Giveaway: Do Your Data Recovery Pro V5.8 For FREE
Denna Repaci
My sister inlaw gave me her comp. but it has a virus on it that i cant get rid of. I was wondering if i could erase or reformat my hardrive to reinstall WindowsXP without the hard drive still having the virus on it. Im not to sure what kind of virus it is, but im pretty sure its some kind of spyware or adware.Your comments would greatly be appreciated
Here is one possibility,Put the HDD into a working computer (perhaps the one it was originally installed in).
Use BitLocker to encrypt the hard drive.
Format the HDD with the quick option unchecked.
Install Windows.
Encrypt the HDD with BitLocker.
Format the HDD with the quick option unchecked (again)The HDD should now be as unrecoverable as possible. The first BitLocker encryption encrypts all the data on the drive, and stores a key there as well. Formatting the drive removes all the data on the drive
After re-installing Windows, then re-encrypting the drive with BitLocker, a new key is stored on the drive (replacing the original one). Re-formatting the drive a second time removes all data on the drive. At this point, even if someone is determined enough to recover any data on the drive, the best they will be able to do will be to recover the dearth of data from the re-installation of Windows, then re-encrypting the HDD. Since the original encryption key is no longer accessible (it was overwritten by the second BitLocker encryption), any data that may be recoverable will be encrypted, and meaningless. This is a lot of work, and will take a considerable amount of time, but I believe the result is very secure.My2Cents,Ernie
I inadvertently formatted my hard drive with the system rescue disk. THE GEEK SQUAD assures me they can have all my photos and videos rescued by a level three retrieval.A level 2 is $500, but a level three in a clean room is $1500. I this even possible, or am I getting ripped off?
I think that you should reconsider your technique. All you do is change the pointer of the file name, you do not overwrite any existing data. Eventually new data might overwrite some or all of that file.After deleting that newly named file, it and the first file still are on your hard drive since the OS does not overwrite data when it deletes the address in the directory, it only deletes the directory entry. Both files can be recovered unless their data has been overwritten.
Now that I have erased my HDD how do I get the new OS to install?
When I insert the Windows or Linux install disc, it gives disc error and will not load. I have used a partition floppy to install a MBR partition but the OS will not start.
I am trying to wipe my hard drive as i have a worm and my comp is shutting down every half hour or so i tried to format it and reboot from windows disc but nothing works i have tried webroot washer also but nothing seems to boot when i switch on can you help please
Formatting and deleting the data from the hard drive does not removes the data completely from the hard drive. It can be recovered easily using any recovery software, so removing the data in that manner will not be safe.So, to remove the data completely from the hard disk any special softwre is required and Wipe Mac is simply perfect which I used as well. It removes the data at changes the hard disk format in its native state that is to 0 and 1. I am sure it will help you out as well.
Long-time fan, first time caller . ..If you are looking to erase and recycle your laptop, we offer a free and secure service at support our goal of keeping laptops and smartphones out of landfills. Our goal is to be sure your personal information is completely erased in the process.Thanks for the great article and many years of excellent computer advice Leo, you are a legend!
I removed the hard drive, the mother board is fried, what can be discovered on the RAM?
We are selling it with full disclosure. We figure the buyers want the parts, screen, etc. We were suprised that anyone wants this stuff, but happy to keep it out of a landfill.Nothing. RAM is completely erased within seconds of removing the power to the machine.
20-Nov-2010
If you are *really* concerned, a secure way to do this would be to encrypt it before reformatting it. This will make it impossible to recover the information. This is what I would do:1. install truecrypt from encrypt your entire hard drive using twofish, Serpent and AES and a 65 character password3. use a strong password like this: NGeiiyQvCzUkgbDUhH@MKorEgD&j%$XHNDJlSKxN!Q#ZhGGBLg$vfrRPTxAu#a&xn4. reformat the hard drive5. burn piece of paper you wrote the password onI know that is overkill but if you are concerned with the data being recovered after holes are drilled in it, this should technically be more secure.
What about using fdisk? does win 95+ (98-win 8) still have it> Will that work (not as good as drill press) but still work than reformat?
I used to use Fdisk then format then install whatever I could and do it again about 3 times then just fdisk and install the basic OS.
