If you’re selling your computer on and want to get rid of your files for privacy reasons – or simply want to erase everything on the system and start afresh – you’ll need to wipe your hard drive completely clean.
When you delete a file in the usual way, the operating system removes the reference to the file from the file system’s index, so it’s not easily discoverable. However, the data itself remains on the hard drive until it’s overwritten by new data. Deleted files can often be recovered using specialized software because the actual data still exists on the disk. Wiping a hard drive goes a step further by overwriting the entire drive’s data with zeros, ones, or random data multiple times. This process ensures that the original data is irretrievable, even with advanced recovery tools, making it a much more effective way to get rid of anything you don’t want others to see.
Wiping can be done on individual files, partitions, or the entire drive, depending on the method used. The process is slightly different on Windows and Mac devices, too.
Read on to discover when it’s appropriate to wipe a hard drive, the steps you need to follow to get rid of your files forever, and some of the third-party tools that can support you along the way.
When should I wipe a hard drive?
There are several instances where it makes sense to wipe your hard drive:
When replacing an old computer
Ready to swap your device for a new one? When you’re selling or donating your computer, you don’t want the new owner to access your personal data, including your files, emails, photos, or saved passwords. Wiping the hard drive ensures that all your personal information is completely removed, preventing potential identity theft or data breaches.
When replacing a damaged hard drive
Broken hard drives aren’t much use, but they can still be harbouring some of your personal data. Make sure none of it is recoverable by wiping the drive regardless of its condition.
When upgrading to an SSD
Keen to invest in a better performing hard drive? It’s best to perform a hard disk wipe after you’ve migrated all your data to your new solid-state drive (SSD).
Refreshing an old hard drive
Sometimes, a computer can become sluggish or cluttered with unnecessary files, software, and configurations. If you’re experiencing significant performance issues or want to start fresh without any old data, wiping the drive before you reinstall the operating system can help.
Preparing to wipe your hard drive
Before you commit to the wipe process, we would recommend backing up any critical files. You can copy important files, documents, photos, and other data to an external hard drive or USB flash drive – or alternatively, you can use services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive for secure file storage in the cloud.
You could consider creating a full system image or clone of your hard drive if you decide you want to restore your system to its current state later.
You might also want to:
- Deauthorize accounts and software, so these licenses are no longer tied to a specific computer
- Note down product keys and serial numbers, particularly if you’re planning to reinstall software
- Sign out of accounts you were using on that specific device, and clear any saved passwords
- Disconnect any external hardware
- Make sure you’ve got the correct drivers on hand for reinstalling the OS
- Tell other users of the same computer that the data will soon be wiped, and encourage them to back up their own data
How to wipe a hard drive on Mac
The method you use for wiping your MacOS will depend on the type of Mac you have. You can find out what you’re working with by clicking the Apple menu in the top left of the screen and heading over to About This Mac.
Devices with a silicon chip
If you use a Mac that was manufactured after 2020, it will likely contain Apple silicon chips, aka M1, M2 or M3 processors. You can wipe the hard drive by:
- Going to System Settings
- Clicking on General, then Transfer or Reset
- Clicking Erase All Content and Settings
From there, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the wipe. The Mac will restart and reactivate, and you’ll be ready to go.
Devices with Intel processors
For Macs that were produced prior to 2020, you’ll need to follow the process to suit its Intel processor. You can use the Disk Utility function to delete the hard drive by:
- Shutting down the computer and rebooting it
- Holding the Command + R keys during the reboot until the Apple logo appears
- Entering your password if required
- Selecting Disk Utility in the Utilities window, then clicking Continue
- Selecting Macintosh HD (or the name you gave to your hard drive, if you’ve customized it)
- Clicking Erase in the toolbar
- Confirming the hard drive name
- Selecting APFS under the Format menu, and clicking Erase
Devices with an SSD
SSD drives aren’t as simple to wipe. For the best results, you’ll need to encrypt your files before you get rid of them, otherwise they might still be accessible.
