- HOW TO WIPE CLEAN MAC UPGRADE
- HOW TO WIPE CLEAN MAC WINDOWS 10
- HOW TO WIPE CLEAN MAC PC
- HOW TO WIPE CLEAN MAC ISO
Next, run this command - ' sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdb bs=1M' - via the terminal, making sure to substitute ' /dev/sdb/' with the target drive's correct device path. Find the drive you want to wipe, and note the drive's device path. This will list all the storage drives currently connected to your machine. Open up a command line terminal and enter ' sudo fdisk -l'. If you've got a Linux-based machine, wiping any of the hard drives – internal or external – is a slightly fiddly process that involves using the command line, regardless of the Linux distro you are using. It might take a few hours to complete the process, but this is a very secure way of erasing data. This will write the data to the disk several times. Search for the Erase tab security options and click 7-pass Erase. Finally, choose Remove Everything and Reinstall Windows.
HOW TO WIPE CLEAN MAC PC
Head to the Start screen, find the Charms bar, click on Settings and then hit Change PC settings.
It's much easier to wipe a hard drive in Windows 8 or 8.1.
HOW TO WIPE CLEAN MAC UPGRADE
If the machine is going to see new use, you can then reinstall Windows 7 from any disc or bootable USB stick with Windows installation files, although you'll likely want to upgrade this to Windows 10.ĭBAN can also be used to wipe any drive running Windows or indeed Linux, as it doesn't need to run in any particular OS. Once this USB flash drive is inserted in the laptop you want to wipe, restart the machine and then boot from this drive from the BIOS screen. From here you simply follow the prompts and wait for the machine to work through the reset process, which will securely delete everything.
HOW TO WIPE CLEAN MAC ISO
It's downloadable as an ISO image but you will need to extract it onto a bootable USB or disc in order to use it as a boot device. Although the legacy OS is now obsolete, you might still run into older devices with the OS still installed. Wiping a laptop running Windows 7 shouldn't be too difficult. Let's start with the oldest OS versions you're likely to encounter.
HOW TO WIPE CLEAN MAC WINDOWS 10
Windows 10 has both features and adds the ability to backup and restore system images. You can use the Windows Backup feature in Windows 7, or File History in Windows 8. To backup, you can simply connect an external drive to the laptop and drag files and folders to it. Once you have connected the external drive to the laptop you want to wipe, you can check that it is big enough to store all the data you need. If everything is stored on one drive (usually the C: drive in Windows), right-click on the drive icon to see how much data is taking up space there. You will need to figure out how much storage you need. The most complete and quickest way, however, is to back up to an external hard drive that's directly connected to the laptop. Unlocking the value of data with data innovation accelerationĭiving into what a mature data innovation practice looks like Free Download Back up important dataīefore using any storage management tools, the first thing you must do is to ensure all of your files and folders are backed up and organised, so you don't wipe anything that you may need at a later date. Even if you don’t think you’ll ever access the data in future, you may need to reference something hidden away in archives in the distant future. Fortunately, there are some handy built-in data tools across the industry's most popular operating systems that, if used properly, can save you a great deal of trouble in the long run. It’s imperative, therefore, to always wipe any form of data storage media before it leaves your grasp.
Serious legal penalties under GDPR could be incurred if you leak any sensitive data in such a manner. Beyond the user’s personal data, it’s likely that the laptop has accessed information belonging to customers, other employees, and business partners at some stage, and evidence of this will need to be scoured. This is already a serious issue for consumers, given the immediate problem of data privacy and potential for identity theft, but the consequences for businesses can be far more severe.