Can anyone help me urgently? I had some sensitive data in pendrive, that i have overwritten now but i am scared by the recovery tools that pretend to recover even overwritten data. So should i also use Dban?? I am giving pendrive to someone, please help me. If i only want to use Dban for USB flash drive, not for hard disk, would it work?? Please answere my few questions , i want to wipe pendrive permanently so that nothing can be recovered.
I need to return a faulty laptop for refund in next few days. It is only 3 mths old and recently had motherboard replaced. The only sensitive data would be some passwords. Should I wipe the HD? If I do, will I be liable for any charges if I leave no OS. I do not have any disks so wouldnt be able to reinstall windows and not sure I would know how.
I took the hard drive out of my HP laptop computer. I want to do this because before I donate the laptop. Will some get it and put in a hard drive and see my files? The computer crashed so I cannot delete anything at this time.Thank you
Your files are on the hard drive, so there is no way anyone can access them if the hard drive is gone. However, do keep in mind that if you give the computer away without a hard drive or operating system it is not much use to the person you are giving it to. They might not want it then. So you should explore a few different options before moving forward.
According to Scott Moulton a hard drive recovery expert, a simple Windows full format of a hard drive is enough to prevent the data being recovered by normal human beings, repeated overwrites or smashing the drive is plain overkill unless you expect the NSA or FBI to be looking at your drive.
Software obsolescence is a good argument for hanging on to an older computer with an older version of the OS to be able to run older programs to be able to access data otherwise inaccessible by a newer machine.
If you do a full format, the data will be, for all practical purposes, unrecoverable, except for an expensive recovery service. If you do a quick format, the data can be recovered by anyone with a data recovery program such as the free Recuva.
DBAN is fine for SSDs. You can set it to one pass and that will completely wipe everything securely. In fact, for the average user, on pass is enough on hard drives as it will cost a few thousand dollars to restore any data. Unless you have data someone will spend thousands to recover, stick with one pass.
When you perform a format and install of a new OS, it performs a quick format. That only clears the file index, and ll of the data stays intact on the free space of the drive. A full format or free space wipe is necessary to remove all of the data from the drive.
No need to worry. Just do a free space wipe.
Wise Data Recovery is a file and data recovery utility allowing you to recover files and folders that have been deleted and marked as free space. It works on local hard drives, removable flash drives, memory cards and other drives on your system. After scanning your drive, the interface will list the files that can be recovered and the likelihood of being able to recover the entire file.
Special optimizations have been made for 4K alignment to ensure that data recovery is supported for SSD. If you happen to have 4K drives, iFinD is good for you. Both 512-byte sector drive and 4096-byte sector drive (4K) data recovery are easily solved. Most data recovery tools in the market have difficulties in recovering data from a 4K hard drive.
Recovering raw photos of all camera brands in deep scan mode is enabled. Cameras from Fujifilm, Panasonic, Canon, Sony, Nikon, Olympus, and Pentax are all in the supported list. No matter the camera storage card is corrupted, damaged, or formatted, iFinD Data Recovery software can bring your data back. Fast raw photo recovery speed is also guaranteed.
Lost data when you installed a new Windows system? Faced data loss from a virus attack? Many reasons will cause data loss. Remembered how nervous you were, thinking about losing your precious family photos, recorded videos and work documents? If you have iFinD Data Recovery in hand, all problems you have been facing will be not real problems. It will do all for you with the shortest time.
With the latest version released which updates our unique algorithm for recovery, iFinD Data Recovery software holds up to 99% data recovery success rate. It means, you are allowed to restore virtually any data and files and re-open them successfully. Try and enjoy the 99% Data Recovery rate! Moreover, the recovery time is quicker with AI tech. Scan and restore 1G data within 1 minute.
This data recovery software was very easy to use. I had an external hard drive with a couple hundred files on it. It got corrupted. All the files were important! Thanks to iFinD Data Recovery. It recovered all the lost files.
GANDCRAB is another ransomware-type virus distributed using RigEK toolkit. Once infiltrated, encrypts most stored data and adds the ".GDCB" extension to the name of each compromised file. From this point, files become unusable. Immediately after encryption, GANDCRAB generates a "GDCB-DECRYPT.txt" file and places a copy in every existing folder.
b1e95dc632