How to wipe a computer without disk how to#
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How to wipe a computer without disk windows#

The methods highlighted here offer the next best thing to preserving the OS while removing everything on the hard drive or wiping the drive completely and starting again with a fresh install of Windows. When all is said and done, itвЂ™s worth noting that you cannot wipe everything off a hard drive except the OS in a single operation.

How to wipe a computer without disk windows#

YouвЂ™d need to reinstall Windows again after wiping the hard drive.

How to wipe a computer without disk how to#

However, this method is not how to wipe a hard drive without deleting Windows, as it also deletes your Windows installation plus any recovery partitions. Use DBAN and Reinstall WindowsДЄ utility such as DBAN (DarikвЂ™s Boot and Nuke) offers an acceptable level of hard drive wiping вЂ“ albeit not 100 percent secure. This is particularly the case when you want to format the C partition that holds Windows. Format the Hard DriveДЇormatting a hard drive to remove everything is best done from a secondary bootable device, such as a system repair disc.

That said, this is probably the least secure and most risky to find out how to wipe a hard drive without deleting Windows and should be avoided. You can manually delete all files from a hard drive as the operating system will remain unaffected in any way. This is both bizarre and tedious but it somewhat works. Resetting is basically the fastest way to delete files from the hard drive while preserving Windows. Resetting deletes all files and reinstalls Windows, so this method is closest to what we want.

How to wipe a computer without disk Pc#

Restoring the PC simply reverses recent system changes, so this method too is far off from what we want. Refreshing reinstalls Windows but preserves all your files and settings, so this method does not apply to our current need of wiping the hard drive. Each of these methods best suits a specific scenario and, thus, each method affects your files differently. Windows 8, 8.1, and 10 offers built-in utilities (in slightly tweaked flavors depending on version) for refreshing, resetting, or restoring the operating system. There are several ways to achieve this, including the following. In other words, you need to know how to wipe a hard drive without deleting Windows. You want to end up with a machine with all your personal data wiped off but with Windows fully operational. Supposing youвЂ™re retiring an old PC but donвЂ™t want to physically destroy it. How To Wipe A Hard Drive Without Deleting Windows It is the only way to guarantee that no trace of your confidential data can be found on the hard drive. With this background, itвЂ™s clear to see why securely wiping a hard drive before disposing of it is a must. You just wonвЂ™t be able to access the file directly via Windows Explorer. The actual file (or its contents) remains intact on the hard drive. Instead, Windows simply removes that fileвЂ™s entry from its index (Windows maintains an index of all files on the system for faster file access). You could reinstall Windows or reinstate a recovery partition but this does not guarantee that someone cannot retrieve the data on the hard drive.ДЄs you probably know, the built-in delete function in Windows does not remove the вЂњdeletedвЂќ file instantly. The files have to be removed securely to ensure theyвЂ™re unrecoverable. Keep in mind that wiping a hard drive isnвЂ™t just about deleting files on it. The good news is that there are proven ways to securely wipe a hard drive while preserving the operating system.

But using the typical hard drive data wiping methods and keeping Windows intact is a difficult feat for most average computer users.

Sometimes you want to preserve Windows, especially if youвЂ™re giving away the computer. When you wipe a hard drive, the main intent is to ensure no one can recover the erased files in any format. However, these are obviously delicate methods as you want to preserve the operating system. There are a few ways of how to wipe a hard drive without deleting Windows. Need to know how to wipe a hard drive without deleting Windows? Have you been Googling вЂњhow to wipe everything off a hard drive except the OSвЂќ or вЂњhow do I wipe a hard drive without removing operating system?вЂќ Look no further, because youвЂ™ve found the solution to the above queries, and even how to delete data off SSD without erasing Windows.