I think you might have mentioned this before on here? I know someone on here has one of these. I am fascinated with them, it really looks neat (and then I think of my boys who really are not the best hand washers and how I would constantly be cleaning the screen and decide maybe after they are all moved out ).

One thing I've learned and have passed along to neighbors, is that the teacher at the school does this on the side. My son has learned a lot from him. I know if I run into something that we cannot solve, I would take it to him in a heartbeat.

As for tech support... I always run into the ones with the heavy accents and I tell them everything I've already done which their script wants me to repeat.

 

[wmharley]

reformat your hard drive.. google it, it's very easy

Won't work 100%.

To folks looking to wipe it completely clean.. make SURE its DoD complaint...

I suggest you read this nugget on a program that might help you.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/storage/how-to-really-erase-a-hard-drive/129

 

[NewCrew42]

We remove the hard drive and then smash it. We give away everything but the drive.

That's what we do.

My hubby is in the tech industry. Sometimes the old fashioned way is the best way to destroy information that you don't want anyone to get a hold of.

 

[bumbershoot]

OP, are there any small, local computer places? Repair shops, parts places? That's where we got a hard drive or two for not much, and I know they would have been happy to charge not TOO much to help with things, and maybe they would teach a bit as well while doing it.

Thank you dawson...good grief my initial reaction was it would be easier to just have DH run the whole thing over with a tractor trailer but I thank you if I had to remove it I could, appreciate this

And if your hard drive ever goes, now you know how to get in there so you can replace it if needed. DH's Toshiba laptop piece of junk was making a horrible noise, so I quickly saved all my pictures to an external harddrive before it went kablooie, then we bought a new hard drive to put into the Toshiba. With a laptop it was just a matter of a few screws, it seemed. Much cheaper than replacing the whole computer (though as I mentioned it was junk but we just did not have the money for a new computer at the time).

 

[Mom21]

Just when you thought even an idiot could follow simple directions, I came along and proved you wrong. Finally got the CD burned. Restarted the computer with the CD in. I get to the screen on startup that says F2 Setup and F12 Boot menu. I got the F12 to work one time and got me into something. I changed to boot with CD. Never did. Just boots up like normal and goes to Windows. I shut down and started up about 20 times. No longer able to get back into the F12. Now what? I can't run the CD the normal way....nothing. I'm lost.

 

[jsmith]

okay with out seeing your bios -going into the boot menu usually changed the boot sequence ONLY for that one time-then it reverts to the orginial one-have you tried putting another known good CD into the cd drive and seeing if it will work-i strongly suspect that the CD you burned is not good for some reason-your computer cant read the data on it-so instead of booting to the CD it boots normally-First-check your CD drive by testing it with a known good CD-if that works correctly-reburn the CD you are trying to boot to-Check that it has data on it by putting it in the CD drive while in windows and seeing if you see files on it-then try the F12 boot sequence again.