Yes, you can wipe a drive using the Windows format command. Fire up a Command Prompt and type: Format volume /P:passes Where volume is the drive letter, and passes is the number of format passes you want to make.

Apr 10, 2018 - Not enough people are using data cleaning tools before disposing of storage. We guide users through the maze. Whether you need extra space because your hard drive on your Mac is already full, or you're looking for a same external source to store sensitive documents, any of the above listed hard drives is a fantastic option to help you out. I personally use the Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB to store a lot of documents and pictures, and it works great.

For to wipe d drive with 4 passes, use the following: Format d: /P:4 Under Windows 8 and Windows 10, the wipe passes use random numbers to overwrite data on the disk (on previous versions 0 were used). You can also wipe the drive that Windows is installed on by booting from a Recovery Drive and choosing the Troubleshoot > Advanced options option to access Command Prompt. Not sure how to erase a device? I guarantee you that if you get a big enough hammer and spend enough time hammering, this will work on anything! This method also works great if you just want to destroy drives before you take them to the recycling plant. It's also a great stress reducer! You will need: • A hammer (I use my trusty 32oz 'fine adjustment' hammer) • A thick nail (a 6-inch nail will do fine) • Thick gloves - because you're going to be hammering that nail through the drive using the hammer, and hammers seem to be magnetically attracted to thumbs • A block of wood -- so you don't nail the drive through your floor (it's preferable to do this outside if you can) • Eye protection -- you've only got a maximum of two to start with, so it's silly to take chances!

Now you apply brute force. Ideally you want to put a nail through the platters of the drive, going all the way through (it's actually not as hard as it sounds). I aim for the spot marked by the red X on hard drives.

Alternatively you can use a power drill to make holes, but make sure that you have a way to securely hold the drive, for example, using a vice. Don't hold the drive in your hand because if the drill bit catches and the drive starts to spin -- or 'helicopters' -- on the end of the drill then there's a real risk of injury. Change slide footer powerpoint. Another thing to bear in mind is that the data in SSDs is held on small flash storage chips rather than large platters, and to securely erase the data you need to smash the chips. Usually, this means taking the cover off the drive before you start swinging.

If you're not sure which are the flash storage chips, just drive a nail through all the large chips to be on the safe side. The time that wiping storage devices gets complicated is when the device is broken or malfunctioning in some way.

For example, a hard drive that dies, or a storage card that can no longer be accessed. What do you do if you have to return something under warranty but there's data stored on the device? Well, things get complicated.

You could rely on the face that the device is dead, and that your data is inaccessible, but that's probably not the case. Data can be recovered off most storage devices if you are willing to throw money at the problem. You might not be able to get access to it, but someone else could.

If this is something that you're worried about then the best thing to do is to ask your vendor in advance what their policy is and buy based on what the answer you get is. Some will point you to a privacy policy, others will allow you to physically destroy the device before returning it (common for smaller items like microSD cards and the like). Sometimes, as is the case with a PC or external storage system, you might be able to remove the drives before returning the device for repair (assuming it's not the storage that's died). Another option open to for many devices is to encrypt all your data.

If the data on your PC, external storage, or flash drive is encrypted (and the encryption is legit, and assuming you've chosen strong passphrases and the like), then the data is likely unrecoverable to third parties. If you have a lot of drives to erase, you need a professional piece of kit that can keep up with the demands that you're going to place on it.