Deleting stuff on external drive


  1. Posts : 147
    Windows 7 Professional
       #1

    Deleting stuff on external drive


    I have several external drives that I want to give to a friend. When info is "deleted," does it still remain on the drive like a hard drive, or is the drive really wiped clean? ec
      My Computer


  2. mjf
    Posts : 5,969
    Windows 7x64 Home Premium SP1
       #2

    ellenc said:
    When info is "deleted," does it still remain on the drive like a hard drive
    Yes the data remains until it is overwritten. The data is simply marked as available to be overwritten.
    To Clean the drive have a look at this:
    Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 33
    Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit
       #3

    The cipher command also allows you to securely erase a drive: How to securely overwrite deleted files with a built-in Windows tool
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 25,847
    Windows 10 Pro. 64/ version 1709 Windows 7 Pro/64
       #4

    As mjf has posted; I have used and recommend this.


    Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command

    I have never used this.

    How to securely overwrite deleted files with a built-in Windows tool

    But we do have a tutorial by Golden which might be helpful.

    Cipher Command - Overwrite Deleted Data in Windows
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 2,774
    Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
       #5

    DBAN, Dave[?] Boot and Nuke is another way to sure-fire delete an entire hard-drive; just make sure it is aimed at the correct hard-drive, external boot devices can and sometimes do shuffle the drive letters.
      My Computer


 

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