2026-04-23

How to Clear a Hard Drive?

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM04 mins

How to Clear a Hard DriveHow to Clear a Hard Drive:

1. Bear in mind that files you deleted are not truly deleted. Data can remain even after that part of the physical disk is overwritten a number times!

2. Save all the files you really need. It’s a terrible feeling when you realize that you forgot to save a folder of pictures or an important Word document. Take a little time to search through your hard drive to make sure that you collected everything you need. Burn these files to a CD-ROM or save them to another kind of external media.

3. Reformat your hard drive. The procedure with this will differ depending on what kind of operating system you are using. If you’re using Windows XP, just insert the install CD-ROM you received when you bought the computer and delete your hard drive’s partition. This is usually “C:”(primary Partition). You must then create a new C: partition and then format it using that install disc. Choose the “quick format” option and your hard drive is cleared.

4. Invest in a program that truly obliterates the data on your hard drive if you want everything really clean. The best programs perform this act to the Department of Defense’s 5220.22-M standard. Just install the program and follow the onscreen directions to clear your drive.

5. Employ the hard drive’s best friend and worst enemy: magnetism. Your hard drive aligns or shifts magnetic particles to save data. If you have a big or strong enough magnet, you can destroy this organization and end up with a hard drive that has absolutely no data on it at all. You should remove the hard drive before you do this, so you don’t cause a problem in your other components.

10 Tips for Clearing a Hard Drive

  • Your browser logs every website you have visited.
  • Your computer contains many temporary web page files.
  • Adware and cookie files can be used to spy on your web surfing.
  • Many programs store passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive data.
  • Pressing the Delete key will not erase a file permanently.
  • Programs often make use of temporary files when performing program functions.
  • Autosave backup files are automatically generated by some applications.
  • Windows stores your search terms.
  • Swap files inadvertently contain sensitive data.
  • Gaps between files contain old data.
  • Permanently removing sensitive data requires advanced hard drive clean up software.
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Data Loss, A Growing Concern For Small Business

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM03 mins

data-lossThe growing trend toward bring your own device(BYOD) in the workplace is putting company data at risk, according to a survey by Mozy and Compass Partners. Most (87 percent) small and midsize businesses have no formal policy in place regarding employees’ use of personal devices for work purposes — and 80 percent weren’t even concerned. About 33 percent of companies let employees make their own decisions about how to back up company and client data on their devices, and most companies lack adequate backup or data recovery plans for those devices.

Besides not backing up, employees are engaging in other risky behavior with their personal devices, including not having antivirus protection, leaving laptops alone in coffee shops or other public places, using public computers to access company networks and transferring unencrypted data.

Why it matters to your business: The risk of loss isn’t just theoretical. For example, 11 percent of the survey’s respondents said employee laptops have been stolen in the past, and in 98 percent of those cases, all of the lost data was never recovered. The “bring your own device” trend isn’t going away, but if you allow it, you do need to set some rules to protect your customers’ data, your data — and your business.

About Mozy
Mozy is the world’s most trusted online backup service for consumers and businesses, with more than three million customers, 70,000 business users and 70 petabytes of information stored at its multiple data centers around the globe. Mozy was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2007 and operates as part of Decho Corporation, an EMC company. More information can be found at www.mozy.com

About the Study
The study was executed by Compass Partners LLC, an independent market research firm focused on consumer technology. The study was fielded among 641 business decision makers responsible for the purchase of software and computer related services for small and medium businesses with 1 – 1,000 full-time employees. Field dates were October 24 through November 1, 2011. For each industry vertical sampled (each cell contained a minimum of 100 responses), the margin of error is +/- 9.8% at 95% confidence interval.

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