- Go to System Preferences
- Click Security & Privacy and select FileVault
- Enable FileVault; this will encrypt your hard drive. It might take a few hours. Make a note of the password that’s given to you, as you’ll need it later
- When the encryption is complete, reboot your Mac and hold down the Command + R keys during startup
- Go to Desk Utility in the Utilities Window
- Choose the correct SSD drive from the sidebar, select Unlock from the File menu, and enter the password you received earlier
- Click Erase in the toolbar
- Confirm the hard drive name
- Select APFS under the Format menu, and click Erase
- Enter your AppleID in the popup window, if you need to
How to wipe an external drive with a Mac
Wiping an external MacOS hard drive is a breeze.
- Go to Applications
- Double click Disk Utility in the Utilities folder
- Click View, then Show All Devices
- Select your external hard drive from the External menu
- Click Erase in the toolbar
- Confirm the hard drive name
- Select APFS under the Format menu, and click Erase
- Enter your AppleID in the popup window, if you need to
How to wipe a hard drive on Windows
Once you’ve backed up all your data, the best practice is to create a recovery drive so you can reinstall Windows on your new machine. To do this, you’ll need to:
- Go to Recovery Drive
- Click Yes to allow the Recovery Media Creator function to make changes to your device
- Check the box Back up system to the recovery drive, and click Next
- Connect your external drive to your device via USB
- Click Next, then click Create
Next, you’ll need to restart your PC in Recovery Mode. To do this:
- Insert the Windows installation USB drive into your computer
- Restart your computer and boot from the USB drive. You may need to press a specific key (like F2, F12, ESC, or DEL) to access the boot menu, depending on your computer’s manufacturer
- Select the USB drive from the boot menu and press Enter
Then, it’s time to wipe the hard drive:
- After booting from the USB drive, the Windows Setup screen will appear
- Select your language, time, and keyboard preferences, then click Next
- Click Install now
- Enter your product key (if required) or select I don’t have a product key
- Accept the license terms and click Next
- Choose Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)
- Select the drive or partition you want to wipe
- Click on each partition on the drive and select Delete
- Select the unallocated space and click Next. This will automatically create new partitions and begin the Windows installation
Windows will now install itself onto the clean drive. The process may take some time, and your computer will restart several times during the installation. From here, you’ll need to follow the on-screen prompts to set up Windows, configure user accounts and preferences, and connect to the internet.
How to wipe an external drive on Windows
You can use several third-party tools to wipe the hard drive on a Windows device, but it’s often easiest to use the Disk Management feature by following these instructions:
- Connect your external hard drive to the computer
- Press the Windows key + X
- Select Disk Management from the popup window
- Go to the Volume column and right-click the external drive
- Select Format, and click Yes in the next window
- Uncheck the box called Perform a quick format in the Format D: window and click OK, then OK again to start the disk wipe
How to wipe an SSD
Solid-state drives are generally much faster and more efficient than their hard disk equivalents, but they are harder to wipe. To make sure every last piece of your data has been deleted, we recommend wiping an SSD with either:
The Basic Input-Output System (BIOS)
You can use the in-built utilities of your SSD’s firmware to erase all data from the drive and make sure it’s unrecoverable. The feature to look for is Secure Erase; you’ll need to access this via the system’s BIOS settings (or UEFI settings if you’re working with the more modern equivalent).
If your BIOS/UEFI does not have a Secure Erase option, you’ll need to use the SSD manufacturer’s software, which often includes a bootable tool for this.
Manufacturer software
You’ll need to download the correct utility from your SSD brand. You can usually find the manufacturer information by checking the SSD model in your system settings or by physically inspecting the drive. Some common tools include Intel SSD Toolbox, SanDisk SSD Dashboard, and Samsung Magician.
Download and install the software to get started – and, as always, make sure you’ve backed your data up before you start the wipe process.
