Windows 7 - Going to sell my 500g Passport to upgrade, how many times to Format?

JohnnyScience · 05-23-2011

Ok I currently have a 500g WD Passport that I am going to sell only because I need to upgrade to the 1TB Passport.

Now I used the Passport for my entire computer backup, so it has personal & sensitive files.

How many times should I do a full & complete format to make sure everything is as deleted as possible so no one could ever restore any of my info?

I've always read that even with formatting you can still pull up old data...

pparks1 · 05-23-2011

Use something like dban on it.

Phone Man · 05-23-2011

Try Eraser to securely overwrite your data.

Jim

JohnnyScience · 05-23-2011

Which is better, dban or Eraser?

Are they both free?

So the normal formatting that Windows 7 offers isnt enough?

seekermeister · 05-23-2011

Quote:

So the normal formatting that Windows 7 offers isnt enough?

No. How many times to format depends on just how securely that you want to erase the drive. If I recall, the government standard is 32 passes, but for the average person that is an overkill. I would settle for a single low level format pass.

JohnnyScience · 05-23-2011

Ok, so is dban or Eraser better?

I'm looking for a good free one...

Fumz · 05-23-2011

A hammer and nail will also work wonders. Of course, this route will make it more difficult to sell, but at least you would be assured the drive would never again be read.

seekermeister · 05-24-2011

Quote: Originally Posted by JohnnyScience

Ok, so is dban or Eraser better?

I'm looking for a good free one...

I really don't think that it matters which program that you use, in terms of effectiveness, as long as it does do a low level format. The only difference in these programs is their ease of use, and the number of passes they can make.

If you happen to have a drive recovery program, you could use it to test the drive after formatting, to see if it could recover any files. That would help you decide whether to run more passes or not.

lovewin7yea · 05-24-2011

i use white canyon wipe drive. works excellent

JohnnyScience · 05-25-2011

Quote: Originally Posted by lovewin7yea

i use white canyon wipe drive. works excellent

Hmm, seems that's a $20 program while Eraser is free.

Do you guys think Eraser is effective enough that I can rest easy at night knowing the drive is completely wiped?

Windows 7 - Going to sell my 500g Passport to upgrade, how many times to Format?

Going to sell my 500g Passport to upgrade, how many times to Format? problems?