{"id":99690,"date":"2018-04-21T06:19:27","date_gmt":"2018-04-21T04:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=99690"},"modified":"2025-07-01T23:32:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T06:32:23","slug":"how-to-wipe-your-hard-drive-before-selling-or-donating-your-computer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/how-to-wipe-your-hard-drive-before-selling-or-donating-your-computer\/","title":{"rendered":"Wiping your hard drive before selling or donating your computer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Financing the latest tech is far from cheap, so it\u2019s no surprise that many of us sell off our old gear to pay for new additions to our tech collection<\/strong>. However, before you part ways with your old laptop or computer, ensure you give your hard drive a proper goodbye \u2013 you don\u2019t want it conspiring with its new owner to empty your bank account or steal your identity, do you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decent thing to do is erase every trace of you from the poor thing\u2019s memory. The article below will highlight three methods that we\u2019ve compiled to give your desktop or laptop a new lease on life – with someone else. We\u2019ll cover three different levels of data erasure<\/strong>, revealing how to wipe your hard drive before you donate or sell your computer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to wipe your hard drive before selling or donating your computer<\/h2>\n\n\n

  1. Three degrees of erasing your data<\/h2>\"How

    Method 1: The extreme method \u2013 100% effective<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    If you want absolutely no chance of anyone gaining access to your hard drive, remove it and take a sledgehammer to it. It\u2019s a messy solution, but an effective one. There\u2019s absolutely no coming back from such a vicious physical assault<\/strong>, no matter how good a hacker you are.<\/span><\/p>\n

    However, I suspect your buyer would prefer the hard drive included<\/strong> when they purchase your old PC. In which case, destroying it will almost certainly affect your asking price. Unless you\u2019re committed to total protection from someone recovering your data, try some of our other solutions instead.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Method 2: The (slightly less) extreme method \u2013 100% effective<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    So, your buyer is a bit of a stickler and wants a hard drive with his new computer. People can be so demanding, can\u2019t they?<\/span><\/p>\n

    The good news is that there\u2019s a way to wipe your hard drive<\/strong> without bludgeoning it to the hereafter (as fun as that may be); a program that overwrites ALL of your data.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Now this might seem like an easy option, but hold on. First, not all hard drive technology<\/strong> is supported. For example, the free version of <\/span>DBAN<\/span><\/a> \u2013 the best wiper of them all (conforming to Department of Defense standards) \u2013 doesn\u2019t support SSDs. And for a guaranteed, certificated erasure you also need to pay for the business version. Whether it\u2019s worth it is another question only you can answer. If you have neither the time nor energy to to determine this for yourself, read our review of DBAN for a comprehensive look at its pros and cons. You\u2019re welcome.<\/span><\/p>\n

    If you decide that DBAN and utilities of the like are not for you though, feel free to keep scrolling<\/strong> for our most in-depth and most widely-performed solution.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Method 3: The manufacturer method \u2013 99.9% effective<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Whenever you delete a file, it doesn\u2019t just disappear. You\u2019re simply telling the computer that it can be overwritten with something else<\/strong>. So even after doing a manufacturer\u2019s factory restore\/reset, while the hard drive seems empty, you can recover data that hasn\u2019t already been overwritten.<\/span><\/p>\n

    In 99.9% of situations, this isn\u2019t a problem. Beyond a factory reset<\/strong>, you have to start buying expensive recovery software or pay others to recover surviving data for you, which is a deterrent for all but the most persistent criminals. Another factor to keep in mind is that in 99.9% of circumstances like this, you\u2019re selling to a genuine buyer \u2013 perhaps a friend \u2013 and they\u2019ll quickly overwrite your \u201cdisabled\u201d data with their own. <\/span><\/p>\n

    So unless you suspect your buyer is a cybercriminal, there\u2019s not much to worry about. With that out of the way, let\u2019s head into how to restore\/reset a Mac, Windows 10, and Windows 11 PC.<\/strong> We\u2019ve covered all our bases with this guide. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>

  2. How to restore\/reset a Mac <\/h2>\"How

    – Back-up all your data, either to an external hard drive or cloud storage<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Ensure your Mac is connected to the internet so it can reinstall macOS<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Deauthorize iTunes on your computer<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Sign out of iCloud and disable it on your computer<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Restart in Recovery mode by holding down cmd + R<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Use disk utility to erase the hard drive<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Reinstall macOS<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>

  3. How to restore\/reset a Windows 10 PC<\/h2>\"How

    – Back-up all your data, as above<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Save your software serial keys so you can reinstall on your new machine<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset this PC > Get Started > Remove everything > Remove files and clean the drive<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>

  4. How to restore\/reset a Windows 11 PC<\/h2>\"How

    – Create a backup of your data, as above.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Save any software keys you have so that you can install on your new device, as above.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Head to Settings > System > Recovery > Reset PC and follow the prompted factory reset guide. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ol><\/div>