Low level formatting of disk

Question

I have an old laptop which I am selling.  I want to completely wipe out all the content from my disk.

How to do it?

Do I need to reload the Windows 10?

Answer 1

Hi Sada,

Typically resetting Windows 10 is all that is required when you are passing on or selling a PC . . .

That will remove all traces of your data . . .

Press the Shift Key and click Restart

Your PC will boot into the Windows Recovery Environment

Go to Troubleshoot - Advanced Options - Reset this PC

Choose to keep nothing

Then start the Reset

Answer 2

Hi, Seda,

unfortunately low-level formatting is far in the past. Now it can be done only using special equipment.

You may but from Windows DVD or USB, run restore tools, select command prompt, run diskpart command, select your hard drive and run a command clean all. This will erase all information.

Answer 3

Reset in Windows 10 can do this already:

Click Start > Settings (or press Windows key + i) > click Update & security

Click Recovery then click Get Started under Reset this PC

Since we are performing a clean install, I will be selecting the option Remove everything, if you don't want to do that, you can click Keep my files

Reset offers two types of clean installs:

Just remove my files - this option is quicker and recommended if you just want a fresh start and you plan to keep the computer.

Remove files and clean the drive - if you plan to giveaway or resell your computer, this option ensures the computer is cleaned properly. Its takes a bit longer, but it is recommended if you plan to no longer use this computer.

Click Remove files and clean the drive

Click Reset to begin

Windows 10 will restart

Preparing to perform a reset

Resetting - this might take some time depending on the amount of data

Windows will check the drive for errors and fix them.

Windows 10 performs a clean install again

Out of Box Experience (OOBE)

The Out of Box Experience assist with personlizing your Windows experience such as creating a user account, connect to a wireless network and adjust privacy settings.

Choose your country, language, keyboard layout and time zone then click Next

Read and accept the End User License Agreement

If you want to customize your privacy settings, you can do so now. Please note, you can always do this after setup (Start > Settings > Privacy). For now, lets use Use Express settings

Wait while Windows 10 restarts

Setup your username, password and a hint then click Next

There you have it, a clean installation of Windows

or

You can make a bootable copy:

Download the Media Creation Tool Now

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=691209

Right click the MediaCreationTool.exe file then click Run as administrator.

Accept the End User License Agreement:

Select the option Create installation media for another PC if you want to download a ISO image or create a bootable DVD or USB thumb drive,

Click Next

If you want to download a particular edition or both architectures, uncheck the Use the recommended option for this PC.

Image

Click in the Edition list box, choose your edition then click Next.

Windows 10 - contains Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro.

Windows 10 Home Single Language - only select this edition if you are running Windows 10 Single Language, Windows 8 Single Language or Windows 8.1 with Bing.

Windows 10 N - only select this edition if you reside in Europe, it does not contain Windows Media Player. It contains Windows 10 Home N, Windows 10 Pro N.

Downloading the ISO file

An ISO file is a digital or virtual replica of a physical disc. In order to use an ISO you must burn it to a optical disc. In the case of Windows 10, a blank Dual Layer DVD or an empty USB thumb drive. If you are using Windows 7, you can create the .ISO then burn it using the built in Disc Image utility. If you are running Windows XP or Windows Vista, you can using a third party burning tool such as ImgBurn or Roxio/Nero.

Exception: you can double click the ISO (or right click it, choose Open with > Fiel Explorer), mount it and start the upgrade in Windows 10.

Creating a .ISO file

For the purposes of this exercise, we are gonna use the .ISO option.

Select ISO file, then click Save, Select your location then click Save.

Wait while the .ISO image is created.

MAKING A BOOTABLE COPY USING RUFUS:

You can download Rufus, for free.

http://rufus.akeo.ie/

After downloading Rufus, connect your thumb drive, launch Rufus application, click in the Device list box then choose your thumb drive.

Click in the list box then choose your partition scheme. If you select the ISO, Rufus will automatically select the appropriate options for you. Next, click in the File system list box, then choose FAT32. If your thumb drive is larger than 32 GBs, choose exFAT.

Leave the default Cluster size then enter a label for your thumb drive.

Click the choose disk image icon, browse to where the ISO file is located, select it then click Open.

Click Start to copy the files to the thumb drive.

If you have any files on the thumb drive, they will be deleted.

Wait while the files are copied to your thumb drive.

Close when complete

Review the following guide for instructions and details about configuring your BIOS or UEFI boot settings for DVD, CD, USB or SD Card.

a

BIOS/UEFI Setup Guide: Boot from a CD, DVD, USB Drive or SD Card

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/bios-uefi-setu...

Once your computer is set to boot from the DVD, you should see this option. If you are installing from a retail Windows 10 USB thumb drive, you will be asked to select either 32 or 64 bit Windows 10. Learn more here https://www.groovypost.com/howto/choose-windows...

The Windows logo will appear on screen, this might be here for a while, as long as you see the animating dots, everything should be ok.

Select your Language, Time and Keyboard method then click Next.

Click Install now

Windows 10 setup will prompt you for a product key during installation a couple times. If you originally upgraded from Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 click the option 'I don't have a key' and 'Do this later' . If you have a Windows 10 product key, you can proceed to enter it.

Setup will also prompt you to select the edition you have a license for - Home or Pro. Please make sure you choose the right edition. If you choose the wrong edition, your only option will be to perform a clean install again.

The copy of Windows 10 you download and upgrade from will correspond with the edition of Windows you have installed, if it does not, this is why you might be experiencing problems activating:

Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Windows 8.0 Core, Windows 8.1 Core should install Windows 10 Home 



Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8.0 Pro, Windows 8.1 Pro should install Windows 10 Pro

IF YOU ARE NOT SURE WHICH EDITION YOUR SYSTEM CAME WITH, CHOOSE WINDOWS 10 HOME.

Wait while setup prepares to copy files

Accept the license terms then click Next

Click Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)

Press Shift + F10 on your keyboard

type the following commands

DISKPART

Hit Enter

list volume

Next you will select the volume where you would like to install Windows 10

Type: select disk #

represents the number the volume

Type: clean

convert mbr

create partition primary

active

format quick fs=ntfs

exit

exit

Power down the computer.

Answer 4

Yes you should re-instal Windows before reselling the computer. You have already been given instructions to do that. Here are more instructions, with pictures

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/perform-a-...

You can also use external programs, like CCleaner to secure wipe unused space on your drive:

https://support.piriform.com/hc/en-us/articles/...

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