Reviving Your Hard Drive: A Comprehensive Guide To Cleaning Without A Disk

If you want to clean a hard drive without a PE disk, you can use a free data destruction program. This will ensure that your private information is gone forever and cannot be recovered. There are several ways to wipe a hard drive, but using data destruction software is the easiest method and still allows the hard drive to be used again. Before wiping your hard drive, make sure to back up anything you want to keep, such as photos, software product keys, etc. You can use an offline backup tool to save your files to an external hard drive. It's important to note that simply deleting files or formatting the hard drive is not enough to ensure privacy, as data recovery software can easily recover lost or deleted data.

Back up important data to an external hard drive or cloud storage

There are two main ways to back up your important data: using an external hard drive or cloud storage.

External Hard Drive

External hard drives are a popular choice for data backup due to their convenience and ease of use. They are portable, allowing you to easily move and store your data off-site, and they offer a large amount of storage space. When choosing an external hard drive, it is recommended to go with known brands such as Seagate and Western Digital, as they tend to have good customer service.

To back up your data to an external hard drive, simply connect the drive to your computer and use your computer's built-in backup features. On Windows 10 and 11, use File History. On Macs, use Time Machine. You can either occasionally connect the drive to your computer and use the backup tool or leave it plugged in so that it backs up automatically.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is another great option for backing up your important data. It offers the advantage of off-site storage, protecting your data from physical disasters such as fire or theft. There are many cloud storage service providers to choose from, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive, and they usually offer a small amount of free storage. If you need more space, you can pay a monthly or annual fee.

To back up your data to the cloud, simply sign up for an account with a cloud storage service provider and upload your files. Most providers have automatic backup features, so you don't have to worry about manually backing up your data regularly.

Hybrid Approach

You can also combine the strengths of both external hard drives and cloud storage by using a hybrid backup approach. For example, you could use cloud backups for important files and an external drive for backing up a system image, taking advantage of the faster transfer speeds of an external drive.

Download a free data destruction program

If you're looking to wipe your hard drive clean, there are several free data destruction programs available. These programs are the easiest way to ensure your data is gone for good and allow the drive to be used again.

It's important to note that when you format a hard drive or delete a partition, you're usually only deleting the file system, making the data invisible or no longer actively indexed, but not gone. A file recovery program or special hardware can often recover the information. If you want to make sure that your private information is gone forever, you'll need to use special software to wipe your hard drive.

• DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) is a popular open-source data wiping software that works with all operating systems. It can be downloaded for free and used to wipe your main drive. However, it doesn't support SSDs and doesn't provide a certificate of data removal.
• DiskGenius is a free tool that can securely erase data from a hard drive, SD card, or USB drive, making it unrecoverable. It also has a free partition manager program that can resize, format, clone, or back up partitions.
• Disk Wipe is a free, portable Windows application for permanent volume data destruction. It uses powerful algorithms to fill the volume with useless binary data multiple times, making data recovery almost impossible. It supports all popular Windows file systems and works with USB sticks, SD cards, and other portable memory devices.
• CBL Data Shredder comes in two forms: you can boot from it via a disc or USB stick, or use it from within Windows. It offers several data sanitization methods, including DoD 5220.22-M, Gutmann, RMCP DSX, and Schneier.
• KillDisk is a freeware version of the KillDisk Pro data destruction tool. It works with both regular hard drives and solid-state drives and runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac.
• File Shredder is a free desktop application for shredding or destroying unwanted files beyond recovery. It offers five different shredding algorithms, each one stronger than the previous one. It also has an integrated Disk Wiper that uses a shredding algorithm to wipe unused disk space.

Before using any data destruction software, it's important to back up any data you want to keep to an external hard drive or cloud storage. Additionally, make sure you have the necessary drivers and a bootable disk or USB drive if you're wiping the main hard drive.

Wipe the hard drive using the program's instructions

There are several ways to wipe a hard drive, but using a data destruction program is the easiest method, and it still allows the hard drive to be used again.

First, back up anything you want to keep, such as photos, software product keys, etc. When the hard drive wipe is complete, there will be absolutely no way to retrieve anything from the drive. If you haven't been using an online backup service, you can use one of the several free offline backup tools to save your files to an external hard drive.

Next, download a free data destruction program. Any of the first six programs on this list will work great because they can be used to wipe a hard drive from outside of Windows, a necessary feature if you want to wipe the drive that Windows is installed on.

DBAN is probably the most widely used hard drive wiping tool (but please know that it doesn't wipe solid-state drives). If you're nervous about hard drive wiping or prefer a more detailed walkthrough, see our How to Wipe a Hard Drive With DBAN tutorial.

Now, complete whatever steps are necessary to install the software or, in the case of a bootable program like DBAN, get the ISO image on a CD or DVD disc, or a USB device like a flash drive.

