How To Secure Erase Hard Drive Or Flash Drive Data?
Want to Securely Wipe Your Hard Drive or Flash Drive Files?
Situation1: Hello! My Seagate backup plus external hard drive has been used on my computer for almost 3 years and becomes really slow recently. It also gets much drive errors in recent months and just sees to be failing. So, I just plan to buy a new WD removable hard drive to instead this Seagate one. Though I do have backed up everything inside this old drive to the computer partitions, I just also worry the stored sensitive or private data will be restored by someone vicious. Do you have any idea about how to securely wipe this external hard drive?
Situation2: Hey, I really want to do a secure erasing on my Samsung hard drive before installing the Windows 7 operating system there? I really worry the previous drive contents can slow the drive performance and affect the installation of this OS. But, I don’t know what to do. Is there any way for me to completely remove everything inside? What am I supposed to do? Thanks for your help in advance!
The Common Drive Deletion or Format Is Not Enough to Erase Everything Permanently
Hey, there are numerous reasons why people need secure erase the hard drive or flash drive. No matter what yours is, the common drive deletion or formatting often is not enough. Why? With efficient data recovery software, the deleted or lost data often can be easily restored back from this wiped or deleted USB drive or flash drive after common deleting or formatting. And then, your data, especially some important or sensitive data, will be easily accessed or viewed by someone else. Therefore, when you do want to discard/sell a hard drive or do something related, a secure drive wiping is really necessary.
Three Simple Ways to Securely Wipe Your Drive Data:
Here are three main ways for you to remove your hard drive or flash drive files, music, photos and the likes permanently:
1). Apply Free secure erase software
In order to help people get rid of some private or sensitive data stored on an external hard drive or thumb drive, many secure erase programs have been created and will write series of "1"or "0" on your formatted or erased drive to completely overwrite or corrupt these original documents, songs, mails, videos and the likes. Moreover, some of them are free and some of them are paid to help you remove everything with secure. And some of them are compatible with Windows OS and some of them workable with Mac OS. Overall, choose one according to your conditions.
2). Fully Format This Drive & Overwrite Entire Drive with New Data
Without enough money to use professional secure erase software, you also can do your own efforts to wipe your selected hard drive or flash drive contents. Firstly, format or delete this external drive or USB flash drive as usual. Of course, with enough time, just perform a full format on this selected storage device. And then, continuously copy and paste useless data to this original hard drive/flash drive and rewrite all possible original files completely. In case that any sensitive data is leaked, rewrite this drive several times with else data.
3). Break or damage this drive
Except rewriting drive to completely corrupt or wipe drive contents, you also can try to corrupt this original drive to make everything inside irrecoverable. Generally, the data stored on a physically damaged hard drive or flash drive often will never be restored. Therefore, if this drive is really useless, just break, drop or damage this drive completely.
Conclusion:
The deleted or lost data stored on a storage device often cannot be restored when it is corrupted or damaged permanently by else file or data. Therefore, no matter whether you choose the professional secure erase software or try to erase everything by rewriting or overwriting this drive manually, it do follows that theory to corrupt your drive information. Overall, select the practical way based on your own needs.
Please Notes:
1). Extract Important Drive Files out & Back Them up Well
Before starting the secure erasing process, in case of deleting or losing some useful pictures, films, documents, texts, songs and the likes permanently, double check this USB hard drive or flash drive, extract the important data out and back them all up well on a different drives or locations.
2). Drive data recovery software can help recover drive data after secure erase.
After completing that secure erase process, you unfortunately find some of your very, very important pen drive/USB drive files or folders are also permanently deleted without careful checking in advance? Want to know whether it is still possible to recover these drive contents back? All right! Go scan this flash drive or removable hard drive with drive data recovery software and see how many useful files are still recoverable. But, you also should know that data recovery software is really your chance, but, it is also not so hopeful. Even when you do select the most effective drive file recovery software, you may also take no original drive information back. Hence, no matter what occurs, the drive data backups always need be prepared in advance.
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