#45 - Question/Answer: Erasing a PC Hard Drive

[sweetsueann]

Tried mini tool driver & got black screen two days and NO tech support reply yet. Hope I have not ruined the whole thing

[MysticalOrca]

Magnets :)))

[XXZQUICKSCOPEXXZ]

omg not even in the discription wow

[sahara11226]

i used Kill Disk free to wipe out my hard drive on my Sony Vaio laptop it stalled at 16%. So the I tried to install Windows & and the error mesage is I have no OS pls tell me what should be my next step???? pls help

[xZer0nex]

@sahara11226 I took bolt cutters mine.

[chazzerchazic]

i am drawn to the second and third one

[pietercool]

If you are going to buy a new one, feel free to burn that shit out of your old and throw it in the room of your sister.

[yebb1968]

try a big sub wooofer magnet



[puraraza5]

i keep getting this error on almost every video but this ones!!!! plz someone help? i don't know what to do, I can only watch a handful of videos.

[youknowita]

@puraraza5 MiniTool Drive Wipe, FREE--MiniTool Drive Wipe could destroy all information in your chosen disks safely and permanently.

Once data erased by MiniTool Drive Wipe, the data will not be able to recover by any data recovery software

it can ensure the security of your private and unwanted data and prevent someone from recovering your data.

if you really want to destroy your data, you can't miss it.

[drKlitzman]

Are the drive still usable after words?

[NafanyaZX]

@drKlitzman

as long as you erase a hard drive using some software, no harm is going to happen. However, consider to take the HD apart and introduce Mr. Hammer to the dicscs. Oh yeah, recover that, b****! ;)

[schmidtbag]

@ordiantakeover

...you're an idiot

[ordiantakeover]

@schmidtbag what is idiot or idiots ?

[cjgan80]

US Department of Defence ?

Lol , your gonna think you can bring down a whole country with a 320GB Wester Digital Hard Drive ? xD

[johntrebec]

How many times can you erase a hard drive and will it start to get slower the more you erase it?

[TJ5897]

@johntrebec A hard drive doesn't get slower a cpu can but anyways You can wipe your drive as much as you want and will now slow down your pc at all infact it should speed it up a bit if your drive is fragmented if you have viruses or just a bunch of annoying programs slowing down your pc (ie vista/win7 trial software) you can nuke the shit out of it and start with just windows rather than the store bought ad space known as a computer

[kenmha]

Seiko, try using dban. I used it on an 80GB IDE with 3-passes and it only took 4 hours to complete. What program do you use to recover files??

[leerman22]

i prefer to use a fire axe to delete my personal info

[kfo7]

@leerman22 I was going to say a hammer, but to each his own. =)

[SeikoPsycho]

I ran a KillDisk on my old 80gb IDE hard drives to sell because they've been sitting around for way too long.

With the DoD 3-pass, it's taking me 12 hours to get through each disk!!

[SeikoPsycho]

I love buying used hard drives from thrift shops for $0.50 each and recovering awesome old school porn off of them!

[UnluckilyEnlightened]

people say Dban doesn't wipe bad sectors, nor HPA (Host Protected Area) nor the DCO (Device Configuration Overlay) ?

so is this still secure?

[gaz52]

Is it wise to use magnets to erase hard drives? I've read that magnets destroy not just the data, but the hard drive as well. Is this true?

[vzarou]

hi i use kill disk after that i lost all 80Gg from hard drive is not showing nothing only 15 mb beforw was 80G NOW 18MB I THINK I DID SOMETHING MISTAKE HOW CAN I FIX MY HARD DRIVE LIKE BEFOR THANKS

[AndreaFranchitti]

an electromagnet do it a lot better XD XD

[eeranyA39]

lol.

[nightcrawler2099]

would reinstalling an OS (going into the advanced option and clicking delete) delete everything? not doing a duel boot, thanks

[Petchhyy]

If you wanted to you would be able to recover the data.

[nightcrawler2099]

so if you had a virus, it could come back?

[Petchhyy]

You'd be okay, as long as your backups didn't have the virus executable somewhere.

[coolys125]

Haha and Kill disk!!!

