Whether you've replaced your computer's hard drive or are getting rid of an entire computer, it's important to wipe the old hard drive. Employing a hard drive wipe utility helps to ensure that ...

Wiping your computer's hard drive is a somewhat drastic yet highly effective measure to restore your computer to peak operating efficiency. Freshly installed operating systems often perform better ...

I have a bunch of old workstations for a client and I'm wondering if there's a quick/easy way to wipe all the hard drives? Like a boot disk I can use that will quickly format the drive? Doesn't need ...

Q. How do I erase my hard drive safely so that I can donate my computer to a charity? There are any number of secure erase programs that should do the trick, says Jeff Crume, executive IT security ...

Since the Help Desk launched last year, we've received loads of requests for the best ways to preserve different kinds of data in our lives: think voice mails, conversations and even cherished home ...

A: Are you hoping to keep the machines after the drives have been erased, or are you just trying to remove personal information before getting rid of them? If the latter, then the easiest approach ...

Q: Microsoft told me that I need a new hard drive for my Windows 7 laptop. Should I buy a new hard drive or a new computer? I don't want Windows 10. Alicia Vidal, West Miami, Fla. A: Buy a new hard ...

If you didn't know, when you delete a file or empty your trash can, it isn't actually wiped from your hard drive. To make sure that a deleted file stays deleted, you must securely wipe your hard drive ...

Formatting your hard drive is an important step in setting up your computer. It clears all the data off the disk so that you can start fresh. DiskPart is a powerful command-line tool that allows you ...

The fact that reformatting a hard drive doesn’t completely erase the data stored on it is both a blessing and a curse depending on your circumstances. For example, if you reformat your hard drive ...

Prior to the release of Windows 8 and 10, after you formatted a hard drive, all data on that drive would be lost, including the operating system, programs, personal files and more. To get the machine ...

Q In a recent column, you wrote about cleaning off a hard drive with an "erase" program before getting rid of the computer. But I've been told that none of those programs really cleans up the hard ...