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This tip is about the how to securely wipe a drive before selling laptop. So read this free guide, How to securely wipe a drive before selling laptop step by step. If you have query related to same article you may contact us.
How to securely wipe a drive before selling laptop – Guide
While previous versions of Windows didn’t make it easy to clean your PC’s personal data, Windows 10 makes it quite simple. You can do this if you are planning to sell or give away your computer, or also to troubleshoot a faulty machine. Clearing everything and starting over can help you regain all your hard drive space and get your PC running like new again.
Why should you clean your drive?
Aside from some embarrassing photos or search histories, there are several reasons why it’s important to clean a laptop’s drive before selling it. For example, the internet browser usually saves a lot of sensitive data which can be accessed easily unless the laptop is erased. Even more dangerous is the possibility for the buyer to have access to all account credentials and saved passwords. In addition to protecting passwords, another reason to wipe a drive is to protect past activities. Sometimes cookies and other tracking data can be reverse engineered by skilled hackers, allowing them to see all the ways in which the system has been used. In some cases, location data is even accessible, allowing a hacker to view all the places where laptop traveled.
In the event that a seller disposes of an old company laptop, cleaning will also benefit the employer. Again, not cleaning the notebook leads to the possibility of exposing information. If it was previously owned by an employer, not cleaning it properly could risk exposing company secrets. If the seller is especially unlucky, the employer may even hold the seller responsible for any information breaches.
What precautions to take before erasing your laptop drive?
Before cleaning a unit, it is advisable to take some precautions. Before permanently deleting laptop hard drive, important files must be backed up up so that they can be recovered by the seller at a later date. There are many free programs available online that can help you clone your entire laptop drive on an external drive. Without using these programs, each file will have to be copied manually, which can be extremely time consuming. A second precaution to take is to unlink the laptop of any software subscription. Some software vendors allow users to register their computers so they can easily access their accounts without having to log in. laptop may also continue to receive personal notifications from other connected devices if left linked.
Can you revert a drive wipe?
The answer to this question depends on the situation. If the user has recently reformatted or wiped a hard drive, some deleted files can be recovered using third-party programs. This is because when you delete a file, it is not completely removed from your hard drive. The computer simply erases directories that allow users to access these files. With enough digging, files can be recovered. However, it is a completely different story when deleted files are overwritten. Overwrite is the process of saving new data over old deleted data. Once the new files are saved to the clean drive, these new files will overwrite the old ones. Therefore, the old files will be impossible to recover. If a user is planning to sell their laptop, the second scenario is the best choice. The files must be erased completely to eliminate any chance for the buyer to recover them. This can also be done using third party apps that will delete the files and replace them.
Step-by-step procedure to wipe a hard drive
There are many ways to completely wipe a hard drive. In fact, even strong magnets will do the trick. trick (although this is a highly discouraged method that can cause irreversible damage to the drive) The steps below will explain how to safely and permanently clean a laptop hard drive.
Cleaning your PC with Windows Reset feature
Final note
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