[Brianwwecw48]

i know there was a guy going behind dumpsters at our best buy and got some info off hard drives they threw away and got like $432,000 and ended up getting caught

[PvpPlanetVideos]

Easiest way to erase everything: Get Windows XP + Drivers on a Disc. Take a HUGE ASS Magnet. Find your Harddrive, in your actual tower... apply the Magnet to teh Harddrive :) If not done correctly, your computer is gone.

[AreYouLuckyWoW]

Hi, I had a game installed (World of Warcraft) and i uninstalled it, but i cant get all of the files off, it says disc being used or overwrited and cannot delete

[masterOFpuppets06]

try a hammer

[2pac591]

True, the only way to ever erase a hard-drive completely is a hammer to the platters.

[animafrea]

yeah i did but it still comes up with all my files lol

[adserkeogh2]

When you erase a hard drive does it take of the running system like windows xp?

[Xplodz]

If you have your operating system installed to the hard drive you want to erase, yes.

[BillyTheFilipino]

if i erase my hardrive

it takes out windows xp right?

but after that

how can i put windows xp back?

[Xplodz]

You need the disc. If you do not have a disk, you can borrow one from a friend but you must use your own key.

[bjnono001]

You install it using your XP Disk.

[2pac591]

re-install, I can tell from your level of computer knowledge you shouldn't be playing around with that stuff!

[TheChubbyKid]

The Disk

[UnluckilyEnlightened]

Use the OS disc,do you have one?

[gomemdesoto]

Quickest way to securely erase a hard drive, smack it a few times with a hammer.

[greendragon767]

how do i just delete the files that been deleted from my recycling been and cannot be recovered using software like recuva???

[00Delaney00]

use a hammer

[Kenzofeis]

Deleting a file just marks those allocated data clusters (on the disk surface) as "free" and removes the file name from the used filetable. Can be recovered, even if there has been a writeover (a laboratory can do this). This is due to magnetic hysteresis in the surface material, allowing 0.1's and 0.9's and 1.1's sort of, not pure 0's and 1's.

Erasing means multiple overwrites with random data to remove this magnetic "residue" physically (garbles it), and then does a normal delete.

[OWeEcOuLtErO]

i wana no if i wipe my comp will i have to install vista again or will it just be like brand new

[samd891]

Even if you format your drive these Nigerians can still retrieve it. In fact you can even retrieve data on RAM, In a Magazine i read they put a picture of Mona Lisa on the RAM and they put the stick of RAM in a dry freezer, over time the Picture lost its quality but it proved that you can still retrieve data from it, this is what the Police forensics do.

[staticxmako]

someone answer

how the fuck do u erase alllll data will in the os?

does it leave the os but just get rid off all other shit

and isnt this the fucking same thing as formating?

[funkmasterflip]

formatting is different than wiping all in the hard drives. I've done that on the refurbish IBM laptops and desktops.

[mman454]

formating just marks the space on the drive as free space... does not actually remove data from physical disc... overwriting it destroys it

[abolisher123]

few tips for you....dont start of a question with "someone answer" bcuz someone will answer when they want and 2. stop swearing every line to try to look cool cuz all your doing is acting like a fuckin retard

[staticxmako]

few tips...

find somthing better to do

or answer my qeustion buddy

ps i found out

fuckfufkcufckuckukcfuckfuckufc­kufckufuckfuckufuckfufckfuc

idckdidckdickdidckdicdkicdkd

[downscreen129103]

sledgehammer, it's fool proof.

[ckaye1100]

okay, I know that i have to delete everything, however, I want to know if doing so would allow myself to reset my PC as if it were new again

[ochoagena]

what are the secovery webs are

[pistolfied]

lol, just dunk it in liquid nitrogen and throw it off the CN tower XD

[thedirkman]

im selling my pc and have removed the hardrive but can any thing be stored on any other componants or will the pc have no data on it linked to me

[barracudafox]

Put it in the microwave! ;-) lol

[WatchoutXP]

You have to pay for DriveScrubber. =(

[bladebla111]

steamroller

[ragnarok297]

smash it with a hammer? nah just get a magnet, that way you dont have to clean up the mess

[I4got99]

the best way is to take on your driveway and smash it to bits with a hammer, then go to the store and buy a new

[DC211228]

Hammer.

[H31MU7]

Time.

[DC211228]

I see what you did there.

[doorknob2150]

hi 3DGAMEMAN, I have a question for you or someone else that can help me...

if i buy a new mother board for my sytem. can i still use and boot from windows vista on my old hard drive? or will it need to be reformated or something.

thanks!

