How to erase the contents of a hard drive
using ShredIt for Windows
Before disposing of a computer or a hard drive, we recommend that you erase all the data you don't want the next user to be able to recover.
Read all of these instructions before continuing.
Using the Hard Drive Cleaner function of ShredIt will erase your data, (i.e. your files), making the computer clean by destroying your data so it can't be recovered. You'll find two procedures below, one to erase your boot disk (the one with Windows on it), and one to erase a non-boot disk.
Before you erase the hard drive, make a backup copy of any data or applications you want to use on another computer before you shred the contents of a disk, since the files cannot be recovered from the disk after it has been shredded.
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Requirements
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- ShredIt for Windows
- Windows Boot disk (CD) for Procedure Number 1
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Instructions 1 - How to erase the contents of the boot disk
A boot disk is the disk on your computer that contains the Operating System. Typically, it is called “C:” and may be the only disk on the system.
This procedure assumes that you have a Windows Install CD from which to re-install the Operating System and a copy of the ShredIt for Windows Registration Key so that you can re-install ShredIt for Windows.
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Move all the data, all the applications and the preferences of all the applications you want to keep somewhere else. The easiest way to do this is to copy the entire contents of your entire hard drive to another hard drive.
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Insert the Windows Install CD. This refers to a full Windows Install CD included with your computer, not to an update-only CD.
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Restart the computer from the CD.
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Using the install disk, do an “Erase and Install” to erase the disk and install the Operating System. To do this, follow the Install Wizard that appears after you have booted using the Install CD.
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If you haven't already done so, install ShredIt for Windows.
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Using ShredIt for Windows, erase the boot disk free space. For further information, refer to the “How to erase Free Space” tutorial.
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If you have no other disks on your computer, un-install ShredIt for Windows. For further information, refer to the “How to uninstall ShredIt for Windows” section of the Read Me document (pdf). Your computer is now clean. If you have other disks on your computer, run the “How to erase the contents of a non-boot disk” procedure for each disk.
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Instructions 2 - How to erase the contents of a non-boot disk
A non-boot disk is any disk or disk partition on your computer that doesn’t contain the Operating System.
This procedure assumes that you have a copy of the ShredIt for Windows Registration Key so that you can install ShredIt for Windows.
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Move all the data, all the applications and the preferences of all the applications you want to keep somewhere else. The easiest way to do this is to copy the entire contents of your entire hard drive to another hard drive.
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Right click on the disk icon and select “Format” from the popup menu. Then click the “Format” button.
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If you haven't already done so, install ShredIt for Windows.
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Using ShredIt for Windows, erase the boot disk free space. For further information, refer to the “How to erase Free Space” tutorial.
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Notes
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- For more detailed information about ShredIt for Windows, refer to the
- Tutorials are available for other versions of ShredIt
- There's an important difference between the technical terms "delete" and "secure delete".
- The technical computer term "delete" refers to the type of computer function where the data is marked as deleted, but not really gone. Functions such as dragging a file to the trash/recycle bin and then emptying it marks the data as deleted so the space can be used again, but the data itself remains on the hard drive and recoverable until it is overwritten by something else. On a hard drive with lots of free space, this could take months or even years.
- On the other hand, the technical term "secure delete" refers to the type of computer function where the data is overwritten by other characters so the data can't be recovered. "Secure Delete" is also referred to as "wipe", "erase" and "shred". Computer software that performs this type of function is often called a "file shredder" a "data shredder" or "secure delete utility".
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