Scrapping PC
 

I am about to scrap my ancient PC (only one generation removed from Mr.Babbage's Difference Engine) and need to completely wipe the hard disk before so doing.Can anyone point me in the direction of suitable means of doing this,please?

There are dozens of disk-wiping programs freely available - try going to http://sac-ftp.externet.hu/security12.html and downloading Wipedisk.zip - unzip it and follow the instructions. I've never used it.

If you're that worried why not smash it with a rock? Quick and VERY secure....

48 hours after you have zapped it you will remember a file you wish you'd saved...GUARANTEED!

If you are running win 95 or 98, just stick the windws startup disk in the floppy drive boot from that,and type format c:

Tony D - it might appear effective but it isn't foolproof, and you need to be careful that the "format" isn't just wiping the file allocation tables and leaving the data on the disk. Wipedisk type programs do multiple writes of random data to each sector and work better (although the data is still allegedly recoverable even after this). In my previous life at DERA we used Mac the Knife's suggestion, although a hammer was preferred to a rock :)

Ultimately, it just depends on how sensitive the information is and/or how paranoid you are. The truely paranoid reach for the hammer, but the other options are probably better... ;)

Simple answer, use FDISK. That'll kill it. However, I would smash it with a rock if I didn't need the drive.

or.....if you have a powerful magnet, just run that over the surface of the disk, and all will be lost. Gotta be a powerful one though......

Many thanks one and all for your constructive suggestions.
Having worked at various MOD/CAA/NATS establishments in the past,it is a case of "old habits die hard" and I am always careful about the disposal of personal information.Credit card slips,receipts,old bank statements etc end up as ash at the bottom of the garden every few weeks.Maybe I'm going over the top but why take risks?
Thanks again,everyone.

Pax:

Just shove it in the microwave for a couple of minutes on full blast....

That should do it !!

Seriously, you can get a prog called "Destroy-It!" that'll wipe just about anything.
try:

http://www.wincleaner.com/

Just a point of interest, from experience data can be recovered from a disk that has been formatted up to 6 times, I accept that this is a very specialised recovery process and beyond mr average, but it can be done. So format the drive a min of 7 times !!.
Alternatively open up the drive, have a look how it works then just doodle on the platters with a nail or screwdriver or similar. Only real way to destroy the data is to destroy the drive.

This was recently the subject of an article in "Network News". They tested various methods, then submitted the disks to a data recovery company to see if anything could be recovered. The answer, to summarise, was that you cannot completely erase a hard disk using software methods - even low-level format. [Reason : the disk will have almost certainly remapped some sectors, leaving some sectors subsequently inaccessible to the "erasing" software].

The easiest method they found to completely erase the disk was to remove the platters, and take a sander to them.

[ 31 October 2001: Message edited by: malanda ]

In my last post I thanked everyone for their constructive suggestions.I would now like to thank you all for your destructive suggestions.Ta!

What_does_this_button_do?, Fdisk can be recovered from as it only sets up a partition table.
Flyswift, For a real powerfull magnet take the ones out of the drive itself.
pax anglia, why not dismantle the disk drive, they are great fun, especially running them with no cover on and pouring in sugar!
PS. what have you got thats so confidential, have you gained a machine from some 70's pop star ?

Cremate it with an oxy-torch. Don't stop until it is molten and burning. Irrecoverable damage ensues and the singed and melted appearance discourages the wantonly-curious from further investigation. :D

I note reports that Windows XP has a data destruction feature included.

Just like all other Microsoft products, then.

Coming at this from a different angle, I had a serious crash with the PC, and the only way I could get it going again was to reformat it. Does that mean that all the files I thought I had lost are still on the drive somewhere?

AVCP

Quite possibly, although a format probably didn't help. There are companies who can work miracles with dead hard disks, but they are normally very expensive.

As an aside, if the disk has crashed once then I'd bin it even if a format seems to have brought it back to life. There's something wrong with the disk and unless it is pure scratch space (and as you're asking about backups then I'd guess that it isn't) then I wouldn't risk it happening again - it will.

Evo7

It didn't crash on its own, there was a Human Factor involved in the incident! However if I do want to get a new HD, how would I go about transferring the programmes on the old one to the new one? Basically in the Big Crash, all the My Documents stuff went, but most of the downlooaded programme files etc were still there.

I have to admit it is interesting to see the wanton destructive force accumulated in group of professionals.....

Keep it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

Pax, have you thought of putting it in a stout canvas bag with a couple of fathoms of anchor-chain and dumping it in the Atlantic? Have to watch it in case one of those midget submarines that have been following you don't spot you though....