We regularly see messages about companies or people who have not or not properly erased important data on old computers. That is why companies increasingly choose to have disks destroyed. But what can you do if you want to get rid of your old PC and still want to prevent someone from stealing your data? One possibility is Active@ KillDisk.
1. Active@ KillDisk
Formatting a drive erases only a table of information about the files and locations (sort of like a table of contents, but for the hard drive and operating system). The ones and zeros on the hard drive therefore remain. This is convenient and quick if you are going to use the drive again, but not if you want to get rid of it. There are several handy programs with which these files can be retrieved, even after formatting. Active@ KillDisk takes a more thorough approach. Active@ KillDisk comes in a number of variants: a version for DOS, Windows and a bootable CD, all available in a free limited version and a paid version. Download Active@ KillDisk from the website www.killdisk.com and click on the left Download Free Version for the free variants. Download your preferred version of KillDisk. The Windows version is especially useful for USB sticks or external hard drives, the bootable disk (Bootable ISO Image) is more practical if you want to rid an entire PC of your data.
Active@ KillDisk is available in various variants: for DOS, Windows and as a bootable CD.
2. Erase from a bootable CD
The bootable CD is provided as a zip file. Here you will find an ISO file and the ISO Burner program, so that you can burn the CD directly. Extract the file and start the program. Click the button with the three dots and select the file BOOT-DSK.ISO. Make sure there is a blank writable CD in your CD burner and click the button Burn ISO!. When the CD is ready, insert it into the system you want to purge and make sure it's set up to boot from the CD. When the CD is loaded, you will see a blue screen with a number of options, choose with the arrow keys Active@ KILLDISK [FREE] and press Enter. Select the disc you want to erase and press the F10 key. The free variant only offers you the option of erasing Zeros using the One Pass Zeros method (this is sufficient for a home, garden, and kitchen computer). Go to CONFIRM AND ERASE and press Enter to start erasing. It can take several hours (depending on the size) for a disk to be empty.
With the bootable CD, a computer with, for example, a hard disk can be easily erased.
3. Erase from Windows
The program for Windows demands very little from your system, on a Pentium processor with more than 300 MB of memory, the program can do all its work. Install the program and start it. Active@ KillDisk will search for all storage media and display a list of the found devices. Select the storage medium you want to erase by checking the box. You can choose from two erasing methods. Of wipe clear the used space, but not the unallocated space. In addition, this method skips unsafe or damaged parts. With the other method, Kill, the entire disk will be erased. With both the Wipe and Kill options, the free version only allows you to wipe using a One Pass Zeros method. Choose the option you want, make sure you have selected only the disk that needs to be empty and click the button Start. In the text box, type the text ERASE-ALL-DATA and press yes. It may take several hours (depending on the size) for the entire process to be completed.
The version for Windows is especially useful for erasing USB sticks and external hard drives.