[30GB]

i do the old way win 98 dos disk format 3 times then fdisk 2 times

[SulfuronBGS]

When you format a PC hard-drive using Windows formatting tools (such as if you were re-installing the OS) none of the data is actually deleted. All that happens is Windows makes the disk "writable" again, which in turn says the disk has free space, which implies you've erased all the data on the disk, which isn't correct.

[rednecksinspace]

1)get drill

2)punch holes in disks of drive

3)buy new drive

[cablecatdk]

A full format will do it.

[bijhua]

nope. about 60% of the data can be recovered in a full format. You need to do a LOW FORMAT, meaning that each sector of the hard disk will be written with a "ZERO" value for several times. The programs 3DGAMEMAN mentioned in the video do just that.

[Vadigor]

That's what I thought they do, but why does that need to happen several times? I would think a single overwrite of the entire disk would be enough to make all data unrecoverable?

[bijhua]

True: one time will do the job for most of the time but, the SAFEST (extreme) way is to do it several times. "Active kill disk" and "Dariks boot and nuke" have this option. You don't need to repeat the action just choose from the software's option list. What I found best is to do it 3 times. In the end it all depends to whom your giving the old hard disk. If he/she is a really pro power user and you wanna be sure they don't recover anything at all, do the Low Format for 3 times.

[cablecatdk]

The myth about that you need to overwrite data several times come from magnet tape. With today's hard drive the bits are compressed so tight that no trace is left when you overwrite it, except for relocated bad sectors.

[cablecatdk]

You wrong, and you or someone else just made up the 60%, Google: "The Great Zero Challenge".

[bijhua]

read again. I said that in a full format ( done from windows) about 60 % of the data can be recovered ( even more or less depending on the case). In a LOW FORMAT case there is theoretically no chance at all of recovering any file. The contest you are talking about is a zero-out (that's exactly LOW FORMAT). By the way, this was done using Linux , so let's see how many average users will use Linux to zero out a hard disk, or how many will use Windows to "normal" format the hard?

[cablecatdk]

Interesting, so a full format from windows does not erase everything. One should think so considering the time it takes. I will test it.

[bijhua]

try erasing the hard disk from windows and then try a good data recovery software and you'll see that you'll be able to recover files

[cablecatdk]

Test is in: I filled a 1GB SD-card with photos, formatted it in Windows Vista, and then took a look at the raw device from Linux. The result was that the data areal was filled with zeros, and only zeros.

[bijhua]

format a hard disk ( not an sd or usb stick) from windows than install a good data recovery software and see if you can recover files.

[niiidar]

no. It is still possible to retrieve data.

[hobo831]

lmao, the info he gave us came from drive scrubber's website, nonetheless, great advice

You've done it again Rodney, WAY TO GO!

[revenge8692]

wait why does it have to pass USDoD standards????,,please no criticizm!

[shaolindreams]

sledge hammer will do it :)

[PCG520]

Now I can get rid of the loli on my second HDD. Thanks. :D

[rjtownsend]

I use Dariks boot and nuke and it works great!

[TheKoreanX]

the vid said an ad to erase porn from my hard drive xD

nice review, like always...

[smalltime0]

My way is better, I dont put the stuff on there in the first place.

There was some thing a while ago I read, some guy was able to get some limited amounts of data of a HDD that was scrubbed. I believe the CIA crush and melt theirs and pour them into bricks...

[AZNGoSu]

cant i just like smash my HD with a hammer then pout oil on it and burn it?

[Kaleb34]

Dericks boot and nuke is amazing..but also amazingly slow.

[Hrakleus]

Chaos Shredder is also cool but NNNEVAh try to delete a shortcut...

[greekpanther1]

just format ur hard drive lol

[RickArter]

Formatting wont erase it all must do what these guys are doing to properly wipe it as they say.

[newplanet15]

Speaking of hard drives,Is it possible to play games from a HDD designated as slave?

thanks.

[Hrakleus]

you can even play games from a flash drive... so yes, sure you can

[seanmurray90]

i just take a hammer 2 it... if its a old 1 im throwin out..amd helps with anger :)

[ivefantrance]

A strong magnet will do the job as well.

[shaun928]

that's a myth and is proven not to work!!