Third-party software
Some third-party options are more user-friendly than the utilities available straight from the manufacturers – and they’re just as secure. Some are free, whereas some require payment. Try CCleaner, Parted Magic, Eraser, or GParted.
How to physically wipe a hard drive on a dead computer that won’t turn on
These may seem like drastic measures, but they’re some of the only foolproof ways to destroy the drive platter on a device that won’t start up.
To start: Disassemble the hard drive
Take apart your hard disk’s components with a screwdriver before destroying it using any of the methods listed below.
Drill holes in the hard drive
Drill a series of holes across the entire piece of hardware to make sure hackers can’t access the data in any undamaged components. You’ll need to be thorough, otherwise your data could still be at risk.
Use a powerful magnet to degauss the hard drive
Magnetic force will damage the hard disk beyond repair (although the same can’t be said for SSDs, which use electronic circuits instead of magnetic disks). Remove the magnetic field around the hard drive by waving a degaussing wand or other powerful magnet around it for around a minute.
Send to an electronic disposal company for shredding
Contact a reputableprovider that will provide you with a quote for breaking your device into small pieces using industrial grade equipment. This will destroy the drive platters, mechanisms and electronic components beyond recognition. You’ll to make sure your shredding company disposes of or recycles the product responsibly.
Third-party tools that help to wipe a hard drive
Designed to make the wiping process even easier, third-party software can make getting rid of your sensitive data quick and painless. Discover some of the most popular third-party hard drive wiping tools below and click on their names to download them.
CCleaner: Though its primary purpose is freeing up space, CCleaner can also be used to wipe your hard drive totally clean. It’s compatible with all major operating systems, including Windows, MacOS and Android, and it’s one of the most intuitive tools of its kind.
DBAN: Otherwise known as Darin’s Boot and Nuke, DBAN is a recognised program that can be initiated from a USB or a CD. It uses an algorithm to overwrite the information on your hard disk drive many times. Please note, DBAN isn’t ideal for wiping SSDs. It’s also best suited to home use. And just a heads up – development for DBAN also stopped in 2015, so it hasn’t received any new bug fixes or support for a few years now.
Disk Wipe: Simple by name and simple in nature, this works in a similar way to DBAN. It’s a Windows-only tool and works on memory devices that are accessible and formatted with either NTFS, Fat, or Fat32.
Active KillDisk Freeware: This sanitization tool’s One Pass Zero method replaces all the data on your drive with zeros, so you can wave a permanent goodbye to everything that was stored on your device.It can be installed across Windows, MacOS and Linux, and it’s great for erasing multiple disks at the same time.
CBL Data Shredder: This overwrites your hard drive witha more complicated bit pattern, so the data cannot be recovered. It’s designed for Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10.
AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard: This tool’s Wipe Hard Drive feature will get rid of your data permanently. There’s also a lot more to this software than meets the eye; it offers a safe hard drive manager, a data migrator, a disk converter and a partition recovery feature, plus more.
ShredOS/Nwipe: This is a USB bootable distribution that works with all Intel 32 and 64 bit processors and erases the contents of a hard drive using the nwipe program.
Eraser: This is an advanced security tool for Windowsthat, at the time of writing, is supported under Windows XP (with Service Pack 3), Windows Server 2003 (with Service Pack 2), Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, 8, 10 and Windows Server 2012-2022.An added benefit of Eraser is, it also works with a customisable scheduler, so disk sweep tasks can be planned ahead of time and executed whenever suits you best.
A final piece of advice…
If a virus has corrupted your system and its data, you may need to perform a hard drive wipe to start from scratch. You’re much less likely to fall victim to a malicious attack (and have to deal with the fallout!) if you have robust anti-virus and anti-malware protection in place.
SUPERAntiSpyware’s Professional X Edition will stop threats in their tracks long before they have a chance to get to your sensitive information. With an AI-powered detection engine, real-time threat blocker automatic database updates and scheduled scanning, it’s a user-friendly and super convenient software that’s more affordable than you might expect.