
Today, when privacy is, as it should be, one of the most important topics in the modern world securely erasing and wiping data, is a simple must. Given the amount of data we interact with on a daily basis, which out scales several orders of magnitude the amount we used to come across just a decade ago, securely wiping and erasing them is a must in the current age. Of course, depending on the speed of your drive and the amount of free space needed to be overwritten, your mileage might vary. Likewise, to wipe the D: drive, insert this code: To run the wipe command for the F: drive, insert this code: Right-click the Windows button and click on Windows PowerShell (Admin), and the Windows PowerShell window will appear. To access the Disk Wipe function, you should be comfortable using Windows PowerShell. A professional version of KillDisk is required to use sanitation methods with multiple passes. As in the last example, the erase method is One Pass Zero. Click on Wipe Disk and press the Start button. Disk Wipe with KillDiskĪs in the previous example, select the drive which free space you want to wipe. As in the earlier example, we will be using KillDisk and Windows’ in-built option. If you have deleted files but want to delete them permanently without deleting the whole drive, then wiping the disk is what you need to do. According to Microsoft, zeroes will be written across the whole drive. However, to use the best possible choice for deleting a drive, it is required to uncheck the Quick Format box and click Start.
Right-click on the drive you want to erase and select Format to access it. The duration of the erasure can vary depending on the size and the speed of the drive.Īs it is well known, Windows OS already has a built option for deleting drives called Format. Click on the Start button, enter ERASE-ALL-DATA in the confirmation window, and the erasure process begins. The whole drive will be overwritten with zeros in one swoop.įor other advanced sanitation methods, a professional license is required.

KillDisk Freeware comes with a One Pass Zero method. Upon the installation, run it and select the hard disk drive would you like to eraseĬlick on Erase Disk, which will enable another menu. In case of KillDisk Freeware, download the file from this link and install the software. Therefore, additional steps need to be taken to delete data permanently. However, since HDDs use older technology TRIM function is not available in this case. Modern SSD drives have a TRIM function that enables automatic data wiping after a certain period. This leaves data integrity vulnerable since a significant amount of data is available for recovery. Over the years, large amounts of files have been stored and later deleted on computer drives. How to wipe a drive in Windows 10 or Windows 11