Hard drive have 2 kidney magnets in them made of neodymium, these are the most powerfull magnets you can buy and find.

if you don't want you hard drive take a hammer to it.

if you do want your hard drive get a program called killdisk and run that over it

[smalltime0]

Yes it would, the problem is Im pretty sure it has to be strong enough to rip the iron out of your blood to actually wipe the HDD properly.

The magnets in a HDD are not like the magnetic tape, they are made of neodymium, extremely pwerful magnets which require a hell of alot better magnets than what you have to alter.

[ivefantrance]

Euh no, the platters are made of metal, probably aluminum, and coated with magnetic material which will be altered with a magnet(those neodymium one) just like the drive's write/read head.

[MatChengUK]

actually the platers are made of a ceramic. so they will actually shatter if you hit them with a hammer :)

[MatChengUK]

i dont think so seeing the platters are usually coated with no metallic alloys.

[GHOST3940136]

or you can use a huge EMP BOMB, as well...

what about recovering lost data?

[QuicksilverRZ]

what about recovering lost data?

[QuicksilverRZ]

what about recovering lost data?

[l2da6]

So true, deleted files can be recovered so you can never be to careful.

[DeadlyDevil666]

kill disk sounds evil

[xSubsistancex]

ill just have to burn mine....burn as in fire

[Lordlompe]

If you burn a harddisk its still readable xD

[Vadigor]

Shouldn't overwriting the entire disk with a random or constant bitstream work just as well?

[staticxmako]

rofl the advertisment for me was

"how do u remove porn from your pc"

ahaahahhahhhah xD

[howboutdat1227]

haha

[bouncy182]

Well how do you recover data from corrupted or virus infected hard drive then?

[samhamels]

Hey man,

Love your show, but could you please put the appropriate websites/links in the video info ?

Some more helpful stuff in their would be helpful instead of always having to google everything.. :/

[Xyvinn]

Haha...

The Ad that came up for me was "Disgusted with porn? Search and delete porn today."

:P

[ironfan114]

Smash the hardrive disk drive and burn the remains. Thats how I got round the police/goverment, they couldn't find any secret files.

[diegodon127]

Really good q/a.

[kapowwebuyer]

u got a problem!!! stop cussing and get real!!

[kapowwebuyer]

nice! thanks and keep it up!!

[ChoclatePancake]

I have a question you could do for a question video, after you've just finished building ur gaming rig and every things all set 2 go, what do you do on the first boot?

[operationturkey]

Actually formatting will erase to data as long as it is not a quick format. Doing a long format (known as zero-filling) will go through the whole drive and reset each value of the drive to a 0.

[humantestdummy]

killdisk is a good one

[shaurz]

What about low-level formatting?

[IceyNet]

Does this damage the hard drive in any way and can you reuse that hard drive again if you use that software?

[GaribondTheFierce]

no it does not damage the hard drive in any way. I used dereks boot and nuke for my old pc and now i use it as an external hard drive for my mac. hope this answers your question... keep your questions coming.

[arranmc182]

if you own a Mac on the System disks for mac os you can do multiple pass over and other stff to make it hard for people to get your data

[sikcnt]

I think that BCwipePD is the best option

[shubhamranjan]

i like the last ad

"porn on your hardrive"

[RC18MT]

I tend to use a hammer. :p

lol

[HisRoyalDudeliness]

Don't forget sanding down the platters, degaussing it, and then taking a blowtorch to it :D.

[J4gg1T]

i use a magnet.

[zenniz1992]

Magnet will spoil your HDD

[J4gg1T]

that was my point. it cant be read again, so info = safe

[TheNumber40]

Or if you are trowing it away you could degauss the hdd at a local pc store. This will destroy the hdd and all data on it.

[zman1512]

U.S. Department of Defense Stands for Data Removal. SOUNDS LIKE THEY WILL HUNT ME DOWN

[Ruchira88]

Fucking google ads bull shit!! lol lol lol lol

[Ruchira88]

you can give it to me=)

[PrimalEarthling]

This is pretty handy too:

watch?v=jGXh6RVTuq0

[Losdiaz666]

sweet

[Stevenup7004]

Or, you could just open up the drive and smash the platters. :P

[samd891]

Data can be extacted from the fragments. lol

[DaMirrorLink]

if you are discarding and not recycling, a drill is pretty handy too

[laidt0rest]

nice answer even tho i already know that xD