How secure is Windows reset?

[Cloudy147]

Hi all,

Looking to sell an old laptop. I've reset it with the Windows reset, and ticked the box to say it's being recycled so that it takes longer to format and destroy old data

However I'm struggling to find any info on what this actually does and how it has destroyed previous data.

Does anyone know how good this reset is please? Could data be recovered using undelete software, or has the process ran an overwrite on all of the empty space please?

Thanks!

[mikef]

You could download a product called RWipe&Clean that has a free trial period then wipe both any data directories and disk free space. Different levels of wiping, the most secure can take several hours

[mikef]

RWipe&Clean can do random wipes from 1 to 35 times (which it describes as "horribly slow")

It does also advise that wiping is not necessary on SSDs, but I've always done a triple wipe before selling a laptop or a drive

[snuffy]

It just needs to be all overwritten once. Multiple times is a load of old cobblers.

[Baldchap]

Many SSDs use over provisioning and can actually have data recovered even after a zero fill, but we're talking in a laboratory, not by someone buying a used PC.

Once overwritten, to all intents and purposes data is irretrievably gone.

Unless the drive holds government secrets (in which case follow the decommissioning process which covers hardware) or you're worried about a prison sentence (then just destroy the drive) it's already job done.

If you're really, really worried about PC World doing a Glitter on you, but too tight to destroy the drive, then zero fill it.

[jonsp]

The fact you've posted this suggests there's something sensitive on the drive. So take a robust approach.

Remove hard drive and take a hammer to it. Get a used disk from Cex or similar for about a tenner. Install new, obviously blank, disk.

[paulrockliffe]

Yeah, I was going to say the same, if you're bothered, swap out the disk.

[mikef]

It also depends whether your aim is to conceal stuff from a boot sale buyer or from the Israeli government

[boxst]

snuffy said:

It just needs to be all overwritten once. Multiple times is a load of old cobblers.

It depends on the software. Some 'wipes' just delete the FAT which leaves data on the drive.

[snuffy]

boxst said:

snuffy said:

It just needs to be all overwritten once. Multiple times is a load of old cobblers.

It depends on the software. Some 'wipes' just delete the FAT which leaves data on the drive.

That is why I specifically said overwritten.

But, yes, if you just delete the files, the data is still there.

[RUSTILLDOWN]

You could delete everything except your largest (video) file and copy paste it many times, then select all and copy paste them etc etc.

If you research you can create a 2GB video file using the command prompt, then do the same with that.

[xeny]

jonsp said:

The fact you've posted this suggests there's something sensitive on the drive. So take a robust approach.

Remove hard drive and take a hammer to it. Get a used disk from Cex or similar for about a tenner. Install new, obviously blank, disk.

Discover as the police break down the door that the "blank" drive you bought from Cex actually contained something dubious.

Wiping single mechanical drives is trivial. SSDs typically have a secure erase function that may be a bit of work to find but should be effective.

[Cloudy147]

Thanks for the replies all.

I'm concerned because I work in a corporate IT industry and security is absolutely paramount, so it's drummed into my core to keep data and passwords protected.

There isn't anything really on the computer as it was our young daughters old laptop, but things such as logins etc all leave a footprint and historically windows has been rubbish at protecting data.

Therefore I wanted to know what the Windows clean does - is it a zero wipe of all the space? If so, I'm happy with that. But if it isn't, I'll use one of the space deletion tools before I sell.

Anyone know the answer?

Ta!

[xeny]

Cloudy147 said:

Therefore I wanted to know what the Windows clean does - is it a zero wipe of all the space? If so, I'm happy with that. But if it isn't, I'll use one of the space deletion tools before I sell.

Anyone know the answer?

Ta!

I can't immediately see anything explicitly saying files are overwritten, so I'd use a space deletion tool.