If you're using a CD or DVD, this process usually involves burning the ISO image to a disc and then booting from the disc to run the program. If you're using a flash drive or other USB drive, this process usually involves burning the ISO image to the USB device and then booting from that USB drive to get started.

Finally, wipe the hard drive according to the program's instructions. Most data destruction programs offer several methods. If you're curious about the effectiveness or methods used to complete the wipe, see Data Sanitization Methods.

Additional Information

The total time it takes to finish the HDD wipe depends on the size of the drive and the speed of the computer. When it's all done, you can be confident that whatever information was on the drive is now gone for good.

You can now install Windows on the drive, create a new partition, sell or give away the hard drive or computer, recycle or dispose of it, restore your backed-up files, or whatever else you need to do.

Reinstall Windows or macOS on the wiped hard drive

Reinstall Windows on the wiped hard drive

If you want to reinstall Windows on a wiped hard drive, you will need to create a Windows installation USB drive or DVD. You can do this by following these steps:

• Download the Windows media creation tool and accept the software license terms.
• Select the option to create installation media for another PC.
• Choose the language, Windows edition, and architecture version. You can use the recommended options for your PC.
• Insert a USB flash drive or DVD with at least 8GB of storage.
• Follow the remaining steps to create the installation media.

Once you have created the installation media, you can use it to reinstall Windows on your wiped hard drive:

• Connect the installation media to your PC and restart your computer.
• Boot your computer from the installation media. You may need to change the boot order in your PC's BIOS.
• Follow the on-screen instructions to reinstall Windows.

Reinstall macOS on the wiped hard drive

To reinstall macOS on a wiped hard drive, you can use macOS Recovery, the built-in recovery system on your Mac. Here are the steps to follow:

• Ensure your Mac is connected to the internet. If you are using a laptop, plug in the power adapter.
• Erase your Mac using the Erase Assistant. To do this, shut down your Mac, then press and hold the power button until "Loading startup options" appears. Select Options, click Continue, and follow the onscreen instructions.
• Select "Reinstall" for your macOS release in the Recovery app window and click Continue. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the reinstallation.

Alternatively, you can reinstall macOS by booting from a USB installer. Here are the steps:

• Create a bootable USB installer using another Mac. You will need at least an 8GB flash drive.
• Connect the USB installer to your Mac and restart your computer.
• Hold down the Option key while turning on your Mac and select the recovery partition.
• Follow the onscreen instructions to reinstall macOS.

Restore your backed-up files

Restoring your backed-up files is a straightforward process, but it varies depending on your device and operating system. Here are the steps for restoring your files on some of the most common platforms:

Windows

If you're using Windows, there are a few methods to restore your files. Here are two common approaches:

Using File History: File History is available on Windows 10 and 11 and automatically saves specific file folders to a backup device. To restore files using File History, follow these steps:

• Go to Settings > Update & Security > Backup and click More options.
• Scroll down and click Restore files from a current backup.
• Double-click the folder you want to restore, then double-click the file.
• Click the green button to restore the file to its previous location.

Using Backup and Restore:

• Open Backup and Restore by going to the Start button, then Control Panel, System and Maintenance, and finally, Backup and Restore.
• Select "Restore my files" and follow the steps in the wizard.

MacOS

To restore your files on a Mac, you can use the built-in Time Machine utility or follow these steps:

• Open the Finder or the Apple Devices app on Windows. If you're using iTunes on Windows or macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes.
• Connect your device to your computer using a USB cable.
• Follow any onscreen steps, such as entering your device passcode or trusting the computer.
• Select your device when it appears in the Finder window, the Apple Devices app sidebar, or the iTunes window.
• Select "Restore Backup."
• Choose the most relevant backup by looking at the date of each backup.
• Click "Restore" and wait for the process to finish. If prompted, enter the password for your encrypted backup.
• Keep your device connected after it restarts and wait for it to sync with your computer. You can disconnect once the sync is complete.

Android

On Android devices, you can restore your backed-up data to your phone or another Android device. Here's how:

• Open your device's Settings app.
• Select "System > Backup."
• If these steps don't match, try searching for "backup" in your settings app or get help from your device manufacturer.
• Follow the on-screen instructions to restore your data.

IOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch)

To restore your iOS device from a backup, you can use iCloud or a computer:

Using iCloud:

• Turn on your device and follow the onscreen setup steps until you reach the "Transfer Your Apps & Data" screen.
• Tap "From iCloud Backup."
• Sign in to iCloud with your Apple ID and choose a backup by looking at the date and size.
• Stay connected to Wi-Fi and wait for the progress bar to complete. The time required depends on the backup size and network speed.

Using a computer:

• Open the Finder or the appropriate app (Apple Devices app on Windows, or iTunes on Windows/macOS Mojave or earlier).
• Connect your device to your computer using a USB cable and follow any onscreen steps.
• Select your device when it appears and choose "Restore Backup."
• Pick the most relevant backup by looking at the date.
• Click "Restore" and wait for the process to finish.

Frequently